salvation + strawberry shortcakes.

today is that last day of the blog every day in may challenge.  and boy am i going tho miss this, okay, that's a lie.  today's prompt was a vivid memory. 

one of my first vivid memories was:  i was seven years old. we had guest for dinner life we did often and they had a little girl who i was playing my strawberry shortcakes with, i had them all...the gazebo, all the little dolls, everything.  my new friend and myself were having a great time and then she asked me if she could have my dolls, because i am ME...and i would give you the shirt off my back literally (this can be a negative trait too, guys.) i said, "sure" and we loaded up the entire collection, gazebo and all and took them to her car so she wouldn't forget them when they left.

long story short [not really]: after they left, my mom asked me to go and pick up the things we had gotten out because it was time for bed and my reply was, "i don't have anything out i gave them all to [friend]."  needless to say this little selfless girls mama was not very pleased because even though she had learned how to love from her mothers example her mama still liked collecting toys, dolls, you name it.  and lets be honest, you shouldn't just give loots of things away when you are seven without consulting a parent.

so what's a seven year old to do to save her a little trouble?  oh that's right!  start crying and then telling her parents that she doesn't think that jesus lives in her heart!  well, it worked.  my parents were so excited that on my terms i was ready to ask jesus to live in my heart that we prayed that night together on december seventeenth and i asked jesus to come and live in my heart.

i went to bed with a heart full of jesus and the strawberry shortcakes were never mentioned again.

----------------

here's some fun photos from my week last week.  i am morrisonlane on instagram if you want to follow all the fun times on there.  i've been posting lots of red face post workout looks too, just keepin' it real - and be honest with yourself...you know you do not want to miss those...

hope everyone has a wonderful friday and an even better weekend!  i hope to feel a lot like little sass-o'-frass in the corner over there - all.  weekend.  long.

things that make me uncomfortable, ewwwww.

day three of blog a day in may continues with things that make me uncomfortable...obviously.

MICE.
that is my number one.  talk about uncomfortable on a whole 'nother level.  oh my goodness!  i don't even know if i can write this post because i get the heebee-jeebees just thinking about all this stuff...

FACT:  brad saw a mouse in our house last weekend while i was working.  thank my lucky stars i was working, because i might have died.  we bought those sticky traps and set two out.  then tuesday we were watching mad men in our bedroom and brad hears this squeaky MOUSE sound.  me, being the dummy that i am, said "oh i think that's a bird!"  when do you ever hear a bird tweeting at night?  yeah, no.  brad says, "ugh, i think it might be a mouse."  shivers UP THE SPINE.
i immediately get in the fetal position with my hands cupped around my face and ask him to go check. he comes running back to the bedroom with an affirmation of a mouse.
i'm like "babe!  you have to get it yourself!  i can not help you.  please don't ask me to help you."  and i was begging and pleading.
"well, how am i supposed to get it?" he said, as he gave my an example of what the house was doing stuck on the sticky pad.
ahhhhh.
"just get it and take it out quick before it gets away!"  so THANKFULLY he got it, put it in a plastic bag, sealed that bad boy and took him out in the outside trash.  oh my gosh.  seriously, i'm not right and i know it.

this is what peggy was doing as i was screaming and brad was rescuing...

and here's a few more things that make me uncomfortable...

- when i see pedicurist doing 'the razor" on peoples feet.  ahhhh.

- that commercial on TV where the person is shaving their legs and the razor cuts them and they go "ouch!" ahhhh.

- watching anything plastic surgery on the face on TV.  especially ears.  ahhhh.

- awkward people that think they are cool.  you know what i mean.

- everyone on jersey shore, the show.  not like the actual shore.

- talking about money with your/my employers.

