friends

Social media is not the truth

I was honored to be invited to a birthday dinner party last night celebrating my beautiful friend Britney. It had been on my calendar for quite some time, but in this world of showing and selling our house, my schedule is constantly up in the air. I’m working to anticipate that the showing call will almost certainly come at THE most inconvenient time. (But oh, how I hate that!)

Yesterday was no exception.

Dinner was at 6:00 pm in West Plano. At 4:45, after making all the preparations, the boys, both dogs & I piled into our sweaty car, loaded down with dog beds, food and water bowls. We parked around the corner to stalk the house, waiting for someone to arrive, so we could return as quickly as possible. (Yes, yes we did.) Our 4:45 showing arrived at 5:35 and stayed until almost 6:00. Then I unloaded the dogs, and all …

I remember this day. Maybe not quite like it was yesterday, but I remember it. I remember the cabin we stayed in on that trip, it belonged to a friend of a friend, who graciously offered it to our family for a road trip to Colorado in the summer. I remember sitting inside, at the log table eating, what felt like millions of grapes, until my stomach felt like it might explode.

Aren’t we a motley looking crew of sisters?

With an 11 year span from oldest to youngest, we were in completely different life phases in this photo. (But at least our fashion game was on point!) Back then, I was a self-focused 12-year-old. One look at this picture now, as an adult, I have so much understanding and empathy for what each of those girls must have been going through. It brings back so many memories. It reminds me …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Women Love in Family Priorities The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat

This beautiful, warm soul is my new friend Anna. This was actually the first day we ever met face to face. We’d chatted by phone and texted multiple times, so by the time we met, I felt like I’d known her forever.

We were meant to be friends.

One day, I was having coffee with my friend Tonia (our home organizing sponsor) when I mentioned that we were looking for the fourth panelist for our “Let’s Get Together” GNO (this Thursday). She whipped out her phone, telling me she had the perfect person. She immediately sent Anna a text, and to my complete surprise, she was down for a chat. We hopped on the phone later that week and I knew Anna was our girl.

She courageously agreed.

It was courageous for so many reasons, not the least of which is taking the mic, in front of a group of strangers, to share what beauty means …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Love in Friendship Loving Others Loving Yourself Priorities 1 comment chat

Thursday night was a bit of a riot. I don’t know if it was a sugar rush from the cookies and icing or what, but I literally had to steal a whistle (that resembled a tiny red recorder) from Ginger in order to rally the troops. Laughter filled the air at GNO from every corner of the room.

But this table was one of my favorites.

They win the prize for being the rowdiest table of the bunch. They were laughing loud and enacting all sorts of shenanigans. But that’s not why they were one of my favorites. It because only two of these ladies knew each other before they walked in and that’s typically not the case. Most women who attend our girls nights come with at least one friend.

It takes guts to walk into that room full of laughing women all by yourself.

But these ladies did it. Some were …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Love In Action Love in Friendship The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat

(image: Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune)

We’re not a big TV watching family at all, but during the Olympic games we look like a family of couch potatoes. We’re glued to the TV for the one hour before bedtime, and every extra minute the boys can manipulate after that. The hard work, dedication, and beautiful competition displayed by the Olympic athletes from around the world is such an incredible inspiration. The boys just think it’s a fun family tradition.

But I know it’s teaching them such valuable lessons.

The courage of these athletes astounds me. Their innovative routines, speed, tricks, jumps, spins, and insane risks make them vulnerable to experience such huge failure with the eyes of the watching world fixed on them. Listening to their stories of lifetimes of injuries, rehab and endless training all to get to this moment is awe-inspiring, in and of itself. Then add to that, the intense …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspiration Inspirational Women Love In Action Loving Others Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat

Typically, the week after GNO is a slower pace for me. I let off the gas of the mad dash to make it all happen and make coffee appointments instead. But last night, we hosted our first-ever HeartStories Sponsor Love party. So my schedule was filled with coffee appointments, plus all the details of making a beautiful event happen for the sponsors we love. Naturally, at 11 AM on Tuesday, our school decided to shut down completely , due to the 2018 Flu Epidemic, and implement “Cyber School”. (which I’ve learned is another term for “There will be no fun for you, only hours and hours of school work. . . until your eyes go permanently crossed, or you die. . . whichever comes first.”)

Let’s just say, it’s been one of those weeks.

The day after a 10pm Target run, on the one and only night of night of heavy sleet, …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Loving Others Loving Yourself Priorities The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat

Social media is not the truth

Nothing gets in the way of family

Love is generative

Courage & connection, the only way we’re going to make it

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