Every beat of my heart belongs to I AM! ๐
I love confetti! While coming up for the new signature for the blog (which you’ll see shortly), I got led to use confetti, and I was very pleased with the outcome (although it may be subject to change in the future). I bless God for the new signature.
May God’s peace and grace be upon you in 2020. ๐
Antoine Griezmann scored twice and also assisted in a 5-2 victory over Betis to give Barcelona their first 3 points of the season. After the brace (second goal), Griezmann known for his unique celebrations, threw blue and red confetti in the air to celebrate as if to say, “I’VE ARRIVED!”ย
Greizzy played a great game without our front backing for they’re currently injured.
Barcelona lost their first game of the season away to Bilbao 0-1, but I am pleased with today’s result regardless of sitting at #9 currently. We have a long season ahead of us!
How have you been? I’ve been well and while things on my end are cooling down, I’m not sure if I’ll be returning to blogging full time as yet. Anyways, I’ll leave this for another time. I want to see how this week goes first. So, it’s July 15th and a very special day for me. ๐
It’s exactly one year since Les Bleus won the prestigious World Cup. Going into that WC, France was not one of the most prepared team, but during the tournament, Didier Deschamps wentย from strength to strength with each game. Although France produces some of the world’s best players (ask the EPL and the La Liga), they were not outright favorites going into the tournament. Many were favoring Germany, Argentina, and even Portugal. Many fans rooted for Croatia in the final because society demands that we root for the underdog. What does that accomplish in football?ย
Legend has it that I am still celebrating our victory… Okay, I’m not. I’m actually over it.ย
Speaking of football, I am delighted that Antoine Griezmann is now a part of FC Barcelona! ๐ With 5 French players on the team, FCB is slowly turning into FC Francelona! ๐
This season of football is going to be interesting and I look forward to what Griezmann is going to bring to his new team. ๐
Another reason why July 15th is so special? It’s the day my best friend and little sis was born! You guys may know her as Tammy over onย Godinspiredart, but to me, she’s more than just Tammy. She’s a woman after God’s heart, a ray of sunshine, an inspiration, my best friend and little sister! She’s multi-talented and she uses them all for God’s glory.ย
One day, I’ll tell you guys how God made us meet. ๐๐
Joyeux Anniversaire, mon amie! May you continue to chase after God’s heart and may He shower you with blessings and grace in Jesus’ Name. All the best on this special day as you celebrate the gift of life which was given by the King and may today be one of the most memorable of the year! ๐๐
Photo belongs to Tammy. She was gracious in letting me use it. ๐
And since it’s the beginning of a bright and new week, happy Monday everyone!ย
***GIFs via Google Search
I love fun challenges and when I read theย 30 interesting questions challenge over on Stories of Hope blog, I just had to participate. This post was supposed to have been done since last month, but I am always late to the party.
Let’s do this!
1. What are your nicknames? What do you prefer to be called?
Well, almost everyone calls me Dee and I have no problem with that at all.
2. How often do you doodle? What do your doodles look like?
I don’t doodle much as before, but does this…
…count? It’s the last thing I did sometime back in November or so.ย
3. What do you do if you canโt sleep at night? Do you count sheep? Toss and turn? Try to get up and do something productive?
I recite Psalm 91 and pray. Another great one is Psalm 4.
4. Do people consider you as talkative or quiet?
I am both talkative (especially if we’re talking about God, the Bible, travels, etc.) and quiet.
5. What makes you cry?
When people accept/return to God acknowledging Him as their EVERYTHING. And humanity…
6. What is your biggest pet peeve?
When the Lord’s name is taken in vain. I also dislike it when people listen to music via their headset really loud. Like, what’s the use of having a headset if other people are going to be hearing your music?
7. How many times a day do you look at yourself in the mirror?
I normally look in the mirror when I’m leaving the house.
