the other day, john was at a near point of exhaustion. he’s been working so hard over at the home renovation site and was having one of those days where all the fun had been drained out of the project. he needed to step away, take a break, get some fresh air. and so, i scooped him up for a few hours of rest. we had lunch at one of portland sweetest little italian joints where we could NOT get over how delicious our meals were. that’s where we snapped this photo of me. i’m getting ginormous, by the way. then, we went to another fave portland spot, the home rebuilding center, where you can get lost admidst all the old doors, lighting, architectural salvage, and on an on. hugely inspiring place, it is. and then we fancied ourselves a trip to schoolhouse electric where i was smitten with every piece of lighting in the place. i had no idea. i’m learning so much about all the details that make up our homes…the lighting, the hardware, the moldings, the walls. this is more of an adventure than i ever thought.

at 22 weeks pregnant, i am deliriously grateful to be feeling great. i’m sleeping, i’m eating. i’m naturally waking up around 7:30am which is crazy new for me (early) and i have to say that i like it. i have energy. i’m not so much enjoying the oily skin or the itchy expanding skin or the achy back/hips but overall, i’m doing great. we are still in that phase of disbelief, wondering when it will hit us. it’s almost too much joy to process, but little by little, we are stepping into all of it. this is a heart changer…

i wanted to share some things that have been inspiring me lately:

* while in FL a couple weeks ago, i read Get Lucky by my pal, katherine center. as soon as i finished the book i sent her an email. here’s part of it:

dear katherine,

* do not miss brene’s video. seriously you guys. listen to the whole thing. i’ve written about my experience of watching her videos before. this is another one not to miss…

* speaking of videos, this ted video where simon sinek talks about how buyers/people/etc really want (and respond to) your WHY, not your what. for those of you trying to make a living at your art/craft, watch this video. it’s awesome.

* this video has been making the rounds and i love it. you have to watch the whole thing to get the full story. amazing!

* and whatever you do, do not miss this video of elizabeth gilbert. i am so inspired by her like millions are. in this video she shares so much but i especially related to the part about how we’re all, no matter who we are or what we do or how successful we are, just people who make mistakes and often have no idea what we’re doing. but that we have to be “pioneers of continuing on.” also really love the part where she talks about how we truly are the first generation of women to have access to all that we have access to and how that can be really confusing…LOVE this video.

in other news, and i know i sound like a broken record here, but i am totally, absolutely, completely wrapped up in the journey of my ecourse at the moment which starts on sunday! and after watching the elizabeth gilbert video, i feel so much better about the journey, about the pressure of it all, about doing the best i can, about being enough. i plan on listening to my heart, telling my story, and engaging with yours. it’s going to be great.