truth.

{roses}

happy monday!

xoxo. ash

something worth reading

today i read a guest post by janna dean on cjane. it is about healthy body image and it hit on a multitude of concerns that i have had for myself, my children and even my siblings. i realize i have two boys and most people would probably say i don't need to worry about these issues, but sadly i have seen how distorted body image can effect more than just girls. it's a huge concern of mine. it's something i've personally struggled with my entire life and i think that this short post is well worth reading. you can click above to link over.

welcome friend

welcome, welcome mister sunshine. can't wait for my family and i to enjoy your warm summer days together...

what will the warm weather find you doing??

all images found at weheartit

a lovely message

the husband is away again. the boys and i will be leaving in the morning too. we're going to find the sunshine and visit some animals at the zoo. maybe squeeze in some shopping. and then it's home to finish spring cleaning. that's what spring break is for right?

i came across this lovely short video and thought i would share it. it really boosted my spirits today. truly beautiful.

watch it here

happy spring break!

for now

as it goes, my postings will be sparse for the remainder of the week. i figure i'll jump on my spring cleaning while my toes are still cold.

i will leave you for the time being with some little lovelies that are on my wishlist for the boys' not-so-new room.


enjoy::::::

i looove this print from SepiaLepus. I think this one is a must have.

I think these happy little creatures would be perfect accessories. I pretty much love everything from Sleepy King. So very very perfect.

I think these wool felt "plushidermy" bunnies from Girl Savage are oh so clever. i'm actually wanting to do a whole wall around this theme. i have some really cute ideas that will hopefully come to life very very soon.

oh and here is a year-old post to hold you over that is freakishly relevant. let me just say, i'm not a huge fan of when that happens.

now i'm off to conquer my home. wish me luck!

daydreaming

is it completely cliche for me to want this?

and when i say want, i mean desperately desperately long for.

take me here please. and of course you're welcome to come along too.

make yourself at home.

pick of the day

radishes and spinach picked fresh from the garden. you may be thinking yuck, but i am thinking YUM. and then yum again.

salad anyone?

don't have a garden out back? pick up some fresh produce at your local farmers market. and take one of these lovelies along for the ride. you know it would be fun.

you can find them here.

happy weekend. and seriously, go have a salad.

today i want to find myself

photo from google images

today i want to find myself chasing two little boys through the cherry orchards in genola.

i want their lips and tongues and cheeks and hands to be stained a vibrant red.

with their pockets full of cherries.

and their hearts full of adventure.

that would be grand.

{hello yellow}

Here is a little more than you ever wanted to know about my favorite color....

A fondness for yellow suggests you’re an optimist who accepts people for who they are. You like to make everyone feel good. Like other people who love yellow, you tend to extend yourself without expecting anything in return, but you don’t accept kindness easily so it’s hard for others to do nice things for you.

Cheerful sunny yellow is an attention getter. While it is considered an optimistic color, people lose their tempers more often in yellow rooms, and babies will cry more. It is the most difficult color for the eye to take in, so it can be overpowering if overused. Yellow enhances concentration, hence its use for legal pads. It also speeds metabolism. {woo hoo!}

Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's associated with joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.
Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity, and generates muscle energy.



The shade of yellow determines the meaning. Pure, bright and sunny yellow is the easiest color to see. People who are blind to other colors can usually see yellow. Yellow is full of creative and intellectual energy. Always use yellow note pads.





Yellow symbolizes wisdom. Yellow means joy and happiness. People of high intellect favor yellow. Yellow daffodils are a symbol of unrequited love.




Like the energy of a bright sunny day, yellow brings clarity and awareness. The shade of yellow determines its effect: Yellow-green can mean deceit, and creates a disoriented feeling. Orange-yellow imparts a sense of establishment. Clean light yellow clears the mind, making it active and alert.





i'm undecided on if i'm buying the crying babies and flared tempers bit. but i would fully like to believe that it could speed my metabolism.



when i think of yellow i think clean, fresh, happy and inspiring. it is by far my favorite color.




so there you have it.

{mothers intuition and a new fave}

well momma was right. bossy pants does indeed have an ear infection. call it mother's intuition...or just way too much practice. but i was right on.

he's on an antibiotic for the next three days that will hopefully clear it up for him.

if he gets any more within the next few months we may be planning for another set of tubes. let's hope that is not the case.

now for the pleasant part of our trip. while waiting for the doctor we stumbled upon a new favorite book that i am itching to add to the boys collection. it was just darling.

go ahead and look for yourself here. enjoy!

{little girl dreaming}

I was six years old.

Beauty and the Beast had just been released.

I adored it.

I must have watched it a thousand times.

I went to bed many nights singing ..."I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell. And for once it might be grand to have someone understand, I want so much more than they've got planned..."

All the while imagining running through lush green fields.

