Carrie Talbott Carrie Talbott

Jesus Follower | Word Stringer | Avocado Eater

  • Home
  • Blog
    • Declutter & Organize
    • Faith
    • Health & Wellness
    • Neighbors
    • Parenting
    • Recommendations
    • South of the Border
  • About
    • Family
    • Faves
      • Blogs & Sites
      • Books
      • Magazines
      • Ministries
    • Home Savvy Organizing
  • Book & Articles
  • Shop
  • Connect
  • Home
  • Blog
    • Declutter & Organize
    • Faith
    • Health & Wellness
    • Neighbors
    • Parenting
    • Recommendations
    • South of the Border
  • About
    • Family
    • Faves
      • Blogs & Sites
      • Books
      • Magazines
      • Ministries
    • Home Savvy Organizing
  • Book & Articles
  • Shop
  • Connect

No Widgets found in the Sidebar Alt!

  • Cooking,  Gratitude,  Thanksgiving

    Hosting or Being Hosted: Helpful Ideas to Get Your Heart & Home Thanksgiving Ready

    November 19, 2021 /

    We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you… your relatives.  Raise your hand if you’re prepped and organized for Thanksgiving. It’s okay… most people aren’t. You’ve got this though. You’re stronger than you think, you can juggle more than you realize, and I have some tips. Depending on your hosting situation, I’ve crafted three possible scenarios. And within each of those, I’m giving you different levels of being ready. Pick and choose according to your home, drunk uncles, and level of crazy that’s on its way. 1. They’re Only Coming for Dinner If you were raised in a casa where your parents regularly hosted Thanksgiving, good news! Having people…

    Read More
    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    Sunday Night Sadness: 8 Ways I Prepare to Beat the Monday Morning Blues

    March 4, 2022

    It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Chaos: 4 Ways I Fight the Christmas Crazy

    December 14, 2019

    Cooking Tips & Tricks from My Classically-Trained Le Cordon Bleu Neighbor Chef

    September 15, 2018
  • Entertainment,  Humility,  Music

    Yellow Lights, Red Flags: Warning Signs That Help Keep Our Noisy Lives in Check

    August 20, 2021 /

    I ran a big fat yellow light this week. Actually, if you must know, it looked a tad orange. How a human brain can go back and forth that many times in a matter of 1.8 seconds is beyond me, but there I was: Slow down. Punch it.  I’m good. This isn’t good.  Cops? No cops.  I got this. I don’t got this.  Gahhh! Don’t judge. I’m guessing you’ve been in an orange light situation at some point, yes?  Those split-second decisions don’t exactly give me time to wrangle my best drawl, sing Jesus Take the Wheel and then wait for Him to move. Most of the time I’m relying…

    Read More
    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    All I Want for Christmas This Year is a Book. And Star Wars Baby Yoda.

    December 12, 2020

    3 Things I Learned About Myself While Saving Money in Vegas Last Week

    March 1, 2024
    Family-friendly Movies flicks films

    15 Favorite Family-Friendly Flicks to Watch at Home With the Kids This Weekend

    May 28, 2021
  • Clutter,  Humility,  Organizing,  Photos

    Quickly Saving Drowning Memories, One Wet Photo at a Time

    April 30, 2021 /

    Last November my teenagers bought me AirPods for my birthday. Spending so much of their own money to get me pieces of fancy technology made me feel loved. But I’m not a fancy girl. I have an old phone, our TV feels ridiculously large, I don’t own a watch (much less a smart one), and if it were up to me, Alexa would be kicked to the curb.  But I have a husband who loves that stuff and two teens who work and volunteer in tech. So of course they all want me to jump on the bandwagon, and AirPods were one way to get me there. On a sunny…

    Read More
    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    Big Picture, Small Steps: Decluttering the Elephant One Pile at a Time

    March 1, 2025

    4 New Tips & Tricks I Learned from My First Out-of-State Decluttering & Organizing Job in Seattle This Week

    June 22, 2024

    Fantastic Fall Fling: How to Get Rid of Excess Items Before the Holidays!

