Worth it.

This past summer we (me and my Mr) went backpacking. It was a steep and rocky climb. Especially with 50 lb packs on our backs. We hiked for 4+ hours a day. Up. Up. Up. 

We drank purified lake water sweetened with crystal light. 

We took a wrong turn, which lead to a 30 min detour and us scaling down a mountain side (when our destination had been merely a stones throw away before even starting on the wrong path). 

We got scratched and bruised, I twisted my ankle. 

It rained on us. Ty ended up hip high in mud. 

We had deep and hard conversations about the future and where we want our life to go. We relied on each other and connected in a way that you don't in normal everyday life.

We saw bear prints and heard animal noises that were unfamiliar to us and a little too close for comfort.

We stepped in moose poop.

We were hot during the day and cold during the night.

It was hard.

It was challenging.

It was beautiful.

It was rewarding.

It was perfect.

It was worth it.

{At the highest point (and after the most challenging part of the hike) we found ourselves literally on top of a mountain, surrounded by fields of wild flowers. It was so amazing that it didn't seem like it could be real. But it was and I feel humbled and blessed for that moment in my life.}

In the recent years I have found myself in some not so great life situations. These situations, which I may share as I go along, tested my limits, my strength and my ablity. As I plowed through these hardships I noticed something amazing happening. Not only was I adapting but I was growing.

As I took time to work through my situations, I learned so much about myself. I stretched myself and then stretched myself some more and when I didn't think I could stretch any more, I did. As I stretched higher and higher I felt as though I grew out of my old self. And as I opened my eyes to look around, everything looked different.  And with that Life took on a new meaning and I had a completely new perspective.

These hard times crushed me at first but in the end they:

Strengthened me.

Made me more greatful.

More humble.

Laugh more.

Cry more.

Feel more.

Do more.

Love more.

Pray more.

Ponder more.

Enjoy more.

Notice more.

Want more.

Want less.

Compare less.

Complain less.

Judge less.




And as strange as it may sound,  these yucky and horrible life experiences have actually made me a happier and a more complete person. I look back on the "old" me and realize that I would never become who I was meant to be, and who I wanted to be for that matter, if it wasn't for those hard knocks. 

Not to say that it was an easy road. I worked (and continue to work) my ass off to grow from these challenges. Instead of letting them consume me; I took them, cried about them, prayed about them and then used them to teach me about myself and to grow. Sure there were a handful of times where I laid down on the road, curled up in the fetal position and let life move around me, begging for someone to save me. Sure there were plenty of times that I threw accusations and blame at people around me. (As if any of these things would take my problems away). But when doing that actually did the opposite and made me feel worse, I would dust myself off and start on my journey again.

I am proud to say that I am actually *ahem* thankful for these challenges. I would never want to do it again and wouldn't wish my struggles and heart ache on even my worst enemy (cliche much?). 

But what I would wish on even my worst enemy (and my best friend and a complete stranger). What I would wish for anyone going through a struggle is...

that they take would their troubles and hardships and instead of wallowing and placing blame on others that they would use their problems to help them learn about themselves and ulitimatly nourish themselves on a spritual and soul level.

It truly is amazing what we can learn from ourselves and the world around us when we quiet down, take responsibility and climb even when it's painful.

When I reach the end of any life challenge and ultimately at the end of my life I want to look back, just like I did after backpacking, and be able to say...

It was hard.

It was challenging.

It was beautiful.

It was rewarding.

It was perfect.

It was worth it.

Here are a few more pics of our fabulous weekend backpacking. I can't wait to go again next summer. :)

Let's Talk Eyebrows

Here is a post I wrote for another blog a while ago. This is one of my favorite beauty tips and so I thought that I would share it over here too.

 

 

 

Even as a baby I had eyebrows

I was born with dark and bushy eye brows. I used to think it was a curse until I realized how to wax them and now I love them.

Well even after all these years of waxing, tweezing, and plucking I never really thought about coloring them in. They are so dark and thick that I just didn't see the point. Even after countless make-up classes suggesting that that everyone should color in their brows I still didn't think the rule applied to me.

Last summer when I was playing with my make up, I randomly decided to lightly color in my eyebrows. That night my husband came home from work and couldn't figure out what was different about me... but he liked it.



I wondered if it could have been the eye brows because it was the only thing I had done differently that day, so I did it again the next day and got the same "you look great" results. I still didn't tell him what I thought it might be that was making me look like a goddess in his eyes (wink) so the next day I didn't color them in and my husband didn't say a word. Okay. Well the 4th day into my little eyebrow experiment I colored my eye brows in again, waiting to see if just maybe he'd notice, he did.

