i miss blogging

here's to hoping i can hang out here a bit more.
(here as in the blog.  but the route 66 diner pictured above is pretty cool too.)
 

because, after six years, blogging is a hard habit to break.

the last two months have been crazy full and i am eager to finally sort through the photos documenting it all.

but i am also a little hesitant.

in this walk as mama to a sweet boy with aspergers and severe anxiety, i tend to shy away from sharing the super messy. mostly for his privacy, but also because my heart is usually unsettled.

i haven't fully embraced this role. 

my expectations and hopes for our life haven't fully realigned with this reality. 

i get angry. a lot.

i am sad. most of the time. 

but i love him fiercely and pray for God to give me supernatural peace and comfort.

today and tomorrow and the next day.

here's to finding the a balance.
(which might mean photo-only-posts when i can't find the words at the end of a day.)
 (and i think that is just fine.  heather told me so.)
 
so friends, what have you been up to lately?

xoxo,
annalea

returning to my roots

hello blog.

can we get reacquainted this month?

i think i'd like to come back. not for pins or stats, but because i began this project five and a half years ago as a personal documentation of life as annalea.  in my own words...

my hope is that our family and friends will be able to experience life with us. i want you all to hear the funny stories, to see the sweet smiles, and to laugh at my frequent failures. i also love the opportunity to reflect on being a mama. i don't want this time in my life to fly by without taking a moment to pause. i won't get it all, but one day in the future i want to look back at this record of my life and remember that between the diaper changes, feedings, and temper tantrums, my children were shaping me just as much as we were praying to shape them.

the focus has shifted to be less mama-focused. that is okay. those early parenting years can be all consuming. but my life is not only about being their mama and blogging helped me see that more clearly. i latched onto the tag line: joy choosing, beauty finding, story telling. oh does that so perfectly describe my heart.

but it was that perceived pressure to grow an audience, write on a schedule, and all that jazz that weighed me down. i'd like to return to my roots and blog just because. more of a journal and less of a professional platform. there are some fantastic blogs out there that handle that just fine. i read them. i love them. but i don't want to be one. that is not where i need to be right now.

so where am i?

as pictured above. . .

i am learning how to parent an autistic son. it is full of joy and heartache. and it often requires laughter at unexpected challenges.

i am turning to craft-therapy when life is overwhelming. i am thankful for the gift of creativity from the Creator.

i am dealing with month long illness, passing from one of us to the next. right now, i am curled up on the couch with flu-ishness. yuck.

i am working on making this new-to-us rental house a home. gia's sweet space is complete and it makes me smile.  

i am taking on a new job that required me to fly away for training last week. a sweet benefit was meeting in person lovely blog friends, heather and kate. our nearly 6 hour conversation helped me find my voice again. love you ladies!

i am sipping lots of cups o' comfort.  ginger-honey-lemon is my current fave to help the sore throat and a heavy heart.  my prayer is He would be made greater in all of our struggles.

for those of you have stuck out the past nine months with me, thank you.

xoxo,

annalea

found

it has been a hard week.  saying goodbyes are not my favorite.  they pretty much stink.  and packing nearly non-stop, meaning spending too little time with my sweet babes, has all of us in this house a bit cranky.  i wake each morning briefly wishing this would all be a dream.  but the reality is we are moving.  and that is that.

so what does all of my above rant have to do with this super cute photo?  well, it reminds of the provision of community that awaits in our new-to-be city.  during our trip to albuquerque last month, i had the great joy of not only meeting a dear blog friend, but staying at her home for two days.  what a gift it was!  i'd go as far as saying it is one of the sweetest blessings to have come out of this blog.  i would never have guessed that our online relationship would one day be so real life.  thank you Father for knowing our future when it is not even able to be guessed by our limited human brains.

ruth, i am SO glad to be your sister in Christ.

the influence conference

we all have influence.

it just depends on how we use it.

and now we have the influence conference.

if you've ever wondered how and why God can use you right where you are, this conference is for you.

will you consider joining me there?

i will be one of the community leaders helping that weekend (eeek!) and i would LOVE to meet you.

early bird tickets are on sale RIGHT NOW.

only 50 of them are available at this special price.

have you seen the speaker list?

yeah. it is good. 

i pretty much adore those girls hosting.
all three have been guests in my day in the life series.
(jessi, hayley, casey)

so let's hang out and hear some fab teachings.
it's going to be good.

