Live Love, Everyday.

It is almost That time of year, again...

 Yes, that time when the stores are full of hearts, and everything pink, red, and all things mushy gushy. Reminders of a difficult partner, or spouse, or being single, or facing this time of year alone-can make this pepto bismol pink laden time make you wish the stuff was a different color, so you could stomach it! But it will always be pink, so I am here to help!

Sometimes I wanna say FU Love in February!!! With the nicest smile I can muster. ^_^ 

What I learned, while living my days happily single, was that love needed more than one day out of the year. It needs to exist in the forefront of our lives. It shouldn't be corporations telling us how, or when to shower love on those dear to us in our lives. But rather it should be a daily expression for those we love. Including ourselves.

Did you hear that? LOVE YOURSELF. That is the first step to living love, Everyday.

Really let that sink in.

I'll just sip my coffee a bit while you do that.

Ready? Good. Love yourself yet? Either way, let's work on loving ourselves more together...

What I mean to say is-stop the voice that says "Oh I love myself, I just feel I need to work on (insert whatever things you are used to being hard on yourself here). Then I will be happier with who I am."

You are you. Perfect, and amazing and right where you need to be. Does that mean you need to stop making yourself set attainable goals? No, it just means to be kinder to yourself and start loving yourself as you are. Right Now.

So the first thing I am asking you do to Live Love Everyday, is to make this little habit:

As you are getting ready, each day, look in the mirror and say "I love you"

Yes, I know it is silly. But what is worse? Looking in the mirror and thinking "Oh my gosh. I hate my (insert thing you are not nice to yourself about....I know you have thought this before about something)."  Is that really better than saying "I love you" to yourself?  Didn't think so.

We all have been taught to compare and pick apart our beautiful bodies. And that ends now.

So go...start the rest of your day a little better and find a mirror, or use your phone to say "I love you" to the most important person in your world.

And let me know how you felt afterwards. Comment below or #liveloveeveryday so we can chat about it.

Living in the rhythm of love...share the bliss!

Gotta making habit to feed

Summer has been incredibly short and such a whirlwind! I have been working occasionally at the local Farmers Market peddling my wares and I love getting to see who is buying my stuff, and how happy it is making them.

As a child, I was THAT kid- asking teachers for more work, and always wanting to explore my talents. I played the flute, and through volunteering during a UIL crisis (I'll save that for another time)- ended up being a percussionist. Now I am devoting most of my time to writing and making stuff.


There is something satisfying to me about seeing something and thinking "Oh, I can make that!" The problem is the more I look at stuff the more I want to make. I guess that's not a bad thing. I mean, it could be worse. These things I see I would rather make because I know that as long as I keep my brain active and keep teaching it things I will be just fine. It does pose a problem in our tiny house, however.

I have supplies for sewing, and needlepoint, thanks to the pillow I made for our wedding; supplies for calligraphy and typing, thanks to my love for beautiful words; a bell set, mallets, drumsticks, electronic keyboard, a flute, guitar, violin, and this awesome victrola for my love of music...as well as craft supplies for scrapbooking, jewlery, and other things I am getting a bit overwhelmed just thinking about it. One of my biggest obstacles has been finsing the right storage for it all, so it is easy and accessible. If anybody has figured the magic solution out, please fill me in.

So, for now...I have everything portable. All my jewelry supplies fit in one bag, and I can take it to my parents studio, or tuck it away in our new cabinet that we got from Ikea. I usually love that place! <- There will be a link to that soon, as I have a funny story to tell. Later, when it is actually funny. Because right now it still is not too funny.

So, I thought this post would be a little of my creative process... Which I really should streamline because I get caught up in all the colors and fun part of creating that I don't make as much as I know I could be creating. But it's hard when you have to get reacquainted with all of your preciouses (I'm channeling Gollum there for a reason) each time you want to make something.


I go to this fun little bead shop in Austin, that really makes me realize just how dangerous this hobby can be. Everything there is so damn beautiful, and the price tag shows it. So I go to the bead soup, after pining over the vintage and antique beauties within the shop, and get a bag or two of surprises. Then the bag sits. Beckoning me to clean and play with all the treasures.