- women that dress in too revealing outfits.  like way to much boob and bottom for the world to see.  i wanna cover them with a blanket.

uncomfortable now?  yeah, me too.

moving on.

here's some instagram dump for the week.  i'm morrisonlane on there if you would like to be friends.

capturing moments.

gah, this is the part of the interview (wait, this is a blog, my blog...) where i start to wiggle in my chair and i look like a do-do.

let me back up, i am doing the blog a day in may challenge and the second (MAY 2) prompt is educate us on something you know a lot about or are good at...and again i want to get under the table and say, oh gosh, i dunno.

i kinda want to say instagram, because that seems to be my main talent addiction these days, but let's go with capturing moments.










i'm good at capturing moments.

i have always been in the detail of the moment.  i also have the advantage of having a three year old to chase most days and when she's not around, my husband is pretty cute too.

whether you have a nice DSLR camera, a cheapo or your iphone (which is a great camera these days!): if the moment presents itself, even you can capture that beauty.

here are some go to tips to keep in mind:

- if you are taking a picture of someone who is three foot tall (a child):  get on their level.  you are much taller than them.  get on their level.

- get creative with your angles.  as much as yes, you should get on their level - get creative!  shoot from above them, or a weird angle, you might love what you see!

- just take the shot!  be ready.  have your camera close at all times, or the phone and just take the shot.  because taking the shot means YOU captured the moment.  so what if the picture is grainy, blurry or not everything you thought it would be---you captured that moment in time that you will never get back.  and sometimes a blurry photo tells a story on it's own.

there are so many free (and not free) photo editing (photobucket, picmonkey) websites and tutorials, that you can always make an okay picture great.  

so just have your camera ready and take the picture(s) -

OH, and don't just take one.  take three or MORE!  you will be shocked at what taking a few images of the same thing, what you will end up seeing, which one you will like more.  and it only takes a few seconds.

DO get that camera out of your pocket and capture those moments.  the everyday.  
because one day, you will wish you had.

are you here from the blog a day in may challenge?  wanna read my life story?  here it is.  go ahead tell me how behind i am too, i know i know i know.  give a girl a break, it's friday.

let's talk more, have any more photo tips questions?  anything i missed?  show me your pictures, tell me where they are and i will come and look.  

three cheers for friday!

it has been a good week. the weather has been nice and crisp and perfect in nashville this week. as i write this, it's raining and perfect. perfect because i am not working this early morn'n and am sitting here in my pajamas with peggy curled up by my side, towel still in my freshly washed hair, today show on...you get it.  if it gets any better...i might just fall aslee..........

happy weekend friends.

clean eating recipe: stuffed acorn squash

last new years i had THE BEST acorn squash filled with a sweet soup, it was so delicious that it intimidated me to cook with acorn squash, even though it was so so good! 

this week, i have been doing a 15 day cleanse eating only fruits and vegetables and saw this recipe and had to try it.

and let me just tell you, clean eating is not for sissies!  it is MUCH easier to make box food, clean up too.  sometimes i think it taste just as good too --- kidding.  we have a tiny kitchen and it seems like making one clean meal creates the biggest mess ever, thankfully i have a husband who will clean the kitchen.  and i can make. a mess.

acorn squash with stuffed portabella mushrooms and onions

makes two.

preheat the oven to 450.

total prep time 45 minutes.

cut the top off of your acorn squash and clean guts/seed out. discard.

brush with olive oil.

roast in preheated oven cut sides down for 30 minutes.

while the squash is roasting:

combine two garlic cloves, half of a small onion, and saute for five minutes or so.

combine cut up portabella mushroom

saute for ten more minutes, or until you think it's ready.

take squash out of the oven, flip.

split onion, mushroom mixture and fill each acorn squash

put back in the oven for ten more minutes

take out.

looks at the disaster your kitchen is...

shake your head,

wipe your brow,

put on a pretty plate,

take a picture and put on instagram,

EAT.

{add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste}

recap of the week on morrison lane.

+ + + monday, after all the sadness in boston, i found this picture on pinterest of boston all lit up.  what a wonderful reminder than in the darkest moments a light still shines.

+ + + i wrote about hope in dark times.  {and i have hope}

+ + + then there was our new york trip recap, the memory of spending the night in the airport might be one of my favorites yet.

+ + + then i had a run-on blog about my dad, ashleyannphotography.com, gardening and juicing for 15 days. four things that make me happy.  i haven't actually started the juice cleanse though.  get back with me on that.