I couldn't believe it! By the simple task of adding a little color into my already dark eyebrows I was able to "wow" my husband of (then) 8 years who had seen me with every hair color, make up style and other beauty technique out there. It took less then 5 seconds to add dimension to my face and frame my eyes in a way that would make them stand out. It is the best and easiest beauty tip I have found.

Here is why: Quite often peoples eyebrows are a dull and ashy version of their hair color. In my case my eyebrows were dark and thick enough to frame my eyes but the color was wrong. Another problem is that peoples eyebrows do not match. There is always one that is thinner, higher, lighter, better arched or uneven.

By lightly shading in your eyebrows with a color that matches your natural color you will brighten the eyes natural hue and help make the eyebrows appear to be more symmetrical and even.



Look at the difference in these 2 pictures of me





I prefer to use a powder that is similar to an eye shadow over the commonly used eyebrow pencil, I think it looks more natural and gives you more control over the shade.

 I use Anastasia's eyebrow kit.   This kit offers:

•  2 Brow Powders- having 2 colors makes it easy to blend and customize a shade that looks natural
•  Angled Brush- makes applying the color easy and even
• Cream Highlighter- to use under the eyebrow on the brow bone, this lifts and accentuate the eyes
• Wax Cream- this is like gel for your eyebrows, it holds your eyebrow in the perfect shape all day and gives it a nice finished look. 

If you have never tried coloring in your eyebrows, try it! It is easy and will give you instant results.

DISCLAIMER: Always start out light and you can add more if you need. Remember you want it too look natural so that people can tell that there is something different but can't exactly tell what it is. It is more about adding a little color to your brow then it is adding darkness to your brow. Look for a color that matches you eyebrows already so it just brightens and fills in. 

I would love to see before and after pics if you try this!!

Yesterday

"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away

Now it looks as though they're here to stay

Oh, I believe in yesterday

Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play

Now I need a place to hide away

Oh, I believe in yesterday"

Yesterday ROCKED my world!

My BFF picked me up around 1:39(ish) ;)

And we spent 3 hours at the spa. Massages and pedicures while sipping diet Coke (with a splash of root beer) and chit chatting about anything and everything.

Then we headed to Cheesecake Factory and Nordstrom to eat and shop a bit. And of course over my "The Incredible Grilled Eggplant Sandwich" (which is amazing btw) and while browsing clothes, jewelry and make up we chit chatted some more, laughed and maybe even cried a little. 

{Everyone needs a good girlfriend. They are like therapists but funner to hang out with and do a better job at helping you pick out the perfect polish color or deciding what iPhone case is the cutest.}

I came home to sleeping babies, a clean house and a husband who was whistling in the shower.

The Mr. and I spent the rest of the night enjoying each others company, put on our pjs, lit some candles and curled up on our bed to some mindless TV and ate the "thanks for being so fabulous" cheesecake I brought home for him.

Cheesecake anyone?

Five on Friday

1. This past week I hit the mark of 35lbs lost. :) 

I love the feeling of my clothes being loose instead of tight. 

Not the best after pic (no make up, early morning, before i washed the mirror) but you get the idea. I will update with a better one tonight or tomorrow when I have time  and someone to help me take a better one.

2. My watermelon plants are growing!

It is my first time growing watermelons. 

I planted them from seed indoors and then transplanted them outside to the garden. I hear watermelon is hard to grow, so I celebrate every little step and take pride that we (as in me and that cute little green plant) have made it this far.

3. I found a dress that my little sister left in the basement. I never wear dressed like this but I just had to try it on. 

I just love the contrast and the detail.

The front has a classic and more modest cut, with preppy pleats at the waist and then the back is open.

And the fabric of the dress is soft and feminine with a sheer overlay but than you have a leather waistband and back.

P.S. these pics were taken ridiculously early in the morning. Don't look too close at me or my bed head. 

Oh and meet Ben. This little guy is never more than 3 feet away from me and often shows up in the corners of my pictures. 

4. I may or may not have left some food out for my boys yesterday morning. 

I am sorry, but it is hard being bombarded at 5:30 am every morning by two hungry wild children. I figure if someone calls CPS on me at least there is some fruit on there to help me plead my case that I am a good mom and that I do love my kids. ;)

Oh and look at how I wrote their names on the paper towels. See, more loving details. 

Oh and it totally worked. They got up and played pirates while snacking on an apple and the graham crackers. And I was able to make them their real breakfast at a reasonable 7:00 am.

5. I love when restaurants make my regular diet coke feel fancy and special. 

Can I do a bonus #6 without getting booed or kicked out of the 5 on Friday Club?

