Sometimes life reminds us that we need to view ourselves more kindly… through a lens of love, as it were.
A Special Eclipse
So…I know I’m weird, but I wasn’t caught up in the eclipse hubbub before today. I’d seen the t-shirts, articles, Facebook posts, etc., but I hadn’t given it much thought and didn’t really care to. I hadn’t even bothered to purchase the glasses just in case. But today I finally caught the bug. There was…
Who Would Have Guessed?
“Everything has changed and yet, I am more me than I’ve ever been.” – Iaia Thomas It’s going on three weeks now since my kids moved to other states and started their new life adventures as adults. Prior to their leaving the nest, I was anxious and more than a little sad with anticipation. I…
Wednesday Wisdom
“Magic happens when you do not give up, even though you want to. The universe always falls in love with a stubborn heart.”
Joy
“The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world’s joy.” – Henry Ward Beecher Pope Farm Conservancy in Wisconsin. My happy place.
Can’t Even
When you realize tomorrow is Monday.
Oregon Adventure – Part I
“…and I think to myself what a wonderful world.” – Bob Thiele In two weeks, I’ve slept in three time zones, seen mountains, rivers, desert, volcanoes, ocean, fields of lava, and painted hills. Truth be told, I’m having a tough time condensing it into a blog post. I’ve decided to split it up, but I’m…
Oregon Adventure, Part II
And the reflections on our Oregon Adventure continue. Smith Rock State Park Welcome to the birthplace of American sport climbing — and apparently one of my greatest fears. Yes, we trekked to the top of this thing. This gives you an idea of where we started. And here’s where we ended up. Suffice it to…
Oregon Adventure, Part III
I thought this spot deserved a solo post. Painted Hills – John Day Fossil Beds National Monument “When you travel to the Painted Hills, you can see millions of years of history revealed in the layers of mountains of earth, one color at a time. The hills get their name from the delicately colored stratifications…
Oregon Adventure, Part IV
Here are odds and ends from our Oregon adventure. I managed to get a few runs in while we were there, including getting lost on the grounds of Reed College. Another neighborhood running photo. We went to a beautiful Japanese Garden… …and to the lovelier International Test Rose Garden. On the way back from the…
A New Adventure
“One way to make the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.” At the close of our Oregon trip, we put Tanner on a plane back to his new graduate assistant position in Texas and went home for a day. Then we packed up the car and headed to Drew’s…
Find Your Strong
“You’re going to be happy,” said life, “but first I’ll make you strong.” Maybe it started with the purchase of this “persist” shirt, but I’ve been thinking about strength lately – both the physical and spiritual kind. The “I can do this” kind of strength. Perhaps it’s because my nest will empty at the end…
Octavia
This was the most unusual cloud formation I’ve ever seen. (An “anvil” cloud, as a dear friend taught me.) I watched it billow and balloon as I made the drive to see something even more unusual. Meet Octavia. I first saw her on Friday night at the Botanical Garden during a visit with my oldest,…
Summer at the Garden
“‘Cause a little bit of summer is what the whole year is all about.” – John Mayer Trip to my favorite place with my favorite friends this weekend and just a few photos to share as a result. See the butterfly? Lovely desert exhibit going on.
Note to Self
“Note to self: No matter what, hang on to that part of you that gasps at a beautiful sunset or gets super excited about a new notebook or a freshly baked cupcake or a dog you just met on the street. Allow yourself to be regularly startled and humbled by joy.” – Nanea Hoffman, Sweatpants & Coffee Pretty sure there are…
Welcome Interruption (video)
Sometimes we can stand to not take ourselves so seriously. The results are still beautiful, only more fun.
A Good Look Around
“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.” – Marc Riboud, French photographer Isn’t that the truth? I’ve been a visual and creative girl since day one, but never did I observe, absorb, and experience my surroundings the way I do now having picked up a camera. Seeing and thinking as a…
Distracted Runner
As I’ve described in earlier Distracted Runner posts, there’s a reason I’m a horribly slow runner. And it’s not just because of the way I’m built or my lack of talent (though none of that helps). Rather, it has everything to do with my attention span. Seriously, I ran five miles today and took photos…
Hello…
…Kitty Cafe! This is how I spent my Saturday morning…and it represents everything I love about being an adult. Sometimes you get to do things that are simply indulgent and fun for no other reason than you can. This little girl (please forgive the crap photo from my iPhone) is my spirit animal. While the…
Is that what I think it is?
Ohhhh…..Black-eyed Susans…. ….Purple Coneflowers… …I Spy cloud-gazing (I see a heart here. You?)… …streaming water fountains… …seas of fresh strawberries… …it’s starting to look a lot like SUMMER around here!!! Bring. It. On.
Always
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” – Henri Matisse
Enough
“‘Enough’ is a feast. — Buddhist proverb I just realized how long it’s been since I pulled together a gratitude list. I’ve had a lot of big, obvious things that top the list — Drew’s grad school graduation and internship offer, Tanner’s grad school acceptance, both kids living back at home for a little while, time…
See What I Mean??
Spotted this during my run the other day and I’m still mystified by it. Seriously? What is up with the random discarded glasses? I’ve spotted these things again and again and again. It’s like those random, matchless sneakers you see on the side of the road every now and then. Who loses a shoe and doesn’t know it?…
Sunday Gem
“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them. The hunt to uncover these jewels — that’s creative living. – Elizabeth Gilbert
Garden of Glass at Night
For the first time since Christmas, I have my family together. We spent our first full evening at the Botanical Garden with Tanner’s girlfriend and my Little Sister for the Garden of Glass at Night. Before checking out the glass, however, we wandered around the Garden grounds as the sun went down. I’d somehow forgotten…
hey there, friends 