+ + + friday, i showed you snippets into my instagram account.  it's always a good time over there, wanna join me? you can find my feed at morrisonlane.

boston and west, texas --- you're still in our prayers and on our hearts.

iphoneonly (aka: IG for the week)

here's what's been happening over at instagram this week if you follow me there, if not, find me!
i'm morrisonlane on IG, i like to keep it simple.

peggy.  always ready for her close up.
masters and hart of dixie.
my two favorites, and that one in the blue shirt is especially pretty.
new NYC mug with a taxi on it.  i mean, come on!
picture day for lil bit's ballet class.
the annual lowes pick-up-flowers-for-spring-and-summer day.

have a good weekend, friends.

happy dance.

after a two months hiatus without an iphone and with a $19.99 go phone [because i lost my iphone at target] i am happy to announce that instagram and i have been reunited.

this picture was the flag being parachuted in at the titans game on sunday.  

and what a crazy game!

also, ALL my contacts are back! {praise the lord!}

also, maps.  i can't tell you how many times in the past two months i have been taking the kids somewhere and i have had to call a friend for directions.

and the whole, i am with kids all day and not connected to the outside world unless i have a smart phone.

so i am real thankful.  i'm connected again.

and my love affair with instagram?  well, we have a lot of catching up to do.

wanna follow the excessiveness?  you do?  i am morrisonlane on there. let's be friends.

for real...TGIF.

it's been a long week.  i haven't felt great this week, but just trying to keep on keeping on.  i am a believer in the line "fake it til you make it" and sometimes that just what you have to do.  cue this week.  but i am still thankful.  

thankful for a husband that is kind.

thankful for a happy home.

thankful for air conditioner.

thankful for melatonin. 

thankful for fingernail polish.

i'm looking forward to the weekend.  we have an adventure planned, get to see family and rest - also i am real excited about watching more of the olympic trials...'cauuuuuse i'm an olympic nerd.
fact:  i get emails for the london olympics and had planned on going four years ago; then i met brad and he made me fall in love, then made me marry him.  and i forgot i was going to the olympics until a few weeks ago.  whoops!

happy friday friends, i am one thankful gal that it's friday.
wanna follow the feed?  i'm morrisonlane on instagram.  i like to keep it simple like that.  if you follow me, let me know and i will follow you back.  

a heart content.

here's some life for ya.  as much as brad is in his favorite place tonight, i happen to be in mine as well.  home.  for years and years and years, i dreamt of what would be.  who my husband would be, what my home would look like, where it would be.  would it be fancy or small?  would i be rich or poor?  would my last name be extravagant and cool, plain?  all those unknowns.  you know, being a girl.

and it's funny how life works and how all those things that were so important at the time when you were thinking them, ya know --- they don't really matter when you get in to the heart of the life.

our house is fine.  small by some standards.  large probably to others.
my last name is dukes now.  i think its rather royal.
we aren't rich, but we aren'r poor.  but then again, it is all relative.  to some we may be rich, to others poor.

what i have learned through out it all is contentment.  to be content in my circumstances.  a contented person is hard to find these days, but that is what i desire my life to be.  a life that is full; a life that is content - that is a life of riches.

we are surrounded by media that tells us we need this, and that.  we need it all.  more, more, more.  i fall in the trap as well, darn humans.  but i want to be that girl that when others look at me they see contentment.  that i am happy with what i have and know that i don't need more.  

with contentment comes peace.  our home is a home of peace.  i have always told brad "i want our home to be the refuge that when you walk through the door.  you are home.  peace.  you feel content." and the weight of the world from the day quickly falls to the wayside.  a refuge from the storm, from the chaos of life.  it's so nice to know that as bad a day as i can have out there, i can pull the car into the driveway and automatically feel that home feeling, that ahhhh...peace, contentment.

every day i strive to be that person that jesus has called me to be.  and i am waaay off more days than not, but every day i try to walk out the life he has chosen for me.

peace is such a big part of that; with contentment going hand in hand.

and all those questions that i had and have all go away when i have a heart content.

and with all that, here's the photodump of the week via instagram.  i am morrisonlane on there if you would like to follow.

saying thank you.

