Archive for the 'Inspiration' Category

I’m so excited to help Tara (The Organic Sister) announce the release of her newest eBook, “Digging Deep“. Tara is a dear friend of mine and we’ve spent a lot of time on the road together…sharing meals, stories, and passion for life!

We’ve had many a conversation over campfires and coffee…and I can tell you that Tara knows her stuff. She is a talented communicator, coach, and fellow mama. Her search for knowledge knows no bounds…and now she is bringing all of that to you.

This eBook is an amazing resource that will help you uncover your potential and help you work through roadblocks that are standing in the way of you reaching your goals. She walks you through step-by-step in examining your core beliefs and how they factor into your current views of life. She talks about discovering your negative triggers, reprogramming yourself, re-writing your story, and SO much more.

If you have ever wanted a life coach…now you can have Tara and her insights right at your fingertips! Wherever you are at in your journey…if you want to “dig deeper” into life, this book is for you.

If you are hesitant because you’ve never purchased an eBook before, don’t be! After you purchase it, you will get a link to download it to your computer and you will open it as a PDF file + audio files. I love love love eBooks…I have read so many lately that are inspiring and life-changing (see links along the left side of my blog!).

I am hoping to post an interview with Tara soon…so stay tuned!!

*I am also an affiliate for Tara, which means that I will get a portion of every sale of her book from my blog. Purchasing the book will help her family stay on the road as well as my family getting to Portland for the unschooling conference! Wooo! Thank you, as always, for your support!

I’ve seen people talking about it.
I’ve watched them jump on the bandwagon.
Saying it’s the coolest thing to come around in awhile.
I was skeptical.
I didn’t need another place to waste time on the web.
But I was wrong.
And they were right.

I love Pinterest.

What? Yes, I know…it’s a weird name. But it’s awesome.

Pin·terest (pĭn’trĭst): n. a social catalog to collect and share things you love.

There are two reasons I am online.

1. To inspire others.
2. To be inspired.

Pinterest covers both of those in a beautiful and fun way. I can spend 2 minutes browsing the boards and leave with my heart exploding with joy. Now that’s something worth checking out!

My profile page is here. I’ve just started…but give me time and I will pin, pin, pin!
Come join in the fun…let’s see what inspires YOU!!

*note: at this time, you have to “request” an invite, but the turnaround is quite speedy.

 

 

 

 

Crazy defined: “intensely enthusiastic / passionately excited”.

That sounds like us! Or, it can mean “mentally deranged; demented; insane”. Well, that’s us too. I have a passionately insane family. And I like it that way.

I’ve been holding this photo hostage until my mama got her spring update letter out…but it’s in the mail so now I can post it! This was from Christmas and every time I see it I feel happy little sparkles inside.

My family is such a blessing and I am so DEEPLY thankful for their love and support. Each one is so unique, talented, and yes, crazy…I can’t imagine life without every last one of them! (Click twice on photo to enlarge)

Here are a few little bits of inspiration for Monday:

*I love this! So funky and colorful.

*Loving this new blog I found.

*I’m so fascinated with car-free people. While you’re there, check out Smalltopia too. Good stuff!

*Love seeing San Francisco through Tara’s lens.

*Some delicious Etsy finds:

These are so crazy beautiful. Although, I do believe at least half of you will think I’m nuts.

Love this. I need one that says “maté love”

Oh so dreamy.

We’re gearing up for a great week around here. Expecting some snow tonight and tomorrow, but back to 60 by Friday. Just in time for the lovely Monica to arrive on an airplane from Portland to come to MY HOUSE! Yippppeee!

 

 

 

 

“Difficult times have helped me to understand better than before, how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way, and that so many things that one goes worrying about are of no importance whatsoever”. *Isak Dinesen

Here are a few images from our life this week. Oh that I would remember that these moments will pass by so quickly…they are precious.

