shetoldstories

where we meet.

There is a circle of women who I have come to love and trust. They hold my heart & secrets safely in their pockets. They say things like "Let me hear it all. I will listen to you."

Some live across the country. Some across the Atlantic. Some are just across the bridge. And some are right here close to my home.

We meet when we can. We gather together or sometimes alone. We talk, we text, we skype, we keep the lines connected. We share coffee, meals, convo, tears, and laughter. We share our time.

We meet knowing that one of us is a life-line for the other.

For 52 Photos Project {Where we Meet}

textures & wishes:

A magic bag of twigs & wishes.

Get yourself one of these :)

(I used 2 beautiful textures made by Kim Klassen -
Chase, Soft Light @ 75% opacity and Charmed,
Soft Light @ 50% opacity)

weekending:

It used to be that I loved having plans for the weekend. I liked the days, the hours, the minutes, to be filled with activity - with people - with noise.

Not so much anymore.

My husband and I work outside of the home while our girl is at school. It's hours of precious time spent apart from each other.

And while we do cherish our home time together, eating dinner at the table, discussing our day - and her bed-time routine that he & I don't want to put to rest - it's the weekends that I've come to love the most.

The weekends belong to us. It's become our time to really nurture our little family of three.

This weekend started off with some yard work: mowing the lawn and giving the trampoline a good Spring cleaning. I lit a cozy bonfire, and while my daughter and her bestie sprayed each other with the hose, we enjoyed some munchies & spirits, engulfed by heat of the fire, watching the day fade into night.

Saturday, Angie and I went to the market to buy flower beds and mulch. We cleaned out & created what is the beginning of a big flower garden. Between the digging, the planting, the sips of iced coffee under the hot sun, we laughed and joked and threw worms at each other. So much fun!

We saw two great movies (just for the record, my girl & I love horror flicks): ATM & Troy (Eric Bana as Hector? love. Brad Pitt as Achilles? no. yuck.)

Finally on Sunday, we lounged around for most of the morning before going to my dad's house to celebrate his Saint's day.

It's the one day of the year that he loves to have us all gathered around with him. I don't like his wife much, so for me to sit and spend time with him I have to tune her out and flash her my million dollar smile.

He's getting up there in age - and what I know to be true is that the only gift we have right now, is the gift of this day. (Thank you Leonie). Time is precious and I want to spend mine fully with those who I love most.

I don't want to look back and regret the time we didn't spend together and if that means being fake smiles for his wife - then it is what it is. I love him too much to miss being in his presence.

My weekends have changed. Together-ness, nourishment, nurturing... this is what fills me.

Thank you Amanda - for your weekending link up. It has given me time to pause, reflect, and to mindfully choose how I spend my free time.

thoughts on kindness

There's this thing I do when I look in the mirror. My focus shifts and zooms in on the bits that I don't like.

Do you do this too?

I wonder what would happen in we allowed ourselves just one day free of self criticism. Could we look ourselves in the eye and smile, embrace those bits that we normally scoff at, maybe give what we call flaws a little bit of love.

I need a day off.

I'm tired of analyzing my body, my face - looking for what's wrong and what could use a little fixing. (nipping, tucking, toning, scrubbing, lasering, etc.)

I need to just look and love what I see - love who I am.

I hope you try it too, because your presence all on it's own, is a blessing.

Give yourself the permission to let go and surrender to the light within you.

how i roll ~

You know why I loved this moment?

Because I spun around & around

until

I fell on my ass.

Dizzy & Laughing.

Not a care in the world.

This is how I dance.

This is how I roll.

I invite it in,

and forget what was.

texture, texture! and wishes too!

It used to be that I had to ask, beg, even plead with my daughter to pose for me. Now that she's older and exploring her own creative style, she's the one who proposes a photo shoot every now and then. (yes, my heart does explode when this happens!)

I'm linking up with Kim Klassen who just celebrated her birthday! You all just don't know how much love I have for Kim. She creates her beautiful textures by hand and if you subscribe to her texture lovin' list ... you get 1 free texture gift a week. I've amassed a huge file full of her beauties - and I love playing with them in PhotoShop.

