a moment to refocusonlife ~~ Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

Thankful for a super sweet daughter even if she is a heifer~~
11/27/2013 Banner Elk

I have to say, I do love Thanksgiving. Among other reasons, I've always loved the excitement of it being the last holiday before Christmas. But I also cherish the time spent with family, the parades, the TV specials, the food, and the whole shebang. 

This year, I feel especially thankful as I mentioned last week. I thought I would use pictures to show some of the things I'm thankful for...so, enjoy and I will be back next week (hopefully not a few pounds heavier due to turkey!)

Thankful for my Fallout Boy~~
Thanksgiving Day, 11/28/2013 Taylorsville, NC 

Thankful for the Turd on the right.

Thankful that I'm not either of these ASSHATS
(Good Grief I was a big 'ole thang!)

Thankful for Broadway! NYC 1/1/2013

Thankful I donated this suit.
 

Thankful for a beautiful family and that I'm
blessed with the best parents a boy could have!

Thankful that saving a little money doesn't motivate me to
miss Thanksgiving with my family. ~~ Best Buy 11/27/2013

a moment to refocusonlife - giving thanks

Happy Friday Friends!

Lots of people on Facebook are posting the things they are thankful for each day of November. It's become an annual tradition. At first, I have to say, it annoyed me. Yep, seeing people give thanks every day for an entire month was driving me nuts. That was last year. 2012. Over the course of my life since that time, I guess I have softened because when I saw it start happening again this year I had about 10 seconds of thought, "oh here we go again", but then I thought, "wait a minute, this might be fun!"

Well, it turns out I was wrong. It annoyed me again. Seeing people be thankful for trivial things annoys me. I can't help it. So…fast forward to today, November 22, 2013. I've been watching this stuff for 22 days now. I have yet to post what I am thankful for but trust me, my list of "thankfuls" is probably too long to be able to list in a single post a day for 30 days.

Never has that been more evident than yesterday. I had the great privilege to be involved in the Burke County iCare tour with several members of the Universal team. It was a truly eye-opening experience for me. The iCare tour gave us the opportunity to see the different resources around the Morganton area that are available to the homeless population. We saw the homeless shelters, the battered women's shelter, the recovery programs, and several other ministries. We saw what a typical day for a homeless person might look like and I'm telling you, it ain't pretty.

Universal's Warehouse Team 11/21/2013

So, with that said, I AM VERY thankful for what I have. I couldn't possibly list everything I AM thankful for, but the most important list would go something like my children, my husband, my family, my friends, my job, my home and the fact that I was in a comfortable place while writing this blog looking out a window at a cold, rainy morning. What would my life be like if I was stuck on that street out there with no where to go during the day?

Did you know that Burke County has no day shelters? The shelters we saw yesterday are open from 4:30 pm until around 8 am each night. While it's nice that the homeless population has a place to sleep, do we not ALL think that they might need a place to stay during the day?

So, my advice to everyone is to take a minute and give thanks (you don't have to post it on Facebook) today. And, after you're done giving thanks, find out what YOU can do to help others. There are so many volunteer positions out there just needing a body to fill them that it's unbelievable. If you're as lucky in life as I am, you'll take a minute to refocusonlife and find a place that your skills can be used.

Last night, I had another great privilege and that was donating my time to ALFA. I'm humbled each time I get the opportunity to help. If you want to be humbled and thankful…take a minute and look around you at the people that aren't as fortunate. It'll surely open your eyes.

With all of that said, remember to take a minute to refocusonlife y'all. It might just open your mind, your soul, and your heart.

Peace.

oh, and PS--if you want to give back in the form of an Angel Tree--ALFA seriously needs your help. Text me, email me or call me and I'll let you know how.

a moment to refocusonlife ~ what's the purpose?

Happy Tuesday my friends! I hope that each and every one of you are having a tremendously wonderful week! It may be your Monday today (yesterday was Veteran's Day) or this may be your Tuesday…either way, try to start the week and the day thinking about your purpose.

a pretty pitcher (meant to do that)

I found a quote that's been attributed to Buddha, "Your purpose in life is to find your purpose, and then give your whole heart and soul to it." Obviously Buddha didn't adhere to the cor

rect carb lifestyle, right? After all, one of his claims to fame (aside from the whole religious thing) is his big ole Buddha Belly! I used to have one of those, in fact, Mark used to tell me, "back away from the trough, Tubbo!"

Tubbo says...

Let's dissect that quote. "Your purpose in life is to find your purpose, and then give your whole heart and soul to it." How many of us can actually say that we've found our true purpose in life? Of that small subset of people that have found their purpose, how many actually give their whole heart and soul to it? I would bet that the percentage is very low, unfortunately.

I can truly say that I haven't found my true purpose, but I think I get closer and closer to it each day. I have discovered many things about myself, most of which happened after I decided to truly embrace who I am. It's often been said, and I believe it to be the absolute truth, that you cannot love someone else until you love yourself. These lines go hand in hand. I don't think you can find your true purpose in life until you learn to love yourself. How many of us actually love ourselves?

I've discovered that one of my purposes is to work with non-profits and organizations that help people. I'm not a people person, so I prefer to work in the background, doing the Information Technology (IT) stuff and helping develop a plan, but in the end, my work does help people. Do I think that my doing IT work is my true purpose? Hellifiknow. But, I try to give my heart and soul to everything I do. One of my purposes in this life, I'm sure of it, is to be a photographer. Lately, I've been missing in action when it comes to photography, but I plan to change that as soon as humanly possible.

What is your purpose? Are you giving your heart and soul to it? Think about it. Remember to refocusonlife for a few minutes because that can actually help you find what's truly in your heart and soul.

Peace out.

a moment to refocusonlife -- Jimmy?

Happy Hump Day once again y'all! It seems I just can't get this blog written each week prior to hump day! But, at least we are on the downswing of the week, right? We are barreling toward the weekend and I, for one, am ready!

20th Reunion. Ugh. 

Speaking of the weekend, last weekend was a travesty for me! Don't get me wrong, the weekend was incredible. I attended my first Bar Mitzvah and had my 20th high school reunion, all on the same day! What do these things have in common? Yep, you guessed it, a Buffet! And not a Jimmy or a Warren one either...a full fledged eat until your guy hurts, beautiful, waller in southern, comfort food buffet. 

Sage Buffet? 

Since I had known both of these Buffet's were coming up, I had made a conscious decision to "throw caution to the wind" and eat some dang food. I looked like a Piece of Work eating my weight at the Buffet. Mark even called me out at the reunion. But, I was Knee Deep in my current plate, so I finished it. When I was done, I may as well have been in Magaritaville because I was drunk on food. Oh, and yes, there were drinks flowing and I distinctly remember someone saying, Why Don't We Get Drunk? Was that you, Mark? 

We didn't, for the record, but come Sunday morning, I was regretting my food and drink choices because the scale called me out in a big way! Is it even possible to gain 4 pounds in one day!?

So, I decided to Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On. Come Monday, things would be different! After a weekend long binge, this week I've been Little Miss Magic! For the week, I'm 505 calories under budget! Hooray me! 

The moral of the story is, we all make mistakes, we all have transgressions, we all act like It's 5 O'clock Somewhere sometimes, but It's My Job (and your job) to not let those blips get the better of us! 

Carry on with your week everyone! Have a wonderful rest of the week, and don't forget to take a moment to refocusonlife!!