Goodreads Book Giveaway

MENtal by Deanna Reina

MENtal

by Deanna Reina

Giveaway ends April 12, 2026.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Thank You, but You’re Not Hired: Part 2

If you have not read Thank You, but You’re Not Hired., please do so here before continuing. https://deannareina.com/thank-you-but-youre-not-hired/

The story isn’t necessarily over when it’s over.

After writing this blog post, I decided to send the hiring manager an email to thank him for the inspiration for the blog, which I included in the email.

Soon after sending it, he replied.

Hey Deanna – I cannot express to you how much joy this brought me. As you probably picked up from out conversation, we are incredibly busy over here and it can start to feel very robotic just trying to get things done amongst the chaos. That said, I very much needed to hear this from you as much as you needed to hear that from me. You made my heart very full with your words, And believe it or not, that was the first “rejection” letter I’ve ever sent out. Your positive reinforcement will certainly encourage me to approach the firing process the same way moving forward.

I have much faith you will find your new home soon enough.

A few days later, a recruiter reached out to me to discuss an interim Financial Planning and Analysis opportunity. While he was describing the opportunity, I began to realize that he was talking about the same company I had been rejected from. He was surprised as he thought I was a “slam dunk”. I further explained that it was the best rejection I had ever received and I blogged about it. I shared the post with the recruiter.

He replied.

Deanna – thanks for sharing. I appreciate turning a not-so-great situation into a positive mentality. And I agree, you’ll make an impact elsewhere sooner rather than later. I hope I can be a part of that success for you! Let’s stay in touch. Best of luck! 

I thanked him and asked if he had been in touch with his contact. The recruiter said he had been in touch and based on that conversation, he didn’t seem to think that the opportunity was moving forward.

So I went on with my life. I continued to look for jobs, work on my real estate business, think about other areas I wanted to pursue, work on personal projects and goals, hang out with friends and family, salsa dance, and just enjoy my life.

A couple of weeks later, I was curious as to the status of the role, so I sent another email to the hiring manager asking if he had hired someone because I had been contacted by a recruiter about an interim role there. I also offered to work on an interim basis if he needed the help. He replied to me that they decided to hold off on the role and were trying to explore other options including interim help. He also asked if the recruiter was internal or external and I explained that it was external.

A few days later, the hiring manager asked to speak with me. In that conversation he told me that he didn’t know I was open to interim and that they were looking for help. He told me he was going to present my background and figure out how they were going to structure an opportunity.

Today, I received a call from that same recruiter offering me an interim role at the company I was “rejected” from.

So there you have it. Connection, Positivity, Creativity, Karma, Perseverance, and Fate all come together. And the opportunity to add two stories to this blogger’s belt!

What can you do to steer your path? Please share your thoughts here!

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Thank You, but You’re Not Hired.

Here I go, dreaming about the swashbuckling life I could lead while I am in between jobs. At times, I am weighed down with moments of fear of the unknown. I wonder where my next paycheck is coming from?

I job search on job boards like www.linkedin.com or www.indeed.com and drop my resume into the abyss of resumes of thousands of other job seekers, wondering what the fate of that attached file will be. Will someone’s eyeballs actually skim my resume or will I just not have the right keywords to be picked up by some resume software? Was there already an internal candidate down selected and for compliance purposes, the company just needed to open the position up to the public? Who knows. All I know is the all too familiar rejection letter that states, “thank you, but we will not be moving forward”. You’ve been rejected, and you feel dejected. I’m no stranger to this world. I’ve been here many times, so the moments aren’t as worrisome as they were in the past, but I am human.

I awoke from a dream, actually a nightmare, that I was interviewing for a job at a company I formerly worked for. It’s the second time I dreamt that I was interviewing there. I grabbed my phone to check what new emails had arrived while I was asleep, and there it was — an email from the hiring manager of a company I had had a third interview with. I started to read it and the words actualized my bad feeling. I didn’t get the job.

