Forgive.

Thank you to those who will take the time to read this!

This post is by far the most vulnerable, the most raw, I have ever let myself be in public!

 

Sitting here listening to Crosby, Stills and Nash has brought a little nostalgia about my Dad.

I find myself thinking about him quit often lately. 

Why? Because this past Wednesday, March 26th, marked the four year mark of his passing.

Crazy how fast time flies by...

 

 

I did not have a relationship with him as a child, or a teenager, or most of my adult life.

However, as soon as Emma was born he must have seen the light. Smelled the roses.

Because he came around, and stuck around! 

I got three solid years with him, where I was slowly rebuilding our relationship.

 Emma got to know her Grandfather, and he got to know her, and love her.

And he got to know me all over again.

 

 

By reconnecting with him, I learned the true meaning of Forgiveness. 

 When he passed, I thought to myself: "Why only bring him back for such a small amount of time, then rip him away from me so suddenly?!" It took me a couple of years to figure it out, but now I know. It came full circle for me...Forgiveness.

I am a true believer of the saying that everything happens for a reason.

 Also, I know that if he had been in my life when I was younger, that I would not be the person I am today. Again, everything happens for a reason!

 

 

I know now that the reason for him coming back into my life, even if for a very brief period of time, was to teach me this. This life lesson that will forever be embedded into my soul. A lesson that I can know pass down to my children. A lesson that I am now able to pass on to friends and family going through similar situations...

I forgave him for the his absence and his selfishness during my childhood. 

Because when he became present, he was all in. And those last three years he was around more than I had ever remembered! He was able to be there when I got married, and he was able to meet my first-born! That is so much more than I could ever have hoped for!

The reason I write this now, is because it has taken me up until now to be able to speak of it publicly without breaking down. A lot more happened during that time in my life, which I may or may not discuss in the future. But this particular subject I am ready to share. 

I suppose that with the four year mark now behind me, I feel slightly more comfortable talking about it.

 

So thank you. Thank you for allowing me to share.

 

In The Zone

To start off with, I ask you this: 

how many of you can honestly call your Mom your best friend?

Because I can! And I do!

Perhaps it was the way I grew up;

Single mother, only child. 

We always had each other, no matter what. 

 And we still do, and I love that!

This past Friday night I had an awesome time with my mom!

We grabbed some coffee, drove to Seattle {while busting moves and singing at the top of our lungs}, tried a new Thai restaurant {which was so good}, and rocked out to an ah-mazing Kings of Leon concert!!! 

This was my third KOL show, while it was her first.

I told her that she was in for nothing less than a treat!

And Heck yes, did they deliver!

It definitely helped that we had fantastic seats...

basically a backstage view from where we sat!

The Local Natives opened for them, and I am honestly not that familiar with their music. 

But geez, were they good!! Then there were the Kings...ahhhh. How I love them so!

They opened their set with 'Charmer', which is a slightly older song {2007}, which I wasn't expecting! And while they obviously played songs from their newest album, Mechanical Bull, they played quit a few older songs from their first albums!

I LOVED IT!!!

As cheesy as this may sound, being at a live concert makes my soul wake up!

It truly is good for my soul!

And it is honestly where I am the most in "my zone". 

All in all, a great night was had by all!

Why Do I Blog?

For me, it is all about having an outlet. 

An outlet to share and release.
To muse and inspire.

To reflect and complain.

To brag and conceit.
 Because after all, I am only human.
And us humans like to talk about our lives from time to time...do we not?

I may not share my deepest, darkest secrets on here, but I share more than you think!
I may not have a huge following, or a ton of readers, but oh well.
I write for me. To get these swirling, never-ending thoughts out of my head.

Some of my posts might be boring, or irrelevant to you.
Or they might just hit home, or make you smile!
And while my posts may not be consistent {since I am not a 'professional' blogger}, I write when I can, when something pops into my head!
As I am sure that is how it goes for a lot of you...

But I do have to say that the blogging community is very open and friendly!
If it were not for this, I would not be able to be as open about some subjects as I am.
Granted, there are certain subjects that I just do not touch upon here. For personal reasons. But again, I am sure that you have certain things that you don't feel like sharing, right?!

This blog is my version of an adult journal, for the most part.
I will write posts and not publish them, just for the sake of getting the thoughts out...
Then there are times where I might simply post photos.
You never know with me!

Why do YOU blog?


 

Sunday Social

I am linking up with A Complete Waste of Makeup, for today's Sunday Social!

 This weeks questions are: 

1. What are the top 3 things you cannot go a day without doing?

• Drinking coffee 
• Giving my girls kisses
• Listening to music 

2. What are 3 things that scare you the most?

• Snakes! 
• Losing a loved one 
• Claustrophobia 

3. What are 3 places you want to see before you die?

• Nashville
• Italy
• Greece

4. What are 3 movies you will always love?

• Almost Famous
• The Breakfast Club
• Across the Universe 

5. What are your current 3 favorite songs?

• Ain't It Fun - Paramore
• Cop Car - Keith Urban
• Billie Jean - The Civil Wars

Right Now...

I am sitting here with the sun shining in the window, and jamming out to my favorite tunes.

Spring has officially sprung and the sun is actually shining here in the PNW!

 

 

And when the sun shines, I turn my music up a little bit louder, and enjoy it a little bit more than usual! At this particular moment, I am listening to my favorite band: Kings of Leon.

Speaking of KOL, I have to say that I am beyond stoked to be able to say that I will seeing them live in exactly one week from today!! Yesss!!

 

In fact, I couldn't be happier to say that I will be attending quit a few concerts within the next couple of months! If you know me even a little, you will know that I couldn't live without music, and that experiencing it live is my favorite thing...ever.