8. What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?
That people entered inside the television set from behind to be on TV. ๐
9. What is one guilty pleasure you enjoy too much to give up?
Guilty pleasure? What is that? Here I quote the great Matthew Gray Gubler:ย โDonโt feel guilty if you like something.โ
10. Who performs the most random acts of kindness out of everyone you know?
11. How often do you read the newspaper? Which sections?
I don’t read the newspapers, but I do read news online once or twice a week.
12. Which animal scares you the most?ย
This question is very subjective so I’ll give a pragmatic answer: diseased animals.
13. Are you more likely to avoid conflict or engage it head-on?
I run away from conflicts.ย
14. What was the most recent compliment you received?
It was from my sister in Christ, Leiya. She said that she enjoys watching me grow in Christ. ๐
15. What question are you tired of hearing?
Do you watch Game of Thrones? No. Just no.
Is Annie okay?ย Of course, she is! She was a CPR mannequin for Smooth Criminal’s sake! She saved millions of lives!
Why do you like Tom Cruise?ย You, do you.
Why do you support France and not Spain? Last time I checked, Messi wasn’t Spanish and it was Les Bleus who got me into football, not FC Barcelona or Argentina for that matter.ย ย
16. What is the strangest thing you have eaten?
I’m not an adventurous eater so I have to go with pepperoni. ๐
17. Do you have a whole lot of acquaintances or just a few very close friends?
Close friends that I cherish and love.
18. Do you have a catchphrase?
None I can think of at the moment so I guess I don’t have one.
19. Whatโs your all-time favorite town or city? Why?
San Fernando! It’s the most beautiful place in the south and it should’ve been the capital of Trinidad. The people there are very different than the town people and they don’t have time to mind your business. And the hill’s got a panoramic view!
20. If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?
I love the name my parents gave me so I don’t see the need for changing it.
21. When was the last time you lied?
Let’s see…
22. Whatโs something that amazes you?
Simply God. Especially the way He answers prayers!ย
23. Would you rather be the first person to explore a planet or be the inventor of a drug that cures a deadly disease?
The inventor for I wouldn’t be able to explore another planet anyway given the firmament God put in place.
24. What is your favorite amateur activity?
Reading and also walking to clear my mind while communicating with God.
25. What was your first thought when you woke up this morning?
Another day? Thank You, God! ๐
26. What is your favorite song (at least for the moment)?
“All I Want” by Michael W. Smith.
27. List someone you know, and describe them in 5 words.
Lee is caring, eager, driven, focus, and learning.
28. You can select one person from history and have them truthfully answer one question. Who would you select and what would the question be?
Oh my! So many people! Here are a few:
Albert Einstein:ย Why canโt you take the time to fix your hair? And why would a grown man be sticking his tongue out of his mouth?
King Solomon:ย How did you ever make time to communicate with your 700 wives one on one?
King Louis XIV: You were four-years-old when you ascended the throne and you became the longest reigning monarch in Europe. How did your longevity affect your reign?
Napoleon Bonaparte:ย Why in the world did you continue to trust Talleyrand even after you found out that he was not trustworthy?ย
29. Which celebrity or artist do you resemble the most?
It’s been often said that I look like…
…God! I was created in His image after all. I wouldn’t even give my left foot to look like any of these basic celebrities out here.
30. What do you want me to know?
Jesus is coming again. Are you ready?
This fun challenge is open to anyone who wishes to participate. Thank you to Stories of Hope for allowing me to join in the fun. See her post here:
I’ve been experiencing a writing slump since the beginning of the year and I’ve been writing on and off whenever I feel the need to/inspired. However, I am at my happiest whenever I write material of a spiritual matter and that’s why I love pouring my heart and time into Bible studies.ย
Today, I want to shareย a few of the covers, backgrounds, and designs I’ve worked on in the last few months. Whenever I start a new story, the gears start turning in my head immediately and I turn to the designing process which is meant to inspire me, but they don’t always do the trick.ย
I get most of my images from Pixabay or Unsplash. I sometimes combine Fotor and Canva where it concerns the fonts. What I love about Canva is the fact that even if there’s a design to purchase, you can remove their design, add yours and still download it for free. How. Cool. Is. That?
