Tag: #inspiration

Get to Growing

· 4 Comments ·

This meme resonated with me and has been sitting on my desktop all year.

raining

For months, it feels like there’s been more rain than sunshine in Texas. I’ve written about blooming, but today I’m wondering if that’s the easy part. Like an exhalation.

The part of the bloom worth remembering is everything leading up to it. Wind, rain and cooler temperatures anyone?

We grow through what we go through.

This has helped me see the rainy days in a whole new light. Maybe blooming is the easy part. Growth happens with the rain.

Let it rain and get to growing.

Pause and Breathe

· 19 Comments ·

Chocolate makes everything better.

As I’m standing in line with a bag of chocolate eggs, I saw this magazine. Just seeing it poured a bucket of calm over me, so it was added to my purchase.

magcover

Trusting where you are today matters for who you’ll be tomorrow.

I believe those words. I’ve watched them come to fruition in my life continually and there are people who remind me.

Speaking with a friend yesterday, he reminded me that I’ve been here before, and to look at where I am now. I’m starting a new job. Well, actually it’s an extension of one of my existing jobs, but I’ll be working for one company instead of two.

It’s unsettling with all the technology I’ll be learning, and the added responsibility, but he tells me I say that every time!

As I was eating brunch yesterday, I read this article of things I know, but needed to see.

pageofmag

I hope this displays large enough to be readable and it covers you in comfort. Our days feel uncertain, but we’ve been here before.

Turning the page, I came upon this.

pauseandbreathe
The purpose of this page is to give you permission to pause and to breathe and to be.

Hey there Darling…Pause and breathe.

That Wooden Spoon

· 4 Comments ·

Around the same time I bought the explosion of happiness wreath, I spotted a tool caddy for our kitchen. It’s meant to be used as a small planter, but not here.

toolcaddy

When I take pictures, I email them to myself with notes: That wooden Spoon. I didn’t move it to take this picture. Maybe this is how people began staging their photos? To display how they want it to be, or should be. This picture is not perfect to some, but it’s real.

I sent this picture to my daughter and she loved the caddy. I rearranged the cooking utensils to take another one for this post, but changed my mind. Mainly to get that wooden spoon out of front and center.

It’s not very pretty. It’s been used.

My daughter bought a colorful silicone spatula with a metal handle. It looks good, but can’t scrape the bottom of the pan like this guy does. There hasn’t been a messy pan yet that it couldn’t assist in fixing.

The photo may not be aesthetic, but I snapped it for my daughter, so it’s personal. This caddy holds our ‘ go to’ kitchen utensils, but all I see are moments. We cook our meals together and have incomparable conversation while cooking.

Today, the one that’s earned some time front and center is that wooden spoon.

The Right Time

· 16 Comments ·

To change as gracefully as the seasons.

I had to smile at myself as I was trying to make the bedroom blinds hang level. Gently releasing the left cord and then the right, back and forth until it fell into a level edge. I thought, “Wow Barb. If only you could do that in real life.”

Just by pulling the right cord.

My circumstances are changing, but it’s not happening fast enough for me. The first glimpse was last Christmas and it was like God whispered, “Get ready. It’s coming.”

I know I’m being ridiculous. We don’t end a day in Winter and wake up to an immediate Spring. (We sorta do in Texas, but you catch my drift) It happens gradually my darling. Each day and night becomes a little bit warmer, until we arrive in a new season.

I made this comment to my daughter. “By the end of March my life will look totally different.” It just fell out of my mouth and I don’t know whether to be excited, or scared.

circumstances

 

It’s not my job to hurry change or slow it down, but today I want to. Just like the blinds, I wanted to hold one cord in each hand to feel that sense of control with this change. I wanted to see the sun streaming in instead of looking at the clouds.

I want, I want, I want, is not how it works, thankfully. I’m not in charge and today I can be grateful for that. Have Faith in what you know. The sun is still shining above the clouds. I don’t have to see it to know.

The dominoes are lining up, and a gentle breeze will begin their fall, at the right time.

Every Single Day

· 11 Comments ·

The Waterpik is mocking my new habit.

It’s showing me new habits are work. The jury is still out whether healthy habits are more difficult to stick with than bad habits are to break, but I enjoy the trade.

Replace a bad habit with a good one.

You have to stick with it everyday, no matter how ridiculous it may seem.

I stepped out of the shower and forgot to use the Waterpik. That’s twice this week, which didn’t set well with me. The first time I left it sitting on the counter, but today, I remembered to sit it on the edge of the shower.

Unfortunately, it was behind the curtain, so I forgot it was there. As soon as I pulled the curtain aside, I saw it.

Standing in front of the vanity, all warm and cozy in my robe, I could see how easy it would be to say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” For some reason this year, I’m keenly aware of our numbered tomorrows and try to do what’s in front of me to do, right then.

I disrobed, wrapped a towel around me and stepped back into the shower. By then the water in the Waterpik had become cold, so it felt like shards of ice stabbing my gums, but…I did it!

That helped drive home the habit even more.

waterpik

Here’s what I learned. Next shower, I will use it immediately while the water in the chamber is still warm. It will go all the way in the shower with me, instead of just to the edge. To create a new habit we must go all the way, every single day.

It’s Worth It

· 11 Comments ·

I changed my WordPress theme again.

My neighbor noticed the change and said something about it. I found myself telling him my reason, and before I could justify my actions, he smiled and said, “Barbara. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.” He’s the best neighbor ever.

As much as I loved the previous theme with the corrider of chandeliers, the font was hard to read. I would go in and change the style and size, but once the post published it would revert back to it’s original font.

So, yes, the main reason behind changing my theme was to be kind to my Readers. You are kind enough to follow my Blog, so I will make reading it easy on your eyes and hopefully, soothing for your soul.

chandelier

The Universe rewarded my heart with this chandelier. It’s in a new, local Florist shop that I walked into last week. I revisited them yesterday and asked, “Can I take a picture for my Blog?”

The girl behind the counter went into great detail about the remaking of the chandelier. The owner of the Shoppe, hand strung each crystal. Every last single piece of bling was threaded by hand. This chandelier hangs over the counter. There is another one identical to this one near the entry in the middle of the room.

Everything in this Shoppe is pretty!

Fortunately, it’s not so close by that I can walk over. It’s a drive, but more than worth it. That is where I am with my life my darlings. I want it all to be worth it. Every action, and the amount of time given needs to be worth it. Are you living each day in a way that’s worth it?

This Shoppe has beautiful soap.

I’m used to paying a $5 or $6 for a bar of soap. It’s handmade by a friend of mine in California, and she ships it here. The soap in this Shoppe costs $3.00 more than what my friend sells, so in came the reasoning again. An $8.00 bar of soap….is it worth it?

soap

I believe I knew it before my shower, but after taking my shower this morning my heart sang…..it’s worth it.