The Power of Words and Positive Thoughts

On October 5, 2019 By reneemarie31In Positive ThinkingLeave a comment

The title of this blog is “Looking on the Bright Side” so I am obviously a proponent of the power of positive thinking. Every now and then, I see a post about depression that seems to fuss at those of us who promote positive thinking. I understand the sentiment behind the post, but don’t agree with the execution. I think the general sentiment is that it is not helpful to tell someone with clinical depression to just “think happy thoughts.” And that is true – complex issues require complex solutions. Other treatments are usually indicated, including medication and counseling. And while positive thinking is not the only nor a simple answer, that does not mean it is not part of the solution.

Cognitive behavior therapy is a popular treatment modality for many mental health conditions. It is based on the idea that if one changes their thoughts, it will have an impact on feelings and behaviors. Restructuring our thoughts and cognitive distortions is clinical talk for the same concept that I am referring to when I personally refer to positive thinking.

This past week, I attended the Louisiana Counseling Association annual conference. I love conferences! I love learning, and I always feel super inspired to get better at my job when I’m surrounded by awesome colleagues who are all doing awesome things.

One of the keynote speeches was on a really interesting concept that I had not learned much about before. Dr. Clifton Mitchell was an extremely dynamic and entertaining speaker. He spoke about “priming” and the power and influence of our words.

The research has shown that our minds naturally move toward the dominant thought in a sentence regardless of whether it is stated in the positive or the negative.

For example, if I tell myself, “don’t eat that cake,” the dominant thought is “eat that cake.” The don’ts, shouldn’ts, won’ts, etc. don’t matter to our brain. Our brain is sensitive and picking up on certain stimuli.

Much of our behavior is controlled by our unconscious mind. Every behavior is preceded by thoughts, whether we are aware of them or not. We don’t have the power to consciously delete a thought from our brain. The only way to get rid of it is to override it with a new thought.

Basically, Dr. Mitchell was saying that we should always word things precisely, in the positive, and in the present tense if we want to move toward meaningful change. This is the same concept as reciting affirmations. If I’m feeling sad, I tell myself “I am content and satisfied with my life” until it becomes true.

This power of the positive thought is backed up by research. Part of my job as a counselor is to help my students re-frame their thoughts to assist them in becoming the best version of themselves.

Words have power. Thoughts have power. Remember that the next time you feel tempted to downplay someone’s positive and cheery outlook.

New Orleans Pharmacy Museum

On October 2, 2019 By reneemarie31In Louisiana, Travel1 Comment

I spent the past three days in New Orleans attending a conference. Yesterday, I had some extra time between sessions during my lunch break and decided to walk into the French Quarter to visit the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, since I had never been there.

It is the perfect size museum for a short, lunch break visit. It is located on two floors, so not accessible to those who can’t climb a big flight of stairs. There are lots of interesting exhibits and plenty of fascinating information.

There were many tools used by both pharmacists and doctors, illustrating the evolution of medicine.

It was interesting to read about the use of certain substances for medicinal purposes that are now considered illicit or still being studied, such as marijuana and heroin. It was especially interesting reading about the problems with prescription opiod addiction in the 19th century, in light of the current crisis our nation is facing.

There was an even an exhibit on alcohol and spirits used medicinally. Pictured below is a prescription for alcohol written during prohibition.

The shelves were filled with all different sorts of medicines, arranged by the type of ailments they treated.

Here is a leech jar. Thankfully, there were no leeches in the museum. I have always had quite the irrational fear of leeches.

Pharmacies also used to be soda fountains.

The museum is full of interesting facts and history.

There was even a section on voodoo medicine, which of course has a strong history in New Orleans.

The topics covered in the small museum are quite thorough.

I feel like I learned a lot with all of the exhibits.

There is even a nice little courtyard located at the back of the museum.

If you are visiting the French Quarter, I definitely think it is an interesting place to spend an hour or so, if you like museums. It costs only $5 for general admission, which is worth it for all the cool things you get to see.