    October 13, 2023
  • Perfect Piano Practice Perfection
    Courage,  Music,  Parenting

    When Daily Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect

    March 19, 2021 /

    Lesson #1 Around ten years old I got ushered to a piano bench by a concert pianist. She seemed kind, I was cluelessly optimistic, and my parents paid good money for the woman to deal with me for two years. If you don’t know my family, my father also earned the title of a concert pianist. So it would seem logical for the two of us to meet weekly in the formal living room for 30 minutes so he could enlighten me with everything he knew on our own piano. But my parents were well aware that teaching his [athletic, stubborn, distractable] daughter himself wouldn’t be the best idea. Instead,…

    Read More
    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    Corner Office Syndrome as a Boss: When it’s Always Lonely at the Top of the Business or Ministry

    January 10, 2021

    When You Stand to Teach & Sit Back Down Taught: Unexpected Lessons in the Trees

    April 1, 2022

    Mental Fitness: Decluttering Your Mind Today so You Can Organize Your Thoughts Tomorrow

    August 2, 2024
  • Courage,  Faith,  Humility

    When it’s Finally Time to Launch Your Business Idea. Small Starts are Better Than No Starts, Right?

    February 27, 2021 /

    Well? Are they? If you answered with a resounding, “Heck yeah! Go for it!” then you might not deal with issues of insecurity, perfectionism or strong aversions to failure. I always looked in awe at our neighbors in Baja who thought up an idea for a business, gathered a few supplies, and opened the following month. Or week! It made no sense to my cautious brain how you could be prepared that fast with a game plan toward success and a plan B to pivot if needed. But that’s coming from someone who cringes at the thought of failure, or being completely wrong, or launching something that isn’t ready. And…

    Read More
    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    Baby Steps, Bob: How to Replace the Overwhelming Thing with the Next Thing

    September 23, 2022

    Two Cops & a Black Eye: Our Up Close & Personal Encounter with Physical Abuse

    February 4, 2022

    Corner Office Syndrome as a Boss: When it’s Always Lonely at the Top of the Business or Ministry

    January 10, 2021
  • Courage,  Humility,  Missionary Secrets

    Corner Office Syndrome as a Boss: When it’s Always Lonely at the Top of the Business or Ministry

    January 10, 2021 /

    A few years ago I reported the results of a missionary survey I did and was surprised by their answers. (Especially when they matched mine.) With global loneliness at an all-time high, I thought I’d take a closer look into the phenomenon where some people might not look. The old cliché, “It’s lonely at the top” rings loud and true… 92% of missionaries I interviewed said yes to this question: Do you ever suffer from Corner Office Syndrome? (Knowing a ton of people but not having any real friends.) “Totally. I have lots of friends on Facebook, but nobody checks on me; I always have to reach out. It’s hard…

    Read More
    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    When You Stand to Teach & Sit Back Down Taught: Unexpected Lessons in the Trees

    April 1, 2022

    Two Cops & a Black Eye: Our Up Close & Personal Encounter with Physical Abuse

    February 4, 2022

    Dear Stay-At-Home Mom: I Figured Out Your Problem

    October 1, 2016
  • Entertainment,  Gifts,  Gratitude,  Thanksgiving

    Simple Family Thanksgiving Ideas: Goodies & Gifts to Keep it Basic This Year

    November 14, 2020 /

    Raise your hand if you’re tired. Same here. And yet, most of us want a cozy space and a fun Turkey Day, so we press on. Here are a few items to bring the Thanksgiving spirit, help you keep the kids out of the kitchen while the goodness cooks, and usher in rad memories.  Click the pics for Amazon ease and order today for quick delivery! First up, it’s time to decorate the wee ones. No need for a busy outfit though—just plop this knit beanie on any baby and snap those pics. I love this pumpkin, but the yellow shirt is my fave! Grab one for yourself and one…

    Read More
    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    3 Things I Learned About Myself While Saving Money in Vegas Last Week

    March 1, 2024

    Helpful Thanksgiving Goodies: Reducing Family Stress & Increasing Peace with New Games, Decor & Gifts

    November 1, 2024

    Thanksgiving Hacks to Keep You Grateful. And Sane.

