Happy Monday

i need to read this quote often...

it is very true in all aspects of life. i especially need it for business.

we can't be every service and/or product for everyone.

look at all the hugely successful big brands and you'll see,

they have a few things they are passionate about and they focus on those.

there was either already a market or niche or they found one.

i never did wedding invites, i was more passionate about playdate cards, party invitations, stationery, and prints. i never did letterpress either. i could have easily added these services, but i wasn't as passionate about them and would have needed to take away time and resources from my current services to research and implement the new services. 

we evolve. our passions are not stagnant. 

we grow.

currently i am still passionate about my paper services, and now i am also passionate about web design and very passionate about studying and preparing for acting.

my paper is all set so i don't need a huge investment of time and resources going in that direction. i have directed those resources to web designing and investing more time into my education for the screen. 

this quote reminds me that i am good at certain things for a reason, i am passionate about paper, web design and acting because those are the gifts God has given me. i could sew dresses, clean houses, and nanny on top of everything else {we are talented, smart, wonderfully made beings} but there is only so much time in a day and time on one thing means less time on another. i already feel scattered with the large responsibility of my design business and the lofty goal of acting.

i just try to plan, stay focused on the tasks for the day, find inspiration all around me, pray, and move forward. 

has being everything to everyone ever been a struggle for you?
what are you doing to balance and focus?

download this quote as a free printable here

xoxo, 

krystina

oh, how i love thee pinterest...

but, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?

it is the east, and pinterest is the sun.

ok, maybe not a fatal love affair...

but a love affair nonetheless.

this recent article boasts that pinning and viewing 

eye candy on pinterest reduces actual consumption.

sometimes pinterest makes me feel behind, overwhelmed, jealous, wanting.

sometimes it makes me feel like i have to buy everything i see.

so the verdict is still out whether or not it reduces my particular consumption.

i hope we can be full just on His word alone.
a little food, love, and God is all we need, really.

some days i completely avoid pinterest, as i know the space-time continuum 
ticks forward all the faster when i am pinning and moments later it has been an hour.

yesterday i couldn't explain to my brother what's so addicting about it...

when he asked me i just sat and stared off into space thinking about it and drooling a little.

do you pinterest?

what's your user name?

i would love to see your boards

find me at lollipops

xoxo,

snails

this boy and his snails...

seriously? seriously.

it's true what they say...

"snips and SNAILS and puppy dog tails, that's what little boys are made of."

the neighbors were so grossed out they very kindly gave him 

a hand-me-down big-wheel and a scooter

hoping to distract him from his "collection".

it's sort of working.

nothin wrong with a little curiosity and nature... right?

coming from a mom with 2 girls and THEN the boy, *sigh*

happy monday friends!

xoxo,

counting down

“Effort, after days of laziness, seemed impossible.” 

― Doris Lessing

we were up on the central coast this weekend moving the big stuff and getting the place ready to rent out. home again and baby didn't sleep last night and this mama has a queen bee market to prep for. i am so excited, yet there is so much to do it seems impossible. how can you enjoy a few weeks of vacation or a relaxing summer and then fling yourself into a high velocity typhoon?

it seems... 

impossible

sore back, tired hands - will they be able to to create, build, and inspire?

moved

have you ever been moved? we recently moved to a new town, but that's not the kind of "moved" i am talking about. the kind of moved that we hold back from, hesitate to go to, emotionally, in public, in front of others. yet when something actually moves you, you really are moved to action. for some it is an emotional reaction, others move to do something to help, fix, save.

i went to our first new church in our new town yesterday and...

i was

moved.

and it was hard to stay grounded and look flawless in front of all these kind strangers. grabbed i was by the spirit, moved yes, by the Word. THANK GOD. thank you pastor Bob.

i didn't know what was to come by moving 300 miles away from deep roots and an incredible community that has been family.

pastor Bob said that God has plans for me *tear*
God has plans for you *sigh*
God is not done with us *sobbing* where's the kleenex? -the one thing i always need but never bring to church.

