{ logging off }

“The day is ending, our life is one day shorter.
Let us look carefully at what we have done.
Let us practice diligently,
…Putting our whole heart into the path…
Let us live deeply each moment in freedom,
So time does not slip away meaninglessly.”
~Thich Nhat Hanh

I've decided to take the summer off from blogging, tweeting, facebooking, etc. so I can play as much as possible with the family. I don't want to miss a second of it.

Hope you all have a wonderful summer with your families + friends. xoxo~

{ the spending diet... weeks 13 + 14 }

I think its a very good thing we live in a teeny tiny mountain town where there is not even a Target. We spent the past 2 weeks in cities. Target. Good food. Anthropologie. More good food. Concerts. Lululemon. Geez. Anyway, I managed SOME self-restraint but not enough. I bought Samme some new clothes for next school year at Marshalls (super duper cheap). I bought "hot mama" jeans from a store called hot mama and this top and this dress (which I love love love). I bought this shirt. And this jacket. I bought Henry a new basketball at Target. I bought copious amounts of good food and green smoothies from Whole Foods. I bought Ben Harper concert tix + beer (worth every penny - one of the best live shows we've seen). Dinner + movies on another date night (spoiled with a free babysitter aka grandma). Nieces ballet concert tickets. A trip + tickets to Waterworld. Yikes. Anyway, back home and planning on staying out of stores for the rest of the summer (other than a few back to school purchases for the kiddos in August). How have you all been doing? Have a great weekend ~

{ on my mind }

1. My latest green smoothie fav recipe - coconut water, mango, pineapple, kale and spinach and banana.
2. One of my favorite bloggers is back with a new blog about her families attempt to simplify their lives. I am so on board with this idea right now.
3. Love these products to teach kids about managing money. We made our own save, spend, share jars a few years ago but these are pretty darn cute! And there is a great deal on them on Mamasource today & tomorrow.
4. This post about FOOD and where it comes from and what is in it.
5. Love this post about Rest, Reflection & Renewal from Tsh at SimpleMom.
6. It seems that there are a lot of us stopping our blogs or taking a break this summer or considering some other form of internet sabbatical. I know I am.
7. Another amazing TED talk.
8. My favorite plane ticket buying site.

print and image above via here.

{ cha cha changes... part two }

Love all of the inquiries I'm getting about the sale of LobotoME...I feel very loved and also feel strongly that there is an amazing woman or family that will end up running this show and taking it above & beyond anything I dreamed possible. In the meantime, thank you all for your support!

I ran across this quote the other day and it fit perfectly... “If you are not relishing it, release it.” This speaks to exactly what we are trying to do. Trying to make the tough decision on whether to give up something you previously felt so passionately about is a pretty common thing I presume. But it doesn't make it easy to pull the trigger.

When you own your own small business you do EVERYTHING on your own. I am the designer, marketing manager, and head of PR. I am the website designer and google ad words expert. I am the bookkeeper, accountant, and tax-filer. I am the head of customer service. I am the director of sales. I am the shipping person and warehouse manager. All in about 15 hrs a week when I had daycare. And sometimes I am the CEO of BURNOUT because let’s face it, doing it all yourself is tiring. And doing it times THREE with three businesses and TWO kids equals quadruple burnout.

I’ve always been reluctant to ask for help in the physical world, and now I realize I’ve also been reluctant to ask for help from the spiritual world. But the reality is, I have big dreams for my family that are impossible to achieve without a little help from beyond. So this time I see an opportunity for satya - grace + freedom. This time I’m ready to ask for help. I'm asking for a great woman or family who wants a stay at home business opportunity to find ME. I'm asking for peace in releasing what I built and worked so hard on and poured my soul into. I'm asking for peace and serenity moving forward. And I'm seeking freedom for new adventures for me and my family.

print via here

{ mountain pose }

Mountain Pose happens to be how I start almost all of my at home asana practices (and in the interest of keeping it REAL people, this is what my home practice usually looks like - above). Mountain Pose also happens to be the name of an a.m.a.z.i.n.g NEW yoga + wellness festival happening the second weekend in July at Copper Mountain in Summit County, Colorado. Friends...who wants to meet me there? I'm heading in on Friday mid-day to attend yoga classes ALL day long and then drumroll please...Friday night's session is the ONE, the ONLY, KRIS CARR. I literally cannot wait to see her. So, who's in with me?

{ on my mind }

1. Love her style + home.
2. Great post about meal planning using our Feed ME weekly meal planner.
3. Starting this wellness plan on Wednesday.
4. A great post about being unplugged. Contemplating taking the summer off from blogging, twitter & facebook. I'm quite certain the world, my social life & my business would survive it just fine. ;-)
5. Continually inspired by her.
6. I love Kickstart and this project by a friend.
7. Great post about minimalist finances.
8. Yummy kale chips.
9. The sweetest baby shower.
10. And this post...“Live simply, so that others may simply live.” -Mother Teresa

{ the spending diet...weeks 11 + 12 }

I bought this skirt (on sale). I call it my church skirt. But it is also coming to the beach with me. I needed a slightly longer skirt to wear to church when we go, um, like once a month. (Hey, don't judge, that's way more often than we used to go! When you get ovarian cancer at age 23 you develop a complicated relationship with God). :)

And I bought this bag (in black) for a carry-on for several upcoming trips and the pool trips this summer. I think it will carry my stuff + all of the kids stuff just fine.

We've had a lot of little misc. spending this month - some stuff for the garden; end of the year teacher appreciation gifts; more money on food due to lots of company in town and end of the school year functions; etc. So I'm going to try to be really mindful in June & July. But I'm going to be within a 10-mile radius of a Lululemon and Anthropologie next week. So may the force (or will power) be with me.

{ on my mind }

I haven't posted much about our weekly "helping others" and volunteering work that Samme & I have been doing. But last week, in light of the devastating tornadoes that ravaged the south we gathered supplies and sent some big boxes of stuff off to Convoy of Hope. Here's what they need (I found this list originally here).

Convoy of Hope in Joplin welcomes mailed material donations and are especially needing:

::Box tape
::Plastic totes
::Knee pads and work gloves
::New socks and underwear
::Tylenol and pain medication
::Canned foods
::Things for children: sidewalk chalk, bubbles, bouncy balls, crayons and coloring books, etc.

You can send donations to:

Convoy of Hope
330 South Patterson
Springfield, Missouri 65802

image via lex18.c0m