Author: Lorene

The desire to stay home is strong in this one today.
It won’t happen.
I am drinking my happy coffee this morning, and enjoying the feel of the fan’s breeze on my shoulders. It feels like a cool fall morning. I just don’t want it to stop.
Fall will come soon enough.
The year is actually speeding by. I haven’t celebrated my birth month like I usually do. I’ve been too busy with work.
I can always just keep celebrating until the end of the year.
Why not?
I was blessed with yet another anniversary of my birth and I am grateful.
I attended the funeral of my cousin yesterday. She was a bit younger than me. She was a good soul, took care of family and an avid Sooner fan.
And just too young.
I am at the age of funeral announcements instead of weddings and births.
Each announcement makes me look at my own mortality.
I have escaped death. Learned there is something beyond this life, however I am not ready to explore that yet.
I am immortal in a sense.
I will live on past my physical attachment to this world. There is comfort in knowing that.
I will leave a mark, memory, lesson and possibly comfort to those I physically leave behind.
But know I will never be gone.
Make your mark in the world, just make sure it isn’t a bruise.
Be the person that brings a smile at the mere mention of your name.
Leave a legacy.
Be grateful.
Love big my friends, tomorrow is not promised.
Live and love today.
Lorene

The whisper said…”you can not withstand the storm”
With a smile, she said…”I AM THE STORM”
And she will show it.
Her actions will spread far and wide.
Those who know her may be brave enough to travel along side her and learn that they too deserve what they desire.
You become the company you keep.
Be aware of with who and how you spend your time. Build a storm together.
Be the storm.
Devastating what obstacles get in Your way, evil that may cross your path, never stopping. Always pushing for what’s good, building your life the way you desire.
Being that powerful force people want to latch onto, harness and feel they too can succeed. Pull them in, make it a glorious ride!
Write down your destination, but do it in pencil because you are never limited. Your desires will grow with your confidence.
You are the storm.
Leave a path of love and encouragement.
Blow away all negativity.
Be strong.
Be powerful.
Love big.
Lorene

Another day living the dream in paradise.
This has been a crazy year.
I was excited to be able to have “The Roaring 20’s” in my lifetime.
2020, doesn’t that mean “perfect vision “?
Being able to see clearly, up close and far away. That’s a lot to expect.
Actually, it means normal vision measured up to 20 feet.
Ahhh!
So 2020 isn’t necessarily perfect, but normal.
I refuse to accept that.
This is anything but normal.
It seems more like the end of days with a modern twist.
Think about this for a minute.
The things going on this year, both man made, riots etc, to natural, dual hurricanes, murder hornets yada yada…
We are able to survive and protect due to modern convenience. Imagine these occurring on a more primitive time, Biblical time.
They would seem like plagues and disasters that were inescapable.
As I was reading about Hurricane Laura this morning, I thought what a blessing it was knowing 36 hours or more in advance of pending disaster. Having the ability to pack a bag and move away until it passed.
Modern medicine has saved us more than once from what would have been a plague once, wiping out villages and families with a mere injection or pill.
We have eyes in the sky that see meteors speeding by earth, and know if they may be a danger.
Modern technology has helped the Human Race survive longer than ever before. What we wave off today would have been disastrous in the past.
We worry more about TV reception or WiFi than famine or drought. Our priorities have changed in modern times. We take a lot for granted.
We must continue to move forward and not lose what we have worked so hard to reach. But we can’t forget history, how it used to be.
These are the lessons that propel us forward, striving for better than normal.
Helping us not to make the same mistakes over and over.
But learning from them.
Do not settle for normal.
Do not take more steps back than forward.
You are better than normal.
You are exquisite.
You deserve better.
Glance at yesterday, live today, and focus on tomorrow.
Pray
Love big,
Lorene