moving out of our comfort zones isn't easy, but it is the answer. instead of sitting on our faithful hands we need to have compassion for those who need Jesus. for those who are lost and cannot see, we need to be the light we were sent to be.

i have been moved.

physically,

mentally,

spiritually.

ps. the kids loved it too :)

calendar-aholic intervention?

i have an addiction problem.

ok, well, other than cookies, chocolate, and paper.

i am addicted to planners, calendars, organizers.

send help.

i keep buying new ones.

i keep looking for the perfect planner.

one that will organize my life.

ok, ok, i know i have to do it, the planner won't.

but aren't they so pretty? aren't they so promising?

the lines, grids, to do's, task lists, dates, times...

planners anonymous?

calendar-aholic intervention?

hold me.

the future laid out in front of my eyes

a blank canvas to paint my plans, my life, however i chose.

and yet, i can't seem to stick to one,

so therefore i lose the whole idea of being organized

and having a planner/calendar to begin with.

what do you use?

what types of things keep you organized?

are you a member of CAA?
(calendar-aholics anonymous)

menu planning on a whim

tattered and torn are the pages of my most beloved cook books. gone are the days of burning toast and over cooking the pasta. surfer guy is italian, pasta is required to be Al dente. i remember when i was told i could and would cook, yet, i had no idea how to. he took me to barnes and noble and we picked out a few cookbooks together. into the kitchen i went with a teaspoonful of spite and bushels of optimism - i read the recipes and directions and, wow, it worked. not only was the surfer guy right, he was also lucky :)

i have never been an expert and cooking wasn't a big deal on my side of the family. however, i like to eat, to experiment, and to be creative so it's usually to my family's benefit. they have their favorites that mom makes that's for sure. and now my little Francesca loves to cook. just last week she made herb bread, pizza, biscuts, and blueberry muffins.

the problem is that she is good, who can resist that yummy just baked smell? ahh.

so for the planning most of the time i stand in trader joe's and list dinner ideas through my head and grab and go. this is stressful with a toddler and one or two begging tweenagers at my sides. my ideal menu planning consists of a few simple steps.

flipping through my cook books or the internet and writing down favorites and new dinners i would like to make, then typing them into the computer. from here i can copy and paste them into ical, and even set up email reminders from ical telling me what is for dinner each day.

or i can hang them...(i will have a super cute tutorial for you tomorrow!!!!) then from there make my grocery list on my iPhone, b/c i will inevitably lose or forget that list, but i won't forget my phone :)

do you like to cook?
how do you plan meals?
how do you involve the kiddos?

happy monday!

xoxo,

friends

i write you this post tired from a late night chatting with friends, our fuel: wine, food, a good book. the reasons we come together, and the blessing of 1 or 2 lingering after and sharing deeply and growing our relationships was and is immeasurable. i cannot know how these times now will build for our friendships later.

ironically the book we read The Help takes place in 1960's Jackson, Mississippi focused on the help and their relationships; was not about friendship - or was it? i clung to Minny and Aibileen's amazing friendship of being so close. to be able to go to the other's house without a "playdate" and sit and have tea. to protect each other beyond their own self, to care so deeply about the other impacted me greatly. maybe these are different times, walking over to a friend's house just to chat unannounced might be considered rude, what if she's busy? what if she's not ready for me? what if, what if... community used to be people sharing the lawn mower out of shear necessity, watching each other's children, maybe share a meal together. now our world is so protected: protected sex, protected peoples rights, protected children in many ways including strict movie ratings, protected health laws - no smoking in public places, etc, all of which are very good and i feel fortunate to live in such times - but we're so dang protected we're getting isolated. plugged into our computer, tv, iPad, laptop, video game, phone... where and when is there time for human beings to enter into our lives... in person? in the same room? IN REAL LIFE? and not hi everything is fine *fake smile*. no. real stuff and it doesn't have to be bad either. i can honestly say that i, my mother, and my grandmother, have never had a friend like Aibileen or Minny. maybe it's just us. i moved 25 times by the time i was 25, so now that i have been in once place for 10 years, now what? is it just me? busy with my babies, school, household?

