If you are you in the Dallas area and considering doing something fun and educational for your child this Summer that won’t break the bank and cost hundreds of dollars, then the Dallas World Aquarium, would be a great addition to put on your to do list! The cost for admission to the Dallas World Aquarium varies based on Age and is considerably affordable. The price for entry is as follows
Children – Ages 0-2 are FREE
Children – Ages 3-12 $19.95
Adults – Ages 13+ $29.95
Seniors – Ages 65+ $24.95
Military Personnel – $24.95
Exhibits/Experience/ What You Can Expect to See
The Dallas World Aquarium- located in the heart of Dallas, conveniently located near the freeway/highways for quick access in and out of the city is an unique experience that immerses you into another world.
Upon arrival to the entry you are greeted by a beautiful vibrant jungle of palms and bamboo. Even as you wait in line you can expect to be immersed in an other worldly tropical jungle experience where you will be greeted by various exotic birds and tropical plants.
Once you are admitted you will be provided with a thorough and helpful guide of exhibits and the species of animals within. The Aquarium itself is broken into 3 levels and several types of habitats as follows
The Orinoco Rainforest
Mundo Maya
The Aquarium
Some of the amazing creatures you can expect to see in these exhibits are
Exotic Birds
Fish
Crocs/Gators
Lizards
Penguins
Monkeys
Bats
Sloths
Snakes
Turtles
Sharks and More! The Dallas World Aquarium has even included an online PDF of the field guide of the aquarium on their website at DWA-Field-Guide-2024.pdf (dwazoo.com) for more detailed information on all the exhibits.
The unique feature I enjoyed most about the Dallas World Aquarium, is that it not only included plenty of beautiful aquatic creatures, but also other species of mammals and animals from other habitats and environments as well, which gave the feel of not only being in an aquarium but a live rain forest as well.
The walk through was quite enjoyable and was perfect for capturing my 2 eight years old attention and curiosity for 2 PLUS hours! One of the first exhibits my kiddos enjoyed was on the second level of beneath the canopy and sloth forest which had a unique interactive feature where children could experience some of mist and fog of the rain forest.
Of course there are a few dining options as well in each of the 3 levels/habitats – a c Cafe Maya, in Mundo Maya. Cafe Jungle in Orinoco Rainforest, and eighteen -O- One in the Aquatic/Aquarium level.
The visit to the Dallas World Aquarium, was an enjoyable experience and was the perfect educational, and entertaining family outing for exploring summer fun, and staying out of the Texas Sun!
We all have that thing that’s been locked away, deep in our minds from the furthest reaches of our day to day thoughts. We’ve considered doing “it” for quite sometime, but somehow, we always find an excuse to put it off; whether it be writing that long awaited book, taking that dream vacation, trying out that brand new restaurant or fitness class, or even, striking up the nerve to ask that cute guy or girl on a date…
We’ve all been there.
For a fleeting moment an idea seems great, fun, exciting even, but moments later the rational side our brain awakens, beats this great idea down, and locks it away as a possibility for, maybe another time. Which usually never happens, and is rarely thought of ever again.
Well, here are five reasons to finally do that thing.
Life is Short.
Unfortunately, we never know when our time will be up. On average most people live to be about 70 years old. Although that may seem like a long time, it really isn’t.
Think of your current age now: are you 20, 30, 40, 50?
Now ask yourself: Did it take long to get here?
If you answered no, imagine living that amount of time again, (20, 30, 40, years) but this time you have aged, and your health isn’t all that it used to be. You can’t climb Mount. Everest, or visit Machu Pichu from your deathbed. So don’t wait till later, because you may never get another chance to.
2. The Possibilities are endless.
You never know where trying new things might lead you. Chances are, you’ll meet new people, make new friends, find opportunities, learn some things, fall in love, or make some money while you’re at it. Maybe you have a great invention that world needs to know about, but…
3. You will never know if you don’t try.
You can never know what’s on the other side of the door, if you never open it. (Unless the door is made of glass then you would just look, but for this case lets say the door is metal or wood…) How can you reap the benefits of something if you never do it? You must apply yourself, no one else can do it for you.
