with gratitude.

pike place market spring, april 2010

for you.

yes, you.

thank you for your kind words, your support, your whispers of you are not alone. your comments (and emails) these last few weeks especially have been like lights in my world. i am reminded again that i have this incredible group of women out there in the world supporting me, supporting each other, as we walk on our paths and stand tall in our bravery and truth. thank you for getting it and sharing your wisdom in a way that has felt supportive and real. thank you.

i am also very grateful for the people who have supported my little shop these last few weeks. this spring, we encountered some unexpected money things, in the way that you do, with taxes and car repairs, all these appointments i am experiencing, and some other things. i know you get it. and your support of my shop enabled us to buy a few things for the little one that we really needed to buy but weren't sure we could afford. 

as a thank you, i would like to extend a special savings code to my blog readers (in addition to the free shipping i am offering until my maternity leave begins around may 23). just leave the code "be present" in the notes to seller when you check out through my etsy shop, and you will receive a 15% discount (refunded through PayPal after you pay).

snippets of items in the shop

i hope this monday finds you breathing deeply in your world and finding the space to remember that you have all the knowledge you need for this moment.

blessings,

liz

today.

the wondrous frog creek lodge, photo by kelly rae roberts

this past weekend was filled with so much bliss and love and joy as a few friends gathered to hold my hand as i walk on this path toward meeting my daughter face to face. i want to share more about it all, and my thoughts about where i am on this mama journey...soon...tomorrow perhaps. i am still soaking it in. i am so blessed.

but today, i am visiting ali's spot in blog world with a post about embracing the quiet and looking toward self-care when we need it. you can read it here.

blessings,

liz

these days...

a couple of images from a little self-portrait session i did in a peek of sun earlier this week

these days i am...

writing . finishing the last chapter and other parts of the book. my editor's endless patience has been quite the gift during these weeks of trying to be creative with writing, photography, working in the studio while doing perhaps the most creative thing i have ever done (grow a human being). i am behind. but i am getting it done. and it feels like these words i am writing on the page are appearing exactly as they need to.

seeing . the elves were here again (in the form of my mom and steve) and we have unearthed more corners of our home so that it feels more like a true home and not a gathering place for stuff. we have more light, more room, and just the push we needed to keep it a bit neater on a day to day basis. my heart feels so much lighter each time jon and i work together to clean up after dinner, do the laundry, and so on...and most importantly, sit at the table together for meals.

gathering . little pieces of this and that to turn a guest room into the room where the new member of our family will live. there is a crib and a happy chandelier and a few bits of pink and purple. in the little room, i have begun gathering some bits to create the prayer flags that will hang above her and welcome her into the rhythms and love of our world.

listening . i have been sitting in the quiet to hear the wisdom within me. a humming meditation and toning in the shower are pushing me to remember my grounded true self. 

adventuring . just finished rereading about magpie's adventures in dreamdark and am ordering the next one. i just love that laini has given us a standing tall in her place in this world heroine that i can't wait for my daughter to meet one day as she turns the pages while on her own reading adventure.

seeking . today, i started reading birthing from within. there have been a few somewhat interesting experiences while having ultrasounds and appointments during this growing a human being time and there is the very slight chance i might have a scheduled c-section. i came close to pitching a tent in the land of uncertainty, especially when i didn't feel like i was being given clear information. but, i am now pushing myself toward being planted in the world of feeling strong in my body, heart, and mind as i see the third trimester of this adventure on the horizon. it is good.

dancing . little breaks to get this body moving have been such a good thing on these grey days. millie, baby bean, and i enjoy michael franti on repeat (dare you to sit still). and really i just can't get enough of joshua radin. 

knowing . a group of women has surrounded me during the last few months with their wisdom. with their words of "i am right here next to you. cry as long as you need to" when i thought a dream was dying. with their pushing me to see the truth when i felt like someone had peeked inside my idea journal and torn out every page. with their gentle answers to my many mama questions. with their loud, real laughter. with their brainstorming. with their reminders. with their truth. with their love. and i sit here knowing this truth, this truth that i am not alone, and my heart fills with this truth and i know i am blessed.

and you? what have you been experiencing these days? i would love to know... 

hello february.