"thank you again for going with me last night, i really had fun!

it means a lot to me that you go along with my crazy adventures,

even really late."

this is an email i received from brad early wednesday morning after we went to a concert tuesday night that started at eleven pm.  i had to be at work at seven on wednesday.

i try to always remember to say thank you to brad and anyone else, but especially to those that go out of their way to do nice things for me.  i think it is so easy to "take forgranted" your significant other and just "expect" and "assume."  even though i wanted nothing more than to be with brad on tuesday night at that show, it is always nice to be acknowledged and told "hey i notice.  you are appreciated."  no, it's not needed, but everyone needs to hear it.

saying thank you never gets old, saying it, or hearing it.  let's remember to be kind and to remember to thank the ones that go above and beyond for us on a day to say basis that we might forget to thank.  i know i am so guilty of forgetting to say thank you, and i need not forget.  it's important and something i always appreciate hearing.

ya know?

on that note, here's some pictures from my week in da world of instagram. hey, i'm morrisonlane on instagram if you'd like to follow my feed.  i've decided to do all black and whites for the month of june because i like a good project and i needed something attainable and easy for my blue ribbon 'cause i am all out of time for a real project...know what i mean?

oh, hey, thank you for reading.  really, it's always fun to know people read and comment and care. 

you make my day better every day.  you do.  you really really do.

you. are. so. dumb. {instagram style}

cake for my best friends party

girlfriend had her dress in her panties and her shades on backwards.  and she was READY.

she doesn't like flamingos.  WHO doesn't like a pink bird?

turtles eatin' salad.  i had fries that day.

ezekial bread with better n' peanut butter.  my favorite snack.

toy store.  we were there for FOREVER.

but i landed this picture.  worth.  it.  

summer just started.  and i am sure it will be this perfect e.v.e.r.y.d.a.y.

two of my favorite girls.  

brother loves his sister.

sister got kicked out of the movie.  much to her DELIGHT.

breakfast date.

lunch date.

nerd herd.  i love this picture.  it's sooo them.

dude loves him a map.  i let him lead this day.

sister trying to loose the nanny.

and to think when i thought about writing this post, i was like 

"i don't think i took many pictures this week."

then when i saw the AMOUNT of pictures i had,  

i then said, "you.  are.  so.  dumb." 

what's going on...what's going on...what's...

1.  breakfast was pretty this day.  bagal, faux peanut butter, strawberries.  

(tasted yummy too!)

2.  lil but made this for me and said, "look, caca 'esss you!"

apparently i'm all lips and nose.

3.  clearly a dead ringer for me.

she's such an artist.

4.  "hey, caca.  this needs to charge."

seriously.  cracking me up.

she knows my phone charges in the front seat, hence does hers.

5.  homemade cake for mom

(icing recipe here)

6.  iced coffee afternoon so i wouldn't end up like the pup.

{worked.}

7.  apparently mr. potato head needed to be all over IG this week.

(dance paaaar-taaay.  look, i'm a nanny, sometimes you just have to find entertainment 

when the two year old won't do it for ya...)

8.  does IT get cuter?  i think not.

9.  renovating the back of the house.

aka.  bob the builder is hanging out back.

and that girl is excited.

...more on that later.

10.  girlfriend was RACING to get to brad when she saw his car.

(i was right on her heels.  we love that guy.)

11.  the squirrels, bunnies, cats, birds, chipmunks, opossums, foxes (no JOKING here)

have taken over our yard.

we bought a zoo.

12.  i HATE these carts.  they are too long and i can't drive them.

i have to come up with every excuse in the book to avoid them 

when lil bit sees them.

i lose most of the time.

#fail

13.  seriously.  i told my mom i wanted a yellow and grey quilt.

just in conversation.

a week later, this is what i got.

best mama ever.

wanna follow me on IG? 

you can find me at morrisonlane, i like to keep it simple like that.

happy friday folks.  i'm working ALL weekend and i'm excited about it.

what's wrong with me?

st. louis with bra and brad.

brad and i are in st. louis today.  we left yesterday after we both got off from work.  and i couldn't be more thrilled to have a little get-a-way.  i realized earlier when i am writing post from my phone if i am on the road, i often refer to brad as bra or bead.  it's a rather unfortunate error.

example:  bra and i are headed to st. louis.  which is a true sentence, but brad is coming too.  

moving on.