Except this was different. The hiring manager actually wrote the note as opposed to receiving a canned message from HR or worse yet, no response at all. It read as follows.

Really appreciate your time last week and your patience as we worked through the process on our end. We very much enjoyed the conversation and certainly believe you have a qualifying background for the role, but we will be moving forward with another candidate who we believe betters aligns from an industry perspective (which is very niche). 

If nothing else, we received around 300 applications last time I checked, and we narrowed it down to around 5 (you being one of them)…so certainly just an extremely refined applicant pool.

Best of luck in your search and praying for much success in your next endeavor.

It was the best rejection letter I’d ever received! In fact, at the time of the interview with the hiring manager, he had told me that they had about 250 applicants, so it was already nice to know that I was plucked out of a pile of that size. My confidence was already boosted! And now to learn that I was the top five out of 300, well, I didn’t have that deflated feeling. I felt proud to have made it that far. I remember what has always happened before. You can’t keep my down. I always come back and better. So look beyond that rejection sign and see the beautiful blue sky with pillowy clouds — opportunities — that lie ahead.

With that, I will look forward to the next opportunity. Whatever you are, you will be lucky to have me.

Please share your thoughts here!

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Belize: A Gem of Central America

“Last night I dreamt of San Pedro.” Well, not exactly, but I’ve been daydreaming of it. In October 2018, I attended the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors Conference. I dropped my business card into a fishbowl of an international development company called https://ecidevelopment.com/ and to my surprise, my card was pulled out at random to win a complimentary 4-night stay at https://www.grandbaymen.com/. Four years later, while cleaning my condo, I found the certificate that awarded me that 4-night stay in Belize. I had completely forgotten about it. Over the last three years, I had gone through unexpected and heartbreaking personal tragedy, a global pandemic, and lots of time dedicated to real estate and consulting. It had also been almost seven years since I had gone on vacation, so with all of that, I was more than overdue for one. Fortunately, ECI development was gracious and allowed me to use the certificate even though it had expired. The day before I was to leave on my trip, my friend decided to join.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I booked a flight on https://www.tropicair.com/ to get from mainland Belize to San Pedro, the inspiration behind Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita”. It was the smallest plane I’d ever been on. It was the kind of plane that requires you to “even out” the cabin. The flight over, though a little scary because of the slight turbulence that felt more significant due to the size of the plane, was 20 minutes of pure amazement! I highly recommend flying over taking the water taxi. It was so beautiful to see the various shades of blue water. What a breathtaking view!

The next cool thing about San Pedro is that most people get around the island by golf cart. We rented ours from https://blueholegolfcartrental.com/. The driving took some getting used to, and the roads had many potholes and frequent speed bumps, but driving the golf cart with the tropical breeze was so much fun to explore the island. You can come and go as you please and parking is readily available. Our condo was a comfortable 1 bedroom unit very close to town with a full kitchen and featured a nice, serene pool that had a a swim up bar and a gym. They have a main office that offers daily room make up, laundry service, and the staff will make recommendations, book tours, and make restaurant reservations for you. The staff were very gracious, sweet and very helpful!

On the first day after some reluctance due to the fear of being bitten by sea roaches, we decided to golf cart to Secret Beach. We were greeted and ushered in by a staff member of Maruba. They made our 50 minute drive worth it with their great mango smoothies and generous service and hospitality! The water at Secret Beach was very warm, calm, and clear and allowed us to swim a good distance out. This is a daytime visit as the restaurants are powered by solar power only. Things start shutting down at 4:30 p.m. See our full review here. https://www.tripadvisor.com/UserReviewEdit-g291962-d17439862-Maruba_Beach_Klub-San_Pedro_Ambergris_Caye_Belize_Cayes.html

When riding into town you see a mix of fruit stands, restaurants, and tiny shops or stands that feature the artesan work of the Belizeans. One of my favorite things to do is see all of the beautiful hand made creations of the local people. I bought several beautiful beaded animal ornaments and a hand painted ceramic Toucan as souvenirs.

