Sunday Inspiration: Learn From Your Mistakes

A Spirit of Gratitude: September 27

I Am Thankful For:

Playing catch with the dog

Leftovers

Orders after orders after orders!

Pumpkin bread

Washing shirts for the Man of the House
Emails from my dad
Lunch and grocery shopping with the Man of the House - on a weekday
The Browns finally win
An email from my Dad
An afternoon at the guitar  show with the Male Offspring
Sushi dinner
Carolina Panthers beat the Bengals
The Male Offspring made dinner

But I'm Not Beyonce

About a year or so ago, this little phrase seemed to be popping up all over my social media feeds... 

I've also seen the same statement using Einstein as the example, along with others.

And essentially - this is truth.  We all have the same 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks and 12 months a year for as long as we are here on earth. 

But... here's the thing: 

I could be waaaaay off, but I feel that I can say with a certain degree of certainty that Beyoncé and I have very different to-do lists in front of us on any given day.  

For example:  She probably did not sweep up dog hair for the billionth day in a row. Or spend probably amounts to far too much time attempting to create a weekly menu of nutritious meals which are also delicious.  And create a grocery list of the needed items for that menu.  She most likely work for a half hour creating a new listing for her Etsy shop, only to have the entire page go blank and lose all her work, forcing her to start over.  (Nope, I am pretty sure that last one is just me)  

While I, as a general rule, do not have an afternoon scheduled in the recording studio.  Or sitting for hours while someone does my hair and makeup for a photo shoot.  Or choreography for my next video.  I also don't have to juggle all this with raising a 6 year old and one year old twins. (Thank goodness!)

All this isn't to say that what I do is any more or less valuable than anything Beyoncé does, or doesn't do.  Just that we are different people who live different types of lives. 

And that's OK.  I don't have to compare myself with Beyoncé, or Einstein, or any one else.  I only have to be the best me I am capable of being.  To work with what I have and live the best life for me.  Not someone else's life.   To do the best I can with the time I am given.

God made each and every one of us unique.  We all have our own personal set of talents.  Our own life dreams and obligations.  And that is so much more than ok.  It is the very thing that makes this world interesting.

Sunday Inspiration: Autumn

Since we welcomed Autumn yesterday, this seemed especially appropriate:

A Spirit of Gratitude: September 20

Father God, you have been so incredibly generous to me, especially in the past couple of weeks.  I am awestruck by all the blessings you have heaped into my life.  I know I don't deserve them; but I am thankful for them nonetheless.  Amen.

I Am Thankful For:

Sunrise at the beach

Tacos

When the hotel as a decent breakfast - and it's free

Sleeping in the car

Ordering takeout

Getting yarn on sale when I thought it was full price

5 birds sitting on the porch - apparently waiting for the feeder to be filled

Being prepared 

My first pumpkin spice latte of the season

Sunshine before the storm

Coffee and a donut

Autumn decorations

Phone conversations with the grand kid

Football Sunday

White chicken chili

We were spared the worst of the storm

Sunday Inspiration: Love the Trees

A Spirit of Gratitude: September 13

I Am Thankful For:

Lazy Sunday on a Monday

Cornbread

Ordering new shoes

3 Etsy orders in 3 days

The Man of the House getting home sooner than expected

Curly hair happiness

Trips to the library

Lunch with Dad

Laughing until I cry

Late night road trips

Fried green tomato BLT

Exploring Charleston solo

People watching

Sunday Inspiration: Bless this Mess

A Spirit of Gratitude: September 6

I Am Thankful For:
An entire flock of goldfinches at the feeder
Getting lost in my own thoughts
Time to work on shop listings
Bacon
Spotting a hawk in the back yard
A gold finch serenading me while I work
Leftovers for breakfast
A new hair dryer
A night out with the Man of the House
Apple Festival fun
Three day weekends

Currently... September 2018

Happy Labor Day everyone!  Welcome to September!  September... you know what that means?  The rest of the year is going to fly by.  If we so much as blink it's going to be Christmas and we'll all be talking about how quickly this year went.  It also means the official beginning of the great "how bad will this winter be" debate, complete with analysis of acorns, squirrel tails and wooly worms.  Or maybe that's just the part of the country where I live.  

In any case, it is September.  So let's talk about what we're up to right now.

Reading:  I finished Life After Life by Kate Atkinson just as August ended.  It was an interesting read even if you don't believe in reincarnation. Now I'm on to Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleve.  I was on the wait list for-ev-er for this book, so I really hope it's worth the wait.

Enjoying:  Some cooler days and nights.  We're still experiencing the hot, humid days of summer.  However, we are thankfully getting very brief periods of respite from the heat in the form of some upper 70 degrees days and nights where temperatures fall into the 60s - and even a few upper 50s.  Perfect sleeping weather.

Working On:   I had several bags of Bob's Red Mill oats which were close to their "Best By" date.  Not wanting to toss it all out meant it was time to make energy bites!  I've made several batches so far, including:  oatmeal chocolate chip, Mexican coffee (which, in my humble opinion, could have used a little less cinnamon and a little more coffee), and oatmeal raisin.  

Anticipating:  The Man of the House has to go to Charleston for work this month.  When he asked if I wanted to tag along - I couldn't say no!  Because... Charleston! It's one of my favorite places.

I'm also looking forward to the start of the NFL regular season this week.  And of course, the beginning of Autumn this month.

Wanting:  The temperatures to cool off enough that I can start wearing sweaters and boots again!

Needing:  More ideas for Christmas/holiday items to make for my Etsy shop. I've been working on some hats, but I want to start working on some decorations to add to the listings this month.

Feeling:  Energized.  There's something about this time of year that always refreshes me.

That's me in a nutshell right now.  What are you up to for September?

Sunday Inspiration: Hello September