Don’t be afraid to reimagine.

Decided to make chili.

The Cassandra way.

Tossed in some of this.

Topped off with a bit of that.

Put in couple cans of whatsthis?

HHmm….

It turned out…

Aite.

Shrug.

Hmm.

Decided not to throw it out.

Let the Cassandra way chili sit, overnight.

Revisited.

Reimagined.

Hmm….

Tossed in some why nots?

Added a bit of hmmms.

Let it all simmer.

Ah.

Aha!

Tonight, I shall have a fantastic bowl of reimagined chili. Yummers.

In times past, I would have dumped it, ate it and not been satisfied, ate it not being satisfied and complaining the whole time, or, ate it and pouted until the next time I made chili and then would not have attempted to change things up.

Change is good. Change is necessary. The trick is to be patient with yourself as you learn to create new things.

Get on in there and start concocting, peeps!

Life and interesting fare await you. Yikes!

lol,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Life is short. Time to get on in it and mess some recipes up. If nothing else, you will give yourself something to laugh at…YOU!…hahahahaha!!

Beat the heat: Don’t let the heat beat you.

It’s hot.

*stamps foot*

IT’S HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!

I HATE being hot. Detest it. Get to pouting, in the midst of it.

I must admit, sadly so, I used to get up all in my feels, when super hot, and refused to keep on stacking the day(s). So much so, I would:

Pout.

Stomp around.

Tell the rest of the day, up to and including a work day, to kick rocks and would fuss and fume amongst a pile of cool comforting eating.

How did this help, you may ask?

It didn’t.

Why did I act a complete fool when super hot?

hhhmm….

NO good reason, to be honest. I just did a lot of all up in my feels feeling and gave myself permission to act ten kinds of fools and feel sorry for myself because God, Life, fam, work, or whatever/whoever was getting on my last nerves were on my last nerves and the heat was just the last straw!…lol.

I have learned, over time, life is just too short to be wasting allowing heat, real or imagined, to keep me from doing all I know and all I can to keep moving forward.

There is something that happens inside when a mama gets lowered into the never regions, of the earth, where you can not follow. It makes one not want to waste too many more seconds acting ten kinds of fool when heat, life, situations, circumstances, were all up in the high 100s.

I must admit, it’s not easy, when life keeps smoking ones hind end. Whew!

During those times, just keep pressing on. The best you know how. Then, leave the results to do whatever the world they do.

Be sure to keep your joy with you. When you find it has been buried under the heat of life, scrounge it out of there, dust it off, and keep going.

This day, hot though it may be, is fantastic. The only day, today, I shall have. Tomorrow, should she graciously come, shall be completely different then today, THIS day.

Besides, there is nothing hotter than your will to succeed! Ha!

chiling in the heat of life with you,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

I now question.

I now question.

Every lie I ever listened to that was fed to me by the world, by others, by the enemy, by me.

Especially, me.

The lie that I would never be all I had hoped to be.

The lie that I could/would never do all God and Life have/had asked of me.

The lie that I was too much.

THAT is true.

I AM too much.

Too much to handle!

Heeeeeeyyyyy!!

I now question, challenge, dispute EVERY naysayer and Cassandra-hater. It’s now a they problem, not a me problem. Without question.

I now question why I ever questioned me.

Without question, I am answering every question posed to me:

By God.

By Life.

By me.

Especially, by and for me.

Questions are important. They lead to so many discoveries. Mostly, about/within ourselves. Seeking leads to finding. Finding leads to more questions, I am finding….lol.

Ah, it feels good, now, to question, my questions.

Can I?

Will I?

Won’t I?

Why did I?

Why didn’t I?

I am enjoying discovering all there is to know about me.

I find me incredibly fascinating.

Don’t you?

Keep questioning.

questioning still,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Day does not care about your feelings.

Day does NOT give two hoots about your feelings.

Yep, day says it is time to get after it.

So, we MUST get after it.

Whether we are:

Tired.

Bored.

Hot.

Broke.

Busted.

Disgusted.

Take your tired, bored, hot, broke, busted and disgusted self and get to conquering your day.

Life is short.

Time to stop wasting time, beloveds, don’tcha think?

Day could give two flying flips about your feels.

Get going.

Whether you feel like it, or not.

Whether you think you will get something out of things, or not.

Whether you believe things will do this, that, or the other thing.

Try.

Get up and try.

Something.

Somehow.

Some kind of way.

Make it work.

You make your foolishness work.

You make your laziness work.

You make your temper tantrums work.

Now, make your try work. Make it dance. Make it do what it does until it does what needs to be done.

Get going.

going with you,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Do NOT waste another moment arguing with yourself about what you do and do not feel like doing. Just do the thing, already! Life is so very short. Take your fear/doubt/anxiety with you as you go. Drop them off somewhere, far, far, away and keep moving towards your future. Whatever your future holds, don’t allow your present to hold a bunch of lazy. Tell lazy to go on ahead and kick rocks. I am kicking with you.

Believe.

Believe.

In:

You.

Your dreams.

Your present.

Your future.

Believe.

That:

You can.

You shall.

You will.

Believe:

In spite of.

Because of.

Believe in you.

Why?

Why not?

Why not you?

Why not your dreams?

Why not your dreams now?

Who say you can’t?

Who says you won’t?

Who cares you can’t/won’t.

You CAN.

You WILL.

Believe.

Believe it.

Watch what your belief will do.

Watch your belief will your dreams into existence.

Belief will.

YOUR belief will.

Believe.

In.

You.

God does.

Life does.

You must.

Believe.

believing in you,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Belief will carry you where fear and doubt never can or will. You CAN. You WILL. Keep going. Keep on being…you.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

I love you.

Love someone.

Starting with you.

