i want to remember...

july 2023

This is not a photo of @kellymadelife and me laughing so hard I started wheezing. This is not a photo of each of us tearing up as the other shared a story. This is not a photo of frozen cokes or salt and vinegar and dill pickle potato chips alongside classic rock and tree-lined streets. The is is not a photo of the most comfortable bed or the pile of pillows we’d all be lucky to have. This is not a photo of potential suitors or stories about crushes from high school. This is not a photo of the way friendship can hold space for grief and joy and hope. This is not a photo of mushroom risotto or pizza with banana peppers or fig + orange jam with goat cheese. This is a photo of a slice of my dear friend’s everyday world that I will hold close forever and ever amen.

Also, it’s possible Kelly B and I are at the beginning stages of cooking up a retreat in the midwest for next year. Yep. For real. Stay tuned.

still time to join One Move

Hello beautiful soul,

This is the part where I tell you that One Move has come together as one of my favorite ecourses ever. We are diving into so much goodness with this content, and an incredible circle of women is forming. Today we have our first Spreecast, which is going to be set up like a true workshop with Kelly and me as we explore what living the life we imagine for ourselves really means. (And if you can't make the call, it will be recorded so you can experience it when you have time.)

If you've felt the pull to come along, now is the time.

We close registration Wednesday evening. 

Read more right here.

Love and light,

Liz

exploring the longings

I posted the following photo on Instagram a few weeks ago and shared these words:

Post coming soon about how we're trying "rainbow dinners" around here to get her to try new foods. (What you aren't seeing in this photo: 3 huge Uline boxes with shipping supplies, an IKEA candle chandelier with about ten spider webs, bird poop on one of the cushions, weeds taller than EJ, and the face of my daughter as she whines "fine I don't want dessert because I'm NOT trying that plum. I'm only eating corn and strawberries!")

I wrote all that extra "what you aren't seeing" info because I know that so often when we scroll through Instagram, we see dreamy, filtered photos and start to fill in the blanks of what we think our "friends'" lives must look like. I know this because I do it too.

I've been known to create a whole story by looking at just one photo.

This might have happened for someone reading my "rainbow dinner" post earlier this week, looking at the table filled with colorful bowls and plates and a happy tablecloth.

They might have even had a thought like, "We're lucky if we take the Mac and Cheese out of the microwave container." (I'm writing that example because it's one we live too some days.)

But again, it all comes down to choices. Here are just a few of the choices hiding in the filtered photo above:

• More joy at dinner time: I've gathered quite a few happy bowls and mismatched plates over the years because they always make me smile and can make the simplest dinners full of more joy. Happy straws and flowers on the table more often helps me access this joy too.
• My everyday life is worthy of using the good stuff: I've started using the vintage tablecloths I've been collecting instead of keeping them for the parties I will throw one day or only using them for retreats. I've begun to own that my everyday life is is worthy of "using the good stuff."
• Quieting the self-judgement: We've been sitting on the back porch even though we're sometimes surrounded by boxes of shipping supplies or a few cobwebs or weeds because eating dinner outside makes us happy. And sitting at the table is a habit we are slowly cultivating. It isn't happening every day but I'm trying to record evidence that it does because it helps me soften self-judgement.

Each day, I'm making small but tangible choices toward the life I want. When I'm waiting for things to all come together or for life to get easier or wishing for my habit of stacking instead of putting away to change, I'm not paying attention to the awesome life we are already living, to the moments full of love and joy.

Of course this doesn't mean that every day feels like it's full of rainbows and ease. Quite the opposite actually. It also doesn't mean I'm trying to wish this current life into something else. Nope. Making small moves every day toward the life I want is actually about being in the present and seeing the beauty that is already here.

And I want my daughter to see the ways I live my dreams into reality even in this small house with the weeds growing next to the hosta plants.

Perhaps more importantly, I want to look myself in the eyes each day and know I'm making the choice to open my heart more each day and really live.

Yep.

Today, I invite you to notice what comes up when you're scrolling through Instagram (or other social media). Do you find yourself feeling longings inside to step inside the photos you see? (And if you notice judgement coming up, look closer to see if a longing is actually inside that judgement.)

Then, take some time to listen to those longings and what they have to teach you. Do you want to travel more? Cuddle more? Read more? Do you want to make more space for writing or adventures or rest?

Think about what moves you could make toward those longings.

One Move

Imagine a girl dreaming of happy colors, long walks, more laughter.
Imagine a girl remembering how she used to sew, sketch, and daydream about writing a book.
Imagine a girl trusting that she can live the life she wants even though the twists and turns have brought her to some unexpected places.
Imagine a girl choosing to make one move toward this dream, this life every day.