***************************************

thank you for the kind comments and emails sent my way after last night's post.

i was a bit blown away by how many of you have been in similar situations.

it reminded me of this: 

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-5, The Message

yeah, sums it up pretty nicely.
xoxo,
annalea 

hope and honey

welcome to the newly named blog of annalea hart!

hope and honey represents the sweet combination of what i believe and how i want to live.

choosing joy in light of great Hope.

boldy expecting good things and fully convinced of what is to come.

finding beauty in all He has given.

seeing the sweet side of life even amidst the sting of hardship.

and when i was a wee lass, i called everyone honey.

it was my thing.

please bear with me as i continue to tweak things here and there.

xoxo,

annalea

one more thing for may (and a vlog)

thanks to my lil' sidekick for helping out with that vlog.

here are details in written form. . .

yesterday i posted some of the expected for the coming month.

(i stress expected, because life is chock full of unexpected, no?)

well, i left one thing out.

in the coming weeks, you'll be seeing new words in that header up there.

i am changing the blog name!

when i transitioned from our hartbeat (the original blog name), annalea hart was a place holder.

at the time i just knew our hartbeat had run its course and with the domain change, a new name was needed, but i was stumped.  this last year was unexpectedly full. (see, there is that word again.)  creativity ran dry when it came to a new name and, frankly, i was not too concerned with it.  but having a self-titled blog is a bit awkward at times and i have been hoping inspiration would strike all on its own.

and last week it did.
so.stinkin.excited.

be on the lookout for the new name.

i won't give a firm date on it until i am closer to a reveal.

questions for you:

if you blog, how did you choose the name?

did it come to you easily or was it a process?

do you feel it still reflects you and your focus?

have you ever changed a blog name?  if so, why?

hey there, 2012

today, i am offically back from vacation.

because this morning, jesse went back to work.

the christmas tree is still up, as well as all the trimmings.

i have worn pajamas about 75% of the last 2 weeks.

i have spent no more than 2 hours on the computer during that time.

i also may have read a dozen or so books.  i have a problem, i know.

i have not done laundry in over a week, which is pretty easy when everyone is wearing pjs 75% of the time.

and the no-laundry doing makes the reading-like-a-crazy-lady thing possible.

but i have been playing around with my new lens.  oh, she is sweet.

i have no goals set or a word of the year picked.  i don't have my schedule revised or my house cleared up.

i just bought our 2012 calendar last night.  

but i had a most lovely and relaxing break with my four favorite people on this planet.

and we are all caught up on sleep.  which means a lot when we have been perpetually exhausted for over 6 months.  i'll have to share more about that later.

how are you?

did you celebrate all crazy like or keep it on the simple side, like our casa?

i've missed you, friends and am oh so thankful to welcome in another new year here on this blog.

xoxo,

annalea

decluttering of all sorts

so, how does she look?

with the absence of the sponsors and a desire for something simple and clean, we get this new streamlined one-column design.  i LOVE it.  i am just in a decluttering sort of mood.

my count is now at 600 in the 2011 in 2011 challenge, but i should admit that it is not very hard.  we have way too much stuff.  i donated 84 gift bags.  at least a dozen were from my wedding showers. TWELVE YEARS AGO.

i still need to work on the footer and figure out the setup down there.  any opinions?  i am open to suggestions.  but did you notice my new favicon.  i have a fascination with them.  probably because they are tiny.
tiny things are cool.

also, remember to enter the tea collection giveaway.

it closes sunday night, so don't delay now.

now it is time for a little date night at home with jesse.  thank you God.

the one where i admit i have lost my groove

 

my blogging groove, that is.

do you know where i can find it?

i went through a fairly long phase earlier this year where i had posts and thoughts coming out my ears. 

and now i am dry.  maybe it is obvious to you, maybe not.  but i feel it on this end.  it takes so much pep-talking to sit down and tap out a few words and edit a few (or not so few) photos.  i love blogging, but lately it has not been much fun.  i feel unable to tell the stories. 

the stories i am living through seem to be the private stuff now.  the not blog approved material.  which is just weird to consistently post cute kiddo photos or show pretty house stuff when these matters are all that fill my head.

another large part of the lost groove may be the one-sidedness of it all right now.  i don't have time to read other blogs or comment or respond to your comments in any type of timely manner.  (and i miss y'all!)  because that would take time.  which brings me to my biggest reason for neglecting the blog. (at least neglecting it in my own head.)  i just can't seem to find the time to fit in the writing.  um, yeah, that is kind of a must.

we have been trying so hard to get on a doable life schedule and there are growing pains with the whole shebang.  i am trying to live a life more faithful.  needing to put the big rocks into the bucket before i can fill in with the other stuff.  because in that whole shebang, blogging falls into the "other stuff" category.  for reals.

