My trip to Rio de Janeiro

Hi Everyone,
Happy Easter!

I had a 5night vacation to Rio in February. Every year on my birthday, I usually wake up in a city or country I have never visited.  It's been my ritual for the past several years. One of the main reasons why I do that, is because I am thankful for another year in my life and most importantly because when I was 25, I had a benign tumor that my doctors thought was cancerous, and I was scared I might not be alive on my 26th birthday. I am eternally thankful to God it was benign. If I had a thousand tongues, I would not praise Him enough. Since then, I have always viewed my life as a gift and I am here only by the grace of God. So, I pay myself every year. Thats a story for another blog.

Anyway, so it was carnival season, and EVERYTHING shuts down during carnival. I paid in advance for an all-day tour of Rio and the driver just did not show up because he was at the carnival. 
I had a long list of all of the places I wanted to see, but I couldn't see all of them because of the carnival.

This blog will show a glimpse of trip and my fashion enthusiast self.

Me at Copacabana beach! This is the most famous beach in the area. It has some great restaurants. The titles are like that in Europe. I had some of the best mojitos on the beach, made with Brazilian rum. Well, I'm not much of a 'drinker' but, I had mojito twice. They were amazing.
I visited other beaches such as Impanema beach and Botafogo beach.

Me on the famous Escadaria Selaron which means 'Lapa Steps' (Escadaria da Lapa).  They are the work of Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón who claimed it as "my tribute to the Brazilian people". There are 215 steps measuring 125 meters (135 yards) long, which are covered in over 2000 tiles collected from over 60 countries around the world.

In the same neighborhood was the Lapa Wall, so I had to stop for pictures.

I wanted to go to Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião, but we couldn't as it was closed for the carnival. I was able to take a picture of it from outside.

I wore this comfortable outfit the day I was supposed to have a full-day tour of Rio, but the driver did not show up. I woke up at 6am, just to be stood up.

This was a night out. I was supposed to go to a party, but it wasn't the safest area, so I decided to go out to dinner. I love this dress.

I went to the first day of the carnival. The last day is the best, but I enjoyed Day 1, and I got a free Rio t-shirt. Here are a few pictures. The music was bomb!

I wore ankara to the carnival. You know I'm a proud West African lady.

Finally, my favorite - Christ the Redeemer. It is one of the seven wonders of the world. Constructed between 1922 and 1931. It is 98 ft (30 meters), 125 ft (38 meters) tall with its pedestal, and 92 ft (28 meters) wide. It overlooks the city of Rio de Janeiro. In my opinion it was a sight to behold.

What it really looks like (see below) and you get breathtaking views of the city.

There are a few cool places I missed out on because my tour was canceled - one was the Sugar Loaf Mountain. Regardless of it, I had a great time.

One last thing, they have pink sunrises. The most beautiful I have ever seen.

I leave you with this quote - “To travel is to live.” - Hans Christian Andersen

I choose FAITH over people spreading fear

Hi Everyone,
I want to discuss something that we all have dealt with, and are still dealing with, that is - People projecting their fear onto others.

I remember a long time ago I heard the acronym for fear - False evidence appearing real.

A week and a half ago, I was on my way to Rio de Janeiro to celebrate my birthday, visit a new country, have fun, and enjoy their carnival which is supposedly the biggest party in the world.
I had a layover in Miami. On my flight from Atlanta to Miami, I was seated next to this Brazilian guy that projected his fear unto me. Just to name a few of the things he said:
1. I was going to get mugged in Rio.
2. Americans (I'm a naturalized American) have no idea how high the murder rate in Rio is.
3. Rio is like Iran.

He said so many horrible things. Does he understand how wild it is to compare Rio to Iran? I almost canceled my flight from Miami to Rio. But something told me not to as a solo-traveler friend was meeting me there so I was not by myself.
If I had listened to him, I would have missed out on a great vacation experience.
Needless to say, I got back home safe, not mugged, not r**ped, not hurt, in one piece, alive, healthy, the same way I left, and with all of my belongings. Glory to God! 

That brings me to my next point.
To start off, I am an optimistic person, but sometimes I do have doubts, and some of those doubts come from people projecting their fear unto me.

So, I am an unmarried well-disciplined woman over a certain age. Let's just say you can imagine the things family members and so-called loved ones have said about that.

Before I name a few, I will start this minute by rebuking and canceling all of their evil words, wishes, evil hopes, evil projections over my life, my marriage, my future husband's life, my future children's lives, in Jesus' Mighty Name. Amen.

