Simply Carolina Dreamz » Inspiration

Laughing at my Bucket List

July 2010 and today are so drastically different. I can’t say I can come up with 100 things like that again and it was fun and sad to read. Most of my friends I planned to do things with I don’t even speak to anymore. #42 hits too personal to me. I chatted on FB with him, recently. He’s happily married and I doubt he’d ever take me to fulfill his promise. I was just over pleased he spoke to me and doesn’t hate me anymore. I hurt him tremendously as a very young girl. I’m sorry for all the pain I caused him and I hope he knows it. You never forget your first love.. Ron, you still amaze me. Strong and True. and that’s … Read entire article »

Filed under: family and friends, Feeding the Needz, Inspiration, Stand For Something

What if the World Currency Changed or Collapsed? Tomorrow.

Image via Wikipedia The American Dollar is in more than poor shape. IT IS currently considered the world currency.  There are populations of people who do not believe that the American Dollar can ever collapse.  At the same time, the United State’s current answer to debt is to print more money.  Worthless money. I don’t endorse the products that spawn this video, but I encourage you to take the time to watch and learn some things you may not have known.  Don’t keep your head in the sand.  This is a serious problem. You may have your food storage.  You may have emergency supplies. I need more trash bags, medical supplies, candles, and lamp oil.  What do you need?  What if you woke up, tomorrow, and your dollar was as good as Iraqi … Read entire article »

Filed under: Inspiration, Personal Protection, politics and religion, Stand For Something

Blog Education Learning Overload – Ebooks I need to read (and so do you)

There are some fantastic bloggers out there that can teach you so much about “blogging better” for SEO traffic. Many are really good at interlinking their own materials and setting a standard that all bloggers should follow. Even the big foot steps can be walked in to learn styles and improve your own posts and writing.  I’m interstested in reading the all, as you should, too. I wanted to bring three ebooks to your attention: The first one is Kelby Carr’s Mom Blog SEO: Mom Blog SEO includes: How to find the best keyword phrases to drive the right readers for your blog Tactics that take a couple minutes before each post and can dramatically increase your traffic How to target the right readers and stop attracting the wrong ones How to boost your … Read entire article »

Filed under: Creative Chaos, family and friends, Feeding the Needz, Inspiration, Linky Love

Best Blog Background Sound I’ve ever heard

I’m very anti blog background sound. I, usually, surf, with my sound muted. I love music. I just don’t love being scared silly, surprised, or even offended by someone elses different choices.. so I choose to avoid it. I had one blog that friends had loved the piano self-started background sound.. but that was an exception to my rule of background sound. Now, today, I happened on a site, browsing for digital scrapbook paper, and I started to hear birds.. and it started so subtly, that I thought they were outside my window, and not on my speakers! Here, you listen. Doesn’t it make you feel a little warmer?  I think I’m already ready for Spring. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Creative Chaos, Everyday Nothing, Featured, Inspiration, Unexpectations

Another year is flying past us..

Tomorrow starts December.  When did the whole year just go away? So much has gone on in this last year.  My head spins just thinking about it. I think the whirlwind started, for me, about 18 months ago, when my father passed away.  Nothing has been really “right” since then.  Its not that I had this great relationship with him or was very close to him.. its just that he’s gone and there is no chance, anymore, for any of that. I got back in touch with some of my cousins and some of my mother’s cousins.  Erin just had a sweet little baby girl.  That changes you and she’s all grown up and married now.  (I’m old.) I added Tracy and Brandi to my Facebook.  I look forward to more communication from them.  … Read entire article »

Filed under: Creative Chaos, Feeding the Needz, Inspiration

30 Days of Truth.. Day 17 → A book you’ve read that changed your views on something.

I read a lot of books.. but hands down this would have to be Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Sarah has taught me how to care about me, again. She has given me hope that I’m okay and that its okay to take time for myself, too. The book teaches you how to have a toy box, a discovery journal, a comfort drawer full of wrapped gifts to yourself, for those days that don’t end. A Pamper drawer. It makes me look at jewel toned tissue paper, when I’m in the store. Silly, I know. But that’s what I love about this book. Its serious and yet fun. I gift it regularly. I, especially love the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, that is designed to … Read entire article »

Filed under: 30 Days of Truth, Book Love, Inspiration

30 Days of Truth.. Day 15 → Something or someone you couldn’t live without, because you’ve tried living without it.

Can I say God? I have this love/hate relationship with organized religion.  I have a very low tolerance for hypocritical people.  I don’t want to be around people who ever act like they are better than I am. I don’t want to leave church, in tears, for the rest of my Sunday. That doesn’t seem very spiritual, to me, and its certainly not savoring any type of Sabbath. With that said, I do believe in God. I could never go live in an Ashram, like Elizabeth Gilbert, in Eat, Pray, Love, mostly because I’m too disabled to spend so much time on the floor, on my knees, or in solitude.  I find it hard to meditate, too.  My mind wanders and then I feel guilty. Religion is full of feeling guilty and that disturbs me. I … Read entire article »