this whole post feels is a bit of a mind-eruption.  sorry for that.  but i am working out some thoughts here.

one thing i have been reminded of through this mind-eruption?  i don't blog just because it is fun.

i'll keep on tapping away and at some point my groove will be found.  until then, bear with me, if you will.

in other news, luca would like to remind us that God is big and He loves us and He never leaves us.  and that God spelled backwards is dog.  thanks, son.

sources for prettifying a blog

as you can see, i have been tweaking things a bit more on the blog.  i think the design is pretty close to where i want it.  since i do this in spurts when time, creative inspiration, and mental ability allow, i seem to need several months for me to complete this makeover.  not much different than a physical makeover around the house though.

this might be obvious, but just wanted to let you know that the words listed under my header take you to separate pages.  they are cool.  not completely finished, but cool.  

i realize i still have not shared some links for help in prettifying a blog.  let me start with claiming my status as a very novice designer and html coder.  very novice. but if you are adept at using a search engine and willing to spend the time learning, you too can prettify your blog. 

google was my best friend in this process.  i would type in "how to increase blog column width html code" or "how to make a blog button" and voila!  some sweet person had the instructions.  here are my most used sources:

beautify your blog series on momma go round

blogging 101 posts on tip junkie

blog design tutorials on kevin & amanda

do you want to know one of my favorite changes around here?  my favicon!  you know you are a detail person, when having a personal favicon makes you oh-so-happy. 

a favicon is the teeny tiny image that pops up next to the name of a website.  this post at tip junkie was fabulous and helpful.

what part of blog design makes the biggest impact on your site? if you don't blog, what detail do you appreciate about others?

and if you see anything looking wonky on here, will you let me know?  i would so appreciate it.

welcome sponsors ((EDITED))

thank you for your interest in sponsoring annalea hart{the blog}!

i have decided to take a step back from advertising beginning 12/11.

until further notice, i will not be offering space for sponsors.

i am still open to guest posts and product reviews.

please email me with questions and/or inquiries.

annalea_hart {at} yahoo {dot} com

faith blogs

faith blogs is a new site connecting people who write blogs, read blogs, and love jesus.  love it.

i am super honored to be included.  thanks katie for your time and effort in a great contribution to the amazing blogging community.

go and check it out.

this blog has been prettified

how do you like the new look?  i put my hours upon hours of bedrest this weekend to good use by finally tweaking the blog.  (plus my trial run of photoshop expires soon, so i had a deadline to make.)  

i am pleased with the changes.  while not what i envisioned (i really dig this, this, and this), it seems to suit my need for something long-term.  html coding takes me too long to refresh the design regularly.  this simpler look will hopefully calm my itchy fingers. 

like i said with the domain and name changes last month, i wanted to love this space, not just tolerate it.  there are a few things i want to finish and i am still considering tweaking the background (to give it a little more finish), but the most time-consuming part is over.  yay!
 
i'll take some time this week to show you the ins and outs of it all.  plus i can direct you to some neat sources for diy blog design.  until then, take a gander and let me know if anything is wonky.

and thank you so so much for the get well wishes.  i am s l o w l y recovering.

here's to a new week of lovely (and better health)!

xoxo,
annalea

p.s. if you are looking for someone else to prettify your blog (or etsy shop), heather's work is so great and her prices are super reasonable.  she has my recommendation.  go take a look.

y'all are too sweet

so when i posted my thoughts on celebrating last friday, i had no idea the love fest to come with your comments. i am humbled and warmed by your words. thank you so much for being part of this journey with me.

my computer was unavailable for the last two days. oh the woes of faulty power cords.  i am playing some serious catch-up tonight.  not funny how much i rely on this thing.  not planning on changing that, but it is a good reminder.

i still plan on having a one little change post this week, but it might need to wait a day or two.  but remember that guest series i mentioned last week?  stay tuned for more info later tonight!!!

is it just me?

or is disqus not loading every time you pull up the blog?  it has been kinda sporadic for me this week.  if i refresh the page a couple times, it will usually load.  but that is a bit annoying.

also, my computer is acting up. beeps and buzzes.  not good.  not good at all.  i spent hours yesterday backing up files and such.  it is running soooooooo slow.  not wanting to complain, since i know having a laptop at all is a luxury.  but with the shoppe and this blog, my current life is very computer dependent.

but back to disqus. . . when i reply to your comments, do you get an e-mail notification?  i have been meaning to ask.  i am really trying to be more faithful with replying to comments and e-mails.  you may notice a reply from months ago popping up in your inbox soon.  i am ridiculously behind.  please forgive my tardiness.

now i am off to work on those e-mails and some future posts in case this things bites the dust.

xoxo,
annalea

one big change

welcome to my new blog!  but not really. i mean you really are welcome, but it is not really a new blog.  it just has a new name.  and a new address.  are you confused yet?

okay, let me start over.  i decided to give the blog a makeover and one thing led to another and all of a sudden i had made this big change.  but not really all of a sudden.  i have been considering it for the last 6 months.  it was just kickstarted by being stuck on the couch for several nights in a row.  me and my laptop can be a dangerous and powerful combination.