The staff of Grand Baymen recommended and booked a 3-hour snorkel tour of Hol Chan Marine Reserve through https://seariousadventuresbelize.com/. Hol Chan is the Mayan word for little channel. This is a must see tour! Even if you aren’t a good swimmer, you can wear a life jacket to keep you afloat as you snorkel. Our tour guide was excellent, and he led us to view and identify all kinds of Caribbean fish around the coral, a large sea turtle, rays, and nurse sharks! Two nurse sharks swam right under me. I swam with sharks!

The staff at Grand Baymen recommended that we dine at https://www.elviskitchen.com/. Not only was the ambience very nice, but the food was delicious! My friend thought the ceviche was the best ceviche she ever had. I ordered a coconut curry shrimp dish that was delectable!

Be sure to pop into the https://green-espresso.business.site/ where you can escape the humidity, relax, and enjoy a hot or cold beverage. I loved my latte and my strawberry banana shake. I had to visit twice!

We also got a recommendation from some repeat tourists to have dinner at https://www.purboutiquecabanas.com/, and it was pure paradise to the senses! From the tranquil, small, warm swim up bar, the rich and delicious virgin pina coladas, and the magical and relaxing hands of our masseuses while hearing tranquil music accompanied by the birdsongs from above, this place is a must visit! The massage went well above the hour for which we signed up.

No matter where we went, everyone treated us with the utmost respect and kindness. Because the main language is English, we really got to engage with those we met and learn a little bit about the lives they lead and their culture. We had a lovely conversation with two ladies who were indulging us with a pedi that was relaxing and had a great massage at https://massage-by-the-reef-day-spa.business.site/. They don’t manufacture anything in San Pedro. Tourism is their main business, and they do it with the gold standard of service. When you are on the island of San Pedro, you will see pockets of run down shops and dilapidated neighborhoods. You might expect that these conditions would harden the Belizeans, but every person we encountered was so kind. Because they impressed me so much as a people, I really wanted to take the time to write reviews of the establishments they represented and truly highlight how Belizeans are. They showed me the type of human beings we should all aspire to be. My mother used to say, “You get more with honey than you do with vinegar.” I believe in karma. You get what you give, and I want to give back to the Belizeans by introducing their beautiful country and the places we visited and were treated so well. With everything described above and that sparkling attitude, Belize is a true gem of Central America.

Check on fulfilling one of my goals on my vision board.

Belize, thank you for a memorable experience. Here is some well-deserved honey for you!

Please share your comments!

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Reflecting Forward – Channeling My Mother For A Gala

When my siblings and I were young, my mother didn’t buy us Halloween costumes. Instead, she would piece things together from things we had around the house. For example, my mother dressed my sisters and I up as gypsies by wrapping a scarf around our heads and scouring through her costume jewelry drawers looking for some gold chains and hoop earrings to create the look. Then she would do bold makeup to pull it all together. She would smear the lipstick on our cheeks to make them rosy.

Last night, my company, Long and Foster, had a gala themed “The Roaring 20’s! Instead of buying a flapper dress or a whole costume, I channeled my mother and thought about things I already had in my home. I had recently bought this green dress for a prior special occasion. I too scoured through my costume jewelry trying to see what I had. I remembered that my mother had given me a teal ribbon necklace with green, black, and iridescent beads. That necklace was just the right length to wrap it around my head so that the beads were perfectly dangling. I had a black beaded flower brooch I had bought many years ago, which I used to fasten the ribbon together. Then I started researching how to do my hair. I watched a few hair tutorials on finger waves because that was popular in the 1920’s. I tried to make finger waves on my own wet hair and set with bobby pins, but it was much harder than I thought. After attempting finger waves and pinning up my hair, I decided my combed out natural curls were close enough to the look.