Bella and I enjoyed a tea party on the floor during a recent “trip to Paris”…complete with our favorite oat bars.

After a visit to the library, the girls laid out all of their “new books” and read them together on the couch. Lucy kept a close eye on Bella to make sure she was doing it right.

Bella loves to create and truly has an artist’s heart.  We recently ordered these awesome eco-paints for her to experiment with and she loves them!

We’ve had quite a bit of snow (and cold!) this week and when Bella started getting bundled up to go “sweep out” her playhouse, Lucy cried big tears until Mommy bundled her up too. It was about 9 degrees, so it didn’t last long, but it sure was fun! We came in refreshed and full of crisp mountain air!

Today we made a few Valentine’s Day cards…sitting at our new desk!

What is making your life beautiful this week?

I’m kind of obsessed with the idea of repurposing clothing, particularly T-shirts. I say obsessed with the IDEA because I don’t actually ever DO any of this said repurposing. But that’s about to change. We got this book. And we like to look at the pretty pictures.

And as soon as I locate a sewing machine, Bella and I all will be all over this!

Until then, I give you…my friend Christine. She is hilarious. And she’s crafty. Check out this short and sweet video, where she combines all of her superhero skills to make a rad t-shirt.

One of my favorite books ever is a book by Lloyd Khan called “Homework“. If you’re at all interested in alternative housing…you will love it too. It’s completely inspiring and beautiful. So…you can imagine I was thrilled to come across this lovely video about his work. Enjoy!

He has written several books about alternative housing…check them out below.

I’m trying to take more time to BE STILL. To pray. To listen.

I’m obsessed with mate lattes.
Mate + honey + vanilla almond milk + cinnamon + my beloved Aerolatte. Pure bliss.

We are loving the West coast. The ocean is dreamy and Portland is by FAR one of my favorite cities in the country. California is beautiful and WARM! Just wish it wasn’t so spendy

I’m obsessed with feather earrings. Courtney is a Seahorse and Owlita are my faves.

I’m still blissed out from Hoopcamp. *sigh* Amazing.

**If you’re interested in getting more consistent updates on my life, as I’m obviously not a daily blogger …feel free to add me as a Facebook friend or follow me on Twitter. I also just uploaded 186 new photos to my Life Inspired set! Lots of “behind the scenes” action

Have a wonderful week!

*free

Life moves fast. And when you’re not intentionally slowing down and really SEEING every moment…you will miss something! With this in mind, every day for the past week my dear friend Alicia and I have been documenting our daily life (morning and evening) and sending them to each other via iPhone.

*holding hands

*togetherness

It has been such a sweet way for us to connect and feel closer to each other even when we’re miles apart. When I see her photos come in for the day, I am GIDDY with excitement! It’s been so fun to see each others lives in this way and it causes us to be mindful about catching all the little moments…our life “inspired”. Be sure to keep an eye on her blog as well…she’ll be posting some of her images too (and they’re amazing!).

*bliss

I will be sharing more of these photos with you…because they make me happy! And, more importantly…I am sharing them because I am trying to turn over a new leaf. Imperfect, pressure free blogging

*immersed

I’ve blogged before about how much I LOVE “phone photography”…and the gritty, unedited glimpses into life that they provide. I don’t have time right now to edit lots of photos, but I can do this! It takes me moments instead of hours…awesome.

I still love my “fancy” camera…but at this season of life, I’m loving the on-the-go, compact accessibility of my iPhone camera. I’ve never been a big scrapbooker/record keeper, but I do that with my photos. And someday, I will make a book of all of these photos for my kiddos to treasure.

I am also starting a Flickr group called Life Inspired and I would love if you would add photos of your own. See you there!

**apps used:
ShakeItPhoto
Hipstamatic

*sisterly

The day started off really good…I was listening to the radio and one of my favorite songs came on.

