Makes Me Beautiful

by tiffanymonologue, my creative self August 25, 2015May 23, 2020One Comment

What makes me beautiful? What is pleasing to the senses?

You may answer my curves. I do have them and the contrasting peaks and valleys are pleasing to the eyes. Yet, I believe that the strength hidden within the curves of my body are more beautiful than the outward appearance. You see my body hides its toughness and endurance behind my hour-glass form.

Perhaps you believe that my eyes are what makes me beautiful as they sparkle with blue hues. I could agree with you as I do think that my eyes are beautiful. Still what makes them beautiful is the mind and heart that is behind them. It is the life and love that shines out of them.

My smile, lips and mouth are also physical features that could be pretty by themselves. They are brought into beauty by how they are used. My smile shows the happiness that lies within my soul. My lips and mouth are only beautiful because of the encouraging words and unique thoughts that come from within.

You see my mind, soul, and heart are what makes me beautiful in my eyes. My outward appearance in beautiful because it shines what is inside.

Now that I answered what makes me beautiful I ask you, “What makes you beautiful?”

After A Vacation I'm DreamWard Bound

by tiffanyDreamward bound August 22, 2015No Comments

I got back from my vacation this week and hit the ground running, at least or a few days. I went to a friend’s house right when I got home, partly because I wanted to see them and their family, partly because I wanted to stay awake until at least 9. I was trying to fight my jet lag. It might have helped if I didn’t wake up at 4:30 EST and went to sleep at 10 PST. It was as if I woke up at 1:30 and went to bed at 10, or woke up at 4:30 and went to bed at 1. It didn’t help that the next day I went over another friends house then woke up the following day at 4:45 to take make roommate to the airport.

On top of sleep issues at work the first day back I had advance training to qualify for becoming a level 3 site owner. All this week I was really focused on the process in becoming a level 3. I mean this week in work was only 3 days and I was doing a simple job when I wasn’t training or taking tests, but still I think that counts as hitting the ground running.

That is all boring stuff. I should at least give you bullet points on my fun family vacation.

First I went a couple of days early, because well it is cheaper to fly during the middle of the week. I flew into the airport closest to my sister, Ducky’s house (nickname). I stayed with her and her family for a few days then drove up to the cabin in the mountains. We did stop along the way to see Monticello, which was Thomas Jefferson’s retirement home.

We then got to the cabin in the woods where we would be staying for the week. The grand total of humans that would be staying in this 3 floor cabin was 14. We also had 1 dog come. The house was 3 floors, which was helpful. This gave us enough room to have different people doing different things.

We didn’t just stay at the cabin. We went out and did something fun every day. We went to a water park, canoeing, and took a tour of the caverns that were around there. We also went to a lavender garden, went out to eat at a smoke house, and went on an adventure course. I even took 3 out of the 5 kids on a garden maze at the caverns, which was fun.

By the end of the week our numbers started to dwindle both Ducky and Cole (another sister) had to go home early, because of work. This caused a problem, since my ride to the airport was Ducky and my flight didn’t leave until a couple of days after we had to leave the cabin. What wound up happening was a bit complicated but worked. I was driven to Cole’s house, since mom had stuff she needed to drop off for her. I then stayed at her house for a couple of days, then brought to Ducky’s house and stayed there a couple of days.

I had nothing interesting happen flying home, but I did talk to Mormons while I was heading towards my family vacation. I actually wrote something about that, because if nothing else it was an interesting conversation. That will be posted later on this week.

I will actually be publishing a lot this week and next week. I think I may have 3 weeks of stuff to publish from the trip. I also have a couple of fun videos that will be published as soon as I look at them. The videos are 2 improv videos I did before leaving for vacation. I may have a video from vacation, but not sure about that yet, since it was longer, so I would have to edit it down.

There is no list of things I did this week, since I haven’t published anything in a while. Next week there will be a good list though.

I hope you have a wonderful week and thank you for reading.

After A Vacation I’m DreamWard Bound

by tiffanyDreamward bound August 22, 2015No Comments

That is all boring stuff. I should at least give you bullet points on my fun family vacation.

There is no list of things I did this week, since I haven’t published anything in a while. Next week there will be a good list though.

I hope you have a wonderful week and thank you for reading.

DreamWard Bound or The Week I Focused on Networking

by tiffanyDreamward bound August 1, 2015No Comments

As you know, if you have followed my journey, I’ve been focused on doing and figuring out what I can do to get better at acting and writing. This week I realized that a few people started following my twitter (@tiffaberry). Instead of dismissing them because I didn’t know who they were, I sent them a direct message. Basically I decided to be thankful that new people found me, and curious about how they found me. I do want to know what methods of energy and work are getting me noticed, even if it is only a couple of people.

