your joy, your truth

(I love this photo, I would give credit to the owner of the image but I couldn't find the source)

I had to take a break. It was needed. Essential to searching, learning, & growing.

I've felt like I've  been banging on the walls of my own life. 

Howling.

Finding myself amongst the complete chaos & the most cherished moments.

Searching for the things that bring  me joy & peace.

It's so raw & oh so beautiful.

I've joined Hannah Marcotti's Spirits of Joy.  It's honestly such an intense & beautiful experience. I'm so happy that I'm able to share & grow with these truly amazing women. 

This is where my life is at the moment, & it's  mine.

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What I'm Reading

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

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I'm approximately half way through this book, and I find it extremely compelling. It's difficult to put it down. 

A summary from Amazon:

Julia and Valentina Poole are twenty-year-old sisters with an intense attachment to each other. One morning the mailman delivers a thick envelope to their house in the suburbs of Chicago. Their English aunt Elspeth Noblin has died of cancer and left them her London apartment. There are two conditions for this inheritance: that they live in the flat for a year before they sell it and that their parents not enter it. Julia and Valentina are twins. So were the girls’ aunt Elspeth and their mother, Edie.

The girls move to Elspeth’s flat, which borders the vast Highgate Cemetery, where Christina Rossetti, George Eliot, Stella Gibbons, and other luminaries are buried. Julia and Valentina become involved with their living neighbors: Martin, a composer of crossword puzzles who suffers from crippling OCD, and Robert, Elspeth’s elusive lover, a scholar of the cemetery. They also discover that much is still alive in Highgate, including—perhaps—their aunt.

I'm really enjoying it! :)

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Gratitude Sunday

Today I'm joining Taryn at Wooly Moss Roots for Gratitude Sunday

This week I'm grateful for:

- The beautiful weather that we've had the last couple of days. It was definitely a refresher for the mind, body, & spirit.

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- Planting lots of onions today (courtesy of my Dad, thanks!). I was so happy to get my hands in the dirt!

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- Getting gladiolas to plant. My grandmother always had gladiolas lining the walk way to her house. They remind me so much of her. Love them.

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- Going to the park yesterday and walking in the sunshine.

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- Having an entire upcoming week without any classes. The stress has been overwhelming at times.

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- Visiting family. Sometimes it's nice just to slow down and enjoy time together.

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- Being able to read more for fun! I'm a big reader! I rarely have a lot of time anymore to devote to new books but this week I sat aside time to finish a book and begin another!

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- Crafting up a storm!  I'm hoping to get everything ready for Etsy in the next week or so. It's so much fun!

There's so much to be grateful for!

Great Day for Yummy Soup

Made this today while the snow was settling and the temperatures were dropping.

It has kale, yellow squash, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, tomatoes, celery, a little sea salt and pepper.

Super delicious!

Where I grew

This is where my very first roots were planted.

It's quiet and simple. It's changed over the years, but it's stayed the same. The most important things are still there.

Drove nearly two hours yesterday to visit. The above photo was my view while waiting for my Dad to get home from work.

I'm twenty-seven years old and the tall pine has been there since I can remember. Even in photos before I was alive, it was there.
The hills behind it are where I played. I ran through the hills with my dogs and made furniture out of oddly shaped rocks. There were vines to swing from and flowers to pick. Fields of corn to plant with my grandfather and evenings of lying in the porch swing.
My childhood was rocky, but so very rich.

Gratitude Sunday

Today I'm joining Taryn at Wooly Moss Roots for Gratitude Sunday.

This week I'm grateful for:

-  Not only getting through but really handling the difficult week without letting the stresses completely overwhelm me.

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- Making my first batch of kale chips! They're delicious, & I've made several batches now. 

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- Also using kale as an ingredient in a veggie soup that I made. Incredibly healthy & quite possibly the best soup that I've ever made.

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- Finishing up "The Wednesday Sisters". It was such a great read!

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- Crafting a stuffed owl & getting more ideas of things to make.

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- The snow, even though I get frustrated with it, it's still beautiful.

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- Working on revamping my etsy store & adding new, awesome things.

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- Surviving four tests in my classes this week. To be honest it was really rough, but I did it. 

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- Deciding that I'm going to use my down time to get a certification to be a yoga instructor in the very near future.

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- Sleeping with Moya on the couch. A pretty cute & hilarious photo was taken.

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- Spirulina, an algae dietary supplement for overall health that I've been taking for the last couple of weeks. 

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- Relaxing this weekend, doing crafts & painting, reading, finishing up laundry, and getting things ready for the coming week.

There's so much to be grateful for!

{this moment}

Today I'm joining Amanda at Soulemama for {this moment}

{this moment} - a Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember.


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