my life monday + counting raindrops

it's a monday.

and i've learned something about monday's that is new to me. they are hard.

new? really?

that's what you're thinking, right? allow me to elaborate. i used to love mondays. mostly because i felt so rejuvenated from sunday that monday was like a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning. some weeks i still feel like that, but i won't lie to you, the buzz i used to get at church when i was in college is not the same. i know that's mostly my fault. i tend to hit these plateaus every once in a while in my spirituality. not on purpose, but it happens to all of us and we are human.

i've learned that challenges usually give us that forward momentum in our spirituality and for me, life just hasn't had too many difficult challenges since marrying that hunky monkey i call my husband. {now that i've said that for the world to see, i may have just called down the powers of heaven to challenge me.}

the point is, monday is hard now. later i will feel like it's a new start, but it's hard to wake up. it's hard to work out. i don't want to cook, or go to work, or do anything. but we have to. so i guess i need to change my own perspective again. i will try.

my life monday + micro nature

a couple weeks ago, i told you i was going to start a series. well this is the first! it's a my life monday!

basically, this is going to be the only time i will blab on about the lame goings on, or sometimes exciting goings on, of my life, instead of just running on and on about how crazy life is. i will leave the rest of the week for other things like recipes and crafts, or something else i'm working on {ssshhh}.

today, for starters, i'm guest blogging over at my friend kory's blog. first guest post ever, and i was so excited to do it! kory is so fun to work with, and i really just love her blog anyway, so you should check it out! p.s. i shared a recipe on her blog, so you might want to get your drool rag out.

secondly, i've been playing around with the camera now that pretty things are out and about. i'm a big fan of detail, close ups, and i guess what you call micro-shots? anyone? i don't know. i'm not a photographer.

 

i don't know about you, but flowers just bring me happiness. i love them with all my heart. and i especially love taking pictures of them. here are some more shots from my strolling.

if i turned some nature shots into downloadable desktops with a fancy quote and all, would anyone download them?? i've been thinking about it, but i don't want to waste my time if nobody would. would you?

lemon seeds and missing trees

 i grew up on a plot of land that housed my family, my grandparents, and my great grandparents. it was any child's dream. cookies and hugs from gramma at any desired time. games of skip-bo and charade's at great-gramma's. trampoline, tree house, swing set. stealing things from grampa's workshop to build forts {i can count 15 forts that we made and manned over the years!}.

then there were the trees. pomegranate. pecan. peach. almond. chinaberry {you don't eat those, they're poison, you have chinaberry wars}.

and then... the citrus. lemon. grapefruit. orange. limon {it grew limes and lemons because the lime tree was too close to the lemon. cross-pollination, friends!}.

oh, how i miss sitting under the orange tree and eating and eating and eating. we used the gate latches to get the first hunk of skin off, then peel to our hearts content. the only rule was we had to clean up our peels.

before the frost would come, there would be a mad scramble to pick all the lemons and crate them up. did you know if a citrus tree frosts, all the juices in the fruit go back into the tree to help keep it warm? this results in very dry fruit, and no fresh lemonade.

dad made his bestest grapefruitade on a regular basis, and it is definitely not the same with store bought grapefruits. in fact, i will probably never it make it that way again.

needless to say, i miss my citrus trees.

so i planted some. even if you don't want a full out tree, the little baby lemon sprouts are so cheerful, bright, fresh, and they smell good, too! it's quite simple to start your own little citrus forest.

step 1: get a lemon {or orange or lime or grapefruit, doesn't matter.} and take out all the seeds.

step 2: let the seeds soak in some water for a couple days to a week.

step 3: try to clean off any outside casing by rubbing them. if nothing comes off, you're good. if something does, discard it. don't do this over the sink, the little guys are slippery and like to escape.

step 4: put them in some soil! i filled a mug with all the seeds the lemon had. i wasn't sure how many would germinate. i probably planted 15 seeds, and i have seven baby trees.

step 5: put them in a sunny window, and wait for two weeks. give them water {enough to soak in the soil without drowning them} about every other day.

enjoy your little citrus forest! it certainly brings a smile to my face. i was so excited when sprout after sprout popped up in my soil! having it in my windowsill and not outside made it possible for me to watch the progress every day! happy planting!

xo

a little craziness + a beautiful mess

after the storm last week, you'd think life would be a little better. but it really feels like a whirlwind of everything happening all at once!

i started a new job, i'm working on projects, trying to do some summer cleaning (not spring cleaning because i was in school then, but it's the same principle), running errands and theeeen... a three day weekend. how nice! we had a relaxing one, which was great. just hanging out. we also went to the last day of the norman rockwell exhibit at our local art museum which was awesome! unfortunately, i wasn't allowed to take pictures. sad day. but way cool! he's fabulous!

on another note, has anyone downloaded the new app from a beautiful mess?? love it! here's some of my little edited shots since i downloaded it a couple weeks ago. well worth the dollar!

foliophoto {link-up} bright

i was almost going to skip this week of foliophoto-ing.

i had no inspiration for the prompt: bright.

but this morning while i was eating breakfast i saw this image and i couldn't resist. i know you have probably been bombarded with images, thoughts, and prayers that go to boston and victims and their families, but i'm adding mine anyways. it's such a tragedy, but things like this continue to bring us all closer to one another, appreciate our loved ones, and come out a little stronger.

