Snow, Snow, Snow

It is snowing here, in Eastern NC.  For many of you reading this snow is no big deal, however, here in Eastern NC, it is a very big deal.  When we get snow, it shuts us down.  Schools close, roads and bridges close, businesses close and we come to a screeching halt!  

This kind of weather makes me think about so many things:

1.  How thankful I am to have a warm home

2.  How much I miss having my children home to play outside and come in to warm by the fire and drink hot chocolate when they were ready for a break.

3.  How magical a world can look dressed in white.

4.  How each snowflake is only one but as a group it can create quite the scene (hmmm, a lesson in there somewhere)

5.  How sometimes I just need to stop.....stop and be thankful for what I have.  Stop and be in the moment and not thinking about all I have to do. Stop and appreciate the beauty of this world...whatever the season, whatever the weather.

So, I am signing off now.....to just watch the snow and drink in these moments. 

KeepItSimpleGirl

Quotable Quotes

These are some of my favorite quotable quotes.  

"Little by little a little becomes a lot" 

 ~Tanzanian Proverb~

"Put your big girl panties on and deal with it." 

 ~Roz Van Meter~

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending"

~Maria Robinson~

It is what it is.  

~Anonymous~

Don't believe everything you think.  

~Anonymous~

“Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of change.” 

~Tony Robbins~

Don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle. 

~Anonymous~

"The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does." 

~Psalm 145:13~

"Say what you mean and mean what you say." 

~Dr. Seuss~ 

"Do what you know.  You have the knowledge to make the changes you need to live life better by doing what you know." 

 ~Peggy W. Barnes (yep, me)~

Negative Nellies

Today, as I sit in my warm home, looking at the winter weather accumulate outside my windows, I am looking at Facebook posts.  Many of the posts are centered around the weather.  Alabama friends are dealing with an unexpected snow and there are children that cannot get home to their parents, teachers that are stuck all night in the schools with said children and motorists stranded on the road, leaving cars and walking to get home. Here, in Eastern North Carolina, we were told, about this time yesterday, that we could possibly see 12 inches of snow by this afternoon, however, the winter weather, I see, looks very much like ice and sleet with no sign of snow.  

The Facebook posts from Alabama are ones of desperation and frustration since the weather forecasters apparently missed the forecast by calling for a dusting and they received much more than that.  The Alabama people are mad at the weather forecasters for missing the forecast and mad at the school systems for not dismissing earlier. 

The Facebook posts from North Carolina are ones of frustration and irritation since the weather forecasters apparently missed the forecast by calling for 12 inches and no precipitation falling until around 2:00 p.m.  People are therefore frustrated with the school system for calling school off yesterday, for today, based on the forecast and irritated with the weather forecasters for getting it all wrong.  The other Facebook posts are making fun of all of those that have gone to the grocery store and gotten bread, milk and eggs in preparation of being stranded inside, for several days, possibly without power.  

I have only seen one post about the homeless dealing with this incredibly cold weather and that person seemed to be apologizing for spoiling everyone's excitement about the snow.  

All of this to say, I don't understand the negative comments about any of it. 

1.  Weather is unpredictable.
2.  Forecasters are human.
3.  School officials can only go on the best information they are given.
4.  People that aren't used to this weather just want to be prepared....I, for one, do not want to be stuck in my house, for days without food and no I am not used to driving on ice or in snow. 
5.  Negative comments and thoughts just don't change a thing
6.  I would rather people err on the side of caution and safety than not (right Alabama??)
7.  Life just takes unexpected turns and no amount of griping, complaining or wishing it were different is going to change that.  
8.  A little perspective makes a big difference - have you ever had to find a warm place to sleep or food to eat?

So, maybe, I am being a Negative Nellie being frustrated by the Negative Nellies.  I don't mean to be so I am going to sit by my fire, thank God I have food on the table, a roof over my head, and a warm place to be and let the Negative Nellies complain and gripe on! 

P.S. No disrespect to those named Nellie, it just rolled off my tongue with the word negative!

Love/Hate

                                                          Love / Hate designed by Valéry


I have a love/hate relationship with so many things.

1.   I love to eat.....not always really healthy stuff.  I hate the pounds and inches it adds to my       body!
2.   I love to visit family.  I hate the travel it requires for me to get there.
3.   I love to play internet games - yes I am guilty of indulging in Candy Crush and Scrabble!  I hate when I allow them to be time suckers
4.   I love to read.  I hate I cannot stay awake long enough to finish reading.
5.   I love my "smart phone".  I hate the way it can keep me too connected.
6.   I love looking at the deer in my backyard.  I hate they use my bushes and plants as their     personal food buffet.
7.   I love my persistence.  I hate my persistence when it won't quit persisting. 
8.   I love my house.  I hate the upkeep.
9.   I love saying hello.  I hate the fact I have to say goodbye. 
10. I love writing.  I hate when the only thing I can think to write is what I love and hate.   

One Size Fits All?

I know you have seen them.  The shirts, the underwear, and the gloves that state......one size fits all.  This statement is so ludicrous to me.  When I look around the world, I see a lot of shapes, sizes, heights and looks and I cannot imagine the same underwear fitting my bottom as they do other bottoms!  Now, let's just say for a moment that technically they fit.  That is a totally different story about whether I should be wearing them or not!  

Sadly, many of us have bought into the same mentality about a lot of things.  We think others should act like us, think like us, like the same foods, have the same desires, the same interests, and the same attitudes.  I see this all too often in my organizing and life coach business.  Someone says, "but so and so got herself so organized, what is wrong with me?" or " so and so moved on so quickly, why can't I?"  I ran into this the other day when someone looked at me and said "you don't like pancakes?  Who doesn't like pancakes?"  Believe me, I love a lot of foods I shouldn't, but pancakes are not on the list. 

We all have different life experiences, different backgrounds, different lenses from which we look at things, different tastes, different approaches, different personalities,  different values and of course, let's not forget, different shapes.  Life is not a one size fits all and we are not either!  Let's don't forget to look at our life like we do our shape when picking out clothes.  One size does not really fit all and even if it did, it doesn't mean we should put it on.  

Freedom is found in being the best version of you......not the you trying to fit into someone else's life.....it is just not attractive or true when we are trying to be someone or something we are not!

One size does not fit all and God bless those that think it does......not a good look :)

Buying Peace

                                                    (photo from knowing-jesus.com)


I was thinking about many of my de-clutter and life coach clients and taking a hard look at my own life. Many of us, me included, have tried to buy our peace through different things, either through a purchase or alcohol or a drug or a person or a lifestyle.  We have mistakenly thought, when I get this, do this, have this or am at this stage of my life, I will have peace.  

Unfortunately, we end up accumulating too much, being with the wrong person, missing out on the gift of today or dealing with addictions because of that wrong kind of thinking.  

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” – unknown - 

Life will constantly give us opportunities that require us to choose peace in the midst of pain, turmoil or the everydayness of life.  The bottom line, you can't buy peace.  You have to tap into the only true peace through God, the One that gives peace "that passes all understanding".