Come along with the girls of Chickadee Road and reconnect with that girl inside you as you make One Move each day toward the life you imagine for yourself.

In “One Move,” Kelly Barton and I will lead you in a two-week adventure of reconnecting with that inquisitive, wise girl inside you as you name the life you want and discover and begin practicing one move each day toward that life.

In Week 1, we'll dive into naming and claiming the life you've imagined and open up toward living it. 

In Week 2, we'll begin to practice making one small but significant move each day toward that life. We will also look at ways to continue the "One Move" practice after our two-week adventure ends.

Details:

Dates: July 14-25, 2014

What “One Move” includes:

1) Daily emails Monday through Friday that will guide you in connecting with the dreams inside you and the life you imagine. There will be creative prompts to help you discover your "moves," inspiration, and stories from our own experiences.

2) Four Spreecasts: 

• Week 1 will include a 90-minute workshop with Liz and Kelly just like you are with us in the circle at one of our retreats. We will each share stories and guide you through a journaling exercise to help you name the pieces of the life you’ve imagined for yourself.
• Each week will also include an hour long question & answer session, which will also give time for you to share your stories and might even include a guest or two. 
• A follow-up session about a month after the class ends to give you the opportunity to check in, ask questions, share where you are, and so on. (This also gives people who are working through the material a bit more slowly a chance to still participate in a Spreecast and ask questions and share where they are in the process.)

If you are unable to attend the Spreecasts live, they will be recorded and you can watch (and re-watch) them at any time.

3) A private Facebook group where we can connect with one another, share stories, ask questions, check in, and be in community together.

Cost: $75 (Register over on Chickadee Road)

This class is for you:
 

If you’ve felt discouraged as you experience the disconnect between your everyday life and the life you envision for yourself.

You might even have stories like, “When this {big change} happens, I will finally do {insert dream here}.” Or "I thought by the time I was {insert age here}, I would {insert something you always wanted to do but haven't done yet}.

And even though life is good, you feel a longing to make some changes, to come back to center, or to spend some time with the dreams you had when you were younger. You feel a longing to invite in more joy and more light and more space.

The two of us have been there. And this is what we’ve learned: Each day you can make the choice to take one step toward the life you want. And then you can take one more step the next day. Even when you’d rather go back to bed. Even when life takes an unexpected turn. Even when the morning starts with burnt toast. 

Kelly and I would love to have you come along. Head over to Chickadee Road to read more (including an FAQ) and register.

the (real) practice

The following was one of the stories I shared during Week 1 of the Chickadee Road :: Studio Sessions last fall. Throughout the Studio Sessions, Kelly and I give some real glimpses into our own practices because as you know, I believe that it is okay to tell the true stories.

*****

September, 2012

As soon as Kelly and I brainstormed the Studio Sessions and came up with a start date, I began to envision how my first morning of my practice would unfold.

I would get up, get my two-year-old Ellie ready for school, Jon would take her, and then I would change into my yoga clothes and head out to my studio ready to spend about 30 minutes doing yoga. Then I would tuck into the couch and the words would just drip out of me as I would write a morning poem. And it would unfold like this each day because we were creating space for me to reconnect to the yogi within and the poet who longs to write more words each day. Reconnecting to the person I missed when every morning was filled with taking care of a little one with not much time for me.

But then Ellie woke up in such a bad mood. She wouldn't eat. She didn't want to get dressed. She was literally weeping in her bowl of oatmeal. I ended up letting her wear her pajama top to school. She cried. A lot. And then Jon bookended the experience by being in a really bad mood too and losing his patience several times. I kept breathing and focusing on what needed to happen to get them out the door so that Jon wouldn't be late to work.

When they left, I stood in the middle of our suddenly very quiet kitchen thinking that there was no way this exhausted in need of a shower to wake up and some food in her belly mama was going to head straight to her studio for poetry and yoga.

So I made breakfast and then showered and tweaked the day a bit. I let go of my vision and instead just committed to breathing and writing a few words.

When I made it to my studio, I lit a candle and then went to grab my yoga mat. It was no where to be found. Deep breath. I let it go and just got onto the floor into child's pose because my body was longing for it. 

Until I got into child's pose and found myself totally uncomfortable. 

The mind chatter was getting louder, but I pushed myself to treat myself as though I was my own student. Gently reminding my body how to stretch and how to move to get comfortable and reconnect with my breath.

Yes.

I eventually eased into child's pose and stayed there until I began to melt into the carpet.