Filed under: 30 Days of Truth, Inspiration

30 Days of Truth.. Day 13 → A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough a** days. (write a letter.)

This challenge is very difficult for me because I believe Music is Life. Every room in a home deserves a different genre.. just as every mood does. There isn’t much, in the music industry that I don’t appreciate on some level. I could write Colin Raye about “Love Me” getting me through my grandmother’s death and all the major changes in my life, that had to happen, in 1991. I could write to Alabama about how several of there songs built me into who I am today, but I think that would freak my heart out, too much. I could write to Reba McEntire, because my world has evolved through some of her songs. I could write to Tanya Tucker about “Strong Enough to Bend.” Or to Steve Wariner about “The Weekend.” but … Read entire article »

Filed under: 30 Days of Truth, Inspiration

Coming home from North Carolina, I saw “Ikea Blvd” and it was all over

Ikea.  I know I have a picture in my phone.  I so heart Ikea.  I had a mission. I needed a cutting board and I did want to see all the cutting boards that they had.. which took some juggling.  They are in two different departments. I found my treasured wooden cutting board, to go with my “almost killed us” Kohl’s knifes. I even found the oil to maintain it.  And a sharpening ceramic thingamagic. We also found a cheap pan for crepes, like Alton Brown described, and some tiny clear dishes for herbs in upcoming recipe photos, when I can cook again. Good stuff.  Its probably a good thing that Ikea is in North Carolina and that there are no bags so you must carry your items out, yourself.. because this is shopping … Read entire article »

Filed under: Creative Domestication, Feeding the Needz, Foodie Frenzy, Inspiration, Kitchen Miracles

#ConvergeSouth Keynote @BrentDPayne

I could watch this about four more times and still learn something from it. Its that good.  Some stuff I knew. .. most I didn’t and its good SEO traning.. enjoy … Read entire article »

Filed under: Creative Chaos, Feeding the Needz, Inspiration, Unexpectations

Brain Overload

I can’t imagine why my brain is on overload. I have one camp and two conferences swimming up in there, that need to be blogged about. I’m a full-time student. I’ve met some fantastic people, in the last few weeks. Have you ever been in a meeting and felt you knew a total stranger, before?  I was in a panel discussion sesssion, at #convergesouth, in greensboro and I just felt I knew this guy on the panel.  I don’t know why I felt I knew him.  He mentioned Silicon Valley.  Okay, a Cali guy.  He mentioned he worked at Yahoo. OH MY GAWD.  When the panel ended, I cautiously asked, as I reached out my hand, “Ernie? Y360 Ernie?” What an amazing experience.  My first blogging gigs were at Yahoo 360, until Yahoo “threw us under … Read entire article »

Filed under: Creative Chaos, family and friends, Feeding the Needz, Inspiration, Linky Love

Apparently Kelly Clarkson got together and wrote this song about my life

Have you heard this song?  I’m not going to go into details.  But, this weekend, on my road trip home from conference number 2, I replayed it over-and-over until I knew where it worked in my life.  I was 12 when I could have written this song.  I found a duet with Reba.  What could make it better?  Enjoy :) Learn something, very personal, about me.  Most of this doesn’t apply to my everyday since I turned 30.  And now that I’m over 40, watch out. :)  I’ve learned a lot about me.  You’ve learned a lot about me.  It doesn’t all apply.  But, it shows you how far I’ve come along.. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Inspiration, Unexpectations

I’m always gonna wanna make it move..

When one loses a parent, life seems to go into an unrecognizable mode, for a while.  Some days you don’t know if you’ll ever feel 1/2 normal again.  It has taken me just over a year to be able to function, at full capacity, again. Amazingly, in that year, I’m not sure how I accomplished anything.  I did do the best thing I could do, for myself.  I went back to the pyschiatrist.  It was my chance to just focus on me and work on climbing back into the world I once could run through. I will always be saddened, that my dad chose to hide his illness from me.  I will always feel that I lost my chance to really show him that I could be a successful daughter.  All I … Read entire article »

Filed under: Forever and One More Day, Inspiration, Unexpectations

Ephemeral Pursuitz #51 Make HomeMade Play Dough

Just in time to start working on my 101 in 1001 Dayz posts, again! via skiptomylou.org Thanks for sharing, in the craft camp, Jill. Hat Tip to Maria, at Meckmom.com … Read entire article »

Filed under: Ephemeral Pursuitz, Inspiration, Linky Love

Elizabeth Gilbert got me with “Peculiar” :)

I love this video. I find it weekly inspiration. Seriously. Just show up! Ole! I finished Eat, Pray, Love, for the second time. I purchased Committed. I’m ready. … Read entire article »

Filed under: Creative Chaos, Inspiration

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