THE Trip

This past week we attended the annual fishing convention ICAST. This was my 5th time to attend the show, but my first time to experience anything like this. The previous times I have been we have always just walked the show. Talking to people in the industry, checking out the latest. Last year was the first time Livingston had their own booth. I was unable to attend this milestone event but for very good reason, my little just born. But this year.. what I year I picked to go! Not only did Livingston have a booth at the show, this booth stole the show. It was classy, it was educational, it was HUGE, it was catered breakfast, lunch and happy hour. It had tv's playing our stories, Pro Anglers demonstrating the lures, meetings being held, amazing displays. This booth was IT. I clearly had no idea what this bad boy was going to entail until we walked over to it. I was in complete awe. I was overwhelmed. So many emotions flooded my mind. But the one that took front and center was PROUD. I was proud of my husband first and foremost, proud of being a part of this amazing dream and proud of the company it has become. What a sight to be seen. Something so hard to put into words but just insane crazy. But that was just the beginning. The entire 5 days we were in Vegas we did it up. From the extravagant dinners to the cabana rented out just for Livingston, and the late night chats with people who have become our closest friends and partners. As I try and go back through the events of the week, I think about some of the most amazing people we met, some of the greatest memories we made, and all for one cause. Livingston Lures. And the thing that keeps playing over in my head is when we met with the Secretary of the State of Texas, she said, "right when you think you are about to give up, keep going." The things that you work the hardest for, suffer the most conquering, and sacrifice everything for, will pay off big. You hear it all the time right?! Well I have to say, I witnessed first hand, with my own two eyes, with my whole being that if you work hard enough and push through every obstacle you encounter, you will make it to that other side. And although we are still on the climb, it sure does feel good to see that the love of my life has yet again created something in his mind, taken to market, and leaving his mark in the world. Best part about it, I get to be a part of it with our precious little mini. Blessed beyond words. July of 2013 in Las Vegas, will go down in my book as an unforgettable milestone, no doubt about that.

And so the legend begins....

It is crazy how fast time seems to be moving lately. I am assuming that is due to the fact that things are moving at such an insane speed that I have to dig my toes into the ground so I don't get sucked into the momentum. But I am learning sometimes I like to ride in that madness.. no I will admit I LOVE to ride in it! And it all points back to the thing that started me on my blogging journey.. the fishing lure company. It has begun, the stories about my husband, the videos, the articles, and just the plain fact that it has a not only a name of it's own.. but a legend in the making. Check out this article that I had a part in writing about my one and only.

http://www.outdoorhub.com/stories/for-the-love-of-fishing-the-robert-castaneda-story/

I do not have the words to describe how proud, happy and excited I am about this dream becoming a reality. So I will leave it at that.

New Soul

So anyone who knows me knows that I like to get my workout on. Now I'm not this insane intense workout buff that will sacrifice anything and everything to get myself to the gym at crazy hours and what not. But I do get a lot out of gym time. Just my over all being is better. Well as of recently there is absolutely no time cut out for me to get to the gym UNLESS of course I want to go at 6am before the my little wakes and husband rushes out the door, or after 8:30pm when we put her down for the night and I am ready to collapse into bed, a glass of wine, or catch up time with the husband. I am too stubborn to join a gym with a daycare and leave her there. (some people think this makes me a crazy person) But nonetheless, I have always taken her for walks. If we are lucky, Daddy and the pups will join us if it's in the evening, but lately that has been super rare. So we have been creating a little routine since we are now in the midst of humid, hot, sticky Texas summer, we are taking our little walk/run stroll in the am. This morning it started off just as usual.. me not really ready for the workout and baby just excited she isn't going down for a nap yet and gets to be outside! The minute I walked outside there were some really dark clouds. The weather here has been crazy lately.. random thunderstorms coming out of nowhere. So I pulled up my weather ap, which I live by and somehow it is never really right on. It said no rain in sight today. Ok but it looks like it's about to pour? So we continue anyway, I need a little sweat and it's not lightening. As I get to our normal turn around point, this song came on. I play my music so both of us can hear.. cause I am bound and determined that we will have a musically inclined child. The song, New Soul by Yael Naim came on. This is the chorus:

I'm a new soul
I came to this strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take
But since I came here
Felt the joy and the fear
Finding myself making every possible mistake

Just then it started to sprinkle. At first I kind of freaked out, I have my baby here with me and we are going to get drenched. But then it did not pick up, just a slow sprinkle, enough for her to get a few raindrops on her legs and me to get a little damp by the time we reached home. But I picked up the speed to a full on sprint. Just in case it did start down pouring. By the time we got home and under cover I was completely out of breathe and felt this deep cleanse I had just experienced and to make it just a trillion times better, my sweet girl was there to experience with me. Obviously she had no clue what was happening, but when I went to get her out, she did not want to leave that stroller. It was like she felt it too. These sprinkles of rain combined with the words of that song and everything that is going on in my life and people around me twirled me into such a good mood. Like a breathe of fresh air. My young soul is still alive and well, but with age the theory that you know it all kind of fades, and a new prospective starts to creep in. For me, it's learning to live. Just live in the moment. Appreciating people and their stories, their experiences, but learning we will all have different stories in the end. I am convinced we will have quite the story. Feeling so thankful after this sprinkle cleanse with my best friend by my side.

My Perfect Mess

As I look back thru this blog and where we came from and where we are I am nothing short of completely humbled. Humbled by God's grace and completely in awe of His work. I always hear things happen in His time, well for me when I need/want something right now, that isn't exactly what I have in mind for encouragement. But it is times like these when I look back at how things have turned out I know with every ounce of my being that it is totally His timing. We just spent the entire weekend with the Livingston gang. The guys worked and the ladies played. But this was the first time I got to see first hand the insane crazy totally different company that has transformed before my eyes. I mean there were people walking around the resort in Livingston I have never seen in my entire life. Like the cool new brand to be wearing. Wait.. WHAT?!?!? Then the divine coincidences the entire weekend, gives me goose bumps. My husband, the inventor and creator of Livingston. That statement right there makes me the most proud, insanely grateful, and inspired wife I could ever be. I mean we talk about all of the paths we could have taken. Or maybe should have taken. And even talk about the paths that we have to choose from in this very moment. But even those paths are changing by the second, the minute. And new ones are transforming. I don't know much about where we are headed but I can't help but to smile cause either way things are getting GREAT! But on our way to the great.. there are piles of mess and burdens, small annoying things that should not even occupy 1 second of my time. But this is my perfect mess. It was a game changing weekend.. I learned so much about people and my family and where we belong I think the cost of the entire trip is immeasurable. Onward and upward thru the piles to where He has seen all along.

This picture is so us.. Emma is in her own world.. looks like Robert is checking the time cause he is bound to be late for something, and then me trying to keep it all together.. Would not trade this for the world.. our perfect mess

My Dear Child.. Happy 1 Year of Life

My Emmalynn Faith, You have come into this crazy world and forever changed it. You have been a constant light not only for Mommy and Daddy but our whole family. Every day I wake up and the first thing I do is thank God for your beautiful soul. It has been the honor of my life to watch you grow each and every day. To come into your own, learning, exploring and testing. Daddy had a vision before you were born of a blonde haired, colored eyed baby playing with him and my sweet baby you have fulfilled that piece of his heart. You will forever be the angel that saved our lives. You have taught me more in the past year than the 30 years I have lived on his earth. The most important things in Mommy's life became crystal clear. I want you to know that no matter where you go, what you become, the mistakes you make, the successes you encounter, Mommy and Daddy will always be your number 1 fans. We will be here for you when you think there is no one else, my love. I will do my best to protect you for the rest of my life, but the truth is I won't be able to protect you forever. You will be thrown into this world just like we all are, but I am confident Daddy and I will do our very best to make sure you are as prepared as we can get you. My sweet angel the world is a tough place, but I have no doubt in my mind that you will learn to conquer it with stride. Daddy has been praying over you since you were in Mommy's tummy that you will live a long prosperous life and although we hope not for a very very long time, to find a man worthy of your complete beauty. My first born baby girl, you are the best part of my life. Your personality has made it's way out and you are a fireball. My child, I pray you use that fire to make a difference in this world. We will give you the proper tools and leave it to God and you baby to make this happen. As I look back over this past year, my heart is so full sometimes I think it might explode with the purest love there is. Emmalynn, you are Mommy's best friend, we will continue this journey together and I promise to be the best I can possibly be because you my darling girl, deserve only the best. I love you forever daughter.. Happy 1st birthday my baby. Your Mommy.