Bear in mind, that these are just for fun for I am no expert when it comes to designing covers although I think I’ve improved over the last few years.
This was one of my favorite covers to create! Yes, the picture is simple, but it all boils down to the fonts. I was eager to start this story at the beginning of the 2017/18 football season to chart FC Barcelona’s progress in a fictional world, but sadly, I won’t be finishing this story. I didn’t put enough time and effort into this one and I don’t feel like watching highlights for some matches just to make it work. I’ve written 5-7 chapters and I’ve stopped there. Maybe I’ll share it one day. Maybe I won’t.
The law won’t quit me! I tried running away from it, but time after time, I just find myself reading books on law whether they’re fictional or not, so I decided to write my own story. It’s a Law Comedy of sorts, but I have to devote time to actually writing it chapter by chapter and not in the pieces that I’ve compiled.
Just a fun graphic for a story that I’m working on for my family and friends. I’m telling the story through, you guessed it, text messages! Sadly, I’m only on message #3. ๐
Writing started for me when I gave birth to a pair of French identical mirror twins by the name of Ray and Marcus daย Dรญxon and it’s been non-stop adventures and action ever since! The thing is, I have a tendency to reuse them in almost all of my stories and it never gets boring. I just reinvent them… I’ll explain another time. This story is told using all forms of social media including YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram.ย
I get to make graphics like this…
…and I get to make magazine graphics somewhat.ย
Do I have a story about how the title for this one was conceived! I was sourcing through Amazon (nothing new here) for titles I can probably use for short stories when I came across some book called ‘Crazy Rich Asians’. I’ve never heard of the book before, but I read the blurb, liked it, sadly didn’t order it – although I hear there’s a movie coming out in the summer be it God’s willing – and chose the title for a series in which I parody wealth – or maybe not for I actually want to show that wealthy characters are not boring as via my awesome French twins! So, this is going to be a blast to write.ย
Haha! Well, at the moment, the FC Barcelona anthem. It’s the only thing I know in Catalan and that makes me happy. ๐
…and the MI theme song! I’m trying to finish some action scenes for a current story, so I have this song on for inspiration. I mean…ย
When you’re in incognito mode!
When you’re attempting to steal out of a building without anyone seeing you!
When you’re about to solve a mystery!
What other songย am I going to play? It’s also back to being my ringtone temporarily.ย
Favorite Club Team
FC Barcelona of course! I also like Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais.
Favorite Footballer
Lionel Messi, Olivier Giroud & Edinson Cavani. Hugo Lloris is my favorite goalkeeper.
Favorite National Team
The French team! I also have soft spots for Argentina and Uruguay.ย
Best Player In The World
Messi of course!
Favorite Football Blog
I don’t follow football blogs anymore as I’ve closed my football blog altogether.ย
Ugliest Footballer In The World
I didn’t know football was a beauty pageant!
Sexiest Footballer In The World
Again, I didn’t know that the sport was a beauty pageant.ย
A Footballer I Hate
I dislike how some footballers may conduct themselves on (and sometimes off) the pitch, but I don’t hate anyone.
A Football Team I Can’t Stand
I’m not going to lie, but sometimes I just can’t seem to stand Juventus, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Espanyol, but football won’t be better off without them.
A Footballer I’ll Love To Be Friends With
I’ll have to go with Antoine Greizmann! And I think we’ll get along just fine. ๐
A Footballer I’ll Love To Meet
I actually don’t care to meet any footballers. Seeing them play on TV is enough.
My Top 6 Footballers
In no particular order: Messi, Giroud, Cavani, Greizmann, Lloris, and the rest of the Les Bleus. ๐
Lionel Messiโs career has been a stellarย ascent,ย and shows no signs as yet of slowing down.