6. I have some homemade and fun Fathers Day gifts in the works. I am crossing my fingers that they turn out. I'm actually really excited and will share them after they are done. :D

My Husband is Such A Nerd

Yesterday was "nerd day" at his job. So I threw this little outfit together for him and guess what...

He won BEST nerd costume and got himself a nice $10 gift card to the big Micky D's. 

Such a great award for such a great honor. 

P.S. I love this guy! He is on the top of my *favorite people* list. Usually he sits at the very top, but sometimes, especially  if he leaves his socks in the middle of the living room, I will bump him to 3rd for a few mins. #watchout #imruthless 

Happy Girls Shine Brighter

I believe this more than I believe that Robins eat worms, guys like to have sex and it is important to brush your teeth.

I saw the quote on my friends Instagram and it instantly rang true. I didn't like the layout of the one I saw, so I threw this little one together because I wanted to share it.

Okay let's do a little exercise here. Put on your thinking caps, pull out your paper and pencils, sit up to a desk, you may need a calculator and scratch paper and you are only allowed 1 page of notes. If I see any of you cheating, I will have to give you a zero. This test will be timed... Oh wait, it isn't anything like that. 

All you need is your memory and to know a few people. 

First I want you to think of someone that when you first met them your first thought was that they were either beautiful, extremely handsome or maybe someone who stood out to be extra cute. But as you got to know them you saw that they weren't very nice, they frown and scowl a lot and are really negative and always complaining.

Take a minute to think about how they look to you now. How they really look and how you feel when you are around them. Think of their eyes and their expressions. Think of the energy around them and how it affects you.

Next think of someone who when you met them they didn't stand out as any more than a plain Jane but who is happy, kind, positive, smiles and laughs a lot. 

Again, take a minute to think about how they look to you now. How they really look and how you feel when you are around them. Think of their eyes and their expressions. Think of the energy around them and how it affects you.

Isn't it insane how the initially pretty person doesn't seem so pretty? And how the not so pretty one just shines?

Since we don't know the same people and because I would never want to talk poorly about anyone on this blog, I decided that I would pick the next best thing to prove me point... REALITY TV!  

You can totally see this transformation on pretty much every single reality show. 

One example that sticks out to me was Tierra from the Bachelor last season. At first she seemed very pretty, Sean even gave her the first impression rose but as she complained, cried, bitched and moaned about things her beauty quickly diminished and soon I could no longer see her as I did before. She wasn't at all attractive to me, but actually the opposite. 

An example on the other aspect is the newest member of RHOC, Lydia. She didn't stand out to me as a classic beauty but as I have seen her be positive, kind and especially watching her spend time with her sons and husband, she has transformed into someone much prettier to me.

Another example (that I probably shouldn't share). There is a person in my husband life (no names) that was and is always crabby and always scowling. As time has moved forward this persons face has literally transformed from a pretty face to a harsh and not very pretty face. If you were to put a picture of this person next to a younger picture of this person, you would be shocked. I was. I can't help but wonder if this person would have transformed in the other direction had they chosen to smile more and enjoy life more.

The moral of this looooong post. 

Be Happy!  

Choose to be happy. 

Choose to shine. 

Monday Randomness

Today is looking like a typical summer Monday. 

Lots of playing, reading, coloring, talking about all the amazing things that each specific transformer can do. 

Along with some...

Cleaning

Referee-ing

Meal making

More cleaning 

More referee-ing

& more meal making.

Repeat. Then repeat again. 

This morning we had SJ's summer tutoring. Poor kid isn't even in kindergarten yet and there is already so much pressure on him to be able to do a long and advanced checklist of things. 

I'm also thinking that since today is going to be sweltering hot. I think like high 90s. That we may have to break out the slip n slide and Popsicles. We would usually be headed to the pool on a day this hot but I like to be there right when it opens to get my spot by the kiddie pool. As you can imagine that area fills up fast. But with tutoring smack dab in the middle of the day we will probably have to skip the pool on Monday's.

Another exciting thing on my to do list is to go to the beauty supply store to buy some hair product that some of my stylist friends are raving about. I feel like a kid on Christmas! Nothing gets me more excited than trying new skin care, hair care, make up and other beauty products.  

Oh and I cant forget this exciting information. After a week and a half of the scale being at a complete standstill, it finally budged. And in the right direction! Yay. Insert ((Happy Dance)) here. That puts me down 34 lbs exactly.

Hmmmm. I don't think I have anything else to add. 

I was taking "before" pics of my hair and thought I'd share a pic of the shirt I'm wearing today. Cute right?