08 February 2015

This Girl Can

I meeaaan....how can you not love this? #thisgirlcan


Cheers to a new week!  Really looking forward to making it a great one!
❤, Ashton Tilton
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22 January 2015

But Possible.

Each morning when I get to work, the first thing I check is NieNie's blog.  I have been a follower of her blog for quite some time now, and it is the only blog that I check consistently everyday.  Most other blogs (unless you're my fambam of course!) I've just lost interest in over time.  But I keep coming back to NieNie's because of her honesty, positive disposition, and just all around uplifting words.  She's a mother that has inspired me even before I became a momma.  Heck, even before I got married!  I appreciate what she stands for and the example she sets for millions.  Yes...just ask Buns, she is my hero.  Whenever I want to share some insight that I got from her blog, I feel like I'm constantly prefacing it by being like "So Buns, you know that blogger that I love that got in the plane crash?..."  But after Buns told me that I could just say "So Stephanie wrote..."  Hahaha.  In other words, he knows who the heck that is because I talk about her so much!  If there was one person I could meet before I died, it would be Stephanie Nielson.  Duh.

I went to check out her blog this morning, and read something that hit me like a ton of bricks...

 "But mostly I got better because I learned to love myself.
And when I loved myself, I loved my children and others more, and then my desire to serve my children and others was greater, and then I got better.

It's a pretty simple idea, not always so simple to master.
But possible."

via Stephanie Nielson

 

 (pictures of Roni's first week that made me get all sappy this morning...can we talk about how little she is just setting there on Buns' shoulder!?)

 Words can't even describe how much I needed that quote today.  Not to be a whiner, but yesterday kind of rocked my world in the mothering department.  Reeser has been pretty sick.  Her poor little throat has been swollen and red making it hard to eat.  She's got a raw bum for reasons you can probably imagine, and understandably it's caused lots of tears.  We all know that it's no fun for baby or momma when baby is sick.  Breaks your heart, but let's be real, also takes a toll on ya.  

And when you're exhausted and tired from a long day, sometimes your patience runs thin in other areas...the house, work, church calling, etc... Yesterday I feel like I took my exhaustion out in frustration with that I didn't get the laundry done like I wanted, I didn't finish painting the front room like I wanted, I didn't put in the hours I wanted for work, I didn't send out that important email for my calling.  Soooo yeah.  Basically threw myself a big, fat pity party. #holla

After some QT with Buns and a good sleep though, I woke up this morning ready to make today different than yesterday.  And I woke up to that quote by Stephanie Nielson.  And it made me realize that I have to love myself even on the exhausting days.  I can't be so hard on myself!  Days like that will come around where kids are sick, and the single most important thing is to be at their beckon call.  To love them and snuggle them and assure them the sickness won't last forever.  Days like that involve popsicles for sore throats, Disney movies galore, Sesame Street on repeat, soft voices, snuggles for daaays, and all the love you can kiss and squeeze them with.

So love yourself. Because when you love yourself, you love other more deeply and you have a greater desire to serve them.

Happy Thursday y'all!
♥, Ashton Tilton
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29 September 2014

I Am Brave and Beautiful


I am Brave and Beautiful - a beauty movement that is sweeping the globe. Colbie Caillat started it with her recent song and video called TRY. My blogging friend Megan of Brassy Apple wanted to push this movement along and invited women from all over to share what they looked like without make up and I joined in!! Colbie's song says,

 "Take your make up off. Let your hair down... Look into the mirror at yourself, Do you like you? Cause I like you... "

Megan and her friend Cobi of Peacefrom6pieces have been the team behind this whole project. Their worldwide vision included creating their own video inspired by the song TRY. The talent of Robbins Creative made it possible for them to pull it off. You have to click play and see the beauty and bravery displayed and you might even recognize a familiar face in there;).



Me along with 101+ other blogging women from different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, ages, shapes and sizes have decided to be Brave and Beautiful! You can join in this movement too by sharing what you look like without makeup on. You don't need a blog either! Just tag your photo with #IamBraveAndBeautiful on Instgram and search the hashtag to see who else has joined in. ALSO, if you tag it with a second hashtag - #ColbieTRY we just might be able to get Colbie Caillat's attention since she was the inspiration behind it all!