1. My sister's friend said "Natalie might be lesbian, but she just doesn't know yet.". She said this because I have morals and values and will not let a man trample on them.
2. A family member told me - if my husband comes he will not stay.
3. A family member wished that a relationship I was in never progressed to marriage. He claims he just knew it wouldn't. Mind you he knew nothing about the guy.
4. A family member told me - that my future husband was dead. I was 33 then.
5. A family member told me - that my husband would marry me and sleep with me and leave me. He said this because I refuse to have sex in my relationships and he was advising me that the first month I start dating a man, I should sleep with him. I told him, that I don't live like that, and that my vag**na is not a charity organization.

6. A family member told me that - marriage is not the end all and be all. This person is happily married and is building life with their spouse. Yet they want me to aspire to be alone, live alone all my life, having no one who will say Natalie is the most important person in my life, pay all my bills by myself etc.

7. An older cousin of mine said I was probably difficult to deal with. Yet he who is a serial cheater I guess is easier to deal with?

8. I told a good male friend of mine that I was stressed out because I was still single. He told me that someone he knows put nudes of his wife online when they broke up. Mind you this friend has been married since I was 23. Did I ever tell him I wanted that kind of marriage he described, or was I craving a good marriage?
9. And many more...

I will never understand why people are negative. All fears, evil wishes, hopes, dreams, misdirection etc have all been canceled and washed away by the precious blood of Jesus.

The fear acronym that we should focus on is:

I WILL GET MARRIED AND HAVE CHILDREN IN JESUS' MIGHTY NAME. AMEN.
That is the report of the Lord in Gen 2:18, Isaiah 34:16, Psalm 84:11, Eccl 4:9-12, Isaiah 62:5, Psalm 68:6, Psalm 128:3, and many more promises of God.

These people will have to congratulate me on my marriage and children in Jesus' Name. Amen. Soonest. Amen.

This reminds me of the sports analysts who said all kinds of things about Tiger Wood's career. They said his career was over, he was old, and so much more. But in 2019 against all odds, Tiger won the Masters again. He Proved Them Wrong.
I will prove all of my family, friends, haters, evil-wishers WRONG In Jesus' Mighty Name. Amen.

Watch the Video of Tiger Woods, watching all his critics and 'evil-wishers' criticize him, and he had just proved them wrong:
Click this link to view 👇
Tiger Woods proves his doubters wrong

People cannot predict my future or anyone else's future. My future is in God's hands and God's hands alone. Not in people's mouth, or their brains or their hearts.

My friends, I tell you - Love is the greatest gift. Even the Bible compares faith, hope and love and says love is the greatest. I will not give up on love.

2024, come through with my blessings!
I will leave you with this, cos only God can speak something, and it will come to pass. God will not speak evil over my life. God gives good gifts.

Atlanta Boat Show

Hello Everyone! 💖💃😊

I went to my first boat show at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta yesterday. I must say it was an enjoyable experience. It was a pretty cold day so it was best to stay indoors, which made this event the perfect one to spend your day at. It was a huge event with lots and lots and lots of boats. Did I say lots of boats?

Here is a look at the map of how the boats were displayed.

There were one hundred and thirty (130) boat exhibitors, and too many boats for me to count. The prices ranged from $50k or so and upwards. I saw boats there were up to $600k. Those were beautiful, and oh so luxurious. 

There were a few cabin cruiser boats. Cabin cruiser boats are just like mobile mini vacation homes that you can use to take the entire family on waterborne adventures. Even with small cabin cruisers you have the flexibility to visit to new ports, spend long weekends enjoying the boating lifestyle, or just kick back for a day of swimming and relaxing on the water. 
Take a look at these videos of this cabin cruiser boat I saw at the show.

Luxurious huh? I must say, this life motivates me to work harder than I work today. 

Here's a snippet of a small area I was walking by. The show was huge.

Anyway, lets get to a few pictures and my outfit check.

I leave you with this quote about boats and life:

"I am the master of my fate and I am the captain of my boat. While ups and downs are a part of everyone's journey, how you face it makes you the person or artiste you are." - Jubin Nautiyal

Wine Tasting at VSOP Olive Oil & Vinegar Taproom

 January 11th is not a particularly good day for me because I lost the most important person in my life when I was 5years old on this day. However, we do our best not to stay down, and I know that's what she would have wanted for us. We often wonder how life would have been if you were still here, Mama.

