The Mountain -- Trevor Hall

The lyrics for the songs on the new cd aren't posted online yet. So I listen to the songs and write down the words, as best I can. And then I share them with you. Because I love these songs. :) Obviously it's better when you have the music... But still. :P

Well, no more thieves. I believe in the goodness of heart.
Its return, let it burn. Let 'em know who we are.
An ancient tribe of the sky; the redeemer of men.
Sound the song. Evil gone, there's no need to defend.
Yea, way up on the mountain. Way up on the mountain.
Way up on the mountain, way up on the mountain.
Disappear, in the clear of the elephant's roam.
Melodies from the sea, they come forward and bloom.
In the end, all my friends, I return them in love.
Yea, in love. Me and you cook the food as we all send above.
Way up on the mountain, way up on the mountain.
Way up on the mountain, way up on the mountain.
No more thieves, I believe. No more thieves.
I believe in the goodness of heart.
In the end, in the end, all my friends return them in love.
Way up on the mountain, way up on the mountain.

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Mini Fashion show

One of my great Nepali friends got me a beautiful white dress from Colorado when he was there this summer. My sister Lexi requested I bring home these red heels I have so she could borrow them, and I had no idea where they were buried in my room... But once I did find them, I happened to be wearing the new dress as well. I thought, hey, these kind of go together!

So I had a mini photo shoot in my room while wearing these lovely items. Enjoy :)

[disclaimer: please ignore the cluttered/ messy look. it's my artistic way of decorating. kind of. ;) ]

Good Rain - Trevor Hall

There's a hole in your soul, you gotta fill it.
If your cup is overflowing, don't spill it.
You better hold it while the whole world's spinnin' around.
And when your eyes look down on another,
Just remember that he's your own brother.
This kinda love ain't gonna go under.
I've found that when you love one another,
Only good rain comes down.
And if you feel like you've stopped learnin',
If the wood in your fire ain't burnin',
Better spark another match, start turnin' your wheel.
Better turn towards righteous living.
Stop takin' and start your givin'.
Yeah, this is the one thing missing.
I feel that loving one another is the only thing real.
Don't let your blessings turn into stone.
That kinda livin' will leave you all alone.
If there's a hole in your soul, you gotta fill it.
If your cup is overflowing, don't spill it.
Better hold it while the whole world's spinning around.
Don't let your blessings turn into stone.
That kinda living will leave you all alone.
And when your heart is troubled by feeling, yeah,
Remember there's way to spark healing.
Yeah, the first step is when you start believing it's real.
Yeah, this is the one thing missing.
I feel that loving one another is the only thing real.

<3

Just in case you want to listen to it too :)

Summer and the lovely clothes that come with it :)

So, as most of you know, I hate summer. I abhor heat, humidity, and sun. October/ all of fall is my absolute favorite season. But after my trip to Spain, I learned to tolerate the sun and heat only slightly more than I could before.

This summer was deathly hot, but I will admit that one thing I loved about it was wearing dresses and skirts all the time! I started loving them over this past year because I realized how much more comfy they are than jeans or shorts! And Goodwill and other thrift stores usually have great deals on skirts... I do wish I had more maxi dresses because they became my utter favorite thing to wear this summer!! I am currently wearing a beautiful maxi dress that I got from my lovely little sister, Lexi, for my birthday! That's kind of what inspired this post. :)

Then once fall and winter come, you can just wear leggings and scarves and sweaters with your skirts! Woohoo! I love the boho style... It makes me so happy. Although it's apparently now becoming more mainstreamed than it used to be. :P I must say that Bekah has a lovely blog "my little loves." that inspires me like none other! I love her style, the way she lives her life, and her little family (including the new baby addition!!) Anyhow, she writes about and shows her cute, mostly-thrifted style of clothes-- and I just adore them all!

Clothes can be simple or extravagant; but I prefer the simple style. And of course Kayla has some posts that are fashion inspired that I quite enjoy as well :) I also discovered another blog that has great fashion pics as well! This girl has great pics too :)

I'm too lazy/  unaware of websites to find pictures. Maybe I'll update it later. Ha :)

Trevor Hall!

Okay, so Kayla has inspired me to rave about Trevor Hall.... I know I mentioned him in previous post(s), but his new cd "Everything Everytime Everywhere" came out today! Kay graciously shared it with me. And WOW. Words absolutely cannot describe how much I love it. His voice is immensely calming, soothing, every good emotion balled into one- and THAT is how I feel when I listen to him.

His songs are simple, deep, thoughtful, pure, kind, and truthful. He is a gracious and caring soul and young man. (Check out the link I connected to his name above to read a little more about him!) He sings about life, love, and his journey through experiences and adventures he's had; pretty much everyone can relate to them in some way or another.

I got to see him in concert too, so listening to his music is even better after I've gotten to see/ hear him live! I am currently listening to the new cd (and I'm sure I will listening to it on repeat for the next few weeks!) and am not even half way through it and already am in LOVE. His songs make me ponder life, forget about all my problems, make me thankful, keep me at peace, and fill me with bliss.

I could be in the utmost worst, negative mood and his music will automatically lift my spirits. He is my favorite artist, and I've only know about him for a couple of years even!

Ya'll should check him out and either carefully listen to his lyrics, or look them up. You will love him, I'm positive. :)

Cooking

I am currently hanging out with my amazing friend Sam, and she (and partially her roommates) is cooking a roast and baked veggies and it looks delicious! Then I remembered how much I love cooking. I cannot wait til I have a huge kitchen with lots of cupboards and storage space... Eeep! It will be amazing.

Cooking food is just so much more efficient than going out to eat everyday. It's usually a lot cheaper too since you can make copious amounts of food and have leftovers for the week! How can you go wrong with leftovers, right?!