    November 16, 2019
  • Humility,  Missionary Shenanigans,  Patience,  Stress

    Kicked Out of the Bank: When Rejection Suddenly Strikes You and Your Family

    October 24, 2020 /

    A few years into Baja living, my husband learned to roll with the inconvenient punches, knew exactly how to pay all the bills in person, and understood the cultural norms.  But of all the places we visited in the city, going to a Mexican bank never felt fun.  Between 230 cars jockeying for 13 parking spaces, sketchy holes in the sidewalks and a general feeling of being a tad nervous carrying too much cash, I preferred to stay in the car. Or at home. At least their banks had real police officers packin’ heat at the front door. None of this rent-a-cop packin’ snacks nonsense you find in the States. …

    Read More
    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    Christmas Eve Chaos: The One Where We Went to Church Dirty and Avoided Our Friends

    December 3, 2021

    Corner Office Syndrome as a Boss: When it’s Always Lonely at the Top of the Business or Ministry

    January 10, 2021

    I Like it When You Say That. Now Please Stop.

    February 22, 2018
  • Courage,  Faith,  Parenting

    I Got Laid Off, He Got The Rona: 5 Things We Did to Recover

    September 26, 2020 /

    After a rough July and August, I put all my hope in the September basket that life would mellow out. But in the first week of the new month, I got laid off from my job and our oldest son got you-know-what. When he first came home from an afternoon of swimming, eating too much, and throwing a football in 112˚ weather, we assumed his sick feeling was heat stroke. Or food poisoning. Or both. I mean, I might’ve uttered a nervous whisper that sounded something like, “That you, Rona?” But I mostly blamed it on the pulled pork and Hawaiian potato chips.  The next day his energy plummeted and…

    Read More
    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    Mental Fitness: Decluttering Your Mind Today so You Can Organize Your Thoughts Tomorrow

    August 2, 2024

    Two Cops & a Black Eye: Our Up Close & Personal Encounter with Physical Abuse

    February 4, 2022

    Baby Steps, Bob: How to Replace the Overwhelming Thing with the Next Thing

    September 23, 2022
  • Courage,  Honesty,  Humility,  Pride

    Optimists and Their Kryptonite: Why Blowing Sunshine Doesn’t Always Work

    August 1, 2020 /

    Just because I normally see my kombucha bottle as half full doesn’t mean I don’t get sad when it’s empty.  A large portion of optimists I know tend to be funny, super friendly, or both. One friend said she’s the funniest on social media when she’s depressed or going through muck.  Another posts closeup pics of calm objects and events even though her life is falling apart behind the scenes. I belong to the optimistic lifers club. And I married a pessimist. Of course I didn’t know he was a pessimist when I walked down the aisle, but I figured it out pretty quick.  He says assuming the worst makes…

    Read More
    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    Dear Stay-At-Home Mom: I Figured Out Your Problem

    October 1, 2016

    In the Eye of the Swarm: Learning Patience While Waiting for Everything to Change

    October 15, 2016

    Carols In The Closet

    February 20, 2016
1234

Welcome!

You’re here! And I’m Carrie. From full-time camp kid to unconventional missionary for 12 años in a 3rd-world country, I’m now a profesh organizer and writer who loves plants and guac. Life is short, so I’m smiling while I have all my teeth, but I still have issues. Always remember… when life hands you lemons, give them back. You deserve avocados.

Amazon Affiliate
“I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”

  • Character
  • Declutter & Organize
  • Faith
  • Friends
  • Health & Wellness
  • Holidays
  • Insider Scoop
  • Marriage
  • Neighbors
  • Parenting
  • Reading
  • Recommendations
  • Rest
  • South of the Border
  • Stress
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Uncategorized
  • Vacation
  • Wedding
  • Writing
© 2025 Carrie Talbott Ink.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Book & Articles
  • Shop
  • Connect