The latest bead soup-looks like a whole lotta nothing.
 But it sure looks pretty in that bowl my Dad made, doesn't it?

Sometimes I will pick out a few beads that I like and make something. Other times, I just pick some beads out to play with, and toss them back in. But the most successful times are those when I actually pick through the beads and they tell me exactly what to make. I am still waiting for that to happen, by the way...

These beads all have a destiny,
but I wasn't finished with my coffee yet, so they are still waiting...

As I was "playing" in my beads, I realized there are so many in the bead soup that I didn't realize were so great! I think the reason for this was that they were all jumbled in together, and we all know that saying about getting lost in a crowd...

Don't they just seem happier?

It was not too big of a chore; organize by color, and a few by type. Now they are all just begging to be made into things to be worn and enjoyed. And I still haven't made anything....yet.

What part of your creative process do you dwell on? For me, it's the organization. I feel as though, once everything has a place, it will all be easier to use.

Thanks for stopping by my little bloggie thingy-and feel free to comment or ask questions! I love feedback!

Living in the rhythm of love...share the bliss!

Summer Projects | Magical Messages

Where, oh where has the time flown!? 

We have had some major changes in our home- and with those changes has come less time for me to be doing what I love. I hope the adjustment time has passed and now we can focus on this strange new routine.

The beginning of summer meant Summer Camp with a new Boy Scout troop for our Shi guy, and then spending time away at the Grandparents. And now we are in the time of keeping ourselves busy on these hot summer afternoons when I need to be working on dinner and he needs to be entertained. 

Enter easy fun activity number one: Magical Messages!!!

This little project is great because all it takes is: A white crayon, lots and lots of paper (because if your kiddo loves painting as much as mine you won't have enough paper) and some paints you can water down for a watercolor-esque medium, as well as a large paint brush or sponge (a kitchen sponge would work for this!) Be creative! Use what you have!

Gather everything you need- and set up a space for getting a little messy. We have a great plexi-glass top on our coffee table so I don't worry about putting down a towel or anything. You'll need some paper towels for excess paint and some water to clean between colors. Nothing too special.

Draw a message, a joke or a picture in the white crayon. We started with some easy jokes and a few pictures. You can also use this for math problems or learning letters, shapes...the possibilities are endless!

You really have to look to see what you've written, and here I've taken a picture with the flash so you can see some of the image before adding the watercolor. But the white crayon is hard to see on this paper. 

Then paint over the images with the watercolor. And let the magic begin! 

Simple, and fun! With the watercolors remember less is more. Our images turned out better if we blotted the sponge.

I had made a few ahead of time, so he could have plenty to do.
Then he had fun making some of his own. This was my favorite he made!

A great activity for all ages! If I had known about this in college I would have totally still loved it! Haha!

Learning that less is more-can't see the message if there is too much paint!

So that was one of our fun activities! I'd love to see how your kids react to the project, as well as hear about what you come up with!

Thanks for reading and as always...leave a comment or question! I love getting feedback!

Living in the rhythm of love...share the bliss!

I am going to pay it forward this year!

An old friend of mine recently posted on her Facebook, a message that was one of those "you are supposed to copy and post, and then something will happen" ones that we are all coming to despise

I know what you might be thinking...oh no. One of those? Ugh. I know. I can't stand those either. If I don't do x, y and z, then something terrible will happen. So on and so forth. Why is she even going there?

This one was different. She is playing a new game. Here is the post:

To start this year off in a loving way I'm participating in this pay-it-forward initiative: the first 5 people who comment on this status with 'I'm in' will receive a surprise from me at some point in this calendar year - anything from a book, a ticket, a visit, something homegrown or made, a postcard, absolutely any surprise!
There will be no warning and it will happen when the mood comes over me and I find something that I believe would suit you and make you happy. These 5 people must make the same offer in their FB profile and distribute their own joy. Simply copy this text onto your profile, (don't share) so we can form a web of connection and kindness.
Let's do more nice and loving things for each other in 2014, without any reason other than to make each other smile and show that we think of each other. Here's to a more friendly and love filled year!!'

