backyard giggles

leaning into the "in july, i will..." list

chickadee road happiness

To celebrate the beginning of our blogging adventures over at Chickadee Road, Kelly and I are having a tattoo sale in our shop! 

Details: When you check out, just let us know which second set you would like (you have to use the special "note to seller" section that appears just under your address on the PayPal "Review your information" page - if you forget, just send us an email after you pay and we will take care of it).

And remember to head over to our blog and add it to your reader so you can keep up with our adventures over there!

this is not...

this is not a post about how not being enough is tugging on me today.

this is not a post about how sometimes i think about how small ellie jane's heart was inside her nine-pound body when she had surgery and the way that thought almost pushes me into a ball in the corner but then she will run into the room and laugh and insist on putting on her sparkle shoes so she can run outside and i find my breath again.

this is not a post about how the labels that float across the universe and into my mind feel like leaden balloons that won't let me dance the way my heart and legs long to dance.

this is not a post about how i almost forgot to pay attention because i was so wrapped up in the old story of feeling forgotten.

this is not a post about how i've had two horrible nightmares in the last two weeks that i still can't shake since they seemed so real.

this is not a post about how much i'm looking forward to staying at the ACE hotel in Portland next weekend and how i am slowly realizing i have an entire day to myself on monday with nothing on the agenda until the evening.

this is not a post about how i'm having first day of school jitters about the world domination summit.

this is not a post about how much i can't wait to show you the photographs vivienne took at the your story retreat.

this is not a post about how i might be the only person excited that it hasn't been hot this summer (yet).

this is not a post about how much i love my new haircut.

this is not a post about how much iced tea i plan to drink from my huge starbucks cup this summer.

this is not a post about how sometimes i talk about simple silly things because all i really want to talk about is grief.

this is not a post about how much i wish you would remember. 

this is a post about how important it is to do things together, just the two of us. even if one of us is working on her half of the table. even if we are annoying each other. even if the restaurant is so loud we can't have a conversation. even if i might get more "done" alone. even if he would have rather gone to a movie. yes. this is a post to remind me to create more space for two people who need to see one another.

in july, i will...

backyard book picnic (so far really enjoying how to read a poem)

In July, I will:

Drive around downtown until I find that blue wall and then take out my tripod and take a self-portrait or 30.

Eat a lot of watermelon.

Send a letter or two each week (the kind that needs stamps).

Get outside every single day.

Nap.

Read just for fun in the middle of the day.

Take a deep breath when I feel my assumptions rising to the top.

Picnic (often).

Go to a few movies.

Go on a few dates with Jon.

Hug my dad.

Eat more salads filled with the goodness that is summer veggies.

Wear a headscarf or two.

Learn all the words to Gotye’s “Somebody that I Used to Know” so we can sing it loudly on our next road trip.

Make limeade.

Make ice cream.

Play in a fountain with Ellie.

Keep the inspiration for leaning into summer flowing by adding to a growing Pinterest board of good things.

And you? What do you hope to invite into your world next month?

hand holds

Hand Holds: Practices for Reflective Living with Liz Lamoreux from Jen Lee on Vimeo.

The Gift of This Moment has a trailer! 

Everything about this video makes me so so happy. It was such a joy to be able to share the pieces of this kit with a few of the ladies at the Your Story Retreat. And, I read from my own book of poetry for the first time. Surreal and beautiful. (More on that soon.)

You can purchase this Home Retreat Kit here.

Learn more about the stories behind this new collection of good things in this series of posts.

::home::

So many giggles on the drive home as we sang with Johnny Cash and talked about what might come next.

Tomorrow, she heads back to "middle earth" and the true re-entry begins.

Self-care prescription for the week: Rest, nourishing food, walks along Puget Sound with my family, and remembering to connect with my kindreds when I feel lonely or a bit lost.

And what about you? How are you practicing self-care this week?

inner excavate-along: week 3, chapter 3

Welcome to Week 3 of our Inner Excavate-along adventure! 

I know I'm repeating myself, but I really hope you will head over to the Flickr group to soak up the inspiration and beauty there. I am deeply inspired and moved by the ways IE-along participants have opened themselves up to the prompts in Chapters 1 and 2, and I'm really looking forward to seeing more peeks into your worlds and stories this week.

As I’m getting ready for the next Poem It Out ecourse and surrounding myself with poetry, I feel moved to invite you to dive into poetry this week. I believe that poetry can save lives as it gives us access to the words of others that can become lights along our paths and it helps us unearth the words inside us that most need to be let out into the world.

In today’s video, I share the poem “Summer Story” by Mary Oliver from her book Red Bird. I also talk about the Chapter 3 themes of noticing what we gather and paying attention to what we are drawn to in the world around us, creating altars in our homes that give us visual reminders to re-center, and a few more words about poetry.

This week’s prompt: I am going to explore the poetry prompts in this chapter and write a few poem notes. And I imagine I will take a few "on the ground"-inspired photos because I can't stop myself.

A fun resource for you today: Below you will find a link to a PDF of a word list full of the words shared in the giveaway post a few weeks ago plus a few other words I feel called to right now. You can download this PDF and print it out. Then, you could circle the words that speak to you and work with those words, cut them out and try to incorporate a few into your poem, use the words as writing prompts, or just let them inspire you as you write.

In the video, I also talk about creating an altar and what creating a sacred space can look like. You can see a glimpse of my studio altar on the bookshelf behind me in this video. If you feel moved to create an altar this week, or you have one (or more) already in your home, I invite you to share photos in the Flickr group. And if you have any questions about this, other pieces of Chapter 3, or poetry, please ask away in the comments.

Blessings and light to you today,

Liz

Update: The Inner Excavate-along was a free read-along on my blog in the summer of 2012. All the posts are here on the blog, but I'm not directing a group through it with newsletters etc. at this time. I hope you enjoy following along! Find out more about my book, Inner Excavation: Explore Your Self Through Photography, Poetry and Mixed Media, here.

Word List

here.

here: blue sky, connection, kindreds, so much laughter, silliness, open hearts, stories, cake, photos, poetry, hope, realness, so much laughter, candles for each one, the pushing pulling ocean, listening, sharing, witnessing, just being right here.

(i am so blessed.)