Are you brave and beautiful?  I am!  Here I go!


"The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.  It is the care she lovingly gives and the passion she shows." (Audrey Hepburn)

Oh y'all.  Where to even begin.  I have been so excited about this beautiful vision that Megan from Brassy Apple and her friend Cobi had to emphasize the importance of inner beauty and being comfortable in your own skin.  I've been thinking a lot about how to express my feelings adequately and just how passionate I am about what this movement stands for.  And so for a lack of eloquence, I'm just going to spew out my heart a little bit in hopes that you leave this post remembering just how beautiful you really are.  And that a woman's true beauty is truly reflected in her soul.

If I had a nickel for every time in my life that I felt less than because I didn't feel beautiful in the eyes of the world, I'm sad to say I'd be a rich woman.  Like most women, I used the world's standard of beautiful to define my self-worth.  I let unrealistic standards drown me in a sea of pity parties about how I looked or how I didn't look to be more accurate.  There was one night in particular in early college that I laid in bed and cried because I didn't feel pretty.  It tore at my heart.  And it hurt.  Low self-esteem is a plague and can tear down the most beautiful soul if you let it.  It's a poison, and nothing good comes from it.  It took me a long time to realize that.  I probably didn't fully understand what I was doing to myself (all that comparing and what not) until I was pregnant and found out Reese was a girl.  And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

What kind of confidence did I want to instill in my little girl?  Did I want her to hear me talk about how I wished I was thinner, tanner, and healthier?  Did I really want that to be the legacy I left for my sweet baby girl?  Absolutely not!  I knew I need to face my fears of inadequacy head on.  I needed to get to the source of my negativity.  I wanted to be gentler with myself.  I wanted to recognize that who I was on the inside would naturally make me a million times more beautiful on the outside than any kind of makeup could ever do.  I had felt that confidence before in my life, and I wanted to feel it again.

So I prayed.

I prayed with my whole heart.  I prayed consistently and honestly.  I trusted who I was praying to.  I trusted that He knew my heart.  I trusted that He believed I was beautiful.  Even if I didn't know it in my heart quite yet, I trusted in the concept.  Fake it 'till you make it, right?  And sure enough...day by day, week by week, I slowly started to feel my soul coming alive (yes, there is no other way of saying it! lol).  It was like I was on fire.  My heart slowly started to believe that what made me beautiful was not what I looked like on the outside.  My beauty resonated in my heart and how I loved the people around me.  That is what makes me beautiful.

Here is an excerpt from a recent post of mine, "I Didn't Feel Beautiful".  This is what I was reminded of after a lot of trusting and praying...

"I believe that loving, supporting, and serving the people around us makes us happy and beautiful.  You are beautiful because of the listening ear you provide for your friend whose marriage is struggling, whose transition to being a new, young mom is lonely, whose kids have all left home and being an empty-nester is lonely, or whose husband lost his job and money is tight.  You are beautiful because you texted that person to let them know how much they mean to you.  You are beautiful because you're a caring, invested grandma who wants each and every grandchild to know they're unique and loved.  You're beautiful because you make dinner every night even if it means ordering in from Papa Johns.  You're beautiful because you're a good sister who supports her family in their endeavors and ambitions.  You're beautiful because you fold the laundry and do the dishes, so when your hubby gets home from work the house is clean.  You're beautiful because instead of doing the laundry and dishes, you let your 4 year old pretend to be a chef and you were the customer at her restaurant or you let your 2 year old show you the mess he can make by being Godzilla and destroying all the toys and legos in sight.  You're beautiful because you're 15 and noticed that there was someone new at school, so you said hi, asked where she's from, and if she wanted to sit with you and your friends at lunch.  You're beautiful because you try to be a good student and good kid, even if things are hard at home.  You're beautiful if school is hard for you and you feel like you're barely scraping by because what no one knows is that you're going to be an artist, an engineer, a musician, a beautician, or some other talent that can't be measured by run of the mill "academics".  You're beautiful because you're a strong, independent, happy woman who loves to work hard, enjoys her career, and makes the workplace an uplifting, supportive community for her coworkers.  

You're beautiful because you are your own person.  

