saturday morning looking over the bay.

picturesque west coast

i feel happiest when i follow my heart.
i feel successful.
guided.
strong.
open and transparent.

while life has been awesome, it has been more than just a little crazy.  with traveling, little sleep, sickness, HEFY and 20 [amazing] kids, lots of noise and chaos for the past month, i recognized a need for quiet down time to reconnect.  my heart is my gentle guide in life and if i can't hear what it's saying i will only keep stubbing my toe.

so, after i dropped shawn off at the airport for a business trip i took myself on a little adventure exploring the west coast of san francisco.

there is something healing and powerful to be said about surrounding oneself in nature.

my favorite stop was fort funston.
i sat. thought.  wrote. absorbed.

watched the hangliders fly around and above me.  (pic)

watching them reminded me of when shawn and i did this for his birthday a few years back:

here are a few other stops i made during the day:

i sat on the beaches soaking in the breeze.  listening to the waves.  taking a stroll to land's end.  driving through the incredible neighborhoods near china and baker's beach.  stopping at a cute little market to grab some fruit.

i came home at the end of the day feeling aligned. clear minded.  reconnected.

i can. in peru.

it's funny how you can look at something and think, “oh, i couldn't ever do that.  that is too difficult.  too hard.  i wouldn't know where to start."
it's daunting.
ominous.
scary even.

but then you start.  just one little step at a time. 
some steps are smaller than others.
some steps require you hold onto something. 
some steps require a friend.
in the end you do that hard thing. 
that impossibility becomes possible.

i saw this situation happen when cute abby lost her passