Happy Birthday to ME!

ciprianna77 Birthday Wishes

I know it has been over a month since my last post. I have been living life, dealing with life’s challenges, pursuing one of my goals and I started dancing again.

Today is my birthday and the BEST gift that I could give to myself this year was a couple days off from work! I went dancing last Friday and had the pleasure of dancing with Philip a couple of times.  Philip is by far the BEST dancer who attends this particular dance on Friday nights!  I gave my cell phone to his wife Nicole and asked if she would video me dancing with her husband since I have never seen myself really dancing and she was kind enough to try.  I say try because while Nicole said she would press the red button, for some reason, she ended up taking photos of me dancing with Philip and only got about 17 seconds of us dancing the Hustle.  I can only HOPE that they attend this Friday and that I will get that desired video so that I can see what I look like dancing.

It’s a challenge to celebrate your birthday when it’s on a weekday and others are at work, but I’m thankful to have gone to lunch with a friend who works from home. I’m thankful for having the day off and being able to get my favorite Greek meal. I’m thankful that I was able to visit my niece Kelsey and her daughter Melody last Saturday.  I’m thankful for the many birthday wishes posted on my Facebook page, texts and phone calls to wish me a Happy Birthday!  Most of all, I’m thankful for the eternal sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross so that I could live eternally with Him. I’m thankful that God has chosen to grant me a new beginning each day that I awake.  I’m thankful for God’s grace and mercy each and every single day, despite my many faults and flaws.  I’m thankful that God’s not through with me yet…He has more work to do in and through me before I’m ready to go home to receive my crown of glory and my new body. I can’t wait for that new body!!!  🙂  I’m thankful to live long enough to see and celebrate another birthday!!!  I hope and pray that this year will be the grandest of them all!!!  🙂

Ciprianna and Philip

CPR Training

ciprianna77 Education

I attended a CPR class this morning. I am already CPR certified but my certification expires in September. This class came up at the perfect time and for the perfect price, only $20.

This class was much better than other classes I have attended in the past in that the instructor used a wireless app, I assume, to connect to each mannequin so that they could monitor what each person was doing. At the end of each cycle, the instructor went over the results and showed us what we did and the areas where each person needs to improve; it was a GREAT feature! I was very nervous because your results are broadcast on a TV screen for the entire class to see, but praise Jesus, I got a 99% and my breathing was a perfect score!  I have taken several CPR training classes but this was the first time that I was able to use a mouth piece to place over the mannequin’s nose and mouth to breathe into.

Now, the chances of anyone having one of these mouth pieces on hand during an emergency is slim to none, so learning how to breathe properly into someone’s mouth is crucial because you could save a loved one’s life. If you encounter a stranger who needs your assistance, you are NOT required to breathe into someone’s mouth for obvious reasons and saran wrap will NOT work to prevent the transfer of germs. Therefore, you are ONLY required to do chest compressions until help arrives.

The other thing that this particular class offered was the chance to learn on a baby mannequin. We also learned how to use an AED machine. Using an AED is fairly easy because the machine talks to you and instructs you on what to do and when to do it. Once you place the class, you will receive your card in the mail which is good for 2 years.

I don’t know how old the oldest person in the class was but the youngest person was only 10 years old, proving that you are never too young to learn how to save a life.

Here is a link to the 2010 CPR Guidelines for illustrative purposes only as they change every year.

Again, if you have children or just want to be in a position to help someone, family member or not, while you wait for help to arrive, I highly recommend that you attend a CPR training class to get certified!!! It’s easy and you’ll be glad that you did!

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Count Your Blessings

ciprianna77 Encouragement

When I go to bed every night, after I turn out the light and lay down, I say, “Thank you Lord Jesus for another blessed day”, even on the “bad” days. Just the other day, I was looking around my apartment and realized that God has kept His promise to provide: every single one of my NEEDS have been met and I wait expectantly for my desires.

I encourage you, no matter your situation, to give thanks for everything that you have because life can always be worse!

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