we are going to the radiohead show,

see the arch,

maybe a museum, 

good local eateries,

and mainly, just enjoy each other.  well, i plan on putting on a fashion show as well, with some new duds i just bought, brad's gonna be so excited he'll hardly be able to contain himself. (read sarcasm)

also, i bought some new stunna shades for the trip.

wanna see?

i promise i love them.  my expression says otherwise. so i'm not a model...

one more thing...have you noticed when you are packing for a trip these days, there are more cords in your suitcase then clothes.  and if you forget just one, you are screwed?  

so let's hear it for remembering all the cords, and seeing the arch!

i love that thing.

and here's another picture just for good measure.  and because it makes me happy because it's so darn tootin'.  i love little girls in pigtails pushing strollers with their friends following behind.  i mean, come on?!?

and by the way, if you were wondering, they were headed to garget. (that's target for those of us who like our T's.)

happy weekend, friends.  

fingerprints of god.

nashville has been unseasonably warm this winter.  i have had the windows open many days in febraury, it's the strangest thing to be mid-febraury in tennessee and not need a coat and a scarf and still freezing.  but i'll take it.  it's sooooooooo nice, there has been more walks, more frisbee playing, more picnics and more excuses to stay outside.  i know it will get chilly again before spring, but these last two weeks especially have been glorious.  not gonna lie, makes me crave some color on my skin. (which usually means the tanning bed.  oops, i know i know!)


so i've had that ring on my toe since i was eighteen, i am thirty six now.  that's a long time to have a toe ring, folks.  and i am pretty sure they aren't even IN anymore...but it's a part of me now, so what's a girl to do?

i think this was god saying *look at this sky i created today...pretty awesome, huh?  
get it, the sky has an asterick on it?
am i reaching too much here?
deep thoughts by yours truly.

walks looking for the train.
here's what this nanny does - tell lil bit that we are gonna go find the train, so she lets me walk and walk and walk and is content to eat her cookies and drink her milk.  we never find the train, but bob the builder?  check.
nanny points.

and to beat it all, i was off on the absolute prettiest WEEK day ever in february!
see?
and it was a great out of doors reading the hunger games kinda day.

it's enough to make this girl and that one up there...really really happy.
like throw your head back happy.

and hey, we get a bonus day this year!  yeow!
how are you gonna spend your leap day!
go big!
do something great!
and then tell me all about it!

the belcourt theatre.

i took this shot on sunday night at the belcourt theatre, here in nashville.  

it was one of those things, as we were walking toward it, i saw the picture and grabbed the iphone, 

and thanks to instagram got this cool shot.

more people "liked" it on instagram than any of my other shots, which are usually of a curly headed kid or these two little boys i know...so i wanted to share it with you a little bigger.

lucky shot.

if you haven't been to the belcourt theatre----GO!

we are going back in september to see the weepies.

this is what i predict:

belcourt + weepies = EPIC night 

(and i have never ever used the word EPIC before. no, not ever)

and i plan on never saying it again. no, not ever.

dirty dancing! (and some instagrams for your friday)

get your mind out of the gutter, i am not about to post pictures of me dirty dancing (not that there is any) or any one else.  it's DIRTY DANCING, the movie.  brad and i went to see where to movie was filmed and i felt like i was walking hand in hand with johnny, except he's not real and my name is not baby.  my middles name IS frances though...so it could happen.  i was walking hand in hand with brad and that was so much better any way.

"nobody puts baby in the corner."

i feel like there might be a lot of OMG!!!'s needed in this blog from a girl that doesn't do abbreviations or OMGS!, because i am so excited to share with you all the pictures of our day there, it was really really exciting.  i think one of the reasons it was so awesome was because it was like they were going to film tomorrow, it was like you had stepped back in time and suddenly you were an extra on the set and if you went into the right room...you just might see johnny and baby doing their thing on the dance floor.

i tried to talk brad into getting in the lake so we could do a lift, he turned me down.  then i tried to talk him into me running and doing a a lift all dramatic like, and still i was turned down.  then there was the log, just maybe he would walk on the log with my OVER the water.  no, nothing.

so i just began to sing "join hands and hearts and voices, voices hearts and hands" over and over again and got louder with each overture and he decided that maybe the lift wasn't such a bad idea.

