a sunshine citrus meditation

I'm a big believer in practicing meditation that is a right fit for you. For some people this means getting up every morning and sitting for 15 minutes in the quiet. For others this means watching the sunset at a park near their home. It can mean taking five deep breaths with intention. It could even be singing a song you love or coloring (yes, coloring).

I see meditation as an act of mindfulness that quiets your mind and creates space inside you. And while you're practicing it, you have a deep awareness of your breath as you try to soften your mind, your heart, and be as present as possible in your body. 

(This is the part where I say I deeply appreciate that there are a lot of schools of thought around meditation. This is mine. It is totally okay if you have another way of looking at it.)

I want to start sharing some of my favorite meditations with you - the simple ones I do that recharge me, ground me, and help me support myself.

Today: A Sunshine Citrus Meditation aka the one that gets me through the winter blues

First, you'll need to gather your favorite citrus fruit.

I have a bowl of little cuties here, because they make me so happy. But you only need one piece of fruit. And my favorite favorite way to do this meditation is to stand at the kitchen sink eating a ruby red grapefruit as the juice drips down my chin. I peel it like an orange and dive in. Choose whatever brings you joy.

Second, pause and still your body and mind. 

Stand or sit and notice your body. Let your shoulders drop away from your ears; let your face relax. Begin to notice your breathing. Notice how your chest expands on the inhale. See if you can keep your spine long even as your exhale.

Third, use your senses.

Holding the orange in your hand, use your senses as you get a little curious. How does it feel? Smell? Describe the color to yourself. Just notice all that you can about this little piece of fruit.

Then, begin to peel it and continue to notice what your senses have to tell you. How does the texture change? Can you hear the peel coming off the orange? List everything about this orange in your mind. You might even have some memories coming up. Just notice them and come back to this moment, this orange, this act of peeling.

Fourth, feel the sun.

Feel the sun? Yes! Here's what I mean: As you continue peeling your orange, think about the sun that grew this orange on the tree that was its home. Think about how the sun helped the orange blossoms bloom, how it warmed the tree all the way to its roots. Imagine that sun, that warmth.

Close your eyes and breathe and feel that sun.

(It's okay if this feels a little cheesy. Do. It. Anyway.)

Fifth, take a bite.

As you begin to eat the orange, imagine that this sun is becoming part of you. Warming you from the inside with each bite. The sun that warmed the gorgeous orange outside of this orange to help this fruit come to be is now inside you. It's part of you.

How cool is that?

Sixth, just be right here.

After you finish eating your orange, take a moment to just be. Breathing. Noticing. Finding that small space between your inhalations and exhalations.

Yes.

Just be right here.

*****

You might also be interested in the downloadable (free) guided meditations that I share here.

All photos taken by Vanessa Simpson | Focus in Photography

water your mama soul :: begins in two weeks!

I'm so delighted to announce that I'm running an online "live" course of Water Your Mama Soul. This course is usually only available as a self-paced experience, but I feel called to bring a circle of women together to experience the course in community. We start March 2 and I hope you'll come along. Here's a peek into what this course is all about... 

Dear mama, I want you to imagine:

• That just 10 minutes a day will reconnect you with yourself.
• Accessible self-care practices that remind you to take care of you and fill the well inside you.
• Using your camera to help you see the beautiful, real truths throughout your day.
• Stories that invite you to know you aren't alone in the beautiful, messiness of being a mama.

This is Water Your Mama Soul.
This is the gift you've been wanting someone
to give you since your first baby was born.
(And you are really going to give it to yourself.)

A mama's day is full of so much. Shifting from one role to the next can be rewarding and really hard sometimes. Some days it can leave you feeling exhausted even while you are aware of the joy. In the midst of it all, you can forget about the one person who needs your support most of all: You.

I created this class because I believe 10 days of focused creative self-care for just 10-20 minutes a day will change your life. Mamas have little time for themselves and need to be able to turn to accessible practices to ground themselves in the midst of real life. I'm running this class again live because I believe in the power of a circle of women supporting one another and saying, "I hear you. Me too...me too."