Yes. This.

Then I chanted and sat in the quiet for a few minutes.

I ended the practice by letting my poet self write a few notes as I drank tea and ate a piece of dark chocolate.

It wasn't ideal. It didn't look like the world of the yoginis and writers I see online (or make up in my own head). But it was my practice. It was what I needed. And it was a beginning. A first day. 

*****

The Studio Sessions begin Monday! Join Kelly Barton and me for the Chickadee Road :: Studio Sessions, a four-week adventure into creative practices with a community of kindred spirits.

The premise of the sessions is that you choose a creative practice, from cooking to art journaling to yoga to writing (the possibilites are endless really). Then each day we send you little "lessons" and stories via email while you also you gather with like-minded souls for support, encouragement, and community.

Throughout the four weeks Kelly and I share glimpses into our studios and practices, a few tools we use each day, and other really good things. There will also be two live video chats (available by recording for those who can't be there) where we'll share stories and answer questions.

We'd love to have you join the incredible group of kindreds already coming along. This is really going to be good!  

Find out more and register here. And feel free to send over any questions. 

chat with the chickadees

Join Kelly and me next Tuesday, July 16 at 6:30 PM PST/9:30 PM EST for a live video chat all about creative practices (what are they and our current practices), self-care, and other good things. We will also share a bit more and answer questions about the Summer Chickadee Road :: Studio Sessions and the Fall Story Excavation Retreat.

We'd love to have you join us for this first of many Chickadee Road Chats! To join in, you'll need a Spreecast account so you can ask questions and connect with the other chickadees who join in (more info here). 

And then on Tuesday evening, join us by clicking right here. Note that just Kelly and I will be on video, so feel free to just come in your pajamas.

Can't wait to chat!!

the chickadee road::studio sessions are back!

While driving home from the Oregon Coast, Kelly and I decided to bring back the Studio Sessions!!

Join us this August for a four-week adventure that will be full of inspiration, connection, peeks into our friendship and our creative worlds, laughter, and a whole lot of love as we support one another in nurturing a creative practice.

Now what does nurturing a creative practice really mean?

Many of us dream of having a week or two or even a whole month where we could travel to a beautiful corner of the world and spend that time creating a new body of work or writing a memoir or actually using the mixed media techniques we’ve learned in the workshops we’ve taken. And then, we’d love to circle in community with other creatives who would say, “How are you doing over there? How did it go?”

This is what the Chickadee Road :: Studio Sessions are about: Creating a virtual space where we can support one another as we take a few minutes or even an hour or two a day to practice and make small moves and big leaps toward the creative dreams that wait within us.

The creative practice you work with will be up to you.

You might want to:

• Journal each day
• Begin a meditation practice
• Tell your story through photography adventures
• Paint, paint, and paint some more
• Draw in your sketchbook four times a week
• Make one small self-care move every day
• Start a blog
• Create an ecourse
• Play with self-portraits
• Have fun with color in your studio/creative corner every day

And each day, Kelly and I will be here to guide you, celebrate you, and inspire you, and your circle of kindreds will be here to catch you as you play and work and find your way.

Details

Dates: August 5-August 31

Where and How: The "lessons" + inspiration will be emailed to you, and we will gather in community in a private Facebook group and in a private Flickr group. 

Four weeks of emails include:

• Videos that take you into our own creative spaces and invite you to be present to self-care and fun
• Lessons about ways to invite in ritual and sacredness to your daily creative practice
• Creativity exercises to support your practice and keep your creative juices flowing
• Writing and photography prompts to keep you grounded
• Stories of our own journeys to reconnect with our creative joy
• Opportunities to share your stories through photos, daily check-ins, and other surprises along the way
• When you sign up, you will also receive an email with information about how to prepare for Studio Sessions, suggestions about how to choose your practice, and other good things
• Note that there won't be emails on Sundays to give you a day to simply catch-up and rest

Supplies needed:
Camera (Camera phone is fine)
Journal or notebook to write in
Simple art supplies that you enjoy working with like markers, colored pencils, crayons, and so on
A Flickr account (optional)
A Facebook account (optional) 

Register:

Registration has begun!

Cost: $69

Questions? Just email us at chickadeeroad @ gmail [dot] com (or through our email form)

Read even more about the course including our FAQ over here.

in this moment: mornings

This month on Chickadee Road, our theme is "In This Moment: Mornings," and we're inviting you to play along by sharing your photos + words that give us a glimpse inside a moment of your November mornings. You can share your photos + words over in our Flickr group. See this post to read a bit more.