{ Two Blog Lists }

There are 2 blog lists that I’ve been seeing pop up alot lately in the blogging world and I thought I’d join in with my own lists. The first is to list 5 blogs that inspire you right now. Hardest part about this list is actually narrowing it down to just 5. Here’s mine:

{My MiNuTia} – Even the name is inspiring. :)

mi·nu·ti·a     [mi-noo-shee-uh, -shuh, -nyoo-]

precise details; small or trifling matters: the minutiae of his craft.

A  Beautiful Mess – Has been a source of inspiration for a long time now. I don’t think any of that inspiration has actually rubbed off on me and affected my scrapping or photography but I’m gonna keep checking in till it does. ;)

Piece of Work – Lately it’s all about her mad photography skills. And whatever she does to achieve the amazing rich colors in her photographs I have to learn. I wish my photo-a-days looked this amazing. I also LOVE this quote and her comments about it in this recent post.

Olive Juice - This girl is inspiring on every level. She’s an amazing seamstress, her scrapping style is eclectic and whimsical (what’s not to love about that), she takes gorgeous photos of everything from her latest aprons to her adorable kiddos and even their fishy pets, and she even posts amazing recipes from time to time. Is there anything this woman can’t do?! And on top of all that she’s one of the sweetest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and is crazy cute ‘ta boot.

Everyday Epiphanies – Ronalyn has a way of putting into words all the crazy things floating around inside my head and heart. Even though I’m sure our circumstances are very different there’s something universal about our feelings on life. The inspiration comes in the way that she so eloquently expresses those feelings. The following is an example from a recent post and you can check it out on her blog and listen to the song that inspired these thoughts here.

"I honestly believe people generally have good intentions. People just want to help, I get that. But sometimes you have to let people go, free to make their own decisions.  Much like children, you can guide them in the early years.  But you have to let them live their life and trust them enough to make the right decisions or learn from past mistakes. A person will never set flight, if you are constantly hovering over them making sure they are following your path. I do believe people come in your life for a reason. But when that season is over, it’s just that, over. Life comes with many experiences that we face everyday, good and bad. And the only way, we can experience life, is to live it, to go through it. It’s nice to have a shoulder to cry on, rather than someone placing a frown on your every move. No one likes to be placed under such scrutiny.  Because at the end of the day, that person’s happiness is all that matters.

I don’t know about you, but some of my life’s hardest lessons has gotten me a step closer to being this woman I’ve always dreamed I could be.  If my mistakes have made me stronger, so be it.  If my faults have made me love harder, appreciate life more, and given me the courage to stand up. Then who am I to go through my life with padded cushions surrounding me with the constant fear of the unknown. Why that’s a part of life, you go through the motions, you fall and pick yourself back up."

Seriously, I swear she’s living in my pocket. I’m pretty sure she’s tiny enough to. :) Anyway, she’s also an amazing scrapper with a beaming smile and amazing photography skills. Her 10 Loves album is one of my all-time favorites.

So, there’s 5 of the many blogs that inspire me creatively right now.

And then I’ve seen this fun little google search project on a few other blogs recently and thought it would be fun. The idea is that you do a google search for your name and the word ‘needs’ and post 10 phrases that come up. Unfortunately for me I had to change a lot of his and he’s to hers and she’s but it still worked. So, according to Google…

• Shawn needs sleep…badly so true
• Shawn needs to decide who she wants to spend her life with done
• Shawn needs our help not sure with what yet but I’m sure Google’s right
• Shawn needs a more permanent solution workin’ on this one
• Shawn needs to be seen live to really appreciate her that could explain alot actually
• Shawn needs to keep her pants up…or watch more television hmmmmm
• Shawn needs knee surgery this 1 may actually have been meant for someone else
• Shawn needs to be selective can’t argue with that
• Shawn needs a serenade who wouldn’t love a serenade?!
• Shawn needs the validation of other people’s opinions          one of my daily struggles

Kay, gotta do my pilates before the kids wake up and then we’re off to skating this morning and to take care of Kylie and Kennedy for a bit. I’m on a roll with the pilates thing so far. Did them yesterday morning so here’s my ‘sticker’ for that and since it’s my blog and I make the rules I’m posting one for today too since I’ve got the mat out and the dvd in the laptop here to get to it just as soon as I hit post. :)