Author: Barb

  • My Happy Place

    My Happy Place

    There’s a place 15 minutes away, drive time, that feeds my soul. You need places like this in your life, and if you don’t have one, I encourage you to find it. The sun was shining, but the air felt cool. It was day three of wearing the same jeans, but that’s the day you…

  • The First Hour

    The First Hour

    The dogs know when they see me flip over the sand timer, I’m going to tap the keys for 30 minutes. That’s how long the sand will run, and about as long as I’m good sitting in one spot. I remember when I first started Blogging, I could sit here for hours, and the posts…

  • The Throw Away

    The Throw Away

    I don’t really know how old he is. I asked him once, “When is your birthday?”, and he looked at me and said, “Now Barbara…that’s just rude!” I wasn’t asking to figure out his age. Just thought it would be kind to drop him a birthday card in his mailbox. This man is my neighbor…

  • Stay True to You

    Stay True to You

    Over the weekend I was sitting on my bed recording a Marco Polo for my friend, and showing her some things I’d done to my room to make it more Haven-like. She Marco Polo’s me back saying she loved the flowers on the bedside table, and noticed I’ve had fresh flowers in my room for…

  • A Blanket of Calm

    A Blanket of Calm

    It’s cold in Texas. My laptop says it’s 27 degrees outdoors, and to some states, that isn’t cold, but for Texas it’s cold. The title of this post came to mind earlier this week, but I don’t know what to write. I live my life wrapped in a blanket of calm, and have written about…

  • Extraordinary Moments

    Extraordinary Moments

    I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments. They’re right in front of me when I pause and look. I was making a cup of tea for my daughter and me, and this is how I happened to sit the cups on the cutting board. Once the tea was finished steeping, I snapped this pic. This…

  • Beauty and Goodness

    Beauty and Goodness

    You’ve heard the saying, “Buy experiences, not things.” I don’t buy a lot of things, but what I do buy offers an experience. I drove across town for a candle. That’s the way I live my life. I’ve written about this candle a few times and know from past experience how magical they are. It…

  • A Practice in Patience

    A Practice in Patience

    I gave myself a practice in patience. You may be familiar with Bath and Body Works 3-wick candles, and that is what I chose to practice with. It was given to me this month and has a Christmas scent. The other day it was lit, but all three wicks were not much of a flame.…

  • Reclaim the Fire

    Reclaim the Fire

    I snapped at a coworker. That’s not like me because I don’t typically relinquish my calm and lash out. An uncharacteristic move deserves a deeper look. Discontentment has been hanging around for a bit. There’s weariness in staring at a screen. It was manageable with the one job I’ve had for years, but when I…

  • All Is Calm

    All Is Calm

    I walked into my local bakery to take a break. When working from home you need to take breaks outside of the home. It does wonders for your sanity and the people around you will be thankful. While waiting for my drink, I perused the shelves of merchandise. My eyes fell onto this coffee mug…

  • Make Your Bed

    Recently, my daughter has been saying, “I learned it from you!” She’s 21 years old, so the things she has learned make me smile. That’s how it should be. We teach our children by example, not lectures. When they grow into adults, my hope is she has learned what’s needed to help her along her…

  • The Clean Spot

    Recently, my daughter told me something that I could have taken the wrong way. She said something to the affect of, “I’m not sure you taught me good things growing up.” Here is her example. While she was growing up, I didn’t want to get upset over a spill, or if she dropped something on…

  • Watch and Learn

    She said, “Wow! Why do you look so nice?” Me: “It’s camouflage for the way I really feel.” She is used to seeing me in pajama pants until noon because I work from home. She has learned, “Put on an outfit that feels good, and the mood will catch up!” One of the best decisions I…

  • Get Disturbed

    It’s remarkable to look back over your life and see how far you’ve come. My daughter will be 21 in August, but when we started this adventure, she was 13. I didn’t know what our new life looked like, but I did know, there had to better. It was one of those agonizing moments of,…

  • Believe in Yourself

    I strive to be more like my daughter. She’s been telling me, “You’re my hero”, since the age of five. Today, I still want to be that, but I watch her too, and she’s becoming mine. Doing something new, especially learning a new skill, seems scary at first. I believe it’s important for our children,…