Running the trails at Turkey Mountain

Hey friends! 

I'm not sure if anyone even remembers that my blog existed, but here I am posting again! On my Instagram bio my feed is described in three simple words: faith, running, lettering. Those are the kind of things I will be posting about here too. 

I know I've mentioned running a few times on here, but in the past two years it's become a much larger part of my life. Running is calming and healing for me. I started training for a half marathon a few months after a long period of depression and I noticed that I felt so much better physically and emotionally if I ran on a regular basis. I love reaching goals and setting new ones; becoming faster and stronger! I would encourage everyone to take up running even if it's just a couple miles a week! 

Last night my friend Carolyn and I met up with a group to run the trails at Turkey Mountain. 

It was beautifully lush and green due to a lot of recent rainfall, but that also meant a lot of puddles and mud! We decided to embrace the mud. ☺️

We ran down some trails I had never been on before so I got to see some new sights! A few shots of the beauty of the mountain:

 

SNOW. . .

falling,

swirling

past my window.

I AM. . .

waiting,

watching

it fall below.

BIRDS. . .

chirping,

fluttering

in the bushes.

WIND. . . 

whispering,

blowing

on it rushes.

MUSIC. . .

harmonizing,

floating

through the room.

climbing, descending

with crescendoed boom.

I AM. . .

sipping,

savoring

a coffee treat.

snuggling,

sketching

in the window seat.

©AlisonRS

A Threefold Cord

This past weekend I had the pleasure of witnessing the union of my friend and her new husband. It made me happy to see how happy they were!

This is a little gift I made and framed for them. I pray they will always look to Christ as the head of their marriage, for a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

New Tastes // mesquite bean coffee

Last Saturday, at our town's annual Fiesta de la Paloma ( festival of the dove ), I bought a new kind of "coffee". The bean-like pods which grow on the mesquite tree are harvested, roasted, and ground for some Texas style coffee! 

It definitely doesn't have your regular coffee flavor, but rather a strong, woodsy taste that took me back to sitting around a campfire in northern Michigan during our camping trip last summer.

It was also neat to drink coffee that grew locally and gave me a feeling of loyalty since it came from my home state instead of Arabia or some other foreign country!

I like it best with a dash of almond milk.

Do you enjoy any coffee substitutes?

blank pages // a booklet diy

A blank page is no empty space. It is brimming with potential... it is a masterpiece in waiting -- yours

// A. A. Patawaran 

Ah, there is something about making something with ones own hands, that is very relaxing and therapeutic. Especially simple things. Like a booklet that came together from a piece of cardboard from who-knows-what, a watercolor painting of a feather, and paper given to you by your grandmother years ago.

supplies: piece of cardboard, paper, stylus, ruler, scissors, stapler, artwork or something to embellish the cover

Take the cardboard you'll be using as your booklet cover and mark the center. Run a stylus along the ruler to make the cardboard easier to bend.

Cut out pages that are slightly smaller than your booklet cover. Each piece of paper will be folded in half, so if you want twenty pages you would cut ten pieces of paper.

Lay the pages on the cover and staple into place along the center. 

Now enjoy your little book: give it to someone special or keep it for yourself. A book that you have made will become more a part of you than one you could buy. Fill it with thoughts, designs, dreams, sketches. Make it your own.

refashion friday // hat & scarf set

Hey y'all!

I found this winter hat, scarf and mitten set on sale last week. I loved the cable designs, plus it was one of my favorite colors - mustard yellow! (I apologize for the wrong coloring in some of the photos. My silly little point and shoot has some defects.)

After a little refashion treatment to the hat and scarf I like them even more. I added a pom pom to the hat and turned the scarf into an infinity scarf! Both are easy refashions. Keep reading to learn how.

We'll start with adding the pom pom.