i have never been to boston. i don't know what it's like there. but this mug came from some friends who were there recently. i know a family who lives near there. and i found out this morning that my mom spent the first few years of her life a mile away from the explosion. it's a small world, and somehow we are all connected.

i add my prayers to so many of yours.

there is hope for boston.

 camera: iphone | filter: amaro via instagram

next week's prompt: smile

craft time: DIY journal

i know i promised trip updates, but this is more important.

i just finished making my general conference journal for this weekend. i had to share it first... just in case you wanted to make one for yourself. i needed to give you time to make one :) see? more important. 

ok, i found this last week at one of my fave blogs: fox + hazel. isn't it so cute?? check out the full instructions on this bad boy right here.

photo credit to the lovely lady, torrie, at fox + hazel

she is using hers as a way to keep that healthy life style on track. mine is for general conference this week. i will most likely make one for every single one after this because a) they are the perfect size, b) i can have one for every conference and feel better organized and archived, and c) i am slightly obsessed. here's my version:

 

a couple things i did differently than the original:

• my envelope was too big, so i cut it and edged it as follows:
• i took 4 strips of paper 2in wide and  folded them in half. Then bordered my notebook by putting the edges of the envelope inside the fold and sewed around the edges like a hem.
• i also sewed on the piece of lace underneath the front side folded paper and around the edge.
• my title strips are sewn on, too.
• i used 15 sheets of graph paper and no washi tape {but if i had some, you best believe my notebook would have been covered!}.

as you can see, i get a real kick out of sewing on paper. i love the look of it.
hint: if you are going to be sewing paper, i suggest having a needle just for paper. paper will dull your needle just like it does your scissors. 

happy notebooking! and if you decide to make your own, send me any pictures or tag me on instagram! i would love to see.

xo

foliophoto {link up} twins

i feel like i have been a little m.i.a. this week. sorry friends! that's what happens when you go on vacation: you come back and have to do all those things you didn't do when you were gone... like homework that i have been chasing to keep up with all week, church responsibilities {meetings, potlucks, planning, fund raisers, whew!} and getting my house back in order. it's been crazy.

things are finally starting to mellow out... at least as mellow as it was before vacation. so keep an eye out this week for vacation recapping fun! i have lots to share.

in the meantime, it's a foliophoto day! this week's prompt was twins. goodness glaciers. i was racking my brain on this one. and i decided to go with something that just happens to be my most favorite thing about arkansas {besides brock, of course}: flowers!

subject: tulips {see what i did there? TUlips, twins. get it?}

camera: iphone filter: none

i love springtime. all the flowers make me so happy! daffodils pop up everywhere {my faave}, every tree has a different colored bloom, and the air is filled with freshness. don't be surprised if more flowers show up on the blog over the next few weeks. 

next week's prompt: hidden

foliophoto {link-up} memories

it's a foliophoto day!

i hope you have been keeping up! if not, my last two contributions can be found here and here.

this week's prompt, memories, was pretty open to a lot of options. i chose something not so long ago, because it is one of my favorites.

camera: iphone3 | filter: orton via picmonkey

brock and i love love love camping. this was on our first trip camping just us two. i love camping with my family, and brock and i have been with some friends. but it was so great to go last fall, just us. we  drove up the mountain through all the fall-colored trees. we worked together to set up camp {in the dark}. we built a nice cozy fire and roast marshmallows. side-note: we wrapped them in a crescent roll sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and i loooved it. end side-note. and then we spent several hours just talking.

before the sun came up, we woke up and hiked to the edge of the site.mountain to watch the sunrise!

and then this picture took place. we drove down to the lake after a breakfast of fresh fruit and nuts and granola bars. and then we just took pictures. and this was my favorite. in case you can't tell, i took a sneak shot of brock taking photos.

next week is twins. oh buddy... i'm gonna have to get creative. 

foliophoto {link-up} street

i'm back! bet you have missed me, eh? i've missed you, too. i will tell you about my adventures upon recuperation {please tell me i'm not the only one who needs a vacation after vacation to recoup before life is back!}. but until then, i have to link up for foliophoto with christie! i have to.

because on my trip, we took a great picture for it. though i am actually in the picture, and didn't take, it was my idea, so i get the credit... tehehe. ok not. thanks daddy, for taking this!

prompt: street

subjects: ave, myself, max, tan, and brock.

ave and tan are my brothers, max is my sissy, and you all know brock.

this was on our trip up the mountain for the day. this is just the best crosswalk ever. we had to take a beatles shot just for the sake of it. and i love it! though i think we need to work on our frozen walk stance skills. ...wink...

foliophoto {link up} black & white

hello friends!

today i am linking up with christie from bedsidesign and sandra from raincoast cottage for a foliophoto fun day!

the prompt this week was black and white and i have to tell you, the thought for this hit me instantly. here's my photo:

camera: canon power shot SD780 IS

in the past couple of weeks, brock and i have hit some challenging times. lots of decisions to make and not really sure what to make of things. sometimes our paths are not black and white. sometimes we have to read between the lines, go against the grain, follow our hearts, and keep moving forward. not everyone has the same path to take, and no one can tell you where to go.

fortunately, i have brock and he has me. and we have a loving father in heaven who answers prayers. those answers aren't always black and white either, but some how, we all find the path we should take!

thanks christie and sandra for the prompt this week! can't wait for the next week! {artificial}