Posts

The Antidote to Anxiety - Moving Past Fear to Hope

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As I am putting the finishing touches on my main website, testing it and making enhancements, I am reminded of Scripture that reminds us not to worry or fear, which is particularly salient now because I am embarking on several new ventures that frankly can cause one to worry and fear. But, instead of worrying and being filled with anxiety and fear I will put my trust in my Lord & Savior. Music that Inspires This week's #MusicThatInspires is by Anthony Brown & group therAPy. Their video Trust In You blessed me and I hope it blesses you too. 2024 Pipeline Exciting things are in the pipeline for 2024. I'm not at liberty to discuss everything, but I am excited to announce the refresh of my main website  www.tanyaowens.com  coming March 2024. In tandem with the website refresh I opened several online stores which complements my website and is where everyone can purchase my art and branded products. I invite you to go visit three of my online stores: tanyaowens.shop  | I sel

Is WIX the Best Website Builder and Host for Photographers? Unbiased Review

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Finding the perfect hosting company for your website for photographers is a pain point. If you are an art based photographer, like I am, choices are slim. I could pigeon hole my needs into one of the many turnkey portfolio/client based solutions like Smug Mug or Zenfolio, or go the route other fine art photographers have gone, by building my website from scratch. Building a website from scratch  gives me greater flexibility to build the website and ecommerce solution that best meets my needs as a Fine Art Nature Photographer. So that is the direction I chose to go in when I decided to use Wix to host my website.  Contrary to popular belief you can change the template if you host your website with Wix. Lemme explain: I have several websites; some are on main domains and others, like this blog are on a sub-domain.  Background November 2021, I decided not to renew my subscription with the company that hosted my main website since 2009, a 12 year relationship. My needs weren't bei

Severed the Chain - Deactivated Twitter Account & Podcast Update

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There has been so much change upheavel and turmoil over at Twitter since musk has taken over. But turmoil has always been the name of the game as that platform has been just a bastion of hate & terror. Don't get me wrong, twitter games, live tweeting shows, black twitter, #caturday have all been fun. As well as being a part of a movement or live tweeting during disasters. So, as much as twitter is a pustule on society it also was a great place to hang out, connect with "a" community and be on the cusp of current events. My experience with the platform since I originally joined in 2011 has been rocky, like I've spent more time on rough seas than on peaceful shores. And it really became obvious when I realized how much I was clenching my jaw when I read twitter and how peaceful my other handles on twitter were, the onese where I barely tweeted and only followed certain brands. It was night and day. Besides the constant crazy from Elon Musk and watching the dumpster

Is Meghan Markle Using the Victim Card? - Suicidal Ideation is not Victimhood

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Marjorie Wallace , the Chief Executive of the charity SANE , which she founded in 1986, states Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is playing the victim card for sharing when she had suicidal ideation . Shaming a person for having a mental health crisis is profane. And is a more scurrilous thing for the founder and leader of a mental health charity to say.  On SANE's website they list their vision, aims and mission .  And states that one of their goals is: Influencing policy and public attitudes by increasing understanding of mental illness Suicidal Ideation is not Victimhood How can you be focused on promoting mental health awareness, policy and understanding for the past 26-27 years and then shame and other, not just the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, but the entirety of people dealing with and managing various mental health conditions. She has effectively silenced them and said if you speak up about having suicidal ideation you are playing the victim card . An extremel

Get Up and Get Out

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 Tuesday Morning, January 17, 2023, I got up and got out.  I watched a YouTube video a few months back where the speaker spoke about breaking habits and pushing past the guilt, among other things, by just doing one simple thing when you wake up in the morning. Get Out and Walk. Not a marathon, not a sprint or a jog, just go for a walk. Then come back in the house and tackle one thing. I have cats so I can't get up and go out immediately. I have to tend to my furbabies first, get them fed, let them out and then go out. I told myself before I went to sleep Monday night to just get out when you wake up. I'd done it before and I loved it, then I got distracted, stopped and fell back into old patterns.  Tuesday morning I really wasn't in the mood to go for a walk. Even though walking is one of my favorite pastimes. I told my self to walk to the bridge (where the creek is) and come back. My body was achy from sitting all day Monday. Because for the second day in a row I got up an

Stay Tuned: New Podcast Series on Conditioning

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The first series on my new Podcast: Tanya Talks, will focus on conditioning. I've tweeted about it in the past. Conditioning has occurred in the USA since before its founding. We're going to talk about what it is, who benefits from it, and the ensuing culture war in the US. Stay Tuned. The Launch of Tanya Talks will be 🔥 #Conditioned

Nuclear War

The rhetoric from Putin. The continual launching of test bombs by North Korea, and China's constant baiting of the US, while they are prepping for a large scale invasion has me wondering will WWIII occur in my lifetime? Heck will it happen within the next ten years?

Tanya Talks™ Podcast - Coming Soon

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 Podcast Coming Soon Hey y'all I am chomping at the bit working on a podcast. It takes a village, but since I don't have one, I am gonna jack of all trades this thing!  Presently I am working on securing a host - testing out a few platforms now before I decide on one.  Topics As for the topics, I'm mapping out the podcast content. Y'all know this blog is a mixture of current events and life stuff so that podcast will be that too. It will be topical in nature and organic. So #StayTuned

Let's Talk about Flooding in Houston

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When I moved back to the Houston Area in 2014 I was quickly reminded that Houston, Harris County and the surrounding counties flood. Not a little flood, but major drastic floods. And why do they flood? Simple answer, greed. Humans have been on this planet for thousands of years. Some even believe for millions of years. However long humans have been on this planet, it has been long enough that they should understand the basics of ecosystems, geology, and how water works. European settlers in the Americas and Australia did not respect the land and as consequence they have caused great harm to the lands they migrated to. Why did this happen? They did not observe, respect, and retain how the local indigenous people treated the land. Instead they brought with them practices that worked for them in Europe. And many instances there was nothing wrong with that, except in many areas where the ecology, geography, climate and topology was drastically different from what they knew and experienced

Created New Professional Twitter Account

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In June I posted that I permanently deleted my personal twitter account that I had since 2011. And I do not intend to create another personal account. However, I did create a brand account for Tanya Talks on twitter. My handle is @TalksTanya . Tanya Talks on Twitter Microblogging should complement this blog and the podcast and anything else that spins out from this venture. I'll make sure not to mention lice since Twitter LOVES lice. Follow @TalksTanya