WNCTIMES Blog

Life, the ups and the lows .... you can't have one without the other. Sometimes you run into a time where lows seem to just keep on coming! There are times when some may realize, hey things are going pretty good, how many really do absorb that? Focusing on the low times can become a habit. When things are going along in a positive way, we may not even notice it. There are always bills to pay, schedules to keep, daily drama and responsibilities. When a crisis arises, we want those days back that ...

Mornings, they can be hard to get going, like really hard. Sometimes to get a jump start, it just might help to have a Spoonful of Posiitive! We all know the things happening in the news, so here's a little positivity for that: "Peace begins with a smile." -- Mother Teresa The next quote I find believable. I have been out at a store and just kind of felt miserable. A smile from someone really lifted me up. Everyone's dealing with something, and just a smile can be a gift that changes so much for...

Positive Quotes to Lift Us Up!

Positive Quotes  Everyone can be down at times, so lets lift ourselves up with some positive quotes! "Keep looking up, that's the secret of life." Charlie Brown  "Small steps motivate. Big steps overwhelm."  Maxime Lagacé "I am thankful to all who said no to me. It is because of them that I'm doing it myself." Albert Einstein "Change your thoughts and you change your world."  Norman Vincent Peale "Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yours...

Mondays, you might as well love them! Here's some positivity to help you on this Monday! Quotes from women we've known through the years! Barbra Streisand --I love things that are indescribable, like the taste of an avocado or the smell of a gardenia.  To have ego means to believe in your own strength. And to also be open to other people's views. It is to be open, not closed. So, yes, my ego is big, but it's also very small in some areas. My ego is responsible for my doing what I do - bad o...

CLEVELAND (AP) — A customer left a $3,000 tip for a single beer as a restaurant voluntarily closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The man walked into Nighttown on Sunday in Cleveland, ordered the beer and asked for the check, which came to $7.02, owner Brendan Ring wrote on Facebook.  Ring said the man wished him well and told him to share the tip with the four employees who were working brunch service. As the man walked out, Ring wrote, he looked down at the tip and "realized he l...

When You're Smiling, The Whole World Really Does Smile With You! Science Daily -- Date: August 13, 2020 Source: University of South Australia Summary: From Sinatra to Katy Perry, celebrities have long sung about the power of a smile -- how it picks you up, changes your outlook, and generally makes you feel better. But is it all smoke and mirrors, or is there a scientific backing to the claim? Groundbreaking research confirms that the act of smiling can trick your mind into being more p...

We're all indoors most of the time. So many are facing hard times, unsure of what the future holds.  Fear of the unknown, decisions to make that we never thought we would face.  We need to take time to breathe, to just be... to lighten up, even just for a rew moments. Let's share a 'Spoonful of Positive' and maybe smile a little bit.  Worry is like a rocking chair: It gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere," humorist Erma Bombeck.  "Nothing in life is to be fea...

You always pass failure on the wayto success." Mickey Rooney "It always seems impossible until itis done." Nelson Mandela "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate." Oprah Winfrey  The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up withthe rain." Dolly Parton "The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination. " Carl Rogers "The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a dest...

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill  Passivley browsing social media is not good for you — and other useful findings on resilience and happiness from the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab. Michael M. Prinzing and Barbara L. Fredrickson, Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory, Tuesday, June 30th, 2020 It's become clichéd to say that these are challenging times. Everyone knows that people are generally more stressed, anxious, lonely and depressed than usual. And it is...

 NEW YORK (AP) — Before the pandemic, Shalinder Singh spent Sundays at his gurdwara, helping serve a community meal for 300 people or more at the Sikh place of worship in suburban Detroit. Now, he's all about pizza.  By LEANNE ITALIE Singh and his family have paid for and delivered hundreds of pies to hospitals, police stations and fire departments since the gurdwara suspended in-person services. They wanted to carry on a tenet of their faith: helping others through langar, the communa...

Thank You to all essential workers! All of you show the best in people. Your courage, determination and selfessness. You are the inspiration of what we all should be! Thank You for all that you do, all that you are!

We all have days when we could use a Spoonful of Positive! Let's face it, for so many of us that day is Wednesday!  So, please read on and get your Spoonful of Positive! "Success is failing nine times and getting up ten." Jon Bon Jovi  "Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway." Emory Austin "Do good, live in the most joyful positive way every day." Roy T. Bennet "Find a place where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain." Joseph Campbell "Look deep...

Spoonful of Positive With Your Coffee!

Monday Spoonful of Positive Quotes! "Here's to a productive Monday & Strong Coffee!" "My coffee machine is the most beautiful person in the world to me."  "Sometimes I stay up so late that I have my morning coffee before I go to bed." "Seven days without coffe makes one weak!" "A morning without coffee is like sleep." "Drink coffee, do stupid things faster!"

Holidays over, newness of year kind of wearing off? Family getting on each other's nerves? How about a little play time? Below are a few games that will make time at home together a little fun!  Building You don't need a fancy building set for this. Popsicle stick cities, card towers, even buildings out of blocks, or indoor forts out of boxes or pillows, will do just fine. If you want to get competitive, whoever builds the highest tower wins. Magical Mama (or Papa) Be your kids' very own Ha...

Tip-Top Tip!

 MILFORD, N.H. (AP) — A customer made it much more than a double for two New Hampshire bartenders when he tipped them over $2,000 on a $21 check.  Bruce Girouard and Karen Vaillancourt say a customer left them a $2,078.74 tip even though his bill was for only $21.26 on Friday at the Pasta Loft in Milford.  The man asked the bartenders to check his math before he left and wrote his number on the top of the check in case management had questions, WMUR-TV reported.  Vaillancourt...

Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone's face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.  Henri Nouwen You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I tr...

HUDDLESTON, Va. (AP) — Country singer Willie Nelson frequently sings about traveling and seeing things he may never see again. I changed 'On the Road Again' to 'On the Farm Again,'" Owens said laughing. "It's always a good time. Dec. 3, 2019 photo, Huddleston native Beth Bays and artist of the hay bale sculpture Will-Hay Nelson poses for a portrait with her creation off of Tolers Ferry Road in Huddleston, Va.  Chances are he had never before encountered a 15-foot-tall hay sculpture of himse...

Christmas Chimes

Everything is in readiness.The tree is trimmed. The cards taped to the door frame. The boxes stacked in glittering disarray under the tree.Why don't I hear chimes?Remember the small boy who made the chimes ring in a fictional story years ago? As the legend went, the chimes would not ring unless a gift of love was placed on the altar. Kings and men of great wealth placed untold jewels there, but year after year the church remained silent.Then one Christmas Eve, a small child in a tattered coat ma...

"All it takes is a group of friends to come together and change someone else’s life”

PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — Nearly a dozen people surprised a New Jersey waitress with a $1,200 cash tip as an early holiday gift. Zellie Thomas told NJ.com that he and a group of his friends left the tip with a waitress at an IHOP restaurant in Paterson on Saturday.  Each person brought $100 to the restaurant. The waitress was so shocked that she tried to return the money at first, said Thomas. Thomas, who is an activist and teacher, said he hopes the tip inspires others to do good deeds for str...

This combination of photos show Blue light projected

NEW YORK (AP) — In these uneasy times, as we move along to a new decade, the Pantone Color Institute has reached back in time to calming, confident Classic Blue as its color of the year for 2020.  The color is an anchor offering stability, constancy and connection, said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the global purveyors of color consulting, trendspotting and analysis. "It's a reassuring presence," she told The Associated Press ahead of Wednesday's reveal.  Akin to maritime blue — ...