I belted it out.

At the time I must have thought my walls were soundproof.

Now it makes me laugh to picture my parents standing in the hall chuckling to eachother over their little opera girl. And of course my brothers, burrowing with their heads under their pillows, trying to sleep.

What really captivated me the most about my newly cherished movie, was the beautiful library in the castle of the Beast. Oh how I longed to run my fingers across the thousands of aged book spines.

I imagined how wonderful all the books must be.

Full of adventure and love stories.

I have grown up since then.

I still sing in my bed when I think no one can hear me.

I still sound like I'm six years old.

And I still long for my own beautiful library.

Perhaps one day. But as for now this girl just keeps dreaming.

{a quilt is nice}

I absolutely adore {this} blog.

A quilt is nice indeed.

I would love to quilt like she does. Absolutely beautiful.

A few favorites....

Seriously. Don't you feel all warm and cozy just looking at them?

Yum.

{the hungry fires of courage}

I'm still a little shocked at what just happened.
I guess I shouldn't be.
I should be used to these things happening in my life.
The smallest of my quietest prayers, answered.
Nothing new. But still amazing each time.

About a week ago I had a little flash of recollection regarding a quote I heard years ago and had written down in my lovely book of inspirations. I couldn't remember it word for word, just the gist of it. I couldn't even remember it's author.

I trekked out to the garage in my slippers and over sized sweater to dig out my old notebook that has sat untouched and neglected in a box. It was nowhere to be found. I was feeling a little frustrated. My fingers were itching to get hold of it.

Then it hit me. The Hubby cleaned out the garage several Sundays ago while I was at church and the weather was still bearable. Many of my boxes had been left to his discretion. Of course my old notebook full of what might be chicken scratch to him would not be worth anything more than the challenge it presented of accurately throwing it into the "dump pile".

I felt a huge wave of disappointment as I realized my precious scrawls were probably nothing more than mulch.

I tried my best to remember key lines or even words. I Googled away until I realized it was like searching for a needle in a haystack and I gave up. Truly I haven't given it a whole lot of thought since then. I just remember whispering little prayers all the way along that I could just find it somehow. After that it was a very distant thought.

That is how I work. If there is something bothering me, I force it to the very furthest corner of my mind so that it wont consume me. It's my way of dealing I suppose.

And then it happened. I got this silly urge to reminisce through old photos. I have oodles and oodles of these and so generally I flip through rapidly until I find one that really stands out. I look at it for a few seconds. Try to remember when it was taken and what I happened to be thinking at that moment. I'll admit, my memory of these days gone by are a little rusty and thus, some photos must be held for longer than seconds while I dig through the tangled cobwebs in my head.

I was cruising along. On a roll. Flipping through photos of scenery for the most part. The view from behind my old house, sunsets over San Carlos, various snapshots of my old stomping grounds. Nothing that I couldn't remember in a flash. And then I came across this picture.



Just my old bedroom. The bedroom that I loved because it was just as I wanted it. I put a good amount of myself into it.

I had taken the picture because I wanted to remember the beautiful flowers. Left on my porch by my "Secret Admirer" whom later I discovered was the man I would marry. Notice the over abundance of papers tucked into my mirror? Those were all little bits of inspiration I had collected over time. Things that helped me get through my days. I liked to think that they helped to better me. Keep me focused on goals that I had for myself.

I was admiring the pale blue walls and then my eye was drawn to a certain piece of paper. I recognized the squiggles at the top in pink, blue and yellow. That was my quote! The one I had searched for.


Taken before I knew much about pixels and that whole bit, the words were hard to make out. But it was a start. Back I went to that amazing phenomenon we call Google and I pecked out a few different names that I thought I could see through the blur.


Third time was a charm. I smiled from ear to ear as I read.


They cut desire into short lengths
And fed it to the hungry fires of courage.
Long after—when the flames had died—
Molten Gold gleamed in the ashes.

They gathered it into bruised palms
And handed it to their children
And their children's children. Forever.

Vilate Raile


Maybe it isn't as profound to you as to me. Maybe that is why I found it. Because I needed it.


I have been working on myself. Seems like a never ending process. Of course it is.


"They cut desire into short lengths." Line upon line, precept upon precept. One thing at a time.


"And fed it to the hungry fires of courage." Feeding courage by giving up our desires, our weaknesses.


I love the picture it paints in my mind. The gold shining through. After all the struggle, all the sacrifice. And passing that on, our better selves, onto our posterity.


That is what I want. That is what I have to work for.


I find it beautiful and inspiring. Just what I needed.

{these two lovelies}

These lovely ladies were a thrift find.

Five dollars for both.

I love those kinds of days.

They need a little love for sure.

Not positive where they will end up just yet.

My wheels are turning.