I think today is a good day for some mirror magic.
Wash your face, brush your teeth, look up into the mirror and have a conversation.
I look into the mirror and I see my mother looking back at me.
We have the same hooded eyes, wild hair, and full lips. Every day that passes, I look more and more like her. And sometimes, I can hear her voice coming out of my mouth.
All that helps with my mirror magic.
I tell myself what a beautiful day it is to be alive.
I love you
You got this.
There is nothing that will get in your way today.
You will step over any obstacles with ease.
You are worthy of every good that happens to you today.
Your smile will bring joy and comfort to someone today.
Your hug will change an attitude.
You are powerful.
You make a difference.
It doesn’t take long to give yourself a much needed pep talk. You are just affirming what the universe has in store for you and your willingness to accept it.
Being your own cheerleader helps you cheer for others with ease. And the Lord knows the world needs more cheerleaders.
Remind someone they are doing great today!
Remind yourself everyday!
Use your mirror magic my friends.
Love yourself big.
Then spread the love.
Lorene

Scrolling through pics on my phone while having my coffee this morning.

My oh my, what a memory.

I was scared to death.

I wasn’t sure the public was ready for my style of cooking.

I wasn’t sure I was ready for criticism of my food. I take it very personal. It is one of the ways I express love. Not liking my food is not liking me.

As comfortable as I am in the kitchen, opening Bistro Lorene was way outside my comfort zone. Everything had to be perfect, not just the food.

Troy and I built what we considered our perfect place to dine.

A place where the staff treated us like we were the only patrons in the room, the food was an experience, not just a meal.

The atmosphere was like no other around.

We could walk into the kitchen and see how our food was prepared.

A place where your dietary restrictions mattered and a beautiful plate could be designed just for you.

Where the Chef came to your table to make sure everything was perfect.

I drive by the building now, it sits empty and the thought of opening back up crosses my mind. That place will always be Bistro Lorene to me.

It is part of my history.

It is a part of me.

Put everything and every part of you into your dreams. Have the people that love and support those dreams right by your side, or behind you, pushing and reminding you that you can do anything.

I have that.

Family, friends and most of all Troy. I doubted myself so many times, cried, prayed and screamed in the walk in.

But I lived my dream, if but for a short 3 years. And the effects, friendships, recipes and memories are part of my every day life.

They are me.

I am Bistro Lorene, not a building, but me.

Thank you, all of you that dined, supported, worked and pushed to make it all possible.

Go after your dreams. Use a little mirror magic and remind yourself how strong you are and you deserve to live your dream! Dreams make such a difference. I’ll be here to support you!

We all deserve it.

Love big,

Lorene

Coffee and Journaling time!

I hit snooze a few times this morning. It seems to be the norm lately. But this morning I feel pretty rested. I hope I’ve turned the corner.

Journaling my thoughts here tend to help me relax. Some days my mind is overloaded with thoughts I want to share and some mornings I am just blank.

Friends, family and social media inspire me. I try to stay away from politics, this is a family friendly writing for the most part and I am so tired of reading what a moron I am for believing like I do.

So I scroll on by….I wish others would learn to do that.

Scroll Sugar, scroll!

Its not worth the time nor energy to reply to such one sided, hateful remarks. I’d rather read about fur babies and look at first day of school pics. And I do.

There is no way you will convince me to change my opinion by calling me stupid, racist, or a slew of other derogatory names. Once the name calling starts, I stop listening. I have more respect for myself than that.

Besides, it doesn’t make you look any better than you say others are or act.

Tsk tsk

So I will type away each day, wish all of you the most blessed and fabulous day. Even if we don’t agree, you are a living breathing soul and deserve the right to your opinion.

I wish you joy, happiness and beautiful flowers to smell along your way. Don’t let differences drive you apart. We don’t need division, we need unity.

Working together for an always better tomorrow. How boring would life be if we were all the same?

Embrace who you are, but please, respect those that think differently, they are as precious as you. Break bread together without arguing your opinions. Instead discuss all you are thankful for, beginning with having friends and family that respect each other, no matter their positions on life matters.

It is so easy to be kind.

And I promise, the outcome feels so much better.

Physically and emotionally.

It is not our place to judge, but to love as we love ourselves.

So Love Big,

Lorene

We are all teachers whether we want to be or not.

A child learns from his parents actions, not just words.

Watching them steer through life, how they attack obstacles in their way and most importantly, the way they treat the people along the way.

How many practice what they preach?

