today, i want to share a few of the things i’ve seen around the web of late that have inspired me, moved me to tears, or just plain intrigued me.

:: love your homepage :: a free e-course from allie of allie creative. allie designed my website and i still love it more than i can say.

:: the apple slice & social media envy :: an exquisite piece on the comparison trap from erin of design for mankind. when i am tired or lonely or overwhelmed or afraid, it’s easy for me to think that a slice of someone else’s life looks better than the life i deep-down know is full + rich + perfect for me. erin’s words landed in my heart like a blessing.

:: use your words :: a reminder that words are valuable from shauna niequist. if you wonder whether you should tell someone that you’re proud of them, that you love them, that you see them, shauna’s piece might just hold your answer.

:: the winter of scrabble :: a poem about connection & heartbreak & wordlessness from mccall erickson.

(wondering about the photo? it’s the lights on a copperdog 150 sled dog team as they raced past me. though you cannot see the dogs themselves, it is my favorite of my photos.)

i have a gratitude journal on my iphone. every night before bed, i write (type) a list of tiny moments of gratitude.

like the sunlight reflected by the stained glass window that reminded me of a rainbow-edged wing.

or the miniature acorns that were hanging on a snow-covered evergreen as if they were nature’s own christmas ornaments.

or my first (and so far, only) latte art heart.

or the snowflake trail i found in one of my photos after an afternoon spent watching fat fluffy snowflakes fall to the ground while atlas tried to follow the scent of a rabbit.

i like the act of collecting these moments.

they remind me that a simple life can be full + rich + wondrous. even when my mind tries to convince me otherwise.

my little savannah is here for a visit. needless to say, i am preoccupied with bubbles and watercolor paints and snowballs.

(she is constantly giving atlas hugs. he tolerates them nicely. i, of course, think it’s pretty much the most adorable thing ever, since savannah and atlas are two of my favorite things. today, she wanted to comb his hair and put clips in it, but i explained that his short hair would make it almost impossible.)

but oh, have i been finding the goodness on the web these days.

i thought i would share some of my findings with you.

• a miniature magical world of snails from ukranian nature photographer vyacheslav mishchenko.
• a lyrical + beautiful + sad piece by natalie diaz on love and the mojave language.
• a food blog, local milk, with what is quite possibly the most gorgeous food photography i’ve ever seen. (like this red velvet beet cake. seriously. the photos are the very definition of sensual.)
• a courageous + vulnerable piece by melody ross on showing up, just as you are.
• and for lovers of myth & legend, there is this: gods for the modern age.

last weekend, i decided i needed more fun in my life.

even after a conversation with a friend, i was a little confused on how to go about it.

just then, savannah walked in.

so today, i am wishing you moments of laugh-out-loud delight.

because children are so good at reminding me of both the ease and the importance of it.

the other day, i read an article in the paper about the effects of a long hard winter. it made me think about our elderly relatives who are often isolated and alone, especially in winter.

if you have some, near or far, consider a phone call or a card. i promise you, it will be a greater blessing than you can imagine.

if you are not a person who mails things, but you want them to get something lovely in the mail, i can help.

are they a mailer-of-things? what about a gift-wrapped set of blank cards?

do they like stories? what about a subscription to the story club? i am happy to send the stories via the mail.

do they like dogs? what about a series of postcards from atlas?

do they just need love? what about a love note, anonymous or otherwise, or a reminder that spring will come.

i can also create something special just for them.

why me?

i love real mail. i love the possibility it holds for surprise + delight + connection + love.

i am good at real mail. i am never happier than when i am popping a stack of letters + cards + postcards into the mailbox to wing their way toward people i love.

that’s why so many of my offerings involve the mail.

really want to pop something in the mail yourself, but you just don’t know what to say?

i am writing a list of ideas just for you. it will be finished soon. {edit to say: here is the list! enjoy.}

“Dance when you’re broken open.
Dance when you’ve torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance when you’re perfectly free.
Struck, the dancer hears a tambourine inside her, like a wave that crests into foam at the very top, Begins.
Maybe you don’t hear that tambourine, or the tree leaves clapping time.
Close the ears on your head, that listen mostly to lies and cynical jokes.
There are other things to see, and hear. Music. Dance.
A brilliant city inside your soul!”

~ Rumi

if you have photoshop and are in the mood to play,

here are the instructions to create your very own circles.

i should warn you, it’s quite addicting.

and just like that, just because you’re you, the world offers you its heart.

sometimes, life is a spiral.

i have been quiet here.

the truth is that it is not so much an inspired quietude as it is a combination of two things.

first, the words for all of the things that i want to write about are slow in arriving. you would not believe the number of posts that are in draft form.

second, i have been under a strange and new cloud of confusion related to the connection between my art and my life. the result of this is that i am second-guessing almost everything i want to write about. when i do this, i block my own flow, and no words come out at all.

yesterday, i was given a moment of clarity.

what i really want, what would bring me joy, is to be here with you.

i am spending so much time playing with my camera. so much time. i want to be sharing more of these photos with you.

what i really want is to return to the days when i posted pictures almost every day.

and so i am.

if i want to write, i will. if i don’t want to write, i won’t. and i will write about whatever it is that i am inspired to write about.

i feel so free.

today, i do want to share an article with you, in case you like questions to consider.

it’s from the poet david whyte, and it’s about the questions that we should be asking ourselves.

i keep thinking about something he said in the article.