Then, I did bold makeup with green eyeshadow paired with dark shadow and dark blue eye liner to create a smokey eye. I used a dark pink lip liner I had found cleaning out my mother’s makeup desk. I mixed dark pink and red hues of lipstick to finish the look. I remembered I had some black lace gloves from another Halloween costume in a drawer, and when I went to go find them, I found a purple flower and feather hair clip I had bought for a belly dance performance. I realized this was even better to complement the “headband” and a great contrasting color to the teal ribbon! I threw on a pair of black heels, and ta-da! I was in the 1920’s!

My mother made many of her everyday clothes and dresses and my father’s suits and ties. She had an amazing sense of style. My mother gave me my love of fashion, makeup, and creativity. My creativity brings the writer out of me, makes me strategic in business analysis, and allows me to position and stage homes well as a Realtor.

As I looked in the mirror and saw my reflection, I thought of a picture of my mother dressed up as a gypsy for Halloween. I felt her coming through me as I mingled, ate, took photos, and danced last night. I love you Mom!

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Everything Happens For A Reason: Connection Goes Farther Than You Know

I often say, “Everything happens for a reason.” Many times I believe it. Many times, I also question what we are doing here. I mean hey, I’m an analyst, and I’m human.

Every so often, something will happen that reinvigorates my belief in the former, like a week ago when I made a wrong turn and ended up seeing this amazing view! Was it really a wrong turn?

Last Friday, I reached out to a neighbor while I was driving to the unemployment office. The reason why I was driving there is because I have repeatedly tried to reach out to the contact number with no success. I wanted to talk to someone as to why my unemployment had stopped in February. The phone number I call will prompt a message that says, “Due to the high volume of callers you should try your call later.” Then the line disconnects. When I reached the office, I was still talking to my neighbor and tried to end the conversation, but the both of us kept going anyway, so I sat in the parking lot until we got off the phone. Then I walked up to the front of the office where a blond haired lady with her hair pulled up in a bun wearing a mask was walking down the steps and turned suddenly towards me as I was approaching and asked, “Are you looking for unemployment?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“They won’t let anyone in, but they told me that you can call on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday between 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at this number. Yes, I know it is after their office hours.” She looked to her left where she was signaling her driver that she was coming.

I didn’t want to keep her, but I also didn’t want to lose the connection we had. I asked, “Can we exchange phone numbers?”

“Yes.” Then she gave me her number.

I texted her and she told me she had multiple points of contact to reach out to.

In the meantime, I had had a busy day with real estate, and I received a call from a real estate agent who told me that her clients accepted the offer on a listing I had. I was surprised because they had tried to counter a couple of times and my client stood firm to his original counteroffer, so I thought they were going to walk away. What was even more pleasant, is the agent who was representing them was very cordial, which was a different attitude than I had received on all of my previous sale or purchase transactions. We got to talking about this topic and shared a couple of war stories. It was nice to have the opportunity to work with her, and I told her we should meet up when we can.

In the meantime, I had missed a call. I called the number back thinking it was one my real estate contacts and the person said, “Hey!” as if I should know who it was.

“I’m sorry, I was just returning this call. Who is this?”

“It’s Cassandra.” It was the lady from the unemployment office.

Oh, I’m sorry! I thought you were a real estate contact.” She and I got to talking and connected very effortlessly She said, “I don’t know if you noticed that I stopped in my tracks and did an about face to talk to you. I wasn’t going to say anything because I figured it was none of my business why you were coming to the building, but my grandmother from Heaven told me I better talk to you!”

I smiled. We talked about our current situations, and about the presence of angels all around us. She said, “Always keep your head up. You may miss an angel walking by.”

I smiled and thought the quote was so beautiful.

“We are going to get through this together,” she said. An unexpected connection was formed.

Later that evening I was out with a friend for dinner. I paused for a second to get in line to order and another lady passed me and got to the head of the line first. I was slightly bothered that she got in front of me. After she ordered, she looked at me and said, “I hope I didn’t cut the line.”

“You’re fine,” I replied.

While we were waiting for our food, we chatted about how she had never been to Shirlington, even though she had lived in the area for years. I thought that she had meant that she lived in the Shirlington area, but I found out she lives about 20 or so minutes away. She picked up her food, and I said to her, “it was nice talking with you, and here is my card. I am a realtor.”

She looked at me surprised and said, “I was just thinking about moving. I will definitely reach out to you.” I smiled under my mask.

The next day, I saw an article headline on my phone feed that caught my attention. I opened Christmas list tied to a balloon and read it. It is totally worth reading, by the way and there is definitely a “connection”! It warmed my soul, especially the part that said the balloon had traveled over 600 miles! I was reminded of the note I wrote to my mother and tied to some balloons to release with my family’s balloons on the one year anniversary of her death. I then realized that if that balloon could travel over 600 miles, then it could definitely reach my mother in Heaven. I look forward to the day my Mother Angel greets me with open arms in a vibrant garden, balloons in hand.

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Everything Valentine’s Day: The Best Ideas for Kids, Couples, and Singles

It’s Valentine’s Day, a day you either love or would rather skip. But Valentine’s Day isn’t just for couples. Here are some great ideas just for any kind of love sake.

LOVE OF ENTERTAINMENT

Check out these online Valentine events happening this weekend. There is something for everyone!

For music lovers, here is a fun idea. Take turns playing songs each of you love and dance or sing along. To make it more fun, write down different genres of music (80’s, Rock, R&B, Top 40, etc.) and mix them in a bowl to draw from. Then play a tune that comes to mind.

Watch romantic movies on The Hallmark Channel.

Get some fresh air and go on a hike in a local park.

If you love Outlander, watch the Trailer for Men in Kilts. It premieres Sunday, February, 14, 2021.

LOVE OF FOOD

How about starting your morning with some coffee and this decadent breakfast/brunch? Here’s a recipe for Strawberry Nutella Cream Cheese Croissant French Toast.

What about wine and cheese. Not sure which pairs best together? See this wine and cheese pairing diagram.

Make an Italian meal with this heart-shaped pasta.

Support your local businesses and order dinner for delivery!

How about some red velvet cupcakes you can make with kids! Or what about this Classic Fantasy Fudge.

Order some donuts, pastries, or another sweet treat from a local business.

Who doesn’t love Oreos, especially when they are chocolate covered Oreos.

LOVE OF PAMPERING

Do a DIY face mask with ingredients you likely have in your house. Grab your favorite glass of wine and relax.

I’m sure your feet could use some love. My mother taught me to lather vaseline all over my feet and put socks on. By morning your feet will be much softer.

LOVE OF GIVING

Why not donate your love to a child with cancer or a chronic illness? The Valentine Project does just that.

How about donating life to someone in need. Donate at The Red Cross.

Lastly, if you are single lady and feeling loveless, then you should read the poem Ode To Single Women.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Your Personal Email: An Unexpected Walk Down Memory Lane

You’re bored and you can’t go anywhere because of the Pandemic, or the weather, or both. You’re tired of watching tv, doing puzzles, zooming, or whatever. Here’s an unobvious, but surprisingly intriguing way to keep you occupied. I came about it unexpectedly.

I found out that I had two subscriptions to Microsoft because I now had it through my work (I’m a Realtor). I called them to cancel one of the accounts. I had no idea that in doing so, that that would limit the free storage I had in my hotmail account. Yes, I still have a hotmail account! It has been my main email since the beginning of my foray into the email abyss. While most had changed over to gmail, I was lazy and kept mine. And it’s like my phone number. I don’t want to give it up!

I thought for sure that Microsoft broke it when they canceled my subscription. I was wrong. I found out via the customer service rep that I had to pay to get extra storage. I was irritated. I’ve had the account for free for over 20 years! Or at least I thought I had had it for free. Technically, I was paying for it when I signed up for a Microsoft subscription a few years ago. Well, I found out that I had over 20 GB of email with only an allowance of 15 GB for free, and therefore no email could come in or go out until I either bought more storage or started deleting. I decided to try to delete.