There is not one person who has the same heart and mind as you.  Don't let anyone strip that from you.  Don't let the media tell you what you should look like or how you should act.  Don't let the girl in your Chemistry class make you feel stupid because you don't understand what you're doing.  Don't let the girl on TV make you feel like you're not pretty enough.  Don't let the girls who have boyfriends make you feel like something's wrong with you because you're not in a relationship.  Don't let the mom down the street who always seems to have it together make you feel like you don't have it together.  Don't let the empty-nesters who seem to have found their niche make you feel like you don't have one.  I can't remember who said this, but whoever it was really hit the nail on the head...

“Sometimes people are beautiful.  Not in looks.  Not in what they say.  Just in what they are.”



Don't stop here. Get clicking around - its a blog hop! Below are more brave and beautiful women bearing more than their natural beauty. They each have a little bit of their heart to share with you. Some get very personal. Some share stories. For some this was very hard to do yet they gathered their courage and did it anyway. We hope as you click around (and YES pin these different posts!) you will feel the importance of it, the empowering effect it has and that it encourages you in some way.

>>>>>>>Important info! Blog Hops often have glitches the first day. If the link has an ERROR, simply click on the HOME button for each site, or google the blog name next to the link, and you should see their brave and beautiful post there. Links will be updated as soon as possible.<<<<<<<<<<<<
women sharing their natural beauty - no makeup
women with our makeup on and what makes them beautiful
women from around the world share their face with no makeup on - BrassyApple.com
Mommy bloggers share their face without makeup and what makes then beautiful
Natural beauty untouched photos
raw natural beauty - join the movement
beauty and bravery - women wearing no makeup - Brassyapple.com
#colbietry #iambraveandbeautiful

Ready in join in?Snap, hashtag and share! Tag @BrassyApple and @Peacefrom6Pieces if you can too!
Also follow our Bravery and Beauty PINTEREST board for more inspiration!
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11 September 2014

I Didn't Feel Beautiful


Hinckley. My little pal.  The little guy I'm about to tell you all about.  Here's a picture I took of him when he was 2 years old, about 5 years ago.  Driving home from Brassy Apple's Secret Project (launching September 29th) last week, I was reminded of a memory from when he was this old.  It came flooding back, and I remembered everything about that day like it was yesterday.  It brought me to tears just thinking about it.  It hits close to home, but I don't ever want to forget it, so here goes!

 My whole life, I struggled with acne.  Oh yeah folks, we're talking Struggled, with a capital "S".  It plagued me as a teenager.  It got a little better as I went to college, but still bothered me and never completely went away.  I always noticed the clear skin of other girls or celebrities I saw in the media.  I'd always wished for that smooth, blemish-free skin.  I was embarrassed by the marks on my face, especially the uneven redness of it.  I never went anywhere without makeup on.  I always tried to cover the acne up, but it never quite covered it the way I wanted it to, and it definitely couldn't take away the rough, unevenness of it.  It was a major insecurity of mine and often the source of low self-esteem.  

 Y'all I had tried it all.  I had been to the dermatologist a million times, and every new "procedure" or "daily face routine" failed.  Nothing ever worked.  Shocker.  My skin has always been extremely sensitive and more often than not, I would break out from the new "daily face routine" suggested by said dermatologist.  So. Freaking. Frustrating.  Not to mention incredibly hard on my hopeful attitude that this routine would be different.  This time it would work.  This time I would come out on top.  This time I would finally have that perfect skin I'd been dreaming of. Ha...ha.......HA. 

 Well, one time in particular coming back from the dermatologist with a new procedure in tow, I got home, ran upstairs, and couldn't wait to get started.  Even though it would've taken time for it to show results, I wanted to get a move on with that ish.  But sure enough, not even ten minutes after applying the cleanser, toner, and cream (sweet merciful, I wish I knew then what I know now about skin care...simplify, simplify, simplify), my face broke out like cuhRAZY.  I was a mess y'all.  A freaking hot mess.  I'd never had my skin break out so terrifically horrible before.  I was swollen, red, itchy, and my acne was magnified ten fold.  I remember it like it was yesterday, looking in the mirror and being so unhappy, embarrassed, and completely mortified.  I didn't even want to show my face to my family.  I was so painfully embarrassed.  

 So I cried.