Born in Rosario in Argentina, he began playing football at a very young age. He made his debut with the first team in 2003 as a 16-year-old and a year later he broke FC Barcelonaโs team record for youngest footballer to score a league goal, as well as winning the league with that outstanding team. Is breakthrough season was 2006-7, when he became firstย team regular, and in 2008-9 he scored 38 goals to play an integral part in the teamโs triple-winning success.
Since Pep Guardiola took over as manager of Barcelona in 2008, Messi has become Barcelonaโs all-time top scorer in all official club competitions โ at the age of 25. He scored an astonishing 91 goals in the calendar year 2012 alone. He has also excelled on the international stage, playing for his national team. But all that was achieved via hard work, sacrifices, family break-ups and huge pressure.
Guillem Balague has had unprecedented access to Messiโs inner circle: his coaches, teammates, presidents and relatives, Joan Laporta, Sandro Rosell, Gerard โTataโ Martino, Alejandro Sabella, Xavi Hernรกndez, Andrรฉs Iniesta, Carlos Bilardo, Pablo Zabaleta, Cesc Fร bregas, Juanjo Brau, Gerard Piquรฉ, Javier Mascherano, SilvinhoโฆIn addition, Pep Guardiola has provided exclusive analysis of the player.
The result is an authoritative and compelling account of the mystery โ and genius โ that is Messi.
Guillem Balague is a key fixture in Sky Sportsโ coverage of Spanish football, appearing regularly both on live match coverage and on the weekly round-up show,ย Revista de La Liga.ย He is also the UK Correspondent forย AS, the Madrid-based Spanish sports newspaper andย El Larguero,ย Spainโs most popular sports radio show, attracting some 1.5 million listeners. His work appears regularly inย twentyfour7ย magazine,ย Bleacher Report,ย and inย Championsย magazine, where he writes a regular column on international football. He wrote the bestsellingย A Season on the Brink,ย an insiderโs account of Liverpoolโs 2004-05 Championsโ League winning campaign, and the biographyย Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning,ย published in 2012.
โHe is a shining light sent by God. You know when someone says, โhe will make it, he willโ? He was a footballer from the day he was born,โ
Claudia, Cintia Arellanoโs mother
Lionel Messi. The child, the man, the immigrant, the footballer.
Messi is a force to be reckoned with. Heโs also an enigma. He easily captured my attention just as Michael Jackson did when I first saw him perform. Iโve never thought about understanding Leo because I see shades of myself in him when it simmers down to personality traits.
โLeo doesnโt need money, he doesnโt want beautiful thingsโฆheโs just looking for more success.โ
Silvinho
Iโve always maintained that Messi is a genius. A footballing genius and I donโt care for science to explain why people arenโt born geniuses. God has blessed Messi with this football talent that not even he himself could comprehend. Geniuses still need to work on their craft and thatโs why theyโre never satisfied when something doesnโt work out in their favor. Thatโs why theyโre such perfectionists. Once God has blessed you with a talent, you donโt take it for granted. You go out there and you add your own initiative to it. If it meansย that you have to practice, practice, practice, DO IT for we were meant to work to develop our God-given talent.
People considered geniuses no matter the field theyโre in, preserve their childish traits well into their adulthood even when they become family men themselves. Geniuses also need to practice their craft and I think this is the reason why they seldom fall out of love with what they do because of that passionate drive within them.
Leo the student. Ronaldinho the teacher.
The first time I saw Leo play, I thought that the ball was stuck to his boot and I sat there thinking that the ball is Leo and Leo is the ball. Theyโre one.ย He was born to play football. No argument.