This is the part where you know you are addicted to electronics because it felt like someone had pulled out an I.V.! I needed to take immediate action because this account has my life on it. It’s the account I use for applying to jobs, communicating with family and friends, receiving bank statements, etc. I was irritated because I had about 68,000 emails on this account! If you think getting it down under the threshold would be simple, think again. So I began opening up Pandora’s Box. I sorted by size to see who were the big culprits. When you have that many emails, there are a lot of big and little ones. You would be surprised about how many documents you have on email! I’m talking about resumes, refinance documents, background checks, bank forms, airline tickets, and on and on. I saw emails exchanged with people I literally have no recollection of. Cue my nephew Rajay reminding me to take Prevagen!

I began to come across so many different aspects of my life I forgotten even existed! At first it was a tedious process, but the more time I spent, the more I was sucked into what I came across. Here is what I found.

  • Evites of parties I had attended and parties I threw. Weddings, baby showers, meetups, dinners, and other social gatherings.
  • Many forwards my family and friend’s had sent over the years. I probably hadn’t read or watched most originally, and found some very interesting art, dancing, singing, presentations, and articles. I enriched my life and learned some things.
  • Photos and videos exchanged over all of these years. I got to see how much I and friends and family had changed. I also got to see how much my nieces and nephews had grown!
  • All of the SPAM I get. It was satisfying to sort by From and delete 100s of those! I also learned how to get to the place that shows you all of your subscriptions. Yikes! It was therapeutic to clear these out.
  • Automatic emails from so many different companies I had applied to for a job. My credentials are as prolific as SPAM!
  • All of the Amazon purchased I’ve made and some great finds like this pillow.
  • Disagreements I had with people in the past.
  • Emails from family members cheering me on or showing their pride for my accomplishments.
  • Tons of emails from close relationships with people that had now faded making me think about them.
  • Advice like the 90/10 rule that was invaluable! I actually reached out to the former coworker who sent this to me!

If you are looking for a walk down memory lane that doesn’t just involve photos, I would recommend this. It’s like an attic full of hidden treasures! You may reconnect with someone unexpected!

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What is in your Pandemic Passion? What is your Pandemic Pursuit?

Boredom, stress relief, sadness, and necessity have pushed us in new directions. From sourdough bread baking, to gardening, to starting a small business, many stepped out of their routines and comfort zones and tried something new. Some good things came out of 2020 We still have many months to go in Pandemania, so let’s share our experimental endeavours.

Here are a few of mine:

  1. I sewed 2 face masks out of a pillow case.
  2. I grew a beefsteak tomato plant and cloned it so that my friends and I could grow more. I loved watching it grow and learning how to care for it. I made fried green tomatoes!
  3. I cut my own hair short.
  4. I explored, researched, and watched tutorials of various ideas online.
  5. I made a couple of TikToks.

What new thing did you try in 2020 as a result of the pandemic that you enjoyed or bettered yourself? What would you like to try in 2021? Go!

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The 2021 Contagion

As 2020 exits and 2021 arrives, let’s ensure these become more contagious than COVID.

  1. Physical Health – Be more mindful of what you eat, sleep enough and find fun and safe ways to move your body. And of course, wear a mask!
  2. Mental health – Plan for the future, but remember to live in the present. Reset everyday.
  3. Connection – Remember to reach out to others. They may need your support.
  4. Happiness – Do what makes you happy. There are always new things to explore.
  5. Empathy – Find ways to better someone’s life.
  6. Skill Development – It never hurts to grow yourself.
  7. Goal Creation – Make a list. You’re more likely to work towards goals if they are in front of you.
  8. Self-love – Everything else is so much harder if you don’t learn how to do this.
  9. Conservation – Be mindful of the impact you have on the planet.
  10. Perspective – Your worst problem might be someone’s wish.
  11. Faith – Hold onto it no matter what.
  12. Possibilities – Believe there is a way. New doors open all of the time.

Wishing you a Healthy, Safe, and Happy New Year!