Carrie Talbott Carrie Talbott

Jesus Follower | Word Stringer | Avocado Eater

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Faith, Music

Faithful Goodness Lyrics Meaning: How a Deep Dive Into the Song’s Message Can Change You

Breaking down a song line by line has never been a thought or desire of mine, but the last time I sang “Goodness of God” I felt a flood of…

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June 13, 2025
Blogging, Friends, Writers Conference, Writing

3 Surprising Life Edits I Learned at a Writers’ Conference (Even If You’re Not a Writer)

2025 Vision Christian Writers Conference Faculty

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May 6, 2025
Road trip, Tips & Tricks, Vacation

Spring Break: 3 Things I Hated, Loved, & Learned Visiting Japan Last Week

Have you ever herded 82 cats through five airports, three subways, two ferries, one tram, a 200-mph bullet train, and daily buses in a foreign country? I never had either.…

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April 12, 2025
  • 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…

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    Carrie Talbott

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

    September 15, 2018

    Starting the Fall Season with Non-Annoying Orange Autumn Items for All You Undercover Pumpkin Spice Fans

    October 22, 2021

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

    March 4, 2022
  • Cooking,  Gifts,  Thanksgiving

    Starting the Fall Season with Non-Annoying Orange Autumn Items for All You Undercover Pumpkin Spice Fans

    October 22, 2021 /

    If you live in my area of SoCal, you know it doesn’t exactly feel like fall yet. With temps still bouncing into the 80s this week, I can barely wear shoes much less think about sipping hot cider. But autumn’s comin’! I gathered these items with my faithful readers in mind. (That’s you!) Most of us aren’t hard-core pumpkin spice fans, but most people love pumpkin something. Are you a low-key, undercover pumpkin spice fan? I get it. Do you occasionally dabble with pumpkin spice in the kitchen? Same here. Maybe you cringe at shirts that say  “Live, Laugh, Love Pumpkin Spice” or “My Blood Type is Pumpkin Spice” or…

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    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    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

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

    March 4, 2022
  • Faith,  Grief,  Neighbors

    A Neighborhood Divided: Years of Friends, Months of Loss, Weeks of Grief

    September 24, 2021 /

    When we moved out of Baja and back to Cali, I wasn’t what you’d call… excited. Besides the whole experience feeling anti-climactic (we already lived in SoCal once), track houses aren’t really my jam. Apparently, the neighborhood cookie-cutter fairy put all of our floor plans on a blueprint and the creativity stopped after five. Five similar shapes, five coordinating paint schemes, and that was it.  Match-y match-y ain’t my style. Plus, I didn’t see a whole lot of ministry taking place between getting the mail and pulling in trashcans. I don’t mean to sound like a whiner. I’m truly grateful for Model #3 to call home and know millions around…

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    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    10 Años of Blessings… and Mud

    February 27, 2016

    Do It Afraid: Public Speaking Through Anxiety, Fear and Nerves

    April 12, 2018

    September Fire, Welcome Rain: The Disaster in SoCal This Week and How Your Family Can Help

    September 9, 2022
  • 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…

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    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

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

    December 12, 2020

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

    November 1, 2024
    Family-friendly Movies flicks films

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

    May 28, 2021
  • Insider Scoop,  Writing

    New News – Welcome to the Inside Scoop!

    June 18, 2021 /

    Since most lists have at least three points, here are mine: Uno, thank you for opening this new post. Whether you’re stretching your way to getting out of bed, busy making breakfast, lounging with your café, hustlin’ on a treadmill, waiting in a line, watching TV you’re not really into, or winding down before you zonk out, I am grateful you clicked here.  B, a writer friend reminded me that my email list has only been used for alerting you about new blog posts and that you might want to hear about other insider things going on with me. I’m not sure I’m that interesting, but I’m ready to change…

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    Carrie Talbott
  • Family-friendly Movies flicks films
    Entertainment,  Movies,  Parenting

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

    May 28, 2021 /

    There are tons of great animated movies that we adults can love right alongside the littles, but this is a list of our family’s favorite real-life flicks when our kids were in elementary and middle school. Depending on your strict meter, most of these are for ages 8/10 and up, and they’re all rated G or PG. Even when I got a movie recommendation from a friend, I still jumped on a review site to double-check how appropriate it was for our kids. My favorite is pluggedin.com from Focus on the Family, but crosswalk.com, movieguide.org and kids-in-mind.com are also great. In alphabetical order, so no one gets their feelings hurt……

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    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

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

    August 20, 2021

    Thanksgiving Hacks to Keep You Grateful. And Sane.

    November 16, 2019

    Fun Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

    May 1, 2020
  • 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…

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    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    8 Simple Things We Can All Declutter and Donate Before Spring Cleaning Our Homes This Year

    February 24, 2023

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

    June 22, 2024

    I Decluttered and Broke Up With 500 Things. You Can Do It Too!

    April 29, 2017
  • 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,…

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    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

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

    February 4, 2022

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

    April 1, 2022

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

    October 1, 2016
  • 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…

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    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    Perfect Piano Practice Perfection

    When Daily Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect

    March 19, 2021

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

    October 1, 2016

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

    September 23, 2022
  • Trailer Life Baja Mexico Missionary
    Faith,  Missionary Shenanigans

    Home Sweet Trailer in Baja: Abraham’s Forever Faith in My Face

    February 6, 2021 /

    I am no longer a journaler.  Journaler? That’s a weird word. I engaged my pens decades ago, especially when the subject matter revolved around boys, but then I tapered.  Since then I’ve started and stopped more than start-stop technology in city traffic, but I just can’t get into it. So now I use them as notebooks, and I’m totally fine with that. No more guilt. For years I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t want to journal anymore until I realized the list involved reasons I didn’t want to admit. Mix together slight perfectionism and the constant inner critic of an Enneagram one, with a full schedule and a woman…

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    Carrie Talbott

    You May Also Like

    A Neighborhood Divided: Years of Friends, Months of Loss, Weeks of Grief

    September 24, 2021

    Morning Has Broken Me: Why Early Peace & Quiet Usually Wins the Daily Struggle Over Sleeping In

    April 12, 2024

    Carols In The Closet

    February 20, 2016
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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.

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