bits and pieces from this week.

 

right now, i can hear the refrigerator, a clock ticking, birds chirp chirp chirping, my somewhat heavy inhales and exhales, my fingers quickly moving across this keyboard.

we are shifting wildly from sun to grey and pouring these days. sometimes within the same five minutes. it feels like indiana because it is like that insistent spring burst of rain that happens in the midwest.

i have a few blogging friends lined up to guest post here while i am experiencing those first few weeks of being a new mom next month. if you might be interested in guest posting, send me an email (just click the email link in the sidebar) and i will let you know the details.

the outtakes from my "reveal" video crack me up. creating that video took so many attempts, partly because i didn't write anything down and found myself rambling when i wanted to be short, sweet, and to the point. i forced myself to relax by just keeping the video going and making funny faces and then breathing before starting again. i highly recommend it (and would love to see your outtakes when you have some).

i am almost done rereading robert fulghum's book From Beginning to End. the rhythm of his writing invites me to take a deep breath and slow down. did you know that he has an online journal of sorts? this post really captivated me when i revisited his website over the weekend.

just discovered this delightful shop. loving katie's journals and prompts and invitation to share your story. yes yes yes.

and a little reminder that i am closing my etsy shop (for a few weeks) sometime next week in anticipation of the little one's arrival. there is still free shipping at the shop (and you can still use the special blog reader savings code from the gratitude post a few posts back to save an additional 15%).

i think these list posts are just easier for me right now as my mind feels a bit scattered with all the little things we are trying to get done. though, i have tried to finish this post about six times in two days, so maybe the lists are even too much at times. but, there is something to this checking in with myself, with you, to see where i am in this moment. and in this moment, i am breathing deeply and trusting. (where are you?)

today {an invitation}

today...

i stood outside, bits of blue above and below, and soaked in the on the cusp of rain scent in the air and found beauty in the unexpected growth that appears when you let go of the to do list.

*****

an invitation: pick up your camera and take a photo that represents today. then, share pieces of this day by finishing this phrasing: today...

then share on your blog or flickr and come back here and tell me all about it.

dare you. 

Announcing: Reveal (The Fall Be Present Retreat)

I am so thrilled to announce Reveal: the Fall 2010 Be Present Retreat

We will gather in the Pacific Northwest woods, along Puget Sound on the Key Peninsula (a little over an hour south of Seattle), to experience community, dive into play with photography and words, and give ourselves permission to be present while in a nurturing, meditative environment.

Workshops will include:

Open to Exposure: Revealing the Wonder of Our Inner Lives with Madelyn Mulvaney

Revealing the Heart and Soul (with Words) with Susan Wooldridge

Revealing the Wisdom of the Quiet with Liz Lamoreux

To say that I am excited about Maddie and Susan teaching this fall is a bit of an understatement. The three of us will be working together to integrate this theme of reveal into each day of the retreat.

Maddie will help you to uncover pieces of who you are as you look through your camera lens. She will share her world and invite you to look inward to see who you are through images. In this, workshop you will also learn more about Polaroid photography as Maddie gives you a peek inside her secrets.

Susan will gently push you to find the poet waiting to be revealed inside you while bringing in play and joy to the creative process. You will journey inside to explore ways to claim the stories that brought you to this moment. A poetry workshop with Susan is truly unlike any writing workshop you have attended.

And I am thrilled to share some tools to add to your creative toolbox that will invite you to spend time in the quiet as you sift through where you stand on your path.  Our time together will include guided meditations, time outside in our beautiful surroundings, short yoga practices, and other exercises. 

At all Be Present Retreats, each day will be a balance of time spent in community and workshops with time for exploration, relaxation, and recharging. We will share delicious and nutritious meals, and we will gather and nurture our creative dreams as we learn, play, and spend time simply breathing.

This will be a small, intimate group with about 15 participant spots available. Registration begins Monday, May 17. I hope you will join us...

To find out all the details visit: Reveal: A Be Present Retreat

Blessings,

Liz

the thoughts, thoughts, thoughts

 

just shy of 36 weeks, about 10 days ago . photo by Jon

oh the monkey mind with its active, neverending jumping from one branch to another combined with pregnancy brain...quite the combination...just a few of the things my brain has sifted through today:

this might be the last day that i spend more than 15 hours on my four jobs (editor, author, etsy shop girl, retreat organizer) for months.

when is the nesting going to cause me to actually dust the dust i see on this table next to me?

i heart iced tea.

love that my hair is wavy when i take it out of the funny poofy buns i had it in today. i should take a photo. right now. but i don't want to move.

millie is the sweetest. how is she going to react to the adventure/noise/craziness that is to come? (ahh...how am i going to react to it?)

something has to be done with the little room this summer. too crowded. horrible light. it needs a makeover.

a book that i wrote is coming out this year. as in coming to a store near you. (breathe)

i can no longer avoid the fact that i am super duper pregnant. me. and instead of being terrified, i am just really looking forward to meeting her. but i am also mystified that she could decide she wants to show up at anytime. like now or now or........now.

why did you let me cut my own bangs when i was tired over the weekend? i am sweeping them to the side hoping no one notices that they are kinda reminiscent of my fifth-grade handiwork years ago.

how many times can one go to the bathroom in one day?

does anyone else wish that their friends lived closer to them or does everyone else just have friends across the street to visit anytime they want?

it is so quiet today. not one phone call.

thank you notes. gotta get on those.

there are members of my family just waiting to become grandparents. i bet that is a very cool feeling.

i wonder if my mom wishes she could talk to her mom about the grandparent thing.

paul simon. love him.

dancing the baby into my pelvis playlist. gotta finish it. so far: home, proud mary, graceland (the entire album), loreena mckennitt, a few from the chocolat soundtrack...what else?

close your eyes right now baby girl and remember who you are.

i wish you were here.

