over here...

soaking up as much blue sky as i can each day.

making the journal kits for the creative self-care workshop i teach here in tacoma saturday. i had so much fun working on the kits that i made another journal just for me.
(still spots left if you want to join us!)

enjoying this little one's laughter and adventurous spirit. oh how she teaches me with her open eyes and curious nature.

standing tall in my own truth as i push myself to breathe, trust, rest, repeat.

creating several "i am enough" lockets and appreciating that others are on the path to own this truth.

spending time with my altar each day; grateful a few other open-hearted souls are doing the same.

three things

a gathering of sacred things

feeling moved to write in lists...

1) i had such fun talking to jamie as a guest for the Creative Living with Jamie podcast. serious fun. i hope you will hop over to her site to listen to our talk about creative dreams, listening to yourself, and the importance of action. and then explore other podcasts and good things on jamie's site. that girl gets it. yes yes yes. and i am so glad we finally got to connect voice to voice after years of knowing each other in blog world.

2) elliebeana and i are still singing "beauty in the world" several times a day. my girl loves this song. i sang it to her while she was in the hospital and i think wanting to giggle and dance to it was part of the reason she came off the ventilator so early.

3) people are reading Inner Excavation. and telling me about it. and posting a review on amazon. oh. my. goodness. it is a kind of crazy goodness to get emails from people who have visited my blog because they are reading the book. my book. wow. the first batch of books for people who ordered the book from me went out yesterday. the rest should go out later this week/first thing next week (there was some confusion with my publisher but that is all straightened out now). and, you can still order the book from me and receive the free postcard package of additional images from five of the contributors (i am sending these free postcards with orders through the end of the month or until i run out). 

thank you. for ordering the book. for reading it. for telling me your thoughts about it. 

i am so blessed.

this and that

breathing in all of it (for the august break)

a few bits:

thank you for words and emails lately. i truly feel so blessed to be cocooned in so much support. i am happy to report that ellie continues to be doing well. the medicine she takes is working, and she is beginning to smile and coo and reveal a bit more of her personality each day. i wish you could come over for tea to meet her. she really is the bees knees.

we are having more days that feel like summer here. love getting out and soaking up a bit of sun and remembering that there is life outside of our little house.

i am participating in susannah's august break over on flickr. i really love this idea and am looking forward to trying to capture a bit of summer each day. some days i will be sharing the photos here too, but i know i will also be posting some other things in this spot (like [finally!] the cover of my book and some thoughts about the experience writing it, a little video i am working on, a collaboration or two, and a few other things). luckily, susannah is all about no rules (you should join in on the fun too!).

while the little one sleeps or entrances her daddy with her smiles, i have been working on some more jewelry for the shop. i am really loving the longer locket necklaces and the new soul mantra designs and have made a few for myself. a bit like betty in the above photo, i have been inspired to layer them with other soul mantra necklaces and a few others i have (especially my favs from jen, kelly, and the black spot books). new items listed can be found over here. if you are interested in a custom locket, just contact me through an etsy conversation or email (the email page is in the sidebar of this blog).

and here are a few links to things catching my eye:

maya's on the road with ten-line tuesday kickstarter project

viv's tease about her upcoming project

jen lee's poem "held." (each time i read it, i read it aloud. each time i read it, i cry. next week, i am taking it with me to the oregon coast and will add it to my pocket of poems i am collecting for my early morning walks on the beach.) oh and jen's new merch page pretty much = awesome.

really enjoying notes from the edge (a new to me blog)

this delightful blog of mila's daydreams (this link fluttered around twitter last week and made me smile)

playing along at exquisite corpse was all kinds of fun last week (thanks kristen! this project simply rocks.)

teuxdeux.com (thank you jenna...this just might save my sanity)

and since i just ordered this (and this) as my "the book is really done!" gift to myself, i am more than a little excited about dar's photography ecourse.

this day.