I caught a glimpse of Your splendor
In the corner of my eye
The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen
And it was like a flash of lightning
Reflected off the sky
And I know I’ll never be the same

*Third Day :: Show Me Your Glory

Glory. Hmmmm…I love that word. As I listened, I sat down at my computer to look up the lyrics. Life was good.

But then…it turned into one of “those days”. I wasn’t feeling grateful. I was cranky. I didn’t feel God near. As we drove into town that night, these were the scenes before us. Brilliant sunlight shining out from the clouds and a rainbow splashed across a dark and dreary sky. In an instant, I thought…”GLORY”.  I was reminded of that morning and the song.

I love it when He speaks to me so clearly…through His creation and music. Two methods that I can understand easily. I watched the sky…and my heart finally understood what He had been trying to tell me all day. If He has the power to create these works of art in the sky, He certainly has the power to work in my life.

Once we’ve seen God’s glory…we are NEVER the same. But thankfully, He is ALWAYS the same. He never changes. He never stops loving me even through my darkest days and my lack of faith. He is patient and loving. He is LIGHT…the rainbow that cuts through even the darkest of days.

For the past few months, I’ve been rather quiet online. My desire and inspiration to blog ebbs and flows…and lately I’ve been feeling quite introspective. My heart is aching to spend more time with Jesus and spend less time thinking about me. I seem to have have lots of words and thoughts flowing…but my words want to stay inside for some reason. I need time to really sit with myself and figure out what is going on in this brain of mine before I open it up and share with others.

Sometimes the internet is an amazing open road for me to wander upon. My heart skips a beat when I come across something that speaks to my soul. But it can also be completely overwhelming. So many people to catch up with and connect to…I open my Facebook page and immediately close it. It’s like walking into a huge party that has been going all night long and I just don’t have the energy to mingle If you have emailed or sent me a message on Facebook lately and I haven’t answered, please don’t take it personally. Feel free to send another message to jog my memory. It’s been hard to keep up with it all and “real life” has been much more attractive. And we’ve been busy busy busy.

I would love to start sharing more of my “real life” with you. Often times, I feel like I have to to write a “grand” topical blog post and the sheer intensity of that endeavor makes me want to run away and hide. So instead, I think I will try to share snippets. Photos, links, quotes…things that are inspiring me. I’m thinking about doing a “photo a day” project again (but with my iPhone) or perhaps some video blogs.

So I’ll start today. Here are a few things that have my affections this week, online and off:

• I’ve been making TONS of ice tea. Every morning, I make a big batch of unsweetened mango raspberry mint herbal tea and then add just a touch of Sweet Leaf Mint and Honey tea. Heaven.

• I miss my sweet Becky sooooo much and yesterday she wrote a beautiful piece on her blog about her solitary retreat for one in the woods. A must read.

• We’re living at a beautiful state park in Colorado right now and the view from our window is amazing! Trails, pelicans, lakes, and mountains, right out our front door.
• I experienced hot yoga here for the first time. I got up at 5:30am 8 times before we moved to a campground farther away and then I quit going regularly. It rocked my world. I brought my mom and she loved it too. Getting up that early is probably what threw a wrench in my online activities because I started going to bed earlier…and my prime time for browsing the web was 10pm-2am. My body is thanking me for getting out of that routine!

• How scrumptious is this swing?

• I’m in love with this print and this print. Ok, I pretty much love everything in her shop.

• I’m obsessed this this CD. Best kids music ever!

• I’m looking forward to the Boulder Farmer’s Market tomorrow morning and a little trip up the mountain to Nederland. I’m going to hoop in the mountain air.

• My mom has been staying with us for the past 2 weeks and my dad came for the last week…and they left yesterday. My heart is light with joy as I recount the amazing memories we made…but it’s also heavy with the weight of goodbyes.  Above is a photo from the balcony of our hotel room in Golden. We spent one amazing “getaway” night there during their stay…eating, drinking, laughing, and being refreshed. I love them so.

Have a wonderful weekend!