 I cried so hard and so long.  I cried because of my insecurity.  I cried because it didn't seem like I would ever add up.  I felt like no one would think I was pretty.  I felt exposed.  I cried because I didn't feel beautiful.  

 After wetting a rag and patting my face, and trying to remove any sign of my hysterics, I finally braved going downstairs.  As I walked downstairs, my sister, her hubby, and my brother were playing a board game.  I'd half expected them to look up at my red, puffy, acne-filled face and drop their jaws at the horror.  But of course they didn't.  My sister looked up at me and said, "Finally!  Wanna jump in on the game?"  She didn't stare, and she didn't say a word.  I told her I'd sit out for this round and hop in the next.  So I sat on the piano bench and watched as they played.  

 And that's when it happened.  

 My sweet little nephew, Hinckley, climbed right up on the piano bench next to me, and completely caught me off guard.  Unexpectedly, he pulled himself up onto my lap and cupped his little hands and fingers around my cheeks.  He looked me straight in the eyes with the most sincere, sweet look on his face, and said, "Ashin, you are BOOOtiful."  

 Yep.  That happened.  Bring on the falls, Niagara Falls.  Right then and there, my 2 year old Nephew taught me one of the most valuable lessons a girl needs to know.  And sure enough, I cried again.  

 To that little 2 year old, I was beautiful not because of what I looked like on the outside but because I was his aunt.  Because I hugged and kissed him every time I saw him.  Because I laughed with him.  Because I cuddled and watched Backyardigans with him.  Because I played toys with him.  Because I loved him.  

 And I believe that.  I believe that loving, supporting, and serving the people around us makes us happy and beautiful.  You are beautiful because of the listening ear you provide for your friend whose marriage is struggling, whose transition to being a new, young mom is lonely, whose kids have all left home and being an empty-nester is lonely, or whose husband lost his job and money is tight.  You are beautiful because you texted that person to let them know how much they mean to you.  You are beautiful because you're a caring, invested grandma who wants each and every grandchild to know they're unique and loved.  You're beautiful because you make dinner every night even if it means ordering in from Papa Johns.  You're beautiful because you're a good sister who supports her family in their endeavors and ambitions.  You're beautiful because you fold the laundry and do the dishes, so when your hubby gets home from work the house is clean.  You're beautiful because instead of doing the laundry and dishes, you let your 4 year old pretend to be a chef and you were the customer at her restaurant or you let your 2 year old show you the mess he can make by being Godzilla and destroying all the toys and legos in sight.  You're beautiful because you're 15 and noticed that there was someone new at school, so you said hi, asked where she's from, and if she wanted to sit with you and your friends at lunch.  You're beautiful because you try to be a good student and good kid, even if things are hard at home.  You're beautiful if school is hard for you and you feel like you're barely scraping by because what no one knows is that you're going to be an artist, an engineer, a musician, a beautician, or some other talent that can't be measured by run of the mill "academics".  You're beautiful because you're a strong, independent, happy woman who loves to work hard, enjoys her career, and makes the workplace an uplifting, supportive community for her coworkers.  You're beautiful because you attend church every week.  You're beautiful if you don't go to church and hike with your family instead.  You're beautiful if your beliefs are founded in goodness, reflection, and unity.  You're beautiful if your beliefs are founded in God.  

 You're beautiful because you are your own person.  

 There is not one person who has the same heart and mind as you.  Don't let anyone strip that from you.  Don't let the media tell you what you should look like or how you should act.  Don't let the girl in your Chemistry class make you feel stupid because you don't understand what you're doing.  Don't let the girl on TV make you feel like you're not pretty enough.  Don't let the girls who have boyfriends make you feel like something's wrong with you because you're not in a relationship.  Don't let the mom down the street who always seems to have it together make you feel like you don't have it together.  Don't let the empty-nesters who seem to have found their niche make you feel like you don't have one.  I can't remember who said this, but whoever it was really hit the nail on the head... 

“Sometimes people are beautiful.  Not in looks.  Not in what they say.  Just in what they are.”

Cheers to being who you are because it's a waste of time to be anybody else.
Hope y'all are having a fabulous day, and if not, then no worries because tomorrow's Friday! #holla
❤, Ashton Tilton
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