The past couple weeks in a few pictures.

Geez Louise, it's been a while, huh?

I think I've lost my blogging mojo. What more do I have to talk about?

I suppose I could show you the cute carrying case I made for my 'teeth' as I like to call them. (I have Invisalign and I have to take the trays out and brush them after I eat- hence me carrying around a toothbrush and toothpaste everywhere. Let me assure you it's a super pain.)

Or I could tell you about the glorious way God told me "good morning!" the other day.

Or maybe you'd like to hear about the freaking delicious shrimp and pasta recipe I made last night? Thank you, Pioneer Woman. Thank you. It was ridiculous. Decadent and not good for my jean size, but ridiculous. :)

Oh! Oh! I forgot I wanted to tell you about the new caffeine free green tea I've been drinking! {{I've been reading Skinny Bitch (and you should, too)  and it mentions how horrible caffeine is, so I'm trying to give up my coffee. So hard.}} But I mix it with a couple drops of stevia and some almond milk and I'm good to go. (Many thanks to Sara for showing me the tea light. hee hee)

And when I show you this beautiful picture, please remember I drank these before I read Skinny Bitch. Yea, sugar is the devil. But these mangoritas are heaven.

I think next time we chat, I'll show you the prayer journal I've been working on. But I'll save that for our next convo. Besos to you all. xo

The New Ride

I wanted to introduce you to my newest love. My new Electra Townie.

::swoon::

Isn't she lovely? (At least, I think she's a she. She's too pretty to be a he, right?)

I was so sad to see my old bike go (we sold it on Craigslist.) And despite her lovliness, I was simply too short for her. I had to hop on it to get on and my feet couldn't reach the floor, which can make for a very dangerous ride. After scanning Craigslist for a couple months and never seeing one I wanted, Southern Hubby decided we should do it right and find one that fit me. (Come to find out it's pretty impossible to size a bike online.)

I found her at the first bike shop we went to. After a bunch of test drives and not finding one I liked we were about to give up. Then the salesman saw her, almost hidden amongst the masses. I took one look and fell madly in love. And her ride was amazing. She fit! We fit beautifully!

Thus, she was mine. :) I love her. I love her.

I want to ride her every. single. day. :)

I'm obsessed with bike culture now. I want to ride her everywhere. Sadly, our little slice of suburbian heaven is horribly lacking in bike-friendliness. :( If you want to share in my obsession, I beg of you to take a peek at these lovelies:

Oh, orange crush!
This shot has beautiful depth.
I love robin's egg blue!
This beautiful shot makes me want to hire a pro to photograph mine! ;)

Yay for March.

 

Happy March 1st! I'm excited for this month. Lots to look forward to and celebrate.

Our 6th wedding anniversary is on the 12th. Spring break! Lent is right around the corner. What to sacrifice? Still on the hunt for our anniversary trip destination. We're thinking Costa Rica. And St. Patty's Day is always so much fun!

What do you have going this month?

i ::heart:: faces: photojournalism

Here is my entry for this week's I Heart Faces challenge: Photojournalism.

In March, my best friend, Sky, got married. The last of my girlfriends to tie the knot, we were beyond thrilled. I've known this gal since the 7th grade, when we couldn't figure out which end of the cigarette to light (seriously) and she's remained a big part of my life ever since. I love her as family.

As a bride on your wedding day, you're ecstatic. But you're also on the verge of passing out at any moment. Between last minute snafus, the potential nightmare of an aisle trip on your poufy dress and your weepy mama, you're on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

OK, not all brides are like this. Maybe it was just me.

It definitely wasn't Sky. She was beyond chill. Cool as a cucumber. She's always been the laid back one. I'm the Monica.

And I think I captured her laid-backness and ethereal beauty in this shot.

Hot in Socks

As soon as I made my first pair of socks, Southern Hubby insisted I make him some.

Brat.

Here are his socks. He's hot in socks. Literally. The day I finished these, it was 104 degrees outside. Thankfully, God in all his mercy laid off Texas a bit. It was a high of 90 here yesterday and today should top out at 93. It feels like fall to us. No, I'm serious.

I'll be updating on the house progress and a Year in Pictures post asap. Happy pre-Fall!

Year in Pictures

August 9th

I've been wanting to do a sort of daily photo diary for the longest time. I know you've seen them, they're everywhere on Flickr. A person documents their year by snapping one picture- good, bad, boring, exciting each day for 365 days.

Some people do self portraits, but alas, I am not that brave. Nor do I look put together every single day. (Did I mention it's 105 here in Texas today and I don't have a drop of makeup on?) So I'm forgoing the self-embarrassment.

August 11th

I tried it once at the beginning of this year and lasted 3 weeks. OK...two and a half.

But instead of waiting till next New Years Day to start, I figured I'd give it another shot mid August. Why not? There are not a set of rules I'm bound to.

 August 12th

      

And maybe I'll post my pictures each Friday? We'll see.

Hope everyone has an awesome Friday the 13th. ::insert creepy music here::  

Ohm-ing

Did I mention I've been reading Eat, Pray, Love?

Yeah, I'm on the EPL bandwagon, so sue me. I just started the India part of the book and I've loving every minute. I'm devouring every word. I was meant to read this book at this point in my life. I'm particularly loving this section because Southern Hubby and I have been to India, so it's bringing back lots of nice memories.

Because of this, I'm starting to pick back up my yoga. Not that I ever had a "my yoga"; I piddled around with it in classes, but I never really studied it. But I'm giving it another shot.