My response? I am so in! Not only do I want to do something nice for my friends, but also for people I might not have the pleasure of knowing, but know a little about me through my blog.

So if you are reading, and would like a token of my appreciation at some point this year please respond with your email address, or email me through my profile. 

Then please copy and paste the message to whatever social network you use, or email your friends and get this party started! Also, please tag me or link back to my blog if you participating. I would love to see who all gets involved!

As always, find your rhythm of love, and share your bliss! #stonegroundlove #payitforward!

Depending on the responses I get...I will try to give something to everyone that contacts me before midnight Valentine's Day. #sharethelove

***UPDATE*** A few emails have been trickling in! If you have trouble contacting me through my profile, leave a comment with a way to contact you, and I will get in touch! ***

What has been going on?

That is a loaded question. There has been a lot going on. The biggest thing? My computers out of commission. Unless I have my husbands power cord to use.

A couple years ago, his battery stopped holding charge, so we switched batteries. Yes we have the same laptops. But that is pure coincidence sine we both bought our laptops before we even knew each other! I know. We were cute before we met.

So my laptop has to be plugged in to be on. Kinda annoying, but I am grateful to have it. And just before we left for Christmas with the family, I was working on editing my novel from NANOWRIMO, and I smelled an electrical burn. 

At first I thought it was the stuff on the oven, I feel like I baked for days getting ready to go out of town, but nothing over there was burning. So when I got back to my computer I noticed smoke! It was coming from the power cord! I immediately unplugged it and went to inspect. 

It melted. Like, there was plastic on my couch. Melted. Luckily I had been putting the powerbox on a glass coaster, since it had been getting hot and I was worried about a fire. Guess I had reason to be worried. I think we would be out a couch if I hadn't trusted my instincts.

So that was fun. And now I am stuck with only intermittent opportunities to post from my computer, which means crappy phone pics and minimalist stuff for a while.

The silver lining? I have been working on making jewelry, and having quite a bit of fun with it. I am thinking there will be a giveaway in the near future, so if you are reading now would be a good time to comment and tell me what kind of stuff you would like to see. 

I have been doing some ceramic pieces as well as wire pieces. Stay tuned!

Living in the rhythm of love...share the bliss!

Last post of the year

I hope it was a Merry Christmas for all of my readers. 

We spent our Christmas in Pagosa Springs and had quite a grand time.

I haven't been doing so well keeping up with this blog, but I have been writing. November consisted of writing for NANOWRIMO. It is a challenge for writers to write. 50,000 words in a month. It is difficult, but totally doable and fun. The only downside is it takes all my free time to keep up with it, and I usually create a lame mental block the first half of the month and get more cleaning done than writing. Oh well. And the other reason I haven't been blogging is because right after accomplishing the nanowrimo...my computer charger decided to melt on me. 

So here I am. Almost two months later, and I have a new app to figure out how to post from. 

This coming year I am working on a give-away for some things that I have been making, and I would love to join in on a few blog hops..soo if you are starting one, let me know! 

Also any suggestions on apps for updating blogs would be greatly appreciated. This one is a little odd.

Here's to a wonderful new year full of love and light to all! 

As always, thanks for reading

Here is our Nephew getting down presents our elf, Star hid all over the rental cabin. Sneaky little elf.

The boys went skiing while Deenie and I had fun on a snowmobile! 

And Christmas day was so full of love. I will post my awesome gifts after the new year. If you like crafts and books...you'll want to come see what I got!

~living in the sweet rhythm of love. Share the bliss!

Making Shrunken Heads for Halloween

Oh yes. It is almost that time again! So as we plan our fun, I am reminded of years past when my Mom used to always give us a little treat bag for Halloween.

We lived in a small neighborhood, so the candy pickin's were quite slim. There was always one or two neighbors that give us the bulk of our candy haul, but many of the houses were quite dark on Hallow's Eve.