{how do you stuff?}

It's that time of year! I've got stuffing and stuffers {stocking stuffers that is} on the brain! I have a few good ideas...thanks of course to the ever inspiring shops at ETSY.

I can't think of anything that Baby Boy would love more than a sweet teether. Like this one from Booger Bear Creations. Absolute genius!

And Lil B Designs definitely knows what my Bossy Pants would love. Something like this is sure to give him endless entertainment ANYWHERE!

And as for me, well that's easy! Retro Mama has oodles of delicious looking stuffers! This pear pin cushion in particular would look so fabulous setting in my stocking on Christmas morning!

Now for the part where I always fall short. What about THE HUBBY? Socks? Two years in a row. DVD's? Those seem to be my crutch. Candy? Yup. And he hardly likes candy. So my question for all of you is What do you put in your man's stocking? I want to be a little more creative this year. Pa-Lease share your ideas with me!

{INSPIRATION ON THIS FALLISH DAY}

Is it any wonder that I love this season?

What inspired you today?

{LOVE}

I am so the sap for love stories. Not just the ones where the guy meets the girl and sweeps her off her feet and they live happily ever after. I love the ones about the lonely old man who finds a friend in the most unexpected place. Or the neglected child who finds family who cherishes him. The two people who despised each other and in some crazy way come to need each other and rely on one another. There are so many forms of loving another person but I find them all marvelously beautiful! They all fall back on one thing and one origin, and that's the love that our Heavenly Father first gave us. That makes love so pure. If He who is the perfect judge can love all of his children, who am I not to do the same? I don't always love the choices people make and to love someone I don't have to agree with everything they do. But without love, I would be easily annoyed, easily offended and easily provoked and I can imagine that would lead to one very miserable me. When you have a real love for people you aren't waiting for them to make their next big mistake. You're waiting for them to excel. And when they do that it is much easier to see their progress and be happy for them. Elbert Hubbard said "Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away." I think that sometimes I have been mistaken in thinking that if I give my love away to someone who doesn't love me in return, then I am foolish and setting myself up to be hurt. But what a waste of time to guard yourself like that. Of course we will be hurt by somebody some day. It's impossible to escape. But there is comfort in knowing you did all you could and gave all you could give. Because that is all we can expect of ourselves. Mother Theresa said "I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." Love changes things and it changes people. The person most profoundly affected by my love is me. Sure I have been hurt, I've been betrayed, I have lost trust in people. But if there is one thing I have learned and never doubted, it is that giving up on the goodness of people hurts you a hundred times more than the people we give up on. We don't have to be best friends with everyone. We should surround ourselves with people that lift us up. But that doesn't mean we can't love. When we give ourselves up to hate it's like imprisoning ourselves willfully. We are more affected by that feeling inside of us than anyone else could possibly be. Christ's light cannot exist in a place where there is hatred and malice. So when we welcome those feeling into our spirits we limit ourselves from Him and the peace that His spirit brings. Our perfect example of love is Christ. He loved perfectly and yet He was rejected, mocked and crucified. And STILL He loves. I will never have to endure the things that He has endured. He has already endured all of my pains, physical and emotional. And still I could only hope to be so forgiving of the petty things in my life. Christ taught us how to do this while delivering His sermon on the mount:

Matthew 5:44 & 45
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven..."

I have so much room for improvement. so much. It seems like I am on the never ending road of bettering myself. I guess that's how it is though. This is one area that will be constant work for me. But it is an area that I so desperately hope to excel in.

SIMPLY PUT

Over the past few weeks I have had several opportunities to see my life in a clearer perspective. I have become more aware of and thankful for the abundance of blessings in my life and also more aware of changes I would like to make so that I'm not getting lost in the mundane and losing sight of the things I hold near and dear. My family, my friends and my Heavenly Father, these are the things I cherish. I am so blessed to have two perfectly healthy and beautiful children and a husband who loves us and works so hard to make our lives beyond comfortable. As I see each day with them as a blessing, the simple things become more beautiful. Seeing the smiles on my boys' faces, hearing Gage laugh over the silliest things and wondering what they are dreaming while they sleep so peacefully next to me. My family truly is my greatest blessing! I have to wonder how I could allow such trivial things to overwhelm my life at times. I don't want that anymore. One of the first things I have been impressed to work on is to simplify. In eliminating some of the excess from my life I have felt relief from the control and I can better embrace the things that truly matter. I have been so blessed by this decision and hope to continue to apply it in my life.

HERE is one of the little "nudgers" I came across this past week. (Thank you Caitlin!)

And along with a great majority of you I have been so touched by Stephanie's story (Nie Nie Dialogues). My heart and prayers are with her and her family in this very hard time. She has exude love and dedication for her family and a passion for life through her blog and has left such an impression on me. Although she will probably never see this post I want to thank her for the example she has been to me without even realizing it.