Monday Motivation

To keep me focused this week:

Every time I feel like being lazy,
I will watch this...
and put my running shoes on.

Have a great, productive, active week!
xo, A

Sunday Sermon #2

“We all pretend for a while or for a lifetime. But pretending is not living...I believe that God meant for life to take our breath away, sometimes because of the sheer joy of it all and sometimes because of the severe pain. To choose living over pretending means that we will know both.”
― Angela Thomas

Being thankful for my friends is easy....
telling them how much they mean to me is a bit trickier.
Here goes nothing...

I have so many wonderful friends.
I have a few hard-core sister/friends who have stuck by me
through years, COUNTLESS moves, time apart, arguments,
skinny, not-so-skinny, good, bad, and ugly.
There is something scary about letting someone in to your life,
so closely that there is no pretending.
And we all know how great girls are at pretending.
We spend our whole childhood doing it, and mastering it.
Heck, we pretended EVERYTHING.

Then we grow older, and realize that pretending takes a lot of work.
Figuring out who you really are takes a lot of hard work,
and can get a little messy in the friend department.

Being lucky enough to have friends next to you
when you come out the other side is a gift that cannot be described.

To those friends:

Lindsay
Cory
Sarah Jane
Jamie
Kacie
Laura

I appreciate you for loving me, and supporting me.



There are many honorary mentions from Spokane who know who they are...
(ok..want me to name names?? cindi, julie, melissa, ashley, jessica, sian, jacquie, lauren, jana, kelly, rachel, and more...)
They kept me company for weeks and weeks,
They shared their children, and their recipes, and their talents,
They took care of me when I was sick, sad, and post partum,
They taught me so much about what it means to me a military spouse.

I appreciate you for loving your spouses, and supporting me and mine.
I appreciate you for treating me like family, even when we were strangers.

Thank you for loving the pretend me,
AND the real me....
I am forever grateful for your love.

What would the world be without friendship?
xo, Ariel

Living in a shipping container?

Lots to think about here...
if you have a few minutes, check it out.
I think this idea of being owned by our things
is so true, and good to be aware of.

Only in California, right?!
I love it.


Thoughts?

xo, A

girl power....

and boy power too I suppose.

This subject has been on my mind and heart so much lately,
as our girl has been struggling with how people perceive her...
people making fun of her clothes, hair, mole, etc.
and how do we teach her

she IS good enough
she IS smart enough
she IS perfect to us

and GOD made her this way.

It is a battle I did not know I would face so early on,
but Paige is struggling at 5 tiny years of age with all of this.

As girls, I think we have had it so much harder in this way,
living up to this perfection in our minds,
and the perfection we perceive from others.
I was so blessed to be raised by a Mother that fought so hard to
build us up
when the whole world tried to tear us down.
I am trying so hard to be that Mother for my daughter,
but it is hard.

I want her to know she can do ANYTHING
I want her to know she can be ANYTHING
and that we will love her all the way.

If Justin and I can do nothing else but build our daughter up
and raise our son up right,
then we will feel accomplished in life.
I want our kids to be strong and kind.
I want our kids to be gentle and confident.
I want our kids to be hard working and generous.
It is a tall order, I know.
But it begins now.

I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;
and because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
HELEN KELLER



You may notice a few faces in this video if you read this...
I love the message she shares, and the Mother she is.

Oh, and Justin signed up for another (and hopefully his last for a while)
100 mile race in February.
We will all be going....camping....freezing....
I will be documenting....
and as much as I hold my breath anxiously while he does these things,
there is much for me to learn from him
and his determination and drive.
He may be crazy, but I guess I love crazy.
This story drives him...moves him .
He watches it often, and I see that twinkle in his eye.
He wants to live a life worth living.
I know I have shared this before, but it is worth watching again,
and again.

xo

Take Two

2 things to share today...

I purchased some Covergirl goodness at COSTCO today...
(it was on coupon)
and I really like these lip stains.
Despite the reviews, I enjoy them and have purchased them
a few times.
The colors in the pack were Sassy Mauve and Teasing Blush
and it came with two moisturizing topcoats.
I am rocking the Sassy Mauve today, because I often feel sassy
after braving Costco with the kids.



Also, I purchased the Shea Moisture Organic Baby
Head-To-Toe Ointment for Mr. River's chapped face...
poor kid is having a rough go of it....eczema and chapped cheeks are
painful! (Face cheeks....not the other kid of cheeks!)
I wanted to try this, and although a bit more than I would normally spend,
you seriously need like a drop of it.
A little goes a LONG way, and it smells yummy...
in a hippy-dippy-trippy sort of way.
If you don't like the smell of Frankincense and Myrrh
or Lavender, Calendula, Rose and Chamomile...
then I would skip it.
But if you don't like those smells, you are kinda weird...
and you probably wouldn't like to sit next to me since I tend to smell that way.
OK.

Confession....
I am enjoying a bit of this right now

because I worked out
4 out of the last 5 days.
Holla!


AND....
if you want to really help yourself out after your workout,
ask Santa for a foam roller this year.
Justin and I just started doing this, and it really helps relieve
muscle soreness, and it feels good...hurts while doing, feels great after.
(and a little birdie told me it helps with cellulite??)

If you want to see a good routine for you and your foam roller,
check these gals out!
(Don't mind the intro...it was their "Back to School"
Britney Spears tribute...HA!)

I love Karina and Katrina, and I think they are so fun and inspiring.
They make me want to try harder, and put myself first.
Check them out at toneitup.com if you don't know about them.

That was more like 5 things...but
are you really surprised??
Didn't think so.
xoxoxoxo