Last year we had a fun Halloween party and I did a post about what I wanted to make for the party and decor. Did you go check that link out?  ^the one up there^   It has some other good ideas for treats and tricks!

So here's how our Shrunken Heads went:

You will need:

• As many apples as you feel inspired to fiddle with (any kind will do- I went with cheap, here)
• Something to cut on/in/with (I sat on the couch watching a movie while the Hubs worked, with a bread pan in my lap. It worked fine.)
• A bowl full of water with a splash of lemon juice (it will prevent the apples from turning, and helps with the drying process)
• An oven set to low
• A little bit of creativity

Start with apples...do I really need to show a picture of an apple? Didn't think so. I went ahead and peeled them-no fancy tools needed. Just use small knives (or cheese knives like I did!) And then look at them for a bit of inspiration. After peeling- I just gouged a couple holes for eyes, cut away a nose and gave each one a different mouth. I even attempted a kitty head. Cute, huh? 

Step 1: Peel the apples. Doesn't matter what kind. I just bought the cheapest there. Bigger apples make bigger heads, and different kinds make different color heads in the end. For the first one we just used the same kind of apples.

Step 2: Soak the peeled apples in water with a little bit of lemon juice. A tablespoon or two will suffice. 

Step 3: After soaking the apples a bit-the lemon juice method helps to keep them from browning and getting mushy- carve them into faces.Tip No. 1:  Be sure to over exaggerate the features. Remember these guys are going to shrink! A LOT! 

As you can see- they don't need too much detail... and if you are wondering where the scraps are- well. It was apple, after all. I ate every last piece that I carved away. ^_^

Step 4: Turn your oven on to no higher than 175 F. Put the apples on a wire rack, and stick them in the oven. After about ten minutes turn the oven off and let the apples sit over night.

These are the wonderful things I woke up to! Aren't they awesome!?

If they haven't fully dried out, just put them back in the oven, crank it to 175 F and then shut it off. And repeat that until they are dried to your heart's content.


Then: skewer, and poke into a burlap sack filled with beans. Or find another way to display your creations! Either way, have fun and show me what you made! I'd love to see your ghoulish friends!!!

Thanks for stopping by- Find more Halloween Projects (and my original post of this one) here!

~Live in the sweet rhythm of love!

Working on an update!

There has been quite a lot going on around this little house of love...please forgive my absence, and brace yourselves for some changes! (My 10 loyal readers....^-^)

Oh, and if I were to do a give-a-way...what would be something you'd be interested in? Something handmade? Or an item I love? I'd love to know!

Here are some insta-updates, and see you all again soon!

My only large tomato...it was supposed to be purple! >.<'

We FIGured out what to do with all these!

And some homemade ice cream cones! Yum!

Now that we're almost out of the summer fray, I am ready to get back to business! Hope you had a great summer, and did lots of fun things with your loved ones!

~Living in the sweet rhythm of love...

What to do with a sickie kiddo!

Sang to the tune of that Drunken Sailor Song...What DO you do with a sickie kiddo?

You love them. And give them what they need...

Not so easy when what they think they need is completely different from what they actually need.

Our poor lil guy got sick something awful last week. I woke up early in the morning to be greeted by a present on the floor. Right in between the toes.

I know! Gross.

All he wanted to do was cuddle and watch movies-so that's what we did with most of our time together. But I made a nice container of jello and a couple recipes from an old book I found on "keeping house" from back in the day when Homemaking was an art.

This was what he wrote for me in his journal after getting better. The sickie kiddo, that would tell me to be sure I got my rest as I tucked him. 

His fever had been rough, and he was devastated about missing his champs day, but we had our own lowkey game day at home to make up for it. This is why we do what we do, right? 

This is what I do with my sickie kiddo.

What do you do with yours?

Mighty Motivation

13 weeks ago I joined a great group of ladies that are working on getting slim by summer. I've enjoyed reading all the posts and joining in on the journeys of others. They are all amazing women and I am honored to be a part of this group.