In Water Your Mama Soul, you will use your camera, journaling prompts, and self-care practices to reconnect with yourself. This will be a 10-day journey into self-care, healing, and noticing what you need. You will come away with practices you can use again and again to fill up your own internal well so you can be more present to your loved ones and other things in your life.

I want as many moms as possible to be able to take this class, so I've kept the price lower than my other courses. If you and a few of your friends want to take the class together, I also have a special friends group rate for four or more. Just email me for information.

Details:

Dates: March 2 - 11

Registration for this session is now closed. Water Your Mama Soul will be available again soon. To find out when, send me an email and I'll add send you a note when it's available.

Water Your Mama Soul includes: 

Daily emails filled with:

• A photography prompt (including self-portraits and other good things)
• A writing or self-care prompt
• And a story from my own experience in the mama trenches

Facebook community 

For the entire month of March, we will also gather in an optional Facebook group to share pieces of ourselves and support one another. Here you will be able to connect about your experiences with the soul care work, share photographs, and have space held for you as you need it. I'll be in the group daily during the course to support you and connect.

At the end of this class, you will have:

• A reconnection with yourself and who you are outside of all the roles you play.
• Self-care practices that will nourish you and recharge you whenever you need it.
• Creative practices that will ground you in the present moment and can be used again and again.
• Photography prompts that you will be able to turn to daily.

Supply list:

• A camera (any will be fine from cell phone to DSLR)
• Journal or notebook (a place to catch your writing prompts)
• A pad of sticky notes (3x3 or larger, any color is fine, and paper and tape works too!)
• 20 minutes set aside for you each day during your 10 day experience (For real. You need this time for you in order to really experience the practices and let them recharge you.) 

Register

Cost: $25

Note: Registration is now closed.

To register, just follow the instructions by pressing the "Add to Cart" button above. You will be taken to PayPal's site to pay. Your confirmation email from PayPal confirms your spot in the course. When we get closer the first day of the course, you will receive more information from me, including an invitation to the Facebook group. If you want the class emails sent to an email other than the one you are using with PayPal, please let me know. 

To read more about the course, including an FAQ, head over here.

the file drawer {6}

 

These words have burrowed into my cells. This is how I want to live...deeply embodying the width and the depth. Always. Even when it feels very very hard and I just want to watch bad tv instead.

I'm about half of the way through Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. I read it on the plane while Ellie slept on my lap. And I ugly cried. A lot. It was very cathartic in that way where you feel like you're not alone in seeing the beauty and the grit of life. Yes. And if I'm really honest, it makes me want to start an advice column of sorts one day a week on the blog. Where you ask questions and I answer them. For reals. (If you have a question, send it over and we'll see where, if anywhere, this sentence takes us.)

Vivienne's Be Your Own Beloved ecourse starts tomorrow. It is one of the best courses out there. And I've taken quite a few my friends. If you haven't taken it yet, I really encourage you to. And her post "Your Selfie is Enough" is one of my favorites I've read this month.

The article "Lottery Tickets: Grieving for a Husband" by Elizabeth Alexander is one of the most moving, beautiful pieces of writing I've ever read.

I went into the rabbit hole of youtube this week and came across episodes of Dinner for Five, which was a great show on IFC. I watched this one and found out that JJ Abrahms wrote Regarding Henry, which is one of my favorite movies of all time. If you haven't seen it, it's your homework. I mean, I love it so much, I want to make a movie club and make that our first one. 

I want to figure out how to make this with white lights in my living room. I love it!

This week I wrote about five mindfulness practices you can start doing today and I think you might find something on the list to try this weekend.

So this print makes the Star Wars geek in me giddy.

I want to make this glitter paint with EJ soon.

And the Trust Love chocolate over at Storypeople makes me very very happy.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend dear one. Remember to get outside and breathe in the beauty around you. 

you. are. awesome.