Toy Story 4 Birthday Party

On September 28, 2019 By reneemarie31In Disney, Family Life2 Comments

As my daughter’s school class gets bigger every year (not to mention all of the other friends and family), I decided to take it easy and forego the huge birthday party this year that we normally do. She had one school friend over last week for a special extended play date, and they had a great time.

I still wanted to throw a party though, just on a smaller scale. We had a few friends and family over for a Toy Story 4 themed party at our house. The cute invite came from moolaparty on Etsy.

I couldn’t help but use cute little themed food labels to make it fun. The labels came from lunabirthdays on Etsy. Some of the label ideas were my own. Others I found on Pinterest.

Forky and Friends; Woody’s Trail Mix, Mr. Potato Head Chips, Hamm’s Pigs in a Blanket, Jessie’s Veggie Roundup

The drink station idea came from Pinterest. I glued the googly eyes to make alien cups, and my daughter drew the mouths (so each one was unique).

In addition to some Pizza Planet pizza, we had gumbo. I couldn’t relate gumbo to Toy Story until my brother came up with Gum-Bo Peep!

The cake was designed to look like Bo Peep’s outfit and was made by Les Amis Bake Shoppe.

We also had Forky cookie favors made by Cookie Rouge. She always does the best work!

We even played a game of Pin the Tail on Bullseye. This download came from itsacowsopinion on Etsy.

It may have been a small party, but I couldn’t help myself going crazy with the details. My little family also wore themed shirts.

It was a party success!

Elsie’s Plate and Pie Review

On September 25, 2019 By reneemarie31In Food, LouisianaLeave a comment

Elsie’s Plate and Pie is one of the best restaurants in Baton Rouge. If you haven’t been yet, do yourself a favor and go. Especially if you like pie. And who doesn’t like pie?

Last night, I went with my husband and daughter. I ordered a seasonal special which was pork tenderloin with a blueberry pepper jelly sauce and some roasted Brussels sprouts. I swear, they were the tastiest Brussels sprouts I have ever had. The house salad dressing is a pepper jelly vinaigrette. Yum.

Portions are generous. I saved half of my entree for leftovers (and so I could eat some pie)! They accidentally brought an adult size catfish entree to my daughter instead of the kid version. There were five whole fillets of catfish on a plate of fries. My daughter still put a pretty big dent in that plate of food.

And then, of course, there is the pie! They serve an assortment of savory and sweet pies. My husband’s entree was a Louisiana seasoned chicken pot pie that he loved. The tomato pie is a favorite of mine. They also have meat and seafood pies.

Last night, we had two sweet pies – a s’mores pies and a cherry hand pie. Both were delicious. In fact, everything that I have ever ordered at Elsie’s has been delicious. You can get lemon meringue, coconut cream, and even pie nachos!

Elsie’s Plate and Pie is a great casual mid-city dining destination. It is worth the drive, even if you are not normally in that neighborhood. The menu is diverse with far more than pie available. If you haven’t already, check it out!

Mediterranean Cooking

On September 20, 2019 By reneemarie31In FoodLeave a comment

It’s been awhile since my last blog post. Life gets busy, and I don’t always feel like I have anything interesting to say. But I also have to remember that I said I was doing this blog for me and not for the approval for others. I especially need to remind myself of that when I check how many people have clicked on my blog to read it.

I used to collect cookbooks. I loved buying new cookbooks and trying out recipes. But again, life gets busy, and I stopped doing that also. Recently, I bought the Complete Mediterranean Cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen. I’m not big on dieting, but when I do pay attention to what I eat, I try to follow a Mediterranean diet, which has been shown to have many health benefits.