This week the assignment is: Motivation



Why do I do what I do? What keeps me going?

I love waking up to this...my back? Not so much.

Well lately all my time has been absorbed by spring activities-  we've been camping for a week in Big Bend, my hubbilicious man turned 35, we had a MAJOR water leak and had to replace the 40 year old main line, went camping at Enchanted Rock, are preparing for a garage sale and today our business moved out of the home, primarily, and into an office! Oh and weddings( and lots of them) Yeah, so where do I find time for me in all that? Well, it gets tricky. Walks with the dog have been my biggest regular exercise along with jamming to some tunes while cleaning and working in the garden. 

Oh, I know. Glamorous life, isn't it? 

Our View of the sunset in the basin of Big Bend. Delightful.

My motivation is to be healthy, and to love myself more. Since graduation I no longer walk the hills on a daily basis and I am no longer am a server or bartender those hours on my feet each week melting the calories and fat off my bod.

So to trigger a bit of that motivation, I agreed to let the hubs have his office away from home (for part of the week-I like doing my writing with him here some of the time) and along with the office comes a gym membership! So in addition to having my living room back, and having space to do yoga and my Jillian Fitness Ultimatum I get a gym to get my sweat on!

I'm excited to do this last push of getting in a routine of working out and see a change before summer gets here.

What is your motivation? Is it love? health? your kids? Happiness?
I'd love to hear it!

Thanks for visiting my lil bloggie thingy!

A blessing for the wedding couple!

busy little bees are we

I said 2013 was going to be a great year. Phew-didn't realize in saying that we would be so busy!

This is not a complaint, I am so thankful for this year so far! We've started juicing (which has been giving me much more energy), we have a dog and a cat, are Den Leaders for the fourth year running, I'm gardening (I just put in another bed, and it's ready for baby plants!), and writing, helping the darling husband with the business, and are about to spend a week in Big Bend!

Life is good. So while I make some homemade instant oatmeal, kolaches and bread for our camping trip. I will try and do a few blog posts, and take pictures.

Here is a quick photo dump of the past week:

We have been experiencing strong winds...and between this limb and
another hanging precariously from our power line, we got lucky!

We went antiquing and celebrated my parent's 39th year of marriage!
I found this little gem I wish I could have.

Jon found this for a few good reads, and it has me writing more. ^_^

My Mom found this gem, and it is now in a place of honor!
It reminds me of her. <3 

Well, that's a bit of what's been going on here. Hope you've been having as much fun as we have!

Whoa-where'd I go!?

Oh my. I can't believe the directions this month has been taking me! Between getting ready for a week long cub scout campout (oh yeah, we're crazy) our juicy journey, and spring being here (gardening time!) I have neglected this bloggie thingie a bit.

So how about a bit of an update before I get to business? 

We finished our juice, and are feeling good! We've decided to do our own version of the reboot, and have been working in healthy recipes while juicing. We've loved the juicing so much so that we are going to try and make it a part of our everyday routine. 

It was hard to think that this jar would make us feel full, but it was bizarre. We weren't hungry....I sure missed my coffee, but I learned that the coffee was actually making it hard for our bodies to absorb nutrients we were eating.

The green juice was one of our favorites for the morning. It energized us, and really kept us going till our lunch juice.

As seen by the in-progress photo here...I began to enjoy the juices in a different way. As I would wash all the veggies and fruits to juice it was as if I could feel my body absorbing the smells better and the colors became more vivid. I would toss in a beet, and giggle in excitement as the aroma filled my nose. The joy came when I was finished juicing and cleaning the machine, and could take that first sip of juicy goodness.

The combinations are endless and experimenting with flavors can be fun-especially if you can tolerate a few not so tasty blends. Oh yeah, I had those too. The ones that Jon would say, in his ever so encouraging way; "just chug it babe, you gotta drink it"

If you are thinking of juicing I would highly recommend it. If you need to lose a bit of belly, then a proper cleanse can really help. My next post I'll let in on just how much I lost in the 5 day cleanse!