I'm also trying meditation.

I cringe even writing this because it sounds SO Uptown Dallas. And if you're from Dallas, you know what I'm talking about. And Uptown Dallas is decidedly not me.

But I quietly began researching meditation last year when migraines and fatigue were taking a firm hold of my life. At that point in my life, I was tired of taking prescription medications for something that I thought I could control. I didn't want to pop pills like candy. When I told my doctor about this, he suggested I try meditation and/or yoga, as it has been known to help. He said it almost quietly, like he didn't want me to think he was crazy.

I didn't.

I did try here and there but I found it very hard to quiet my mind. But I don't think I was really ready to give it a true shot.

Finally I'm ready.

We'll see how this goes. I'm learning. I'm sitting. I'm ohm-ing And I'm trying to not feel like an uber-goober when I'm sitting there absolutely still and quiet. I feel like I should be doing something- cleaning, laundry, running, catching up on blogs, reading, picking my nose, anything but sitting doing nothing. I don't think us Americans handle 'nothing' very well. We have the mentality that if we're not productive, we're not useful.

I'm out to change that. For myself, at least. Wish me luck.

Knit Wit

I've been doing a lot of things to keep myself busy this summer. Seeing as I only have a tiny apartment to keep tidy, I need lots to do or else I probably would go nuts.

One thing I've picked back up is knitting. I set a couple goals for myself this year, and learning how to knit socks was one of them. Marching myself down to the local knitting store, I picked up a $35 Lucy Neatby DVD, a $5 pattern, $10 double pointed knitting needles, and $20 worth of yarn. You'd think after spending that much and watching the DVD twice, I'd be a sock knitting guru...well, it didn't quite work out that way.

Frustrated beyond measure, I scanned YouTube, which is what I should have done in the first place. There was a plethora of free tutorials. Then the crafting angels smiled on me and I ran across some videos from Staci at Very Pink. Turns out all I had to do was spend $8 on one of her patterns and follow her YouTube sock tutorials. I've got to give it to Staci (who happens to be a native Texan), she knows what she's talking about. 

It took me a good couple days to get through them all but after finishing the first sock, I've been churning them out. They're a quick and satisfying project. And I like quick. I'm an instant gratification kind of gal, I guess.

The clouds are heavy today in north Texas. We're scheduled to get some rain. A perfect day to curl up with my needles.

Have a lovely Thursday.

xxoo

Long time gone.

I'm here. I'm alive. I promise. ;)

Summer has been whooshing by us. Reading, knitting, driving, living, laughing, I've been doing it all. God is so good.


We just returned from a week and a half long vacation and I've got mounds of laundry looking at me really ugly. I promise to bring you updates asap.

Smooch!


xoxo

Journal Painting

Last summer I participated in a collaborative online journal called, :echoes:.

we are inspired by the moments in our days. in this space we will capture those moments, save them to revisit another time, share them with each other and with you.

we will use images, words, and a variety of other media to preserve these fleeting memories.

Using simple watercolor paints I documented the lazy summer days. Although they haven't started it again this year (I sure hope they do!) I'm jumping right in. I desperately need that 15 minutes each day to just sit and think and write and draw. Call it cathartic if you will, but it does help.

I invite you to try it. No fancy tools needed- just some brushes, a pad and watercolors. And share your work. I've found the blog community is so full of creative minds. Sometimes it just blows me away. So share your talent.

xoxo

My tan is peeling

While we're ridiculously busy around here, I thought I'd stop by a moment to share a couple of pictures from my "Sad-to-see-30-but-I'm-hoping-this-pina-colada-will-help" trip to the Dominican Republic. We had an absolute blast even though this Texas girl was melting on the first day.

I got an awesome tan, but am currently in the dreadful process of peeling. Boo to peeling tans.

We close on our old house this Friday, so we're in the middle of packing everything up and moving into our temporary home at the apartments. We released the contingency on the new home on Mother's Day so we're looking forward to beginning to see some action on our lot! Exciting but stressful times ahead!

I'll check in after the move cause without a house to clean, I'll have plenty of time for bloggin'! Hugs and kisses to you all!
xoxo

How I feel today...

Amen to this cute looking gal with pigtails.It's supposedly going to snow again today and tomorrow here in north Texas.
Time for more thick and cozy socks.

Time for my flannel pj's and flannel bed sheets.

Here's what my part of town looked like the last time it snowed. This happened right before Valentine's Day. It was unreal for Texas.

And we got to make real snowmen, too! Not the ugly, dirt filled, black snowmen we're used to making, either! Southern Hubby thought it was hilarious. Since he's a Yankee, he's been there-done that. He thought making a fort was much cooler, but in the end I won.

Stay warm out there, ya'll!!

xoxo

Time for snuggling with my three boys.

Today...

Today it is wet and cold in Dallas.

Today I am really angry a certain people.

Today I finally ordered my bar stools for the kitchen. Thank you for your help.

Today I have warm and colorful socks on.

Today Southern Hubby and I will go on a date and I will order crab ravioli.

Today I am missing someone.

Today I wonder if I should go back to teaching.

Today I know I'll miss being a homemaker if I do.

Today I made Valentine's muffins for breakfast.

Today I will stay in my sweats, keep my comfy socks on, curl up on the couch with my sweet babies and continue to work on this...

Today I wish you all a fabulous weekend!

xoxo