Don’t let your yesterday dictate to your tomorrow.

Yesterday can be sneaky!

Yea, yesterday likes to be nosey and will try to run your tomorrow, if you let it!

Yesterday, does NOT like to be dismissed. Yesterday, can not stand being relegated to it’s rightful place…YESTERDAY!

God gave yesterday, yesterday, for a reason. We can’t have a successful tomorrow, if we are forever trying to live in and stay a part of, yesterday.

It matters not if yesterday was the best day, you ever had. Doesn’t even matter if yesterday was the worst you have ever seen.

Yesterday, belongs with all the other yesterdays: In yesterday.

I found myself spending all day, today, wresting my tomorrow from my yesterday.

Let go.

Let tomorrow go, yesterday!!

You had your day.

You had your say.

Tomorrow IS coming.

Today is already here.

Stop wasting the time.

Yesterday, your time has passed.

Thank you, yesterday.

For helping to prepare today.

For counseling tomorrow.

You have done your job, yesterday.

You won, your way. Now, let tomorrow have it’s say.

Please know, yesterday, God, Life and I know that we would not have come this far without you.

You have done your work. Let today do it’s part. Let today, then, hand the day over to tomorrow.

Take care, yesterday. You shall never be forgotten as you contain moments too precious to forget. Rest now.

*Cassandra takes today’s hand and walks towards tomorrow, not knowing if tomorrow shall be there…*

living in the moment for the moment
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: The night before we start the work week can be challenging. It can be tough to not dread the coming busy week. Enjoy each day, each moment. Who knows what the tide shall bring, to quote a famous Tom Hanks movie…

Miserably happy.

I have never been so miserably happy in all my life.

Sounds extremely dumb.

Miserably happy.

Yet, I am.

Content.

Miserably hot.

Miserably sore of hand.

Miserably short of finances.

Miserably short of realized dreams.

I realize, however, I need only to try and leave life to doing whatever it shall do. Therefore, I am happy. Miserably so…*shrug*.

I have done all I know.

I have fought as hard and as much as I could.

I have given all I have.

I have loved to the best of me.

I have stacked the days.

I have failed.

I have begun.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Laughing, miserably, all the way.

What shall I do tomorrow?

Beats me.

I am having too much fun being miserably happy, today.

What are you doing?

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Miserable is all in how you take it. My miserable is becoming a bit bored. My miserable thinks I am just too darned jolly and happy and should be more miserable. Ha, I told my miserable. Think I shall dance around the room, with my miserable and make it dizzy…..hahahahahahahaha!

Dance with me.

You are loved.

You are NOT alone.

Keep on being…YOU!

You are worth it.

8 bucks.

8 dollars.

EIGHT DOLLARS!

I was going to send back this portable air conditioner back for a cheaper unit. Only the cheaper unit did not come with a remote.

It also did not come with a nice strap or cool led lights.

At first,  I told myself I did not need the bells and whistles. I would manage with just the fan.

I ordered the cheaper unit.

I started a return on the fun unit with the lights, remote and sturdy strap.

I lay in the dark talking to my soon to depart lit up portable air conditioner. Blue winked at me and told me of all I would miss with my cheaper unit. Red laughed at me and promised to have fun without me. Green pitied me and asked if I was worth eight extra bucks. Yellow called me a coward for not choosing to enjoy my unit. Instead, choosing to pinch a few pennies for a rainy day.

Umbrella reminded me it may be weeks before the next rain. Fan told us all to shut up and make a decision because it was hot in here!

Needless to say, blue, green, yellow, red and I are all enjoying my tad more expensive unit.

chilling,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: Sometimes you need to allow yourself an extra eight dollars to enjoy something for the sheer pleasure of enjoying something.

You work hard. Enjoy a treat every now and again. You are worth a bit of whimsy. Must EVERYTHING be so life and death? Laugh. Live. Love. Just a little would you please/thanks?

Lift your head long enough to enjoy the clouds, the rain, the blue sky, the cloudy sky, the rainbow, the snow, the…

At the end of the day.

At the end of the day, you have done your all.

At the end of the day, you gave it your best shot.

So, at the end of the day, if at the end of the day, the day has not gone your way…

*shrug*

You tried.

At the end of the day, your try is what mattered.

Wipe the dust from your bow.

Take your bow.

Let the evening have it’s way.

You have done your all.

It’s the end.

Of the day.

Let it go.

Tomorrow is waiting.

Who knows what tomorrow shall bring.

content,

Cassandra

#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: You tell me. Am all outta notes. Fill my bag up, please and thanks….

Look again: Only the beginning.

Look again.

What you feared was the end is only the beginning.

A new beginning.

Your beginning.

You are beginning, again.

This time, on sure footing.

This time, not alone.

This time, is YOUR time, to begin.

Again.

Anew.

Renewed.

Look again.

Closely.

Can’t you see?

Take a step.

Just one.

Then, take another.

And, another.

Ah.

Yes.

Now, run.

Run, now.

Your dreams are up ahead.

You got this.

Stretch.

Strain.

Struggle.

Keep going.

Aha!

See?!

I KNEW you could!

You got this.

Keep trying.

Keep going.

Go on ahead, with your bad self!

Look at that want to!

Look how strong your try is growing.

Look behind you.

See how far you have come.

Look before you.

God, Life, Jesus, your dreams, life and so many great things are right there.

Grab hold.

Hold on tight.

Get it!!

YYYYYYEEEEESSSSSSS!

proud of you,
Cassandra
#YourLifeMattersToMe

Note: The end? Hecks new, beloveds. Too much in you for it to be the end. Rejoice. Embrace this hard. It won’t stay hard forever. Rest when needed. Try always. Be encouraged and know you are loved and that you are not alone.