Juicy Journey: Day 3 Update

It is day three of our Juicy Journey, and I am feeling a lot better than yesterday. Still don't have that wonderful splurge of purported energy to happen any day now...but I'm ready for it!

Yesterday was rough. Silly me thought it would be wise to do a little workout in the morning. It was yoga, and it made me woozy! The afternoon was the hardest part of the day-a headache like nobody's business, and a few food cravings. Nothing too bad, but I did start to wonder how long we could actually go.

The most surprising part-I haven't been hungry. Bizarre, I know! We drink hot water with lemon in the morning, while I get the fruits and veggies ready to go. Take the pup on a walk, and then juice. A couple large glasses of water and some coconut water to get us to lunch...and then a juice at lunch. Followed by more water and coconut water. Then we make a dinner juice, I make food for our Shi guy and after even more water we have tea before bed with lemon and ginger. Other than missing crunching into food, and popcorn for family movie night, and the feel of a grilled burrito...I don't feel like I'm missing out too much.

I do know this: We are super excited to plan our meals for when we get off this cleanse! Once I get that energy back-it'll be time to finish up my Menu Board!

This was our first juice! Just look at that greenage! 

I'd love some recipes if you've done a juice or know of anybody who has!

Good Habits?

I can't believe it is already Week 5 of the Slim by the Summer challenge I joined! I have been able to meet some great ladies and have enjoyed all the encouragement and new blogs to read!

This week's theme is.....

I have to say, lately we have gotten better. I am not big on fast food, but I sure love fried chicken, and my husband knows he can usually just say the words "why not take a break tonight" and we go to our favorite spot for a Taco salad or fried chicken, or my absolute guilty pleasure- chicken fried steak.

Ok. I have to stop talking about all that bad food! So, lately when he says those words I have learned to love... I suggest a restaurant that has something I know I won't blow my workout/goal for the day. We are learning to plan our guilty pleasures for more rare occasions, and when we are both feeling stressed and would rather grab something quick, I try to stick to Thai soups and stir frys, Mexican Tortilla Soup, or talk the hubs into salad at home followed by some Frozen Bananas!  And my little reward system has been a great motivator for myself. My jar is looking nice!

Of course, right now we are doing a juice cleanse...so eating out is just not an option.

On another note...vacations. I know it can be so hard to eat well when on vacation. What I've tried doing there is planning as much as possible before we go. I look for healthy restaurants in the area we will be in, and plan as many meals as possible to cook in our living arrangements. If it is camping, we take a dutch oven and lots of veggies and foil...in hotels I've been known to bring my sandwich press and our water kettle to blanch veggies-but if it is a long term stay we usually get a place with at least a kitchenette.

What are your tricks? And what treats do you allow? Are you a no-drive-thru type, or a sometimes? We've said no to drive-thrus since the new year and I hope to keep it that way!

It is about to get juicy!

I talked my husband into watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead...and before we were half way through he declared "Oh we can definitely do this."

So thank goodness, I don't have to try and do this by myself!

We bought a juicer yesterday, and I can't wait to wake up and drink our first glass of micro-nutrient rich juice!

The funny, and sad thing is...we had been planning on a wine and cheese night together, but while watching the film, we both decided we no longer wanted the wine and cheese!

The plan was to start the 15 day reboot from Joe Cross, but after he watched the film the hubs said he would be fine just juicing, and not starting with a vegetarian spread of foods mixed with juicing the first 5 days.

I recently won Sprouts Defy it with Your Diet, and a gift card to sprouts-so I was lucky enough to be able to use that to start our cleanse with!

I couldn't believe how much it would take for the first few days. I am expecting this amount to last us through Wednesday.

The trunk was full! But since it was full of great things for us, it felt good...I usually feel bad after checking out at the grocery store, but I was actually happy this time.

If you have ever cleansed, or detoxed you know the first few days are the hardest...so I will do my darndest to keep up with the whole ordeal-and if I am cranky, I am sorry. I am a caffeine addict, and that is hard stuff to give up.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you join me for our Juicy Journey! Will you join me?