***

a teeny sneak peek about the fall 2010 be present retreat, reveal, is up. more information to come friday!

loving this anne lamott article kelly rae sent me earlier this week.

and this post of jen lee's spoke right to the guts of who i am.

senses. a lilac tree (before the wind storm).

 {see}

{hear}

{smell}

{taste}

{touch}

{and know}

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

notes for the journey. on a day in may.

 

a little glimpse into a april afternoon with viv (polaroid by viv)

i have been quiet over here. i think it is because i have entered that "whoa, it is getting difficult to get comfortable" stage of things, and resting whenever possible (i.e. not multi-tasking) is where i am trying to dwell. but there is quite a bit to finish in these three weeks before she arrives. we are working on the nursery (but have let go of the need for perfection before she gets here). i am finishing up some more book edits (please let me not be working on them while hanging out in the hospital). i am working on some new pages and other fun things for the be present retreats site, and i am indeed hoping to have the fall retreat information up very soon. and there is that thanks for hanging in there with me (and stopping by to say hello). 

oh and happy mother's day! my sweet husband baked me a cake yesterday to celebrate my first mother's day, but alas there was an accident in the kitchen that created little shards of glass everywhere last evening and a few found there way to the top of the cake. always something. i think there is a plan to make another cake today, but really, it is the thought that counts in this case. it is a beautiful thing to be gently pushed to know that i am indeed already a mama...

and the "nesting thing"...hmm...i suppose it is showing up in little bursts now and then. saturday, i made a quilt top (and i am determined to finish it this week) for the little one's room, along with a patchworked "dresser scarf" that makes me smile. i really do love the rhythm of patchwork.

okay, enough babble, here are a few ponderings and wanderings for you to explore and think about in your own quiet moments...

leah's thank you notes are simply fantastic (via susannah).

danielle's new spot in blog world (and her etsy shop) make me smile.

mindy's birds (and other creations) are full of such whimsy, color, and joy.full.ness (this one will be hanging in the little one's room).

jon and i received this brilliant "baby" book by artist nikki mcclure. we hope to fill out a few pages during those early moments of "do you think i really am in labor?" when we are on the cusp of the adventure that is to come...

mary ann's blog, dispatch from la, is a current favorite. i hope to take her remains of the day workshop later this year. such goodness here.

even though insomnia (and not being able to get comfortable in bed) is not my favorite part of this day, there is something really beautiful about being awake when the birds first start singing there song to welcome the sun. yes. beautiful.

lately, when my mind turns to something that currently has me perplexed and more than a bit sad, i have inhaled deeply and felt my feet under me to know that i am grounded and then exhaled with an image of compassion and love finding its way to all the corners that need light. it helps a bit.

nine {with christina rosalie}

Today's Nine interview is with the rock star who is Christina Rosalie. Back in 2006, a group of creative bloggers began working through The Artist's Way together (so many bloggers I still read today were part of that group), and I remember coming across Christina's blog, My Topography, during that time. I recall that I paused and settled in to read into her archives that day knowing I had found a blog of truth and beauty and real-ness. Watching her journey from afar these last few years has been a joy as she shines as an example of someone making her creative dreams a true reality. Her recent project, her book A Field Guide to Now, has invited me to think about the importance of claiming what we want and living it into being. You will want to check this project out and find out more so you too can hold this book in your hands one day soon. 

Sit back and enjoy this glimpse into Christina's world... 

*****

Question 1: Who are you?

  

Question 2: What do you love about where you live?

 

 

Question 3: What might your perfect afternoon look like?

 

 

   

Question 4: If you had an hour alone in your studio/creative space, what would you do? 

 

 

Question 5: Right now, what are some of your favorite things?

 

 

  

Question 6: What foods nourish your soul?

 

 

  

Question 7: When you need to simply take a breath and reground yourself, what do you do?

  

Question 8: How do you nurture your creative dreams?

  

 

 

Question 9: Does your heart have a secret wish you want to share?

 

*****

Christina Rosalie is a writer, a mixed-media artist, and a mother. She has a knack for leaving things on the roof of her car, and a habit of eavesdropping in cafes, and a pocketful of wanderlust. Christina lives at the end of a long dirt road in Vermont with her two boys, her husband, and a flock of chickens. She is currently working on an illustrated collection of essays called A Field Guide To Now ( http://kck.st/aCtHbL) and writing her first novel. Her short fiction and essays have recently appeared in the Sun, Mothering, and the Blue Print Review; her story "If You Fall It Is Your Fault" is  forthcoming in the Los Angeles Review (http://redhen.org/losangelesreview/) this fall. You can find her at  www.mytopography.com.

(all photos copyright Christina Rosalie)

*****

Nine is an interview series with creative folks that began in the Spring of 2009; the interviewees are asked to respond to the interview questions in photographs (or video). You can scroll through all the interviews here.