Lately I've been super lazy though and have had NO motivation to cook. For a while I just got extremely bored with my usual stirfrys and pastas, so cooking seemed to be such a burden. Then my lovely friend Mal suggested a few vegan recipe sites for me to check out, and boy was I glad I did! This blog has been a fantastic help to me because the woman who writes it has sooo many different recipes to try! There are so many kinds that I am dying to try out! My wonderful novio got me a food processor for my birthday since the majority of the recipes call for one to make raw sauces and such. Let me just say, it was $30 VERY well spent! I think I used it everyday straight for two weeks after I first got it! ;)

Unfortunately now in Winona we have a teeny, tiny kitchen and my roommates and I all cook constantly  so it gets to be a bit crowded and stressful. But that doesn't stop us from being healthy and trying to make the best meals we can!

Some of my favorite things to cook are enchiladas, lentil tacos, and alfredo. Oh and I would just like to say how much I love reading food blogs because they open up my variety of g-free/ vegan recipe options! I never thought there could be so many choices!

I also cannot wait to have my own huge garden and grow all my own veggies and fruits. It will be beautiful, I am sure of it. :)

Here are some random pics I found of pretty kitchens that get me excited for when I have a big girl one of my own...

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How to Love

There are A LOT of people out there that hate rap music. I, on the other hand, absolutely love rap music. But I think it's because I know how to appreciate real rap music. Flowing is actually kind of difficult to do; well, it's difficult to do well I should say. And I also appreciate rappers who rap to be real. They rap about their lives. When it's all about money, bitches, bling, blah, blah... then it can be annoying, I understand. But for the ones who rap about real things in their life- it's a lot deeper than just making money and getting famous. It's their outlet and way of venting about whatever could be going on or has been going on. It's straight up, no autotune or anything- just them and their ability to spit out stories. 2Pac and Eminem are my two favorite artists in this sense, as their songs are 100% truthful and honest. They didn't/ don't care about what anyone would think of their music. They just say it how it is, and I really like that. Eminem has so many cd's and all of them have different emotions and vibes to them; but all of them are GREAT to listen to. (in my opinion of course). If you actually listen to some of the words these people say, it can hit you deep. It will make you think. K'naan is also another amazing musician, especially since his life is completely different than those of most musicians here in the US. (special thanks to Andrew for introducing me to him!!)

In other, somewhat related, news:

I don't really know why but I am recently OBSESSED with this song...

"How to Love" by: Lil Wayne

Music

So I'm laying here in bed... Wishing I could sleep. I'm so tired; but I think I'm beyond tired and now I'm just in a daze...

What's your favorite thing to do when you're in these states of mind?

Mine is listening to calming music... I like almost all types of music, but I must say Trevor Hall and Matisyahu will always be my "go-to" guys in any given situation. I could be in the most depressed, upset, negative mood ever- then I play some Matisyahu or Trevor and all of my problems just disappear. It is a wonderful thing.

I have been lucky enough to see both of these guys in concert too, so that makes me love them even more! Hearing them and seeing brings me to an entirely different life, state of mind... it's almost like a whole other consciousness. It makes me think, yet clear my mind at the same time. I really can't describe it in words, but I'm sure most of you have some type of music or artist that does this to you as well. ;)

Oh and I'd like to give my SMBFF, Kayla the credit for having me start listening to M and T in the first place!! I love her and them as well! <3

In case you haven't heard any of their music, here are a few songs to give a listen to. They're just my favorites. :)

Proof of Destruction -- Trevor Hall

Youth -- Matisyahu

Unity -- Trevor Hall feat. Matisyahu

Some fotos de mi vida

Here are just some pictures that describe my life :)

this is my wonderful novio, Andrew, and me at our favorite restaurant Rubios <3 

I love Naked juice. so much. especially this flavor Green Machine. YUM.

I love cooking. especially stir fry. (except this pic is a stir fry Andrew made for my family)

I have awesome friends. and we like to walk down by the river late at night. :)

this is camp knutson. I am a counselor for the autism camps there. it's a wonderful life up there. 

this is my family. [scott side]. they're pretty awesome. and basically are my life. 

simple things can make the biggest difference. I'm easily amused and easy to please. since I don't like the smell of flowers, I would just like to say, "stop and take a picture of the flowers" :)

Me!

So I always feel like I have so many things I want to tell everyone, but then lose track of it or don't have motivation to sit down and vent it. Guess the nice things about blogs is that I can write as little or as much as I want, and it still counts as a post? ;)

Soo... I'm in school to go for special education and Spanish. I love my sisters and family more than anything. I love learning about new cultures. I don't agree with organized religion. I love all things natural and eco-friendly. I'm a proud pro-choice and gay rights advocate. I am a 90% vegan (I splurge once in awhile, but dairy/ eggs/ meat make me sick). I've been gluten free for over two years. I love music, movies, long walks, reading blogs, supporting homebirths, tattoos, piercings, shopping at thrift stores, and cooking. I'm generally an outgoing person; I love meeting new people and having in depth talks with whomever :) I could also people watch for hours on end and not get bored!

I studied abroad in Spain for a semester in my junior year of college and I will just say, if it wasn't for my family being here in the US, I would not have come back here! It was amazing and completely changed my outlook on life. If you ever have the chance to travel to another country (or anywhere that will give you a new cultural experience!) DO IT. It is such a life changing thing... I did have a blog when I was there actually [spain blog! ... in case you're interested ;) ]

Anyhoozle... That's a little about me. I hope to inspire you, or at least somewhat entertain you, for the time being as I share my little facts and goings on in my life as a not-so-average-crunchy-hippie girl!

☮ paz. ♥ amor. = igualdad