4. It may have a positive impact on your life and others.
Yes, meeting your soulmate is great, and cash is great also, but what about your mental health, and your physical state of being.Taking care of yourself should always be your top priority, (I know, it’s easier said than done, but it’s still absolutely true) so, why not sign up for that dance class, or go biking or jogging to get fit. Who knows, your success may also inspire others.
5. Do it, If it makes you happy.
Of course, if you enjoy doing something, then do it, and when you do, give it your all. As long as you’re not hurting or killing anyone, why not? Life is about finding our place in the world and doing what makes us happy, healthy and productive. If it makes you happy, then chances are, you are doing what’s best for you. So get out there, start living life to the fullest, and enjoying all the things that you want to do before it’s too late.
So Go Ahead, Just Do The Darn Thing!
Famous Lines From the Beloved 14th Century Persian Poet ~ Hafiz
We have not come here to take prisoners, But to surrender ever more deeply To freedom and joy.
We have not come into this exquisite world To hold ourselves hostage from love.
Run my dear, From anything That may not strengthen Your precious budding wings.
Run like hell my dear, From anyone likely To put a sharp knife Into the sacred, tender vision Of your beautiful heart.
We have a duty to befriend Those aspects of obedience That stand outside of our house And shout to our reason “O please, O please, Come out and play.”
For we have not come here to take prisoners Or to confine our wondrous spirits,
But to experience ever and ever more deeply Our divine courage, freedom and Light!
Yes, their chubby cheeks are cute, and their kisses are heaven-sent, but the catastrophic messes they make, and the unpredictable tantrums they throw, can give anyone the urge to lock themselves into a room, crawl into a ball, and cry…
It’s already bad enough, you can no longer keep a single morsel of food to yourself without your child’s precious little ravenous fingers reaching up to claim whatever, fork, spoon, or snack, that was about to descend into the depths of your mouth. Let alone that their time is their time, and your time is… well of course it’s their time as well!
Parenting is hard.If you think dealing with one toddler is a strenuous task, try raising two at the exact same age. It gets tough.
It’s hard not to lose your sanity when two toddlers insist that dinner should be smeared on the walls, and floors as art, or that their diapers should be worn on their heads as hats, instead of their butts, which in just moments, inevitably creates, one really big mess.
And please, do not dare commit the heinous act, of not refilling a sippy cup within the allotted time of 60 seconds; it just may as well be,the end of the world.
Yes I know, I shouldn’t complain, because they are healthy, and happy, and as constantly growing humans, they are going through a lot.
Sure, it’s tough work being a toddler. There’s so much to see, so much learn and do; lots of teeth to grow, and different things to chew. There’s always new things to discover; even if it is that bottle of chocolate syrup, you thought, you put high enough, up… Newsflash: You didn’t.
And no one, not a single soul, desires to have their sleep blatantly interrupted, by a toddler’s,–in this case two– blood-curdling scream, at 2 in the morning, to have them only return to bed an enervating, 3 hours later…
This is Jada. Jada is 17 months old. It is currently 4 am. I am tired. She is also tired, but she insists that playing with the door, is more important than getting a good night’s sleep.
Most parents would agree that, raising children—even a single child— is often a daunting task. Parenting has it’s ups and it’s downs, and while the joys of parenthood are abundant, we understand that our precious little angels can be some of the most unpleasant creatures, that we’ve ever met.
So many people struggle with losing, weight, and maintaining a healthy weight once it’s gone. I happen to be one of those people who struggle with being overweight. I have recently restarted my weight loss journey so I’ve taken the liberty to write this post to give you a few tips to help you start on your journey to a healthier happier you, with that being said here is:
How To Lose 1 Pound a Week or More
Tip Number One (How To Lose 1 Pound a Week) : Count Calories
Reducing calorie intake is one way to start seeing lower numbers on the scale. Since there are approximately 3500 calories in a pound, you would simply have to consume 3500 calories less than you’d typically consume during the week to become one pound lighter.
Keeping track of the calories you consume is the tricky part. Knowing, and keeping track of the amount of calories in everything you eat can be frustrating and tedious, which is why I recommend using my favorite calorie counting app My Net Diary. (Click here to download the app)
My Net Diary allows you track everything from Breakfast lunch, dinner, and Snacks. It’s bar code scanning feature allows you to easily input your favorite snacks or packaged food without having to type anything in.