After next week, I will be spending three glorious, sun-filled days at the Gorge Amphitheater {hands down the best venue} in August for the Watershed Festival!! And after that, I will be seeing one of my all time favorite musicians, Mr. Keith Urban in September at the Washington State Fair! Did I ever tell you about that time I got to meet him...?!

 

Summer Lovin' Tour, 2010

I will definitely be getting my music fix this summer. And let me tell you, it is long, long overdue! It has been far too long since I was able to feed my music addiction, and this summer I decided to throw caution to the wind, and treat myself. 

 

Because damn it...I'm worth it!

Ronald McDonald House

This past Wednesday I had an amazing opportunity to join some lovely Thirty-One team mates at the Seattle Ronald McDonald House! We made and served dinner for the families, and got a tour of their facilities.

After an afternoon of meal prep!

That place is such a God send! 

They have a movie theater, an indoor playground, an outdoor playground, various game rooms and computer rooms, a room just for teenagers, a huge laundry room with top of the line machines, various lobbies for families to relax in, and of course the cafeteria/kitchen.

Attached to the building are apartments that the families get to live in for free! 

There are also two separate buildings filled with apartments. One is reserved just for those families with children who have highly compromised immune systems {i.e, bone marrow transplants,etc...}. Those families do not attend the dinners, obviously.

While we were serving dinner, which is cafeteria-style, we received so many heart felt thank-you's. The children were so sweet and absolutely adorable! The parents and guardians looked exhausted, but were in good spirits. The staff and other volunteers thanked us over and over again, and you could tell that these people truly value volunteer-ship. 

If it were not for volunteerism, places like this might not exist.
Places like this might not be as well run, or as well organized as it was.
They might not be able to help as many children and families as they would like. 
But thankfully they do!

Being able to do this was so incredibly humbling for me.
And frankly, it made me feel crumby about never doing it before.
How dare I not notice what is going on around me, so close to our home!
Out of sight, out of mind, right? Isn't that usually how ignorance comes to be?
 If our family needed those facilities we would never know any different.
Thankfully we do not, but for those who do, I am grateful that places such as the Ronald McDonald House exist!

My Thirty-One team is going to try to volunteer there once a month.
There is so much you can do there to help out!
Art projects with the kids, donate items, meal prep, etc...
Thirty-One has teamed up with the Ronald McDonald House, and created a thermal tote that can be purchased with portions of the proceeds going to directly to the Ronald McDonald House!

In fact, my team is collecting Blessing Bags to donate.
If you would like to help out in anyway, it would be greatly appreciated!
Contact me if you would like donate!

Just think of how much the little things could help these families!
The smallest comforts and conveniences could make a world of difference!

National Conference, Here I Come!

It is no secret that I am an Independent Consultant for an amazing, Faith-based company called Thirty-One Gifts. And while there are people I know that think it is silly, all I can say is that you just don't know!

You don't know how fun it can be!

You have no idea that this is about so much more than just money!

You do not know how many amazing women I have met, and how many relationships I have made, during my Thirty-One journey! 

And for those who have never inquired about the products we offer, well let me just say that you are truly missing out!

Before I knew about Thirty-One, I had no idea that there was a company out there that celebrated, encouraged, and rewarded it's employees that way that they do!

And the fact that they support the Working Woman, well there you have it!

The main reason for this post however, is mainly for me to say how excited I am to be able to attend my first Thirty-One National Conference this summer! 

It will be Denver, CO, where one of my best friends just happens to live! Not only will I get to visit with her, but I will get to learn so much about my business, meet even more incredible women, get inspired, and receive free products! Needless to say, I want need this vacation! 

It has been so long since I have been able to "go away" somewhere. Especially by myself!

I cannot wait to visit with my amazing friend, see Denver for the first time, and get excited about my business and make it better!

IT'S GONNA BE A GOOD TIME!!

I'm Back on Etsy!

I took an Etsy hiatus while I was pregnant, and then for the first year of my {second} daughters life. But now, I'm back at it! But in a different way...

Instead of offering prints that I would have ordered for you and shipped, I am offering a less expensive, more convenient way to purchase 'prints'. I have jumped onto the JPEG file bandwagon! For a very reasonable, low cost of only $5 per file, you can instantly download the file from my Etsy shop after your payment has been received. This way you can print them through whomever you choose. Whether it be at home, or through a third party print company. {Although, as I state in my shop policies, I highly suggest you use Mpix.com. They have the best quality, at very affordable prices!}

I am pretty excited about this!
I recently had someone purchase a print and frame it, and it made me feel pretty good about my work. As an aspiring photographer, who does this as a hobby, I would say that this is quit a large accomplishment!

Please, PLEASE check it out and let me know what you think!
{Simply click on the picture below to be directed to my shop}

I will be adding more listings in the shop soon! So check back regularly!

Cookies!

OK, so it was a busy week...

 

This is Emma's first year as a Girl Scout Daisy, and cookie season is in full swing!

We have spent the entire past week delivering her cookie pre sale orders, and collecting money. Phew, that was a lot of cookies! She reached her goal of 200 boxes, surpassing it by one, ha! She sold 201 boxes during the pre sale! 

 

 

And this last weekend was the troops very first cookie booth sales!

Half of the troop did one store on Saturday, then the other half {including us} did a store yesterday. Over all, for it being their first time doing this, they did amazing! Not to mention that it was pretty much the cutest thing I had seen in quit awhile! Between the two booths, they sold about 111 boxes, and had some donations for Operation Cookie Drop!

 

 

Considering where we live is absolutely overflowing with Girl Scouts, this is quit the accomplishment! We have 2 weeks left of booth sales, so wish us luck {although these little ladies don't need luck, they are just that good}!