do i need to stomp into someone's kitchen make coffee sit down and say (like Aibileen) "we gone be friends."? no, i know that friendships take building, time, nurturing. i have great, wonderful friends and i think if they lived closer or i just got over the "what if's" then maybe i would have this beautiful thing that Minny and Aibileen have.

the book was amazing. the writer is ridiculously talented, you feel like you're there, and i had a hard time not picking up the dialect the help spoke in -her writing was that good. i hope the movie does it justice. looking forward to it.

do you have a friend like Minny and Aibileen? 

do you have each other's backs? 

can you just stop by unannounced? 

what a poetically beautiful thing.

xoxo,

finding beauty

we are surrounded by it - really.
sometimes it's hard to see.

buried in laundry, dishes, housework -beauty?
these really are blessings - thank God we have clothes to wear, dishes to eat on, and a home to live in
-i've heard/read that a million times - so it's kinda lost it's power for me,
even though i know it is true.

more empowering for me though, is that mothering, and cleaning up after and raising up these precious children is the most beautiful thing i think i can possibly be given to do! 

the fact that it is so fleeting,
so temporary
shines a new light on the matter...
i can take this gift and complain about it and stomp my feet and pout at the work involved.
or i can stop, enjoy the moments and choose to see the beauty.
i would hate to have missed it.

it will be over one day.
at least this thick, loud, chaotic part will be over - and then what?
will i have done a good job?

i have spent the last few years numb to the mess, noise, discomfort, fighting, disobedience.
now i SEE that the beauty lies in every detail; pain or joy.
bringing a child from pain or sadness to peace through L♡VE
how beautiful is that?

if i am numb to the pain i am then numb to all of it.

beauty is in everything.
when we choose to see, we find it's been right under our noses.

have an amazing week friends!

Life doesn't stop

ok, i seriously did not want to blog about this. but it kept popping into my head.
and just now when i tried blogging about something else my post was dry and boring.
again this popped into my head. maybe i am supposed to blog about this. maybe i am not in control here
maybe i need to blog for a bigger purpose today. maybe i am called to share something that someone out there needs right now.

i have let go of the steering wheel.

...


the rapture didn't happen like most of us "knew" it wouldn't.
we can't expect it, or know when it will. the Bible is clear about this.

that night i lay in bed alone as my husband is flying over the ocean for a work trip,

i felt slightly terrified. 

what will it be like? i thought, naa, probably not going to happen.

though when i woke up the next day to an exploded (and i mean exploded) diaper,
bickering tweenagers, a sink full of dishes, and 15 loads of laundry, i kinda wished it had happened.

what about you?

i read an article last week from NPR how a family with one child and one on the way believed the rapture would happen for sure on the 21st and had only enough money to get to that date. they quit their jobs because they didn't see why they should be working for money or going to medical school when they should be getting ready to meet their Heavenly Father. i was deeply saddened by this couple's choices. so deeply affected that it stayed with me all day for 4 whole days. how can you be so irresponsible to your very own children? i knew it the moment i read it that they were going to be in for a sad surprise. i hope and pray that that family finds work and that they do their own research about any event before quitting their jobs again in the future.

2 things really boggled my mind about these parents:

1. Harold Camping, who "prophesied" the rapture said on the 21st for the next 158 days the rapture would be taking place - i didn't believe this guy but that family did. sooooo what about the 158 days? they didn't even pay attention to the entire schpele? maybe they are dumb or lazy? i don't know.