You will need:
a hat, yarn, scissors, tapestry needle

1. Start wrapping the yarn around all your fingers. The more you wrap the yarn, the fuller your pom pom will be. I wanted mine to be really poufy so I wrapped mine a lot.  2. Slide the yarn off your fingers and tie it in the middle with a long piece of yarn.  3. With the scissors cut through all the loops taking care not cut the longer strands of yarn .  4.Trim into a nice ball shape. This isn't the most professional way to make a pom pom and it will be pretty shaggy at first, but after giving it a trim it will look quite cute!  5. Thread the long strands of yarn into the tapestry needle.  6. Pull the needle through the top of your hat.  6. Knot the yarn on the inside of the hat.

For the scarf you'll need all the same supplies.

This one is really easy! Just bring the ends together (right sides together) and stitch! I just sort of wove my needle in and out of the knitted stitches.

This is a great way to personalize your winter accessories without knitting them yourself! Hope you enjoy this project. :)

Doodle a day // january

I made it through the first month of my 365 project! The month went fast and I enjoyed drawing, painting, and doodling every day. At first I felt like I would run out of ideas of things to draw, but so far they have kept coming. It's neat how that when you exercise a gift you become better in that area. I have learned a lot about drawing from simply drawing every day. I'm thankful for the talent the Lord has given me and want to use it for His glory.

There is a story behind that crazy mess of color down there. That is the sheet of watercolor paper which I used to test colors I mixed before I used them in my paintings. One day I was quite busy and didn't draw anything, so I posted that as a "painting" I had been working on for most of the year! ;) So I guess  technically I skipped that day... Oh well.

Do you have a favorite picture?

my 365 project

Have you ever done a 365 project? This is my first year to tackle one and I am going to attempt to draw something every day of 2013! It will be a big challenge and I hope I can finish it! :/ Even if I don't though I will still be drawing more than I would have without starting the project.

This is my painting from January 1st.

Day one: the throne

I will be posting all my pictures on Instagram which you can find here: @simpleserendipities. 

The new year & instagram

2013!

wow.

2012 was an unusually hard, but also a wonderful year and I'm looking forward to what God has in store for us in 2013! This year I want to trust Him more fully in every area of my life, with His help. I know I don't need to worry about anything if He is with me!

Well, I haven't been very regular about blogging lately and that's something I would like to work on this year. I need to stop spending so much time looking at other people's blogs and invest some time in my own! 

Since my last post I have gotten on Instagram and thought I'd share a some photos on here. If you want to see more I am @simpleserendipities. 

my chalkboard // an old drawing // most beautiful sunrise // handmade iPod case // handmade make up bag // handmade scarves // snow // a friend's woodpile // a gift of pears // coffee is cozy

A non- creative post // Some thoughts on running

I have always wanted to run. Over the years I would try to start running, but it was hard and I never kept at it. This past fall however I was able to start running and actually make it a habit! Sometimes it is still hard to run, but I've gotten over my difficulties and enjoy running most of the time.

Here are a few things that I've learned about running. I hope this will help you if you're a beginning runner!

• You can push yourself harder than you think you can. Several people have told me that running is very much a mental thing and it really is. Your mind has to be stronger than your body and tell your body not to quit when it is begging to be allowed to stop. Obviously, if you are really having a serious problem you need to stop running, but you can usually do harder things than you might think you have the ability to. Remember - no pain, no gain!

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• You need to have a goal. Shortly after I started running seriously a friend called and told us about a local 5k race coming up. A 5k was what I wanted to work up to so I figured out how I needed to progress in order to run that race. I needed to add one third of a mile each week and I did it! Having a goal helped me be consistent with my running and also helped me push myself and become stronger.

                                       

• It helps to occupy your mind. Listen to music, audiobooks, and sermons. Pray. If you can get you mind off your feet hitting the pavement, how you feel, or how much longer you need to run you'll be surprised at how much better you'll do.

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This Is My Niece Elsie

I remember the first time I held her, marveling at God's creation and at the fact my sister was a mommy. She had strong sparkly eyes and loved to look all around. Now she is such a big girl with hair long enough for two french braids! She knows all the words to many songs and makes us laugh with her funny ideas. One afternoon, I followed her around with the camera as she played outside and stuffed pecans into her little pockets.  

"Are you coming, Asalin?" I love how she says my name and how her face gets so serious when she asks a question.

"A pecaaan!"

"Maybe we should take them inside and eat them!"