cheyb: happy birthday to a girl as beautiful as the soul she has.

to my cheybie rose, 

i wish you could see yourself the way i see you, 

and i wish you could love yourself the way i love you. 

and above all, i wish your life is full of the hope and inspiration

that you share with everyone around you. 

your spirit is one of the most beautiful i've ever encountered, and your 

smile lights up every room it enters. your heart loves so much, and asks

for so little in return. you are the rarest person in the world.

you're my cheerleader, my life coach, my therapist, my silly

immature equal, my support system, my beautiful cheyb....

 i love you, my dear best friend, and thank you-for always bringing out the best in me.

happy birthday to the most beautiful soul i am blessed to know.

magically magic reservoir vacation

i love summertime in idaho. 

 wait for it... 

 i caught a doozie! 

our freezing expressions! the boat was spraying us at 7 in the morning with ice cold wata'!

i was laughing so hard i almost peed on vincent! i had to sit on his lap and we kept getting sprayed and i 

was flopping around while he held on me for dear life.

 hahahaha

this is maxine, my mom and step dad's newest puppy, sleeping with fresh picked lupine that we 

pressed for our collection of wildflowers we pick every trip.

 

i seriously live in paradise. just what i needed.

breanna's homemade microdermabrasion recipe!

the story of stuff. and some happy campers.

i've been noticing how caught up i've been getting in buying and collecting little things that i don't need.
our lives are constantly cluttered, crammed, and bursting with things we don't need. when we watch tv, we constantly hear "you need to buy a better, bigger!, stronger, faster, prettier, newer, more fashionable __!" but, the truth is, the more we cram and shove into our fragile, sensitive lives, the more we shove the important things out.


Thoreau said "our life is frittered away by detail. simplify, simplify". lao tzu once said "manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, Reduce selfishness, Have few desires." steve maraboli writes "simplify your life. you don't grow spiritual, you shrink spiritual", a quote that changed the way i thought about things. 




the story of stuff will make you burn with the realization we have more than we need, want, or even can handle. watch this brief 21 minute video, and bring it with you next time you're faced with a salesman, commercial, mail ad, or sting of desire for something you can simply do without.

sometimes, i'm tempted to sell all my junk, buy a camper (like one of the cute little nuggets below) and move away. 
but, i'd miss too many people. so i'll just fantasize about it.