i mean, are you as excited as me about this?  because dirty dancing is THE BEST MOVIE EVER!

i will tell you this...(and i really hope my mom still has no computer and does not read my blog, when i checked this morning things were still the same...if so, i am in trouble.)...we didn't have a television growing up, for no reason other than my dad felt like there wasn't anything great on the tv, so for no other reason than that, he made the choice that our family would not have one.  and it was good and fine...

because...

aunt sheron had a tv.

she loved to watch movies and funny enough, i loved to go to her house all the time.  i would walk to her house daily (morrison lane, remember?  she lived at the end)  to visit and to hang out with her, not to watch tv really, but just see her because i love her and enjoyed spending time with her.  well...one day she introduced me to dirty dancing, and we watched it about once a week and all the time after that.  i knew i was not allowed to watch movies like that, so i would watch with my eyes glued to the screen and my ears honed into the sound of the tractor and as soon as i would hear it, i would watch for my daddy to appear, and if he stayed outside, i would continue watching, but on those days he came in for lunch...well, those days i had to put baby and johnny in the corner because if not, i knew i would be the one in the corner.

1.  baby's cabin

2.  pretty rocks (nothing to do with anything)

3.  gazebo where her dad sat in the rocking chair when he told her he was really disappointed in her...

4.  a stone with a passage in memory of patrick swayze

1.  the lake where they did the lift.

2.  my husband is cuter than yours dot com

3.  a look at the whole kellermans (mountain lake) resort

4.  kellermans

1.  where they pulled up in their car as they were arriving to the resort, right after baby's daddy told her she wanted to save the world

2.  baby's cabin from a far...

3.  the dining room where her family ate and he met max, and johnny happened to walk through...and she said, "who is that???" (as would i)

4.  up close and personal with baby's estate

1.  a closer view of the rock

2.  baby and johnny's chairs while shooting!!!  how cool is that?!?

now moving on...instagrams for the week.

(the selection is kinda sad this week)

1.  the fellas has their girlfriends over, one has a broken arm that i forgot to sign.  darn!

2.  we started flag football, which means boiling of the mouthguards. hooray.

3.  the wooten brothers playing at our friends wedding! awesome!

4.  my handsome groom...and the actual groom at the wedding.

5.  break in summertime with some tv (not dirty dancing, i promise!)

6.  the belcourt theatre in nashville.

have a good weekend, let me know your instagram name and i will follow you!

mine is morrisonlane (i like to keep things simple like that...)

instagram friday.

its friday, finally - and i am linking up with life rearranged for instagram friday...and posting my instagram photos for the week...but since i have never done this before i am playing catch up! come have a look.

1.  this one of the first day we ventured out to swim...and her bathing suit was so precious.  i think i titled the instagram "how many ruffles does your bikini have?" haha

2.  i snapped this about five minutes after we were married.  we were in the back of the car on our way to the reception, and i think brad looks so so so happy.  what a good moment and a good day.

3.  last week, i met brad for lunch at mcdougals in franklin, tn and the decor was awesome.  next time, i will bring my real camera.  for sure.

4.  lil bits boyfriend.  he stole her binky.  and she was not having it.  i love the mischievous look on his face like he KNOWS he has stolen her binky and could not be more proud.

5.  five minutes after laying down at the pool, i looked up and this is what i saw.  i thought it was beautiful.  the fingerprints of god.

6.  not long ago, brad and i went to medieval times tournament and dinner show.  i just think this picture captures the fun we have together.  i love that boy.

7.  the boys were at swim team practice, everytime they get in the water and swim like a fish it's nuts to me, because the vastness of the pool and their little bodies.  sweet boys.

8.  one of the little fellas drew this and asked me if i would "sew him a doll just like this"  those legs are going to be hard to duplicate!

9.  i was taking the kiddos to have their picture taken.  i had ironed little bits dress and the boys shirts.  i told them that we were going to wait til we get to the shoot to put their clothes on so they would not get messed up.  then i saw this and it was so sweet, i could not resist.  nakedness.  love.  (i also entered this photo in the pioneer womans photo contest for the week.  i expect i'll win.  after all, those kids are CUTE!)

http://liferearranged.com/2011/07/instafriday-9/

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