When we were in Walt Disney world last week, I carried a stack of these in my pocket each day. When a cast member (aka someone who works for Disney) was a big help or just made me smile, I gave one to them.

It was so much fun to see their reactions. They aren't allowed to take tips, so a couple tried to hand it back to me not realizing what it was. Watching them read the words and then smile, or even look up in surprise, was pretty incredible for me.

From the cleaning woman who was calling in the power outage in a bathroom in the Animal Kingdom and was calmly and clearly explaining that she wasn't kidding and they needed to deal with it right away to the retired gentleman who works with the boats a few days a week who held the boat so Ellie could run to the bathroom (they needed to hold it anyway to avoid too many at the dock...but still, his kindness was real) to the bus driver who was simply kind to my little family when we were very very tired, so many people made our day better.

I'm going to start carrying these in my pocket every day because the truth is so many of us out in the world need to be reminded that we are seen. This is one simple way to do that.

Also thinking about making some that you "You've Got This" because I could have really used one of those on one of our boat trips at nap time when my kid was that kid that has you saying to your kids, "Thank you for not acting like that today."

You can get your own You Are Awesome stickers right here.

oh that mouse

 

We're home from Disney World and I seem to have brought along a cold in my carryon luggage. I have several things I want to share about our trip (including a couple of posts of tips) and I'm going to share more next week. For today, I just want to share this favorite favorite photo.

Ellie was all in when it came to believing in the magic and she hugged Mickey like she'd been waiting to meet him her whole life. It was awesome.

why i create realistic pinterest boards alongside the dreamy ones

So here's the thing about Pinterest (well, one of the things), we pin things we're probably never ever going to cook, bake, create, sew, upcycle, organize, buy, get rid of, read...and how the list goes on.

And that is okay.

Pinterest can be all about dreaming. It can give you clues about what you're drawn to. What you like to look at. What you're interested in. The colors and imagery and even feelings you want more of in your life.

These are good things.

But, it can also be a bit of black hole of "not enoughness."

Yes, the woman with 3.9 million followers on Pinterest just said that out loud.

Because I've been thinking a lot about this "not enoughness" that social media can invite, I'm diving into a series of posts about how I'm using Pinterest for good. About how I use it as a creative, a mama, a business owner, a kind of crafty person, a want to be cook, and as a person who is always wanting to slow down to really notice what brings me joy.

First up: Creating boards that are realistic alongside the dreamy boards.

What I mean: There's something so awesome about just pinning every single recipe that I think I could maybe one day make but really I kind of just want my mom to make the next time she visits (she's a super good cook). All those recipes go on my general "recipe goodness" board. But here's the truth: I honestly rarely look at it. I just never ever want to lose this recipe...or this one...or this one...so on the recipes board they go.

I have a few other more specific food boards like "breakfast" and "lunch and snack ideas." I love the idea of weekend brunch, so every now and then I'll pull up a recipe from the breakfast board and have some fun. I'm also always looking for new lunch and snack ideas for myself (because I work from home) and for Ellie (because hello kids are picky sometimes). There's also holiday recipes, a crock pot board, one for soup, and one for pizzas. Oh and of course one for sweet things that I might one day make but probably not but please someone show up one day soon with this.

I look at these boards every now and then, but mostly I just want to hold onto those recipes.

And then I have this one: Let's Make Dinner (for reals). This is the board where I pin actual meals I might actually have the ingredients for that my family will actually eat (even if Ellie will eat a desconstructed version of whatever it is). 

This board takes off all the pressure. I can open it on a Saturday afternoon during Ellie's nap time and plan some meals for the next week and make a grocery list and get to it. Or I can pull it up at 2:00 in the afternoon before I pick her up from school and then we can quickly stop to get the ingredients I don't have on the way home, then make dinner together.

Making things as simple as possible is the point.

I do the same thing with my two DIY boards.