“most people, i believe, are living four or five years behind the curve of their own transformation.”

there is something very compelling about the idea that this might be so.

i wonder: what am i ready to step into, that i don’t recognize because i think it is far out in front of me, when it is really the very next step.

i don’t know. but i am curious to find out.

if you want to ponder one or more of the questions with me, please do. i love thinking about things and then talking about them.

i thought of a brilliant way to combine my love for ice cream, photos, and exploring portland.

it’s an ice cream photo walk!

if you live in portland, and also enjoy those things, mark your calendar for june 30th and join me.

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my latest tv obsession is a show called the pretender. it aired in the mid 90’s, so possibly i am the last person in the world to hear about it. the show stars jarod, a genius with the ability to quickly master any topic and flawlessly impersonate anyone in any profession.

it’s fascinating to watch him go from a fireman to a navy commander to a forest ranger to an exterminator to an attorney, but the thing i find most enjoyable about the show is something entirely different.

jarod’s character is such a beautiful portrayal of childlike curiosity and openness.

whenever he doesn’t know something or understand something, he asks questions. “if the hole is here, why do they call this the donut hole?” “who is the man in the yellow hat?” “why is he called mr. potato head when his whole body is a potato?”

i want to be that open and curious.

i don’t want to stop myself from asking questions because i’m afraid of looking foolish.

::

atlas decided he wanted his very own facebook page. now he can express his opinions 24/7.

speaking of atlas, do go see my magazine feature parody. i giggle every time i think about it.

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this week, i stumbled upon a beautiful post about prayer from jena strong.

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if you ever spy creme fraiche from vermont creamery at the grocery store, you might want to try it, particularly the madagascar vanilla flavor. i discovered it last week and am on my fourth container. it is delicious with fresh strawberries.

::

what is delighting you lately?

For one thing, it hasn’t happened yet.

For another, it doesn’t involve travel.

But it is the story of a fearful adventure.

One of the many ideas that takes up space in my head is a photo series. The working title is “Dear Atlas, I’m sorry I loved William Wegman”. My vision involves a series of photos of people and weimaraners in which the people are beautifully and creatively costumed and the weimaraners are beautifully and simply themselves.

If you’ve been around for a while, you probably know that the idea was inspired by my love for William Wegman’s photos as well as by my dear Atlas and his extreme distaste for anything resembling a costume, like hats or antlers or twinkly lights.

My vision is clear. I know just the right photographer to bring the idea to life. My sense is that the idea itself is fun and creative and clever and has a great deal of potential.

And yet I have not done anything with the idea at all.

I tell myself that I’m not doing anything with it because the time isn’t right, because I have more important things to work on, because I’m not inspired.

In truth, it has nothing to do with any of that.

The real reason I am not working on the idea is fear: I am afraid to be the person I would have to become in order to execute it.

I like ideas that involve just me. This idea does not. I would want to find other people with weimaraners to participate. I would need to crowd-source the money. I would want to ask William Wegman for ideas.

I like ideas that are small and manageable. This idea is not. It involves other people and clever stubborn energetic weimaraners. I don’t know what the end result of my vision should be (a book? prints?) which is something I would need to know in order to decide on funding reward options.

I like being the one behind the camera, not the one in front of it, and I am not particularly fond of costumes.

In order to execute my idea, I would need to grow, to become bigger and better. I would need to become more visible. These are not bad things. But just because something is good for you doesn’t mean it’s not scary.

I am sharing this story of my as-yet-not-taken fearful adventure in order to hold myself accountable.

The idea is in honor of my beloved weimaraner Atlas. He is not getting any younger. I want to take action on it now, even if my actions are small and even if the idea grows and changes along the way.

I also know what can be gained by acting on things that both inspire and scare me. I left a great job to be an artist even though I was absolutely terrified; I still feel a little bit of fear every single day but my world is so much richer because of it. I hiked the Inca trail to Machu Picchu instead of taking the train even though I was absolutely terrified I was going to die of altitude sickness; when I reached Dead Woman’s Pass on the second day, I felt exhilarated, and I knew that I would doubt myself and my capabilities a little less in the future because of it.

Even though I am still afraid, I am ready for this idea to change my world too.

This post is part of the My Fearful Adventure series, which is celebrating the launch of Torre DeRoche’s debut book Love with a Chance of Drowning, a true adventure story about one girl’s leap into the deep end of her fears.

“Wow, what a book. Exciting. Dramatic. Honest. Torre DeRoche is an author to follow.” Australian Associated Press

“… a story about conquering the fears that keep you from living your dreams.” Nomadicmatt.com

“In her debut, DeRoche has penned such a beautiful, thrilling story you’ll have to remind yourself it’s not fiction.” Courier Mail

Find out more…

i thought i would highlight some things that are inspiring me lately, just in case one or more of them speak to you too.

shannon offers a free class + group coaching call every month. she (and it) is always full of smartness, usefulness & laughter.

i found sharon on redbubble this past weekend. she takes the most magically beautiful photos of water & oil drops. i am so in love with them that i feel like i am going to burst with it. today, rainbow rain is my favorite.

somehow, i stumbled across this sweet & loving essay on body image. “it is the stories and the cherishing that make us beautiful. may you catch each falling moment in your hands and kiss it as it goes.”

you need to meet maddie the coonhound. i have apologized to atlas in advance, but i am determined to take my own maddie-inspired photo.

what’s inspiring you lately? anything i should know about?

are these not the most amazingly decorated sugar cookies?!

i got them from decadent creations and they were almost too pretty to eat. don’t worry, i said almost. first, i photographed them. then, i ate them. de-licious.