The app allows you input the amount of exercise that you do, and how many calories you burned doing it. Another amazing perk is that My Net Diary also allows you to track the amount of water you intake and can even send you reminders, (pictured in the slide show above) which leads me into
Tip Number Two (How To Lose 1 Pound a Week) : Drink More Water.
Now this may sound like an obvious no brainer, but some people (me included) find it difficult to consume the daily recommended amount of 64 ounces of water, or more.
I struggle with this especially, drinking water can be flat, plain old boring and tasteless, but luckily for those of us who abhor the thought of drinking water there are wonderful geniuses who have created flavored water, and have even added electrolytes to them, without adding all the extra unwanted sugar and calories.
My favorite brand is Propel. There are many flavors to choose from Watermelon, lemon, black cherry, grape, and all of them taste wonderful. They are all zero calories so feel free to replace those sugary drinks and sodas and indulge in bottle after bottle to meet your water goals.
Drinking water and stay hydrating is an essential factor to weight loss, without proper hydration it’s impossible for your body to help you burn fat and build muscle. So if you didn’t think drinking water wasn’t important, think again.
Tip Number Three (How To Lose 1 Pound a Week) : Intermittent Fasting.
Intermittent fasting is loosely described as eating between specific periods of time, and not eat at all during others. For example there are 24 hours in a day, someone who is practicing intermittent fasting may only eat during an 8 hour period starting at 12pm in the afternoon. This means that he/she would have their first meal or bite to eat at 12 and would stop consuming food/meals by 8p.m.
The person would then not eat anything else again till 12 noon the next day, and this schedule or pattern of eating would repeat everyday. Most people do 6 to 8 hours of eating then spend the remainder of the time fasting.
The beauty of intermittent fasting is that you can start your eating period during whatever time of the day, as long as you confine your food intake between those 6 to 8 hours afterwards.
For the best results it’s best to choose a starting time that you feel comfortable with and stick to this time to get your body in the habit of only eating during those hours. Actively limiting your time eating throughout the day will help you to control boredom, and random snacking and over consumption of food by setting boundaries for yourself.
Side Note: (This does not mean that you get to gorge yourself with food during eating hours)
Tip Number Four (How To Lose 1 Pound a Week): Change the way You Snack.
Snacking was and still is a challenge for me. I like to munch on things that are full of sugar and salt, whether or not I’m hungry, bored lonely, or feeling blue, snacking is one of my favorite things to do.
It has also been the cause of much of my weight gain. If you are an emotional snacker like myself, don’t beat yourself up for it, things happen, life happens… but you have to remember to pick yourself back up.
There’s a saying that goes, “if you don’t start any trouble there wont be any.” I’m not sure how true that is for every case, but in the case of the way you eat or snack, you control everything that goes into your body.
In other words when you’re at the grocery store and you see that favorite tub of ice cream or that favorite box of cookies you love, resist the urge to put it in your cart. In fact close your eyes, and avoid that aisle all together, then proceed to make your way back to the produce, or nutrition aisles to find a healthier alternative.
Nip unhealthy eating in the butt. If you don’t have that box of cookies at home then you wont be able to eat the entire box, if you don’t go Dunkin Donuts you wont be tempted to add a sugary donut to whatever sugary caffeinated drink you already have.
Mind over Matter. Sometimes you have to trick yourself. It’s scientifically proven that eating makes feel calmer and happier. That’s why so many people eat when they feel down or upset. Imagine if you could trick your brain into believing that you are eating something when you’re not.
Believe it or not you can, by chewing gum. When you chew gum you go through the same motions as if you were eating actual food. You chew and while you don’t actually swallow your gum you do swallow saliva which in turn makes your brain believe you are eating something.
So the next time you think you want to snack try reaching for a piece of minty sugarless gum instead, not only will it save you all those empty calories you were about to consume, it will give your breath a minty fresh blast.
Tip Number Five (How To Lose 1 Pound a Week) : Move More.
The dreaded word, a fat person’s worst nightmare (or should I say my worst nightmare) exercise… If only there were a way to lose weight without it. But before you panic it may not be as bad as you think.
I’m not saying you have to start off running a mile but walking a mile would be a good place to start.If you could find a way to implement walking more into your daily schedule, along with the other tips mentioned in this post you should begin to see a slight improvement in your waistline.