 

You have snuck up on me dear February, and you have come in with the whispers of blue skies in the midst of the drip drip dripping grey. My mind has been swirling so much lately...with so much joy but yet also confusion and hope and fear and longing. This is life. Yes. This is where I am on my path.

  

Today, after sleeping just a few hours last night, the grey threatened to pitch a tent inside me as the longing for a friend here in this town, a quick drive away, and spending time with someone who gets me mingled with the sleepy silly thoughts of someone who needs a nap. But then when Millie insisted we head outside, I noticed you February.

 

I noticed your promise of spring. Yes. Spring always returns. Always. No matter the fears, grief, the road behind. Spring always returns. And even though we live in to a place that entertains grey for a few months of the year, we live in a place where you, February, where you bring hope in the midst of the grey.

 

And hope seems like a pretty good place to pitch a tent these days...

Care to join me?

{a week of} pink: the simple things

 

a few of the simple things that made this day brighter...

taking a few moments just for me 

wearing my favorite happy socks and bloomers and even wearing shoes

 

the ritual of making tea 

sitting at the table (without the laptop) with a snack

letting go of keeping my favorite vintage tablecloth for good and using it every day

 

the smell of a warm pumpkin muffin

a dash of homemade whipped cream

a favorite mismatch plate from my college apartment

  

gathering books to inspire and nudge me just a bit
breathing in the quiet
pushing myself to know i am enough

*****

i am playing along with christina today (in my week of pink sort of way). such inspiration in the participants' posts...

the moments (of the last few days)

point defiance park view of puget sound . january 10, 2010

i have been more tired than productive (and productive is something i need to be) this weekend and last week was filled with quite a few emotional highs and lows in that way life is sometimes, but tonight, i am moved to share the moments of the last few days...

soaking up every word of a homemade life: stories and recipes from my kitchen table by molly wizenberg (i will write more about it soon. it is more like a gift than a cookbook. i am simply smitten with every page and am savoring the last few chapters like the last godiva chocolate).

watching julie & julia for the first time. what a joy that movie is. signs point toward me spending more time in the kitchen soon (hopefully when my mom visits next week, we can cook together and i can push away from nausea and lean in toward the goodness of cooking for and with my family).

taking a walk along puget sound with jonny. spotting a seal. sharing a few dreams. watching a little boy with his parents, so quick to explore on legs that have probably not been walking for too many weeks.

curling up with millie on the new red sofa. she seems to be very interested in my belly these days.

feeling grateful for friends who listen (especially when tears are falling on this end of the line).

angel hair pasta. really, i simply cannot get enough. and luckily i have a husband who doesn't mind cooking it (and everything else we eat around here these days).

enjoying a (new to me) movie called possession. the title invites one to think it is much different than it is. i found it to be a beautiful movie weaving two stories, one from the past and one now. a little poetry, a lot of romance, some heartache, wonderful music. i must investigate the book i think.

letting go of needing to answer email right away. i know it can be maddening to wait for someone to reply, but just remember, sometimes that someone is taking a break from the computer or just trying to get by or growing a human or spending time with family or breathing in and out or doing the best they can. (i will write back when i can. promise.)

spending time on etsy adding some things to my favorites, such as this and this and this.

naps under vintage quilts, one made by my great-grandmother and others thrifted. vintage quilts invite the best naps i think.

and in this moment, i wonder how things are in your world. what things did you fill up your weekend with? how are you? what are you wishing these days?

blessings and light, liz

november 14

 

me and my dad . long ago

i hear the laughter and the sounds from the carousel as we spin spin spin and go up and down and pretend we are flying. i smell the popcorn and see all the faces from up above. i taste a tinge of fear with the excited butterflies in my belly. i feel my hair flying around me and then i grip the side again as soon as i finish waving. as the deflated, oh we are going down now sound signals the end of this adventure, i hear myself, "can we go again?" but then we are off to peter pan or mr. toad's or the people movers, which i can never get enough of. this laughter. this "yes, we can go again." this holding onto a hand you trust. this is what i know.