(sorry if i am sounding like a crazy lady.  let's blame my lack of coherence on fibro fog.)

the reason is simple.  i didn't love my old blog name anymore.  it wasn't bad, but i didn't want to keep investing in something i didn't love.  plus i felt that it did not completely reflect me and the content here.  i chose the name way back when i knew nothing about blogs aside from a few sweet close friends who were trying them out.  the purpose at the time was purely to keep in touch with family.  and while that is still a huge part of this space, it has clearly grown to something more.

i decided to go with my name because . . .

1. it is unique and i like it (thanks mom, dad, and jesse!)
2. i wanted something with long-term staying power, since i don't want to do a change again.  i figure if the blog focus shifts in the future, this name/address can shift with it easily.
3. and lastly, the blog, while covering many topics, has always been a reflection of me and my life.  that is all i can promise you here.  that i will be real and honest with who i am. 

(also, i could just not think of anything witty or exciting.)

i am super pumped about the new tagline.  i just feels right.  

there will be more tweaks and updates to come in the near future, but after that i am planning on letting it be for awhile.  right now, you may notice that i have started tweaking the page titles under the header, as well as some labels in the sidebar.  feel free to explore and check them out.  i will clue you into any changes as they are finished.

blogger made it super easy to change the address without losing or needing to transfer any of the old our hartbeat content.  all of the old links will continue to work.  thank you google!

hello disqus

just a quick note to let y'all know i changed the comment system on this blog.  i feel like blogger was missing some key components - namely being able to reply to individual comments.  i have been woefully behind on getting back to questions and responding to greetings.  i love hearing from you, but knew that the system was not working for me.  so i hope switching to disqus makes things easier.  i have liked using it on other sites.  you do need to sign in with them, as google blogger id's don't automatically register.  you can use your twitter or facebook account to sign in or use your blogger account in the open id section. 

i'll let you know how it goes in case you too are looking for a change.

xoxo,
annalea

double wow

so i actually put up a new listing. crazy, right? i mean, when did i find the time for this?

well i actually made the banner this summer in anticipation for fall. but then i forgot about it. i think the honeymoon period with my shoppe ended in august and i am now regaining some excitement about it. maybe when one of my items made etsy finds last week. that was exciting. i had several new orders and lots of traffic. that was pretty cool. i caught up last night with those orders and now i am all "i heart my etsy shoppe" again.

oh and there are now 150 of you following this blog (at least officially).  that is. . . unexpected.  thanks for reading.  please stop and say hi if you can.  i love hearing from you, even if i don't always get a chance to write back.  i am trying to get better about that.  but for now, consider this a massive shout out to y'all!

xoxo,
annalea

happy blogiversary to me

three years ago today, i started a little project with no clue what i was getting into.  and in the last five months , it has really evolved.  i love it and am excited to see how the next year turns out.

oh, and how crazy is that whole 99 followers thing?  how did that happen?  all i know is you all are pretty awesome.  thanks for hanging out with us.

thank you for coming

if i could have serenaded you like the von trapp children i would have. but a hearty written thank you for coming to my blog party last week will have to do.    it was so much fun to share some homemade goodness with y'all.  i have been teary eyed at the response to the love letters banner giveaway.  i really love hearing from you guys!  each and every comment and e-mail you send is special. i am a bit behind on replying to them right now - but i will catch up within the next week or so.

i strive to not just be your host when throwing a virtual party but to practice hospitality to every visitor on any day.  if you are coming here, i want you to feel welcome.  one blog i read states, "you may be a stranger, but you're not a stalker."  i so agree. 

"hospitality. . . means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place." 

henri nouwen

don't you love that?  bienvenue strangers!  will you become our friends?

i know our family and friends come here to stay in touch, but many others come to find solidarity.  as i seek it in your spaces.

so thank you.  thank you for reading.  thank you for commmenting.  thank you for being part of this space.