One is called The File Drawer and it is filled with DIYs (and some crafty or sewing tips) that I might do one day. Or they inspire me to think about things I might want to make. I think of it like a place to hold the things I see that I don't want to forget. Like a true inspiration board.

The other is called Things I Want to Make, and it's filled with projects I would like to try for real. Meaning they fit one of these criteria for me:

• I have the supplies on hand
• I could finish them in an afternoon
• They would be perfect for retreat decorations or for making at a retreat
• They would make a fun Pinned it. Did it. post
• Ellie would love it
• I just really want to try it

I also have a board called Creative Fun with EJ, which is full of actual projects we could do together (as opposed to projects I might never feel confident doing...more on this in another post), and another called For Retreating that includes DIYs and inspiration for the retreats I host.

One more example is the way I pin clothes. 

I have a board called layers and ruffles and other good things full of images that just make me happy. I love wearing my clothes layered, so these images give me ideas or they simply make me swoon. I just created an Outfit Inspiration board too for clothes that don't necessarily have this ruffly look but have the look I'm drawn to.

I also have a board for spring wardrobe inspiration and one for fall/winter wardrobe inspiration. I'm a curvy girl, so this means that a lot of the clothes I see pinned on Pinterest don't come in my size, but I'm still inspired by the look, so I pin these here. Or when I'm curating looks I just like and want to share with my audience, I put them here too.

The board unimaginatively called "For My Closet" is full of clothes that come in my size. This means I really could buy them one day and wear them. It feels important to have a board that reflects clothes that would actually fit me. 

And then I have my "in my curvy closet" board full of clothes and accessories I love, wear, and recommend.

How do you organize your boards? Think about creating a few "realistic" boards and notice how it affects the way you feel on Pinterest. It has freed me to let go of the "not enoughness" and focus more on the beauty. 

If you have questions or topics you'd like to see me cover in this category of "using Pinterest for good," please send me an email and let me know.

society6 current favorites

don't let the muggles get your down print by Raeuberstochter

If you follow me over on Pinterest, you know I love sharing my favorites from Society6. It gives artists an easy to use platform to get their work out in the world on a variety of products and into the hands of their customers within days.

And one of the best things about Society6 is that you can often get a print/piece of art you like on everything from a mug to a clock to a duvet cover to a rug. For real. Here's a glimpse at my favorites this month.

And note that the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission when you purchase something through my links. I'm a big fan of the site, the quality of their items, and how quickly they ship things out, so being an affiliate is an easy choice.

Oh this mug. I just want to drink tea, create stuff, and sleep. Yes. Yes. Yes. There's also a coffee version. Of course.

A YODAling clock. Brilliant.

This black cat just makes me smile. Love it as a tote bag and phone case.

All you need is love (and a panda). This pillow is adorbs.

And a gold glitter phone case...because glitter makes everything better, especially when you don't have to clean it up.

And I love the "Don't let the muggles get your down" print above as a card set. Because you probably have someone in your life who so needs that. (The mug is on my wish list because I think it would make me nod in a "thank you so much for getting me" sort of way some mornings.)

I actually have a small little Society6 shop too. I've been thinking about adding the "you are awesome" and the  "hello beautiful soul" and the "love wins" sticker images to it (or something similar). Kind of want one of those on a mug or even a phone case. Or heck, wouldn't a "you are awesome" shower curtain be the bee's knees?

Do you have a Society6 shop? If you do or you have a favorite shop/artist over there, please share in the comments. I'm always looking for new favorites.

Note Society6 did not sponsor this post, but as mentioned above, links are affiliate.

i'm riding my bike...

A video posted by liz lamoreux (@lizelayne) on Jan 16, 2015 at 4:39pm PST

Ellie is singing, "I'm riding my bike. I'm riding my bike. As fast as I can!"

25 minutes earlier she was trying to throw her bike across the sidewalk because she was so frustrated.

I love watching her grow and stick with something even when it is hard. I also love watching me figure out how to stick with it too when her frustration gets intense.

Growing up together is awesome.