Kim made a wish list of 44 goals for her birthday! I haven't made a list in a while so her invitation to do so is perfectly timed!

Because it's May 1st & with 31 beautiful days ahead, I'll list my goals for the next month:

*We're painting the living room again. I need to pick the color (a soft vanilla) and get the ball rolling on that project.

*Order ten 5x7 shadowbox frames for the huge wall that's been bare of art for the 9 years we've been here. Also, order prints for said frames.

*Re-arrange furniture and wall art when the painting is done, creating a sitting space that flows better than what it does now. I want it done by June 1.

*Finish writing the content for my photography e-Course & offer up the deets (dates, registration, etc.) by June 1.

*Consider chalk-board paint for a square on the blank kitchen wall (my daughter would love it!)

*With a family wedding coming up, my weekends seem to be filling - but - create space for connecting with my girlfriends.

*Finally... today is the first appointment with my trainer. I don't care how much pain I'm in, I will stick to our weekly sessions -and- continue with 2 cardio & 1 yoga session a week. I want to tone up be all kinds of fierce looking this summer.

Photo recipe: I ran TRA's Troy action on the photo before applying a layer of Kim's Cinnamon on Multiply 100% - then Kim's Charmed on Soft Light 100%. Flatten and Save.

weekending:

I feel like I had a lot of free time this weekend because I wasn't all consumed with the Hunger Games series. Book 3, all done! (Bittersweet. I loved how the series ended) I'm moving onto the 50 Shades series next because that's all the ladies are talking about over on FaceBook ...

It was another slow moving weekend. On Friday, I took (my first ever) restorative yoga class. I loved it. Definitely not the kind of yoga I was expecting, but so very relaxing. The instructor was gentle and really helpful in getting me set up with my props (body pillows & blankets). By the end of class, my body felt completely relaxed and ready for a long night of sleep.

In between the everyday-ness of our time off, we gathered with friends for food, drinks, and good convo - a small celebration dinner for a newly engaged cousin (Zak has so many cousins!) and a little bbq here at our house. Good stuff. 

Now the shower is buzzing because she's getting ready for school, and I sit here in the quiet, wishing it wasn't over - totally needing one extra day with no time restraints. But the clock is telling me I should get up and make her lunch now...

weekending with: Amanda

thoughts on kindness

The self portrait challenges and classes that I'm participating in definitely have me moving out of my comfort zone. And right now, I think it's what I need.

The complication that arises when we attempt our self-love and self-care rituals is the voice in our heads. Mine barks out different negatives all the time. I won't share them here - but I know that you have your own, and you know how debilitating it can leave us.

But know this: You are not those things.

You are worthy.

Of love. Of kindness. Of self indulgence. Of time alone. Of breaking free of those negatives because they do not serve you, nor are they a part of the light within you.

You are beautiful.

And like the song says: If you have the choice to sit it out or dance...

I hope you dance.

In your light.

With the grace & dignity that lays still inside of you.

Shake it up. Dance it out. Twirl around and around inside of your beauty.

weekending:

photo of advert by Crystal Cruises

The weekend was

a mix

of dancing in the woods

early bedtimes

epic pampering (got my hair did)

bowling

lunch with sweet friends

feeding the birds that

flock to our yard

Kill Bill vol. 2

and then, the whole day

home in bed

with soup

the bills (all paid)

my book

my magazine

family poker night

and then our show (Once Upon a Time)

before the little one goes to bed

and the mister and I

have our own date night.

Full. Full. Full.

Weekending with: Amanda

good things

The birds singing their beautiful song outside my window. It softens the edges of my mornings...

Today I feel like I have a new song to sing.

Inspiration, it ebbs and flows.

Right now, it's flowing...

Spring fever? I don't know...

I'm excited about:

Week # 52 of my 52 Photos Project & beginning again with year 2 on April 22nd !!

Re-Writing the Story with Vivienne McMaster

Now You with Kristen & Meredith

Writing the content for my own Storytelling eCourse:

Details & Registration info will be coming soon!

Class begins in July.

Good things are happening!!