2. the most ridiculous thing is Harold Camping had said the rapture was coming in September of 1994 - now he says it didn't happen then because he hadn't read the book of Jeremiah yet... wow! really? oh gee - let me tell people i know when the end of the world is coming and then not even read the whole Bible?!! God's Word?!! so now what hasn't he read? i wonder if he's even read the Bible at all.

maybe i am not qualified to post this. but i am telling you from my heart i couldn't help it.
i am torn, yet i believe it is for a purpose much greater than i can understand. i am not a preacher, and don't like to scream and shout advice. yet here i am on my soapbox.

i love you and care about you all.

and when the rapture comes in the next few days or thousands of years i will be ever so ready to meet my Heavenly Father with the biggest hugs from the child-like faith i have. but i will not quit my jobs or leave my children without, in waiting for that day. i can't stop Life. i can just choose to treasure it's gifts.

(photo taken by the surfer guy on Mother's day. what gifts!)

paralyzed

(me overwhelmed)

have you ever had so much to do that it is totally paralyzing?

with three children life can get pretty busy

ballet

gymnastics

playdates

school work

chores

recitals

laundry

laundry

laundry

dishes

i am so overwhelmed it stops me in my tracks.

i don't know where to begin!

so...

i keep coming back to this

it reminds me to not hurry to finish,

finish a race of nothing.

to take in each moment and enjoy the laundry, dishes, errands

because it is all so very temporary.

...

and a little of this doesn't hurt

it's my little cup of peace each morning.

there, i feel better already.

thank you for being my therapists ;)

now go enter this week's sponsor giveaway!!!

happy monday!

xoxo,

Happy Mother's Day!

i am taking a much needed day off. i am putting my feet up and relaxing... a bit... well i will be updating my shop and blogging and tidying the house and the laundry from our trip to the queen bee market - nope you know what? no laundry, i refuse today :) and that is that!

i hope you had a wonderful mother's day weekend.
i know i did! the surfer guy spoiled me with taking the kids all weekend so i could sell my wares at the queen bee, then he took me to dinner saturday night at the yummy fish market in del mar, then made me a nice breakfast yesterday morning. what a guy! and the kiddos gave me lots of hugs and we danced together. my boy made me a painting

soleil sent me on a scavenger hunt around the house with adorable rhyming riddles to solve. and the prize at the end was a coupon to watch the boy for free for one entire day :)

and my little francesca gave me a coupon book she made, complete with a massage last night, sigh. 'twas needed!

feeling pretty blessed right about now :)

oh, btw, did you read my mother's day guest series?

it was a hit! i loved having all my guests 

and i really enjoyed what they shared :)

check out my shop later today for an update 

and a queen bee market recap on my blog later this week.

happy monday!

xoxo,

The Hunt

renew. life. beautiful. messy. cracked. imperfect. begin.

words that describe what we CAN see.

only He is perfect. 

He has Promised.

this we can't always see.

 so we hunt.

we gather what we can.

 His beauty and gifts surround us.

 gorgeous hills, beautiful trees, happy children, friends, (fill in your words)

all the Promises await... love, life, joy, peace, perfectly beautiful, renewed beginning.

what are you hunting for?

krystina

what does God want?

wwjd?
i know, i know, i'm supposed to ask well, "what would Jesus do?"
this would answer my question - "what does God want?"
hmmm, so how do i "hear" His answer?

like all families we have some big decisions to make sometimes.
yesterday i was driving along minding my own business when God popped into my head
and said, "well aren't you going to ask me? you are trying to figure out what is best, but you haven't brought me in to guide you." "oh, yea, ok God, what would you like us to do?"
boom, there on the side of the freeway i have driven hundreds of times but have never noticed are
three beautiful huge crosses. beautiful. huge. how have i never seen these before? so it's like a sign right? i ask God a question and smack right in the middle of "do" and "?" is a picture. hmmm, ok. not really a sign, but i somehow feel like He really IS listening. 30 seconds later the words pour out of my children's mouths. this is what they want, this is the answer. is it God's guidance?

maybe there isn't really one right answer and as long as we do our best God is ok with it.
maybe He knows we can pull it off no matter what our decision is.
some decisions are so scary i wish there were some kind of road map for them or a "sign".

my ears are perked and listening.
how about you? are you "listening"?