This week has been busy with events.
Today I went to a wine tasting with the British American Business Council in Georgia. It was at a beautiful gourmet grocery store in downtown Norcross called VSOP Olive Oil & Vinegar Taproom. 

When I walked in, I was checked-in (because I registered) and I was given the list of all the wines we will be tasting, and I was sent over to the counter to get my wine glass. When I got there, I was asked my name, and my name was written on the wine glass. I thought that was different and cool.
Then...the wine tasting started.


I attended this event because of a few reasons:

1. I used it as a networking opportunity, although, unfortunately there were very few people in my age range.
2. I'm a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, but it was an opportunity to learn about Spanish wines.
3.I wanted to find a new hangout spot.
4. According to Gordon Shepherd, a Yale neuroscientist, he has the proof in his recently published book, Neuroenology: How the Brain Creates the Taste of Wine, that - "it activates several of your senses (sight, taste, and smell) and challenges your mental cognition. Wine tasting also gets the jaw, throat, diaphragm, taste buds, and olfactory receptors involved as they all team up to relay information to the brain. Your brain then starts working overtime by tapping into your memory, assigning value, and creating emotion and pleasure. This type of deep engagement in which several of your body’s systems work together with the brain to solve a problem is healthy and promotes mental sharpness".

The options were 5 Spanish wines. All of the wines were dry, but decent enough that I could drink them. I threw away the list they gave me, before I created this post. If I had not, I would have listed all of the wines. Sorry guys.

Overall, it was an decent day.
By the way, where do people who are in their lates 30's-mid 40s hang out in the Atlanta area?

Here are a few of my pictures

I had a professional looking outfit on.
I wore a white sweater with a drape collar, a high-waist purple pants, and a white peacoat, paired with brown boats. My outfit is not very visible, this is a reminder that I should take better pictures the next time. 

"There’s nothing I would rather do than share a glass of wine with you" - Anonymous

2023 - A Year of many firsts

We said goodbye to 2023 forever just yesterday.

2023 was just an okay year for me. It was not a good year nor was it a bad year. 

I traveled for personal reasons when I could find time to take off from work. 2023 could have been better, but I am thankful it was not worse than it was.

As someone who over the past five years, has always created vision boards for everything I want in life, and improve or update the board as items on the list come to pass, I would say there were several firsts for me in 2023 according to my vision board. I highly recommend vision boards. They help me keep my eyes on the prize and chase my goals. According to my vision board - I had a lot of firsts. Don't lose hope if you don't achieve it by the time you expect to. Don't forget, once there's life there's hope.

Now let's talk about a few of my "firsts" in 2023. I cannot name all of my firsts, but I will share a few.

I volunteered at several organizations in 2023 - something I had never done in my well over 35yrs of existence. I learned, I had a great sense of fulfilment, and on one instance I cried when I realized how much we were helping to save lives in developing countries. Volunteering for meaningful organizations is the key.

Next....

2023 is the first year I have traveled for work. I had three official trips in 2023. Two of which were to cities I have never been to. One was to a totally new state - Oregon. It's always a good thing to explore a new city/state.

One area of my life that was not 100% new, but kind of a first was the area of communal prayer. I have been a churchgoer all of my life, I was part of a small family prayer group in 2011. 2023 was a year of communal prayer for me, both within the US and International. I would say it started in 2022, but definitely intensified in 2023. I participated in a few prayer groups daily and one family Bible study group.
If you know me, you know that I have no one but God. My problems in life can only be solved by God. All of my problems in the past were solved by God, somehow. Interestingly, most were solved when I least expected it. 

Lastly:

#NYEParty

I went to a New Years eve party at a restaurant I had visited a few times. I have celebrated most NYEs out of the US, and the ones that I am in the US, I usually spend them in Church or on my bed and go to sleep. This was my first NYE party. EVER... I must say, I enjoyed it. I danced the night away. Who would have thought so? 💃

Overall, I wish 2023 was a better year. I learned a lot, met some very interesting people who made me think. I allowed God to prune my list of acquaintances and guess what - I made some new unexpected acquaintances. Let's see if they turn into friends.

Thank you 2023. Goodbye 2023.

My theme for 2024 is: SURRENDER. There are two areas of my life that I am totally surrendering to God. I will not be praying about them anymore. They are both in His Mighty hands, because there's nothing I can do anymore.