All of these lines across my face..

For just a quick second my life was consumed with just that MY life. My beautiful gift that comes in a tiny little package of a precious baby girl. My husband. My work. Business. And there is absolutely nothing I love more than these things, but then a dear friend of mine recommended a book she thought I might like. Carry on Warrior. Wow. Period. Insanely inspired. Period. Every single person in this world is living and fighting and dreaming and coping and dealing just like we are. It's like someone gave me a pair of glasses to see the world. I have a bad habit of pre judging people. Oh that person is soo lucky.. they have this or poor thing look what they don't have. But now that I have my new world glasses I can see something different. Maybe that person just lost their brother, sister, mother etc. Just maybe he or she is overcoming some life tragedy, addiction, fear, financial, divorce, or just plain fighting themselves. I have personally made a decision. I am no longer going to sugar coat things. Life is hard. Plain and simple. Sometimes we are up and sometimes we are down. In the times I am up, I am going to try and bring everyone I encounter up with me. When I am down, I will depend on those people thru God to bring me up with them, because Lord knows as soon as I'm soaring high on the up, the down is right around the corner waiting for me. And this is life. I used to ask my husband, "why does life have to be so hard?" and he would simply say, because life IS hard. So instead of pretending life isn't hard I'm just going to embrace all facets, the good, bad and the ugly. And know that whichever phase I am in, God is with me. But I have realized there are small little pieces of Gods magic that shine thru every day, every week, every month and every year that make the hard parts seem less hard. It's like how I explain being pregnant. I had a very non complicated pregnancy. Easy. It was smooth sailing. Labor was the same way. But I have to make it known, I am not one who LOVES being pregnant. It is uncomfortable, you loose all control of your body and it's a bitch to get that baby weight off. And who wants to be at a hospital, hooked up to God knows what, awaiting the total unknown and thrown completely out of your element?? But the pure and astounding magic that comes from that entire process makes the rest of the process disappear. Totally forgotten. Even though being pregnant is not my thing.. I would do it over and over and over again to experience God's magic that awaits me at the end. Just like life.. I will endure the hard to see the glimpses of magic that appear out of no where every day. So now that I have a brand new perspective on things and my new world glasses I can see the lines across my face. They are lines of where I have been, who I am, my story.. so many stories. But what I am finding in the lines, my story continues. The story of motherhood, businesses, family, and fight are all being created now and to me that's a magical thing.. cause Im still here breathing and living one hard day at a time.

Spring Break What?!

Spring break. Oh the two words I used to start thinking about on January 1st of every year. The plans would begin.. beaching it up, relaxing pool side or working those extra shifts while out of school. Then once the anticipated break was here, the most important part of my day was making sure I had plans for that evening! Although it has been a few years since those amazing days were upon me, this year I didn't even notice it was spring break.. until today. Almost the last day of break. But as I began to think about all of the spring breaks in the past I began reminiscing of the "old days" The adventure I took with some people I never speak to, people that continue to play a huge part in my life and those who drift in and out thanks to our crazy social media world. And then I take a step out of my world and look in. I would never have guessed this would have been my life. From crazy sleepless nights out on the town, road trips at 2am, clubs and social scene to present day, the love of my life and I tucking into bed to catch up on our latest DVR's and our sweet angel sound asleep across the hall. From random beach trips, concerts and camp outs to present day park trips and frozen yogurt with our mini. Red bull and cigarettes to water and vitamins. A midnight call to come out and play, to a call at midnight.. there has to be something wrong! Planning our days around what craziness will consume that night.. to planning our future to experience adventures far beyond what any night outing could ever bring us. Weekend trips to Austin, Tx with no plans in mind, to weekend trips to Costco, the grocery store, and home goods stores checking off lists of to do's and fix its. Ahhhh the times have changed. Looking into my world from the outside in, I see a family of 3 growing every second of every minute, doing the best they can, being just who they are, adjusting, climbing, pushing, and conquering as time passes too quickly to understand. Spring Break you have once again come upon us, but the meaning of you has changed so drastically that I anxiously await my little one(s) spring breaks to begin my count downs and plans to new places and new adventures created and shared in a whole different light. A light I have only dreamed about. And so the spring breaks of my past, adios.. the memories will stay with me forever but there are new ones that have to be made.