Are you on Pinterest?? Well, why on earth not?? You're missin' out, suga'! But you don't have to be! Hop on the creative pinning wagon, and join in on the never ending and rather addicting creative goodness, known as Pinterest!
So what are you waiting for? All the cool people are doing it!
These last couple of days, God has put a lot on my heart. A lot of what I was before questioning, and even more so afraid of attempting or even thinking about.
First off, did I mention how I found out about the need for surgery? Well, I'm too lazy to rewind blog posts, so I'll just explain to the equally lazy and of course to the new readers (thank you and welcome, btw) as well.
I'll do it quickly... {bullet points rock my socks!}
* Hubby bought me an elliptical for Mother's day/Christmas/Birthday/V-day {true story}
* I hated the thing at first, but slowly, I began to fall in love. {no, really...true story}
* I soon reached beast mode, and knocked out 1000+ calories in a single workout.
* HOWEVER
* Around the 10-13min mark, I would feel numbness in my feet causing me to have to stop and/or slow down during workouts which I hated, because sometimes, I'd knock myself in the head thanks to the freely flowing handle bars or I'd have to re-pick up on some awesome momentum.
* I'd have to tap my feet vigorously and super fasttttt (in order to avoid the machine turning off and losing my data) on the side steps {which sounds easier than it looks}
* It bugged the heck out of me!!
* Asked friends what they thought, and some said it was the shoes I wore
* I have 5 diff pair of workout shoes
* All failed
* I then tried working out bare foot
* Fail
* Decided it was doctor time
*Went in with one problem, and came out with TWO and a HALF
* Surgery on both feet!!!
Now, I don't believe in coincidence, I believe in God's planning and His timing. Both of which are perfect, and both which have perfectly placed themselves in my life, and in not only the now, but the right now.
Per usual, there's a lot going on in the Ayala casita, but these days, I see it as a new season of faith. A new season to grow in faith, and a new season to walk in faith. As Christians, I think we all go through seasons of faith, and these seasons are like workouts for our muscles... we need to exercise our faith in order for it to grow stronger. I'm thankful for the what Lord puts in front of me; the good, the bad, and the ugly. He knows what He's doing; He is my daddy after all.
Lately, my heart has been heavy, and not a long drawn out 60lb anchor weight heavy, but more so a heaviness of peace, focus, and yes you guessed it, faith. There's a lot I want to do, and know I need to do in order to grow as a Christian mother and wife, yet there's something that has been holding me back... something I'm not quite aware of, and to be honest, I'm not even sure if it really matters WHAT that something is, because that's not even the point. The point is, I'm not leaning on God enough to jump over that something.
I figure the only way to do this is to refocus, relive, and revive!
I downloaded Jesus Culture's newest CD on itunes a couple of months ago, and I kid you not, I listen to this CD like they're the only band alive. And I've listened to this song numerous times, and can belt every word without looking at the lyrics, but it wasn't until on Friday, I listened to it again, and the words jumped out, grabbed on to my beating heart, pierced it, and then pierced my faith.
"Draw me to You... set my heart on fire."
"I give You my whole heart... all my devotion."
"I want to know You."
and my favorite.... "Let your Spirit overwhelm me. Let your Presence overtake me."
That's how I want to live. That's how I want to lead. And that's how I want to love.
This blogging thing really has me going! I used to blog quite often back in the day of Myspace, but time passed, and I grew older, and my brain grew smaller or at least it feels that way. Time to sit, time to think, time to be... yeah, far and in between. But why??
So, for the next however long... maybe a month or so... possibly longer, I will no longer be using Facebook, except to update my DreamTree Fanpage. It may sound silly. I used to think it was for people who took the same hiatus, but I feel its necessary to grow. Its not what's holding me back, at least not that I believe, however, its something that occupies my time. With this time I spend on FB, I can think of a million different things I could and should be doing. Facebook is so easily accessible on mobile phones these days, it just becomes second nature to want to share with the world what's goin' down in aisle 5 at Walmart. And you know, I enjoy my sarcasm, and I enjoy sharing it will all 500+ facebook friends, however, I feel I need to share more with my family, more with myself, and more with my God.
Just last night, I prayed like I never have before for my business. Pray that, no, I won't be rich and famous, but pray that God's will be done, and that I glorify Him in all that do, and all that I shoot. Having your own business is draining. Draining. Especially for one who has taken zero marketing and business classes. One, who is horrible with money math. And one, who is in the same business 10 billion other mothers are in. I sat up last night until 5am contemplating my next business strategy. One that would cost me... literally. I know my work is worth what I charge, and I've been told numerous times, tsk tsk I under charge. But, I felt like my one-year-of-photography-running-business-pride stepped in the way. Nobody ever reached success overnight. And really, what is the definition of success? I need to go back to the drawing board, and redefine my business and its name. And you know what? I'm happy about that! I'm happy to get started... again. I'm happy to keep moving. I'm thankful. Thankful, I'm not out of business, and thankful I have some very supportive and loving clients. Thankful the Lord instills creativity and vision in me, and not when I ask, but when I need; when He knows I need.