If you have a fit watch or step counter on your phone check to see if you’re meeting your daily step goal, which should be at least 10,000 steps a day. If you conclude that you’re not meeting your step goal during your typical day, then it’s time to get to stepping and start adding more activity to your day.
If walking is not enough to get your heart pumping then take it up a notch. A 15 minute jog will strengthen your lungs, and build stamina. Even if walking or jogging doesn’t suit you, find something fun that you enjoy that also gets you moving like dancing or playing outside with your kids. Since you’re just getting started on your fitness journey your activity doesn’t need to be extreme or strenuous, but enough to burn off those excess calories.
So in review these are my five tips on how to lose 1 pound a week or more:
Count Calories
Drink More Water
Intermittent Fasting
Change the way you snack
Move More
These tips may sound simple but it may still take time for you to remember to log every item you eat or adjust your routine to add more activity, it wont be perfect at first but remember to stay consistent.
Want to share your journey with me, I’d love to hear your tips and tricks for loosing the weight drop a comment below or send me a message on IG @real.queens.killing.it.
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The shocking truth is 1 in 4 women will experience some form of domestic abuse or domestic violence in their life time, with most domestic occurrences happening to women between the ages of 18-34.
Although there are an estimated 12 million cases of domestic abuse a year, less than half are actually reported to authorities.
It’s extremely important that women (or men) who may be subject to this kind of abuse alert someone about their situation, even if it’s a family member, friend, police or agency, someone should know.
You should never feel alone, trapped or helpless when facing domestic abuse, most partners who are abusive tend to escalate, or continue abuse because they feel that their victim is estranged from friends and family
If you or someone you know may be suffering from abuse make a police report, or contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline. at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
A Man Who is Not A Man; A Short Verse
I know a man who is not a man, but a liar who never keeps his word.
Whose mouth proclaims his love, and threatens my life like a two edged sword.
I know a man who is not a man, who’d rather make excuses than to try.
I know a man who is not a man who believes all his twisted lies.
I know a man who is not a man who’d take my last without batting an eye,
He believes raising hands to me can be justified.
I know a man who is not a man who has no self control, no morals or, no goals.
Someone who believes he’s entitled because he exists,
he believes he can solve his problems by how well he can use his fists.
The problem with this man is that he is not a man at all.
So I know a man who is not a man, he’s actually is just a boy.
I wrote this verse a little over a month ago, BEFORE deciding that maybe posting a verse revealing the true nature of my children’s father would be a little bit harsh. You are reading this because he changed my mind.
In the past week alone he has shown up outside my door and at our neighborhood park shouting and threatening to shoot me and kill me in front of our children for not answering the phone when he called.
I do not understand how a man can behave this way toward a woman that has mothered his children. This instance is just one of several other traumatizing incidents I have endured with this man, varying in degrees of, stress, trauma, and severity.
As someone who has experienced domestic violence and abuse, it’s very easy to allow feelings of dread, depression, hopelessness and fear to sink in, but I encourage you to use your voice and tell someone, remove yourself from the situation if you can. Seek help from family, and professionally if you need to.
You are important. You deserve to feel safe, no one on this Earth deserves to harm you in anyway. Reach out there are many people who would be willing to help.
Are you a survivor or know someone who is a survivor of domestic abuse. What are your thoughts on the issue? What did you do, what actions are you taking to protect yourself?
Disclaimer: the photo above is not meant to portray an individual/s accused of or associated with Domestic abuse or violence.
Don’t forget to Follow me on Instagram @real.queens.killing.it for encouragement and inspiration
Welcome to The Boss Millennial! My name is Marleana, and I will be your host/conductor for this ride. I’m glad you’re here because this journey isn’t meant to be taken alone, so come on in, get settled, we’re going to become the best of friends. It’s here on this blog, on this web page, where we are going to discuss this thing called life, the good, the bad, the virtuous and the evil, and the ugly along with the pretty.
It’s 2019, the world is a sweet but bitter place. If you’re not ready to laugh, cry, pray, grow, inspire or be inspired then this blog is not for you, and it’s time for you to go. We will be breaking all kinds of chains and boundaries concerning health, wealth, family, and relationships both physical, spiritual, and mental.
So thank you for being here and lets get ready to begin!