When you read Leoโs journey, youโll understand why he has instilled so much faith in his beloved FC Barcelona. Why theyโre a love affair. A romance. He is also fiercely loyal to Argentina. Although he had to leave Argentina to seek a better life, he always carried the country in his heart and soul. Leo’s dream is to win a major trophy with his country and with the World Cup looming around the corner, this might just be his last chance to do so. He came close on a few occasions, but Argentina never seems to really live up to their potential in finals. I don’t think Leo needs any major trophy for he is already one of the greatest footballers of all time in my book.
Leo was born with a growth deficiency hormone, hence his small stature, but it didnโt stop him from chasing his dream and accomplishing more than he bargained for. He never let doubters have the last say. The author took me on a journey showing where Leo grew up in Rosario, an insight into his young school life (always with the ball), the attitude he had as a child, his passion, and his quiet personality. He was always the happiest in the company of family.
Leo has left such an impact on many peopleโs lives and he changed the face of history in the sport he loves so much. The book shows his (and his family) ups and downs. How he had to adapt to a new culture (Catalan) after leaving Argentina behind for better. On the day he debuted for FCB, the club that gave him everything, there was no looking back. History was made that day. He was only 17.
The author had not only taken me on Leoโs journey, but he also took me on the ups and downs Iโve suffered, enjoyed, cried and laughed with FC Barcelona. 2012. Tito. Abidal.
As I come to the end of this journey, I am reminded that family keeps us grounded. The family is the foundation and the key to our future success. Balague couldnโt have ended the book on a bittersweet note reminding us about Leoโs rite of passage from boy-genius to man (father):
And one day he will take Thiago to the park to play football. When heโs ten years old, Leo will be around 37.
And he will pass him the ball.
It’s now 2018 and Leo is a father of 3 beautiful boys: Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro (newborn). Football might be his love, but his family is his joy.
“I told her the day Leo stops playing, I think I will lose all excitement I have for the game and will stop watching it. I love everything about football and imagining that Leo will not play any more one day distresses me. I donโt even want to think about it.โ
Jorge Messi
The interviews were sometimes confusing to follow. The author should have had a DVD or CD made to accommodate the book.ย
It’s a 5!
That was the question on everyoneโs lips in Leoโs classroom at the Juan Mantovani Middle School.ย His school was situated in the district of Las Heras in the south of the Argentinian city of Rosario, close to his home. Leo had missed a week of school and, apart from brief illness, he rarely did that. His desk stood empty, and at playtime, when someone got the ball out, the game seemed even more confusing. There is not football pitch at the Juan Mantovani and there are always too many kids for the small, cramped playground. It did not encourage spacious, expansive games and, with Leo absent, even less so. It had been some days since he had been seen.
…โฆ one coffee down due to unnecessary gibberish at times (I felt as if I was reading results about a conducted experiment sometimes).
On 9 July 1816, Argentina, Uruguay and part of Bolivia declared independence from Spain.
Catalonia’s parliament has declared independence from Spain in a vote earlier today. And how did Spain react? They sacked Catalonia’sย government and assumed direct control over the region. This means that central government ministries will assume direct powers of the Catalan administration until a regional election takes place on December 21.
It is not going to be smooth sailing for Catalonia where it concerns EU given that countries such as Germany and France are among European countries that back Spanish unity. The US State Department also issued a similarย statement on the matter. So far, Finland is the only country preparing to go against Spain and recognize Catalonia’s independence.
Football fans are more concerned with what would happen to their beloved FC Barcelona when Catalonia is finally independent. Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu said that the Catalan giants are determined to remain in La Liga. However, at the moment, nobody knows. All we know is that their future in the Spanish league into jeopardy.
I’ve supported this football club for years and whatever happens, I’ll continue to support them.
Are you a sports fan? Tell us about fandom. If youโre not, tellย us why not.
I love football! I’m a HUGE fan of Les Bleus (the French national team)…ย
…FC Barcelona…
andย I also like watching games that feature Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City… I just love watching football and if I talk anymore, we’ll be here all day. ๐
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