So a couple weeks ago, I decided that I would start cooking lots of recipes from this book and take pictures and then write a blog post about it. I’m already feeling a little burnt out by it though. I remember why I stopped cooking so often. Time is valuable on the weekdays after work, and sometimes I just want to sit around and be lazy. Cooking from a recipe involves not only chopping, prepping, and time in the kitchen, but then it involves a pile of dishes. I also have the tendency to buy ingredients for recipes and then not use the leftovers before they go bad, which makes me feel bad about food waste. So for the past week, I’ve had several dinners of grilled cheese or bagels.

I am no food photographer, but here are some pictures of the recipes I’ve made over the past couple of weeks. First, I made some garlic and rosemary white bean dip which was tasty and easy. I also made two batches of pita chips. The first olive oil-sea salt pita chips were flavorful, but toasted too much. I cooked the second batch for less time and they came out better. Those were rosemary parmesan pita chips.

Next, I made some baba ghanoush. These took more effort than the other dip due to roasting the eggplants. It had good flavor though. I dipped pita in it.

My next picture is a whole meal. It includes more of the baba ghanoush. along with some roasted winter squash with tahini and feta. It was very flavorful and included pistachios and mint. I also made a lemon tahini salad dressing for a side salad. The dressing recipe made enough to have several salads.

For my next couple recipes, I bought some pistachios for cooking. I love pistachios, but it is work to open them all up to use for cooking. I made some roasted chicken thighs with Moroccan pistachio sauce. It was delicious, but I did have the whole house smoking with my cooking. Oops. I also made couscous with dates and pistachios. I make boxed couscous but added a bunch of stuff to it. I roasted some tomatoes for another side. I also made a dessert of roasted pears with dried apricots and pistachios. I cooked these far less than the stated time because they were burning.

The last recipe I made were some prosciutto wrapped stuffed dates. It’s not a great picture, because I did not take the care to assemble them perfectly. The flavors tasted good together – walnuts, parsley, orange zest, olive oil, dates, and prosciutto, but they weren’t really presentation worthy.

We’ll see how long it takes for me to get back in the kitchen, but it is fun to test out some new things now and again.

Backstreet Boys Concert

On September 4, 2019September 4, 2019 By reneemarie31In Music2 Comments

Last night, I was fortunate to be able to attend the Backstreet Boys concert. It was fun and full of energy. I got my tickets on a super sale, so the seats weren’t the best. We were up high and on the side, so I watched the big screens more than the stage, but I could see both.

The nostalgia factor ranks high when it comes to my taste in music. I truly believe that the music we listen to and love during our adolescence will always hold a special place in our hearts due to its connection to a highly emotional time in one’s life. Regardless of generation, people are drawn to the music of their adolescence.

I purchased my first Backstreet Boys album on cassette. I remember dancing to “Backstreet’s Back” at my middle school dances.

The show was great. Each member of the band had their time to shine and they obviously work well together. They made some jokes about their age, but they were still able to dance and jump all around the stage.

Brian’s son, Baylee, opened for them, which was sweet to see the next generation being supported.

Some of their clothes was kind of cheesy, but the coordinated outfits and choreography are all part of the fun! I took a bunch of pictures, but most of them came out too blurry to post.

They sang all of their old hits, along with songs from the new album. The new album, DNA, is great and includes some really good songs. So it’s not just the nostalgia factor making them great! They’ve got 26 years of great music to perform. And don’t forget…

The right song at the right time

On August 27, 2019February 23, 2020 By reneemarie31In Faith, Music, Positive ThinkingLeave a comment

I have always been a believer that sometimes the universe (or God) sends you messages when you most need to hear them. I’ve had those moments throughout my life. Sometimes it might come in the form of a quote, something you read, a sermon at church, but often it comes in the form of song lyrics.

This evening, I was feeling pretty down on myself. I was driving in my car and thinking about how I’m not great at my job and not great as a mother. I was reflecting on all the ways that I am deficient. Just as I pulled into my destination, “Live Like You’re Loved” by Hawk Nelson came on the radio. I was telling myself that I’m not good at anything, and then ….