oregon blue sky lightness . may 2009
i've been standing in the light today
soaking up the goodness
of love
friendship
truth
understanding
hope
dreams lived into reality
and some other really good things

pushing toward doing and pushing away procrastinating and self-loathing

i so often wanted to stop back here to this place in the last few days
but life
it just captured me
with a project taking longer than i planned
and long talks with jon about the stuff that is important to a partnership
and daydreaming
and major computer drama that turned out to be time consuming but then minor (in the sense that no files were lost)
and a wee bit of life drama
and some really good conversations with friends who listen and challenge and honor me and show me the way when i think i am in the dark (thank you)
and an artist date for two (more on that soon)
and a purchase that has me dancing a jig
and how the list goes on...

but today, after thinking a bit about that wee bit of life drama, i found myself coming back to how much i want to stand in the light. how i have a choice. how i choose to stand in the light.

and i remember. i am so blessed.
i am so very lucky to be living this life.
i am so lucky to understand that standing in the light is where i need to be.

OH!!!! and i want to let you know who won the giveaway! random.org choose the number 10. so stephanie (writer of the tenth comment), you are the winner of the custom apron! contact me (wayward tulip @ gmail dot com) for more info. thank you to all of you for your incredible list of blogs!!! i am having so much fun visiting them...

hope things are beautiful in your corner of the world...

thirty-three. freedom. fabric. (oh and a giveaway because why not)

pausing in kopachuck state park . june 7, 2009

the thirty-three candles have been blown out and i am happily wearing my wedding-day tiara this evening (because what other day can you wear it?) after have a really, really good day.

when the blue sky arrived in the early evening, i took jonny to my new favorite spot over in gig harbor where we walked through the woods and arrived at the water where we sat and watched the sun glisten off the sound. it was nice to just breathe and be for a few moments. we talked about the adventures we hope to take this summer. and i resisted the urge to just kick off my shoes and walk straight into the water and twirl. i knew that the dream of that moment was a bit more beautiful than the actual experience would be. still, it was fun to think about.

*****
i started off this morning enjoying a doughnut (or two) and watching "sunday morning." (oh how i love that show.) this morning, there was a segment about rosie*. one of the girls who participates in her broadway kids program said this, "performing just lets me express everything i've been shutting up all day. coming here. it's like freedom."

and as i nodded while listening, i suddenly had this thought: this is why i have a blog.

because coming here is like freedom.

and in this place and through the connections i have made, i have found my way back to myself.

this is a beautiful realization on this day.

and on this day, i want to say thank you to you reading these words. you have invited me, with your kindness and validation and nodding and extension of friendship, you have invited me to show up as me. you have enabled me to unearth this gift of freedom.

*****
yesterday, i spent the day in the little room. i haven't played with fabric in...sigh...months. and it was so much fun to begin to create a new group of natasha aprons. i sang and danced a bit as i cut fabric and chose pockets and pulled out some trims.

natasha aprons in progress . june 2009

one thing i have learned in the last year is that creating custom orders stresses me out more than i wish i did. (i really do feel so bad about that.) i think it is the deadlines. i really just have a hard time with deadlines for fabric items as i fit in my full-time job and working on the be present retreats and other things and, you know, living.

having said that though, i had this idea last evening: what if i did a giveaway every now and then for a custom fabric creation? i could let go of the very specific timeline this way while still experiencing the fun of focusing on someone while creating something for that person.

which leads me to this: i would love to giveaway a custom natasha (reversible) apron!

past natasha aprons

to enter this giveaway, please leave a comment that shares a link to a blog that is currently inspiring you and briefly explain why you find inspiration there. i would love to visit some new blogs and think it would be fun for anyone who stops by here to invite a bit more inspiration in this way...

and thanks again for just being you out there living in your lives.

big smooches to you,
liz

{update: comments are now closed as the giveaway has ended. thanks for playing alone!!}

*watching the tap dancing (aka time steps) during the segment about rosie made me totally want to start tapping again. i think i am going to find myself some tap shoes and maybe take a class this year. yes, i think i am going to dare myself to do this.