interlude: a gift in the form of a beautiful book

Sometimes phone conversations take the form of magical excursions into truth, hope, possibility. I am blessed to have a group of women who show up for conversations such as these and push me to be more than I thought possible and expect me to do the same with them. One such conversation happened early last month between Jenna and me. She shared an idea and through our coversation the idea took form as it stretched until it had wings. She put the idea out to others and they answered her call and over a few short weeks, her idea has been lived and loved into reality into physical form as a full of wisdom and truth book called Lanterns: A Gathering of Stories. (Jenna, that girl, well, she is a rock star!) I am simply honored to have contributed an essay and a couple of photos and to be in the company of six amazing women. (And I am very glad to have some of my Christmas gifts taken care of!) Here is a bit more about this project.

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“Lanterns: A Gathering of Stories offers a kind light to weary travelers wishing for companions on the journey toward a well-crafted soul. Stories, poems, and essays offer signposts and gentle guidance, reminding readers that resistance melts away in the company of those who believe in the path set before us. By illuminating the ways we can move outside of our interior reflections into a more inclusive whole, this lovely book provides a way into togetherness that will encourage and inspire anyone longing for authentic connection around their creative work.” ~Jen Lemen, artist, activist, dreamer

Lanterns is a beautiful 48-page book featuring essays, poems, and photography about life, friendship, and creativity by seven women who are committed to living artful, soulful lives. Jennifer McGuiggan of The Word Cellar created this collection to celebrate the light of friendships that emerge from creative community.

You can pre-order copies of Lanterns through December 13 for holiday delivery. Learn more and place an order at The Word Cellar.

**A portion of the profits from Lanterns will be donated to Girls Write Now, a New York City non-profit that helps underserved or at-risk high school girls by enabling them to develop their creative, independent voices, explore careers in professional writing, and learn how to make healthy choices in school, career, and life.

Contributors 
Darlene J Kreutzer 
Liz Lamoreux 
Jen Lee 
Jennifer McGuiggan 
Rachelle Mee-Chapman 
Lisa Ottman 
Jena Strong 

december (views) 2

 

an afternoon excursion for one, december views

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today was a very good day.

energy arrived like a gift.

hope it sticks around for a bit...

i even reopened my shop and filled it with color.full patchworked cozy scarves and a few new soul mantra designs (including om, unearth, and hope).

and i am even beginning to feel excitement about the holidays...

hoping your world is full of bits of bright.ness and joy...

december (views) 1

from the couch this evening, december views

november 30

thirty days of posts. i have to admit that it was a struggle to post each day and i certainly didn't find what i shared to be inspiring...but at the same time, i am grateful to nablopomo for the push, the invitation, to seek out pieces of goodness from this month when i found myself mostly trying to get through each day.

but there is such goodness.

and i am resting inside the knowledge that love is what it really is all about. friendship, listening, opening, speaking truth, sharing pieces of who we are, finding our way. love.

i am so looking forward to december views. starting tomorrow, i will be staying behind the camera for most of next month. sharing words now and then. dipping my toes back into self-portrait challenge perhaps. capturing the views of this time of year. hoping for snow at some point. cleaning in anticipating guests around the holidays (and wishing for a cleaning fairy to come and help this nausea-focused girl). maybe finding myself in the kitchen making holiday cookies for the first time in years. and always resting inside love and hope.

thank you for you...

november 29

i have been working at the kitchen table this weekend...

gathered vintage lace, buttons, pieces of the past come together to remind me of where i come from

i feel blessed that i get how important it is to look back in order to understand where i stand in this moment

and you? where has this weekend taken you? what do you know in this moment?

november 28

just a quick note tonight to say thank you for your kind comments and messages about yesterday's post. your kindness and support mean a lot to me. i just needed someone to listen and you totally showed up. i am very blessed...

and because jonny is very proud of making this lasagna (almost completely) by himself, here is a photo to show it off. 

 

it was good.

hope you are feeling hope and love in your corner of the world...

blessings,

liz

november 27

me through jon's lens . november 27, 2009

so begins the me being real in this space about the new part of my path that includes the mama journey...

the new normal. this is the phrase i have been using today. i tried to explain it to jenna tonight...how sometimes i forget i am pregnant because the nausea, eat eat eat, oh no nausea, oh no to the bathroom quickly experience has morphed into the new normal.

twenty-one days to make a habit is something i learned from stephen covey many years ago in his habits of highly effective people. well, weeks and weeks of this has morphed into what feels a bit like a habit.

wake up. how do i feel? should i move? of course because i have to go to the bathroom like right now. (this tops my list of things they don't tell you. that the having to go to the bathroom all the time thing isn't a third trimester thing...nope, starts right at the beginning when the baby is the side of a poppyseed [really, get the emails from babycenter.com...this week, it tells us the baby is the size of a medium-sized shrimp...jon and i like the fruit analogies better as a kumwquat seems less vulnerable than a shrimp, don't you think?].)

then, my thoughts turn to "should i eat breakfast?" well, i have to eat something or i will be sick. what can i eat? and then the cycle continues. little meals they say. often. otherwise you will throw up. try to exercise. but if i move suddenly, i might throw up. yoga. yes. how i wish i could. but i cannot even imagine it at this point. time for a preggie pop (thanks dear girl as these really do help). the me of a year ago would not believe i know what something called a preggie pop is (and now you do too. you are welcome). this will end soon they say. hmmm. will it? some women have this the whole time. just wait until week 14. just a few days to go my friends. the magical week 14 will soon be upon me.

i appreciate the recommended book that calls this NVP instead of morning sickness which sounds like a cousin to the vapors. NVP = nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. yep. pretty much covers it. i have been feeling better as i have been taking some midwife-approved things that help. but then the nausea is replaced with pretty intense fatigue. and then a day like today sneaks in and it seems like nothing helps.

goodness i sound dramatic. but it was a really wacky moment this morning when i sat on the floor of the bathroom and jon came in with a glass of water and was rubbing my back and said something like, "thank you for carrying the baby bean" and i looked at him and said, "this morning, i haven't once thought about how i am pregnant." pause pause pause. "this is my new normal. i don't even think about the baby." it is like i jump from symptom to symptom...

this feeling like this is the new normal is an odd journey. not complaining exactly. not upset at anyone (and obviously not upset at the baby bean). certainly understand it is worth it as i cannot wait to meet this little soul in a few months. just painting a picture as this new normal is, at times, a tough way to navigate the world right now. at least for me.

and, it is an interesting thing to try to do everything that needs to be done and play all the roles one is expected to play (the roles i expect myself to play). i am doing a pretty good job of being gentle with myself. but when i receive emails from people wondering where i've been lately, all i can do is try to breathe and just know, my new normal is not their new normal. i can't wear all the hats right now. and that has to be enough.

and i know, and i trust, that it is.

november 26

pieces of this day:

in this moment, my wish is that you know you are loved.

many blessings to you and yours.