That’s the great thing about music. It reminds us that so many of the things we feel are part of the human condition and not unique to us. A few more lines and then I heard exactly what I needed to hear in that moment ….

In the midst of my depressing thoughts, God reached out to me through the power of a song. It helps that I was listening to KLove, but I promise that this used to happen to me all the time long before I started listening to Christian music. The messages are there if you keep your ears open for them.

Rocksbox

On August 25, 2019 By reneemarie31In ProductsLeave a comment

Awhile back, I wrote out about my subscription to Causebox, and my love of subscription boxes. Today’s post is about my subscription to Rocksbox. This is the one that I love to tell people about the most. Every time someone compliments a piece of jewelry that I am wearing, I let them know, “It’s from Rocksbox!”

I have been a member of Rocksbox since 2016. Basically, it is a jewelry rental service. You pay a monthly fee and can exchange pieces for new jewelry as often as you like. Each box comes with three pieces of jewelry. You wear the pieces for as long as you like, and when you are ready to switch it up, just send them back and they will send you a new box!

They carry lots of fun jewelry designers, such as Kate Spade, Kendra Scott, Sophie Harper, and much more. They are always adding new pieces to their collection. Keep your wishlist on the website up to date, and you are sure to always get pieces that you love!

I joined because I wanted to build up my jewelry collection. It is fun to try out new pieces and purchase the ones that I love. The monthly fee is used as a credit on any purchases you make, so if you buy a piece each month, you are really getting a good deal. The pieces are already discounted, and you get more discounts the more pieces you buy from a box.

I love the variety of jewelry that I get to wear. Sometimes it is fun to wear a special piece for a few weeks, even if I don’t have the intention of purchasing it. I usually exchange my box once a month, so that I get a few weeks wear out of each set. I’ve bought many pieces over the three years that I have been a member, building up my jewelry collection, but it is also fun just trying out different pieces.

Here is a peek at my most recent box. I received a set of earrings, a necklace, and a set of stacking rings. Each box comes with a note from your stylist. Before your box is mailed out, you are given the opportunity to preview your box and switch out any pieces that you like. When I first joined the service, it was more of a surprise what would come in my box. Now that their collection is so large and I keep my wishlist up to date, I always get three items straight from my wishlist. This is nice, because I know that I will never get an item that I would never wear.

If you are intrigued and would like to try Rocksbox for yourself, use my referral link below and get a free month! You can also use my referral code, which is RENEEYBFF1

https://www.talkable.com/x/5BisKR

For the love of sleep

On August 18, 2019 By reneemarie31In Positive Thinking, Uncategorized2 Comments

So, it has been awhile since my last blog post. School is back in session, and I have been staying busy. That means my free time is usually devoted to my favorite pastime – sleep!

I have always slept a lot. Unlike many, I prioritize sleep over many other things. That may not always be the best thing, but it is what I do. I never pulled all-nighters to get homework done in high school or college. I don’t stay up late watching Netflix. My whole life, I’ve been someone who goes to bed early.

I’m also a napper. My five year old daughter has outgrown the nap, but you will often find me snoozing away a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Sometimes I think about all of the other things I could accomplish if I just stayed up a little later or skipped that nap. I know that it is healthy to get a good night’s sleep, but does my love of sleep cross over into the unhealthy range?

I remember back in college in my developmental psychology class, my textbook had a quiz in it to estimate your life span. You start at a certain number depending on if you are male or female and then as you answer each question, you add or subtract years to your life. Do you smoke? Do you exercise regularly? Does diabetes run in your family? On and on. When I got to the question about sleep, I actually had to subtract years from my life because I said that I slept 9-10 hours a day.

My husband likes to blame it on my thyroid, but I feel like my thyroid condition is well-managed. I take medicine every day and my ranges stay where they should. I just really like to sleep!

Oh well, if sleeping is my one vice, it could be worse!