One of them responded. He didn’t know where he actually found my account, but did point me to a website for film networking. It’s called stage32. I checked it out, signed up (my profile) and uploaded my resume (TiffanyJoy [yes I see the typo, do you?]). I also added my bio and wrote a couple notes on different forums that they have. I already have 10 people in my network. I should mention that I signed up two nights and none of my friends seem to be on this. Also it’s me and I don’t have time to sit and search a database. Most of them found me after I posted the notes on the forums. Some of these people are in my area too. There are a few that are further away, but that is good too. I am glad to spread my name around with whoever wants to see or hear about me.

Another cool thing that I started is a new hobby. I apparently needed to be doing more. I am starting to create and mix music on my computer. I have a weird loop now that could almost work. I think it is pretty busy, but I’m still learning the program so throwing things together is fine for me at this point.

The good thing about this new hobby is that my roommate, Kateland, will be doing this with me. My hope is that we can create some good music, since it was music that originally brought us back together and we both love music. She loves music more than me and is the talented one when it comes to music stuff. I have been itching to try to be more musical, though, and this seems like the play to start.

Also, once I get a hold of how to work the program I may actually be able to make song people like. Who knows where this new hobby takes me. I may be on the brink of a new adventure. The possibilities are almost endless.

I just hope that this won’t fully distract me from God, acting, writing, painting, and BJJ. I mean painting is taking a back seat to the others, but it is still a hobby for me. You know what I will just not sleep. That is how I will get around having all my passions, and hobbies, and a full-time job.

Speaking of passions and hobbies, I did get to write a few things this week. I always feel like I should write more, but I am going on vacation this coming week, so should be able to write while flying at least.

Here is the list of things I published this week.

Guarding The Ladder (A Short Story)

A Romantic Monologue

A Healthy Week to Boost Fitness – I haven’t done this healthy week, but should take my advice.

Weekly Writing Prompt (#24)

Finally, there will not be any DreamWard Bound posts for the next 2 weeks. I will be on vacation and like leaving my computer at home. The whole being on the computer, so much for my work and blog and now music. I will be away from the computer for two weeks.

Guarding The Ladder.

by tiffanyMy Author's Portfolio, Real Life, short stories, Short Stories Portfolio, Stand Alone Short Stories July 30, 2015May 5, 2020One Comment

Do not let the picture above fool you. Otis is not an ordinary cat. He is a fierce feline focused on protecting the one who feeds him. He is like a soldier and takes on this role every night. What is this hero of a cat protecting me from? Well, I am not sure, but it may be from falling off my bed, or it could be the window. Whatever the danger, he protects me from it every single night.

Let me explain how he protects me. His heroism entails walking the perimeter of my bed, making sure that the only exit from the loft bed is still the ladder. He then makes sure that I am safe by sniffing my face. Finally, he is ready to buckle down in his post. He stretches out as he lies down right at the opening for the ladder. With courage, he will stay at his post, keeping watch unless he falls asleep until my morning alarm goes off. Most days he will even stay pass the alarm going off and it will take me nearly throwing him down the ladder for him to move.

Now, since I am the one being protected, I cannot be the first one out of the bed. He cannot and will not simply move aside. This cat needs to clear the area, or at least the ladder. He makes his safety check by climbing down part way, stopping at the window for a moment, and going out the window onto the roof.

His reward for protecting me all night is his breakfast that I pour him, while I am still asleep.

At least, that is what I am telling myself. In all honesty, he most likely is just being a butt and blocking the ladder, because he knows it annoys me. I will keep trying to convince myself that he is protecting me because murdering a cat is frowned upon.

Want More?

If you would like to read more short stories please check out my Portfolio or perhaps you would enjoy watching readings of my work on YouTube.

A Healthy Week To Boost Fitness

by tiffanyother updates, Physically Healthy Me July 28, 2015One Comment

A few weeks, well maybe a month ago, a friend and I were talking about getting together a hardcore diet/ fitness plan that would last one week. This would be to boost our healthy habits and jump-start our thinking about getting healthy and staying healthy.

I did some research, forgot about it, and then did a bit more research. Through research and the knowledge I already had I came up with a little system that I will be trying out. I think this system should only be done for a week as a boost, since it is to push you to be healthier. I also don’t believe in restricting your permanent diet and fitness all at once. That has failed for me in the past. What has not failed is gradually becoming healthier and knowing why.