Its easy to say “don’t drink alcohol “, but it has no bearing if you say it while sipping on a glass of wine. Coming from a former alcoholic, someone who had been there, done that, rode the ride, survived and bought the T shirt, now, that is someone worthy of listening to.

The teacher doesn’t have to be perfect.

We all have life lessons we could teach.Sharing our past mistakes and outcomes can help someone and you probably wouldn’t even know it.

Some day, someone may tell you about the difference you made for them. You may be that person that is shrouded in a dark cloud with no clue which way is up, then hear a similar story, whether it has a good or bad outcome, it has a lesson learned attached.

A lesson that lifts that cloud and you now have one to share.We can only hope all the lessons we teach are good ones. But we all know if that were the case, we would live in a perfect world.

We can however teach what NOT to do. Sometimes that is the best advice.

Be an example.

A good example if possible.

We can learn from bad examples but sometimes the young minds can’t pull the lesson out of it and follow the footsteps instead.

Actions do speak louder than words.

Go out in the world and be that person that makes a difference. A person people look up to.One who has an audience that uses you as a guideline to life.

Be kind.

Love big,

Lorene

I am tired.

Physically, mentally, emotionally. I feel like I need a week off from life. Just to sleep. Its been along time since I have felt so drained of energy.

My coffee helps the physical side of it. Keeping my body going for a few hours. And then I just want to nap.

So unlike me. I’ve never liked to nap.

I felt like I was missing out if I slept. Time flew by and I wasn’t awake to enjoy it.

Now?

Hand me a pillow.

Doesn’t happen, I’m way too busy for a nap.

Maybe my body is fighting off getting sick. I have had a head cold for a few days. Its better but still annoying.

Its been a month since my accident, but I never took time off to just recoup. It was 12 hour days and go go go go less than 48 hours later.

My mind may just want to sleep through all the craziness in the world right now. Wake up to find its just been a bad dream and we are united once again.

My glass is about empty and I need to refill it soon. There has been more pouring out than filling up. That’s OK, but I do need to stop and take time for me soon.

I will bet there are some heads nodding out there, you feel it too. Time for that refill.

You time.

Don’t wait too long. All giving can quickly deplete you. You can’t pour from an empty glass.

Well, work is calling and today I am 3 people. So it will be another exhausting day.

But I got this.

Just have to watch and make sure I don’t run dry. I may not have time for a complete refill, but I can always replenish enough to keep being me. I know I’m not alone. We all need some rest and sanity.

I pray you find it.

Love big.

Lorene

We make so many choices daily.

Some without any thought, they are automatic.

My choices on a daily basis include getting up when my alarm goes off.

Drinking my happy coffee.

Drinking more coffee.

Taking my vitamins to help keep me healthy.

Brushing my teeth and combing my hair.

Getting dressed and going to work.

Prayers for a productive day.

Through out the day I choose to smile, be kind and laugh out loud.

I choose to be thankful and grateful for what I have and the company around me.

I choose to help others, be a support system when they need it or just a sounding board.

I choose to be happy.

I choose to be a responsible human being.

I choose to stop, breathe and think when I am angry.

I choose to walk away when it is not significant and stand my ground when it is important to me.

I choose to protect my family.I may not always choose the right path, and when I do not, I choose to apologize or make things right.

Its amazing how many choices we all make each day. Make sure the automatic ones are healthy for your soul, kind and happy.It is OK to be selfish with your choices, but not at the destruction of others.

Like with a Genie and three wishes, always choose wisely. There may be no going back.

Choose love.

And choose to Love Big.

Lorene

Day 14 of my birth month. Yeah, yeah, I’m still a day late and a dollar short.
Work and Dr. Visits. Nothing major, all hormonal. God has such a sense if humor.

Give me the freedom of no more pregnancies, empty nest and just when I get used to it….boom!

Hot flash, cold flash, I love you get out of my face flash. I will end you flash, why the hell did I come in this room flash,
They marked the size of these pants wrong flash, awwwww you’re a sweet heart flash.
I love you all, my hormones has issues, please ignore them. I can’t take them anywhere anymore.
I’m thankful for a good flash now and again.

Lorene