Tonight, I sit awake, and really, should have been in bed 3 hours ago. I head to my fave creative website, Pinterest, and my lovely friend in faith, who is also a photographer, posts ONE pin, and my brain goes mad crazy. Suddenly, I'm yapping my thoughts and ideas off to my husband who is looking at me like, "Can I please go to sleep, now?" I yap his ear off so much, we completely missed out on prayer, tonight. Dear Lord, forgive me. But oh man, THANK YOU!! I jolted out of bed (with my broken feet), and grabbed my inspiration journal, and quickly (in the dark) jotted down the constant flow of creative goodness rapidly swimming in this brain of mine. And there. Sweet relief. For those that follow my photo blog, I'll be having some casting calls, soon. These ideas MUST BE seen through ASAP! I will not wait. Nope. Will not.
My Facebook page will still be intact, because I can't seem to deactivate it without losing all sorts of pages, link ups, and other drama, unless, of course, I figure out another way, which I'm working on. I will now be using attempting Twitter (which I barely know how to function), and I will try real real hard to blog more, which I see more happening than Twitter. Inspiration for that came today, as well.
If you need me, you know where to find me, and if you love me, you'll understand, and even if you don't, please try, and please know I'm not ignoring you but rather taking some steps of faith that require a bit more focus on my end.
Its been, what? 5 days since I went under the knife. And to be honest, I had to count those 5 days. These meds have me in all sorts of a tizzy, and to be really honest, I'm still questioning my counting. I won't lie though, sleep has been well, nice, and its been needed. At least a GOOD night's sleep, anyway.
Healing seems to be coming along just fine. I went to the doc on Monday, and he even seemed surprised at how well the healing process is coming along. Can't say I don't agree. I was expecting them to unravel the 50lbs of bandages and gauze only to find my feet the size of an elephant's and my husband passed out on the floor. Neither happened, thankfully. I do, however, have quite a bit of time before I am at 100% completely healed. An entire 365 days in fact. Yes, a year. BUT, but, I should be good to go in about 3 months, and hopefully be out of bandages by then.
I'm weening myself off these wonderful crazy meds, and I can tell the pain is slightly increasing, however, so is my will power. Being bedridden this entire week has me in a not so fun funky funk. My husband is a world of help, don't get me wrong, but well, there's just somethings us wives and mommy's do like one else. Not to mention, I'm bored. Really.bored. And so is Aislynn, and I feel horrible because I am no fun, but she's my company, and I am hers, and these last couple of days, we've watched countless movies and read countless books. She's put makeup on me, filed my nails, and "decorated" my lovely "socks". (pics on that, tomorrow). Its been nice to just sit and talk with her longer than usual, and not in the midst of our everyday chaos. Diamond (my mix rescue), misses her mama, and those deep sad eyes get me every time. But, I can't allow her gigantic body to embrace my gigantic body... at least, not while in this type of pain.
I also feel like I'm getting fatter by the minute. I'm stationary the entire.day. And when I walk around, the little one and big one get upset at me. But seriously, I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss my elliptical, which is now collecting dust... dust that hasn't been swept in I dunno how long anymore. I wish I could at least attempt to do some crunches, but any strain on my feet, my toes feel like they're going to rip out of the top of my feet. Sorry, graphic, I know, yet very real. Stretching in the morning is also a rude awakening, when it used to be what got me out of bed. Now, I have to strategize my yawning of the muscles. Not fun, yet it puts my brain to work that early in the morning, which I guess isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Hmm... showers birdie baths, are well... interesting. I still don't feel clean, and I only long to linger aimlessly in my stand-up shower and feel the hot steam clean my now, dirty pores. Its been 6 days since I have shaved my legs. Gah! I can't believe I just admitted that. Today, I felt a bit of freedom as my razor went to town! I am, however, thankful for my garden tub which perfectly accommodates my nice round tush. However, again (there's always a however), I have to sit in a certain position where my feet dangle out of the tub, meaning all 200lbs of my bootylicious body balances on my itty bitty tail bone. Not exactly the most welcoming feeling in the world, might I add. By the time I'm ready to hop wobble out of the bath, I'm on the fence about which hurts more; my tail bone, or my feet from the blood rushing back down (I currently live all day with them propped exactly 6 inches in the air).
Tomorrow, we take a trip to one of my favorite stores; Hobby Lobby. I think that will be a blog post on its own as I cannot walk for long periods of time. Therefore, I'm guessing my hiney will have to park itself into a wheelchair, something I didn't even do while 9mo's pregnant with swollen feet the size of blimps. Laugh now, while you can...while I'm unable to get up and run after you. =P
**Warning**
Photos below not for the stomach of the weak.
**Beware**
**ok, LAST WARNING**
Here are some pictures from the doc's office.
The first you'll see where they took out that nasty hernia looking doo-hicky from my bottom right heel, and the second image, you'll see it all, in all its glory.
So all in all, things are... different, and I'm looking forward to getting better and getting back on my feet... real quick!
I have this urge to be surrounded by creative goodness. Like, its a must for me. This is why I go crazy when my walls are bare, why I go looney when I'm not doing something, and why I already have enough tattoos picked out to cover more of my body than I really do have. Why my closet is overflowing with clothes I have never even worn. Why I am not even the least little bit, a simple person. I find this a blessings as well as a curse sometimes. My husband would make no comment on either. =P
I find creativity everywhere, and this I am so very thankful for. I'm so happy the Lord created me into a creative being. I can see the world in a different light and can appreciate a little more than what is in the eye of the beholder. However, as a creative being, I think our minds get clogged, and not necessarily with bad things, but with too many things; too many ideas, all of which are floating around in this brain of ours, and all of which we wish to release the second we conjure them up. Sometimes, it can become overwhelming, and sometimes, we need an outlet of some sort. It reaches a point where we're so inspired, we don't know what to do with ourselves.
This is where my friends come in... I have some pretty talented amigas, and I want to share with you a little of what they do in their "spare" time; you know, apart from being a mommy, all of which are working, a wifey, a daughter, a sister, and a dear loving friend.
Please take the time to visit their pages, "Like" them, and leave them a kind note. I know they would appreciate it! As do I. Sometimes, its nice to receive those random, uplifting comments every once in a while. =]
Connie's blog is also ranked #328 out of over 1,000 blogs on Top Mommy Blogs! Go girl!
Connie, is a mother of 2, wife of 1, and a friend of many! She's got a silly, crazy, blessed, and faith filled life, and she sho loves to blog about it! Trust me, its better than your favorite novela! Plus, Connie, just dived into the wonderful world of crafting, and you'd think she had been swimming around for a while, she's THAT good!
Here is one of the first pieces she made; one of which, I also used in a photo shoot not too long ago.
Karen is a mommy of 2, a wife of 1, and of course, a friend of many! Her business grew alongside with her sweet daughter, Emma. Karen makes all kinds of things for kiddos including aprons, wipey covers, tutu's, and embroidered clothing, and lots lots more!
Patricia is a mommy of 1, wifey of 1, and duh, a friend of many! Patti is also related to Karen (see above), who is also related to the gal featured below! Patti makes the cutest little hair bows! You know the ones that all the little girls wear to school with their uniform?? Yes! Those! Plus, she bakes some killer cupcakes! Patti is also just diving into the wonderful world of photography!
(c) Patricia 2010-2011
And last but not least, and laugh if you will, but the fam bam has extended even further! Kathy Artiga of Mary Kay, is also related to my very own sweet husband! YES! Small world we live in!
See Kathy for all of your Mary Kay needs and wants! She'll hook you up with the best products and promotions!! Contact her, today for some flawless skin and some beautiful color pop!
So, there you have it!! There's never a dull moment in our circle of friendship! And there's never an creative idea that doesn't get discussed! These are my faith filled mommy friends! So, what are you waiting for? Stop by and say hello on their page! Tell them, I sent ya!
Finally, she's OURS! At least for the next 10 days! After leaving the island, we grubbed, and went back to the hotel, and raided through Chelsey's belongings, and reminsced about her days on the island; the island she thought was A LOT bigger than what they made out to be.
ps. whenever they traveled by bus, they had to keep their heads down until the final destination.
{Chelsey's covers}
{Birth Control Glasses, which she only wore at the rifle range}
{Inspirational pictures and a letter sent from a fellow Marine. Thanks, Chris!}
{All of the pics we sent to Chelsey. This way she would never forgot how beautiful her sisters are and what a loving and supporting family she has!}
13 weeks later, Chelsey is officially a United States Marine!
First, I'd like to thank everyone for their warm wishes, encouragement, support, and love! Without you all, this would have not only been harder on us, but on my sister as well. And please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you! Thank you!
This was by far one of the proudest moments in my life! To watch my sister march in formation, to see her salute, and to witness all that she has become in such a short amount of time! I am one proud big sister!
Chelsey, I love you so so much, and I can't say it enough... how very very very proud I am of you! Shine your light! Let it shine! Let it shine! Let it shine!