Before starting anything where goals and a desired outcome is involved I believe you should ask yourself two questions. That being said if you want to join me with this health boost, please ask your self the following question. 1.) Why are you doing this? What are your reasons? Write this down.

Now on to the real system thing that I made. I broke down being physically healthy down to three parts habits, diet and mixed. In this healthy boost system I am going to be focusing on 1 new habit, 2 new diet items and 1 that is a mix for the week.

The lists are as follows:

Habit

Do short spurts of exercise every day. Doing at least 20 minutes of fast exercises. This could be 4 five-minute walks, 2 ten-minute intense spurts of exercise, or even 20 one-minute work outs.
Take deep breaths and relax when you are getting stressed or cut down on stress. Maybe at one point in your day you take a walk by yourself to release your stress.
Exercise 3 to 4 times a week. This should total 3-4 hours.
Add 30 minutes of sleep or get closer to 8 hours of sleep.
Make a list of favorite exercises and pick at random from that list for your work outs.
Work out 1st thing in the morning every day.
Find work outs you can do while watching television or do sit still while watching television.
Exercise for a total of 1 hour every day or an intense sweaty 30 minute work out every day for this week.

Diet

Take vitamin C or get vitamin C into your daily diet.
Focus on eating good fats (avocado, dark chocolate, coconut oil)
Add spice to your dish
Pop some Iron. Iron helps blood transport oxygen apparently.
Sip green tea, it has antioxidants.
Go a week without processed sugar or starches.
Only eat Protein, good fats and veggies.
Never skip breakfast, just make it healthy.
Make dinner your lightest meal
Don’t starve; make sure you eat at least 1500 calories a day.
Drink green smoothies every day for breakfast.
Do not eat any processed foods for the week. This means only fruits, vegetables, meats and unprocessed grains.

The Mixed list

Drink water (2-3 liters a day)
Drink coffee 1 hr before exercising (Do not add a lot of sugar or cream, try to keep it fat-free milk [if you can].)
Use smaller plates. (It may seem silly, but you will get full with less food. It also helps with portion control.)
Eat every 3-4 hours but eat small meals.
Put down your fork between bites
Designate one place to eat and eat there. Also cut down on distractions when eating.

I also am on pinterest and have a few boards that may help you boost your health. The first is my boosting healthiness board, where a lot of the research and ideas were pinned. Follow Tiff’s board Boosting healthliness on Pinterest.Next is my general fitness board, where I put a bunch of different exercises, work outs on and a few quotes to help me stay motivated. Follow Tiff’s board fitness on Pinterest.

The last two boards are my healthy eating and smoothie boards. These are focused on the diet part of being healthy.
Follow Tiff’s board Healthy food on Pinterest.

Follow Tiff’s board Smoothies on Pinterest.

Finally, I want to leave you with an important tip. Do not weigh yourself every day. Weigh yourself before you start and after. Also measure yourself before and after the week. Do not do it during the week. Plus the number on the scale or on the measuring tap is not what is important in the long run. The goal should be becoming healthier, not skinnier or lighter.

I hope this helps you. Let me know if you are trying this and I will let you know the end results.

A DreamWard Bound With A Clever Name

by tiffanyDreamward bound July 25, 2015No Comments

Yes, I try to be clever with my DreamWard Bound titles. I am not sure if my amazingly wonderful and first class cleverness comes off in every title. Mostly I am unsure, but I miss place the cleverness most of the time. Either way I try to write clever names, but today I will let you imagine the clever name. The reason behind promoting your creativity is because I can’t seem to stay focus.

I started this blog post around noon, maybe a bit later but then could not focus so doodled some thoughts down, read part of a book, did my laundry, went grocery shopping, made sure my budget is synced correctly, and baked zucchini bread. Before each new task I sat down and thought I would add on to this wonderful piece of writing. However, it is now 8 pm and I am finally getting my words out.

Maybe I wasn’t as I thought. It is now almost 9 and I have spent most of that time on Amazon, looking for a new gi. I know I could go or should go to another site that tailors to gis or BJJ, but I get triple points if I order it on Amazon.

With all distractions pushed aside, I should tell you what went on in my life this week. That is what this post should be all about. I should just ignore how distracted I have been today and let you know how I am being dreamward bound.

The first things that was dreamward bound for this week was that I wrote 3 creative things, so posted 4 things this week. Well I posted 5 if you include last week’s Dreamward Bound.

I also started to research different acting coaches and acting groups around my area. In doing so I found a working actor, who is also an acting coach. He does online classes, which may be a good idea for me.

Most of the week was focused on my day job, but I did get some things done that has brought me slightly closer to my dreams. I think this coming week will be even more focused on my dreamward bound journey, since I won’t need to be stressing over customer’s complaints or driving myself to work. I will have at least a little time to relax or work towards my goals as I carpool.

Again I got distracted. This time it was the internet. I think I wrote all that I can write tonight, so I will leave you with a list of things I did this week.

I am a Dancing Bagel (Short Story)

Otis, The Hunter. (Short Story)

My Nightmare Mind Box (monologue)

Weekly Writing prompts

I am a Dancing Bagel

by tiffanyI Am A Bagel, my creative self July 23, 2015One Comment

I was convinced by Cupcake that I should try hanging out with other baked goods. It should be easy to find things in common, since we at least have some sort of the same make up. After I agreed, he introduced me to Croissant, Muffin, and Doughnut. Doughnut and I did bond right away, since we found we had similar interests. She just seemed sweeter and more energized than I was. I found that Muffin was also pretty sweet and had her own flavor for life. Croissant did not seem to mix well with us, but that was mostly because there was a bit of a language barrier.

It was Croissant’s idea that we go out dancing just the girls. I wasn’t sure about excluding Cupcake, but he wanted me to bond with the girls. That night the girls all went to the loud night club and immediately felt out-of-place. There was not a baked good in sight. Instead the club was filled with vegetables and meats. We decided that it was okay that we did not exactly fit in with the other people, we were still going to have a good time. We went to the bar and ordered our drinks.

A minute had not even passed before a thick steak bumped my arm which made me spill my drink all over myself. I was fine though and was able to still enjoy myself. I just was not able to enjoy that drink.

The night quickly went from bad to worst. The place was hot and humid which Doughnut did not like at all. It seemed none of the meat had any brains and kept trying to dance with Croissant who was not enjoying getting their sweat on her. She wasn’t even near the dance floor or dancing, but the meat kept coming over to her. Muffin tried her hardest to dance on the dance floor, but was getting agitated by the vegetables vibrating their bodies into her instead of actually dancing.

We finally called it a night after only an hour at the club. We walked out of the club a little sticky and very disgusted. None of us wanted to socialize any more after that, so we decided to all head our separate ways and meet up for a quiet lunch after a couple of days.

What I learned from that experience was that it is nice to hang out with other baked goods, but you should always do some research into the night club you are going to.

Otis, The Hunter.

by tiffanyReal Life, short stories, Stand Alone Short Stories July 22, 2015March 19, 2019One Comment

Otis, The Hunter.

Otis, the fat grayish-tan feline with thick black stripes, almost sat down next to me as if he wanted to be near the comfort of a human. Before his bum touched the blanket I had brought out onto the roof, Otis heard a noise. It was the famed climbing of a squirrel, that needed to be hunted. There was no time to cuddle the squirrel invader had to be stopped. Only the heroic house cat could hunt and stop this beast, so Otis crouched down and very slightly crept to the skylight, that since it was raised gave a littler cover for his sneak attack. Then since time was of the essence he bolted towards the wild beast, which actually gave the squirrel enough time to see the house cat and climb back to the top of the tree yelling at the cat as it climbed. Otis, who thought himself brave and a great hunter,continued to stalked the frightened and angry sounding squirrel to another higher tree.

Unfortunately the hunt had to end since Otis is a fat house cat who could not even get onto one of the trees. After a minute or less Otis came back to the blanket wanting the petting he ran away from a few moments earlier.

My Nightmare Mind Box

by tiffanymonologue, my creative self July 21, 2015One Comment

My mind is a box, lately, that I am trapped inside. My optimism says there must be a door, a window, or a hidden way out. I don’t see one. All I see are wall entrapping myself in my mind causing me to be unable to do much of anything I would consider being me.

To the left is the security of my day job, creating a thick time-consuming wall. To the right is my obligations and my bills stacked as high as my job with no holes to escape from. Behind me is my past failures, current fears, and reminders that the future can not be known. There is a reason my back is towards that wall, by focusing on that wall I would sit down, stop fighting and accept the box I’m in. Above me, on the ceiling of this box are all the people, careers, and talents that I compare myself to. I place them above me, although I am the only me. Below me are all my ideas trapped under glass in a cloudy stew of tar and mire. Still I know they’re there, just like a mother knows her baby. In front of me are painting of could-be’s, maybe’s, and the future if I only live my current life . I know there are keys to unlock each painting, except for the immanent future, that one does not need a key. The keys to my dream futures are unknown, lost or far from me. I do not believe they are in this box. All I can do is stand and look at the pretty pictures hoping and looking for at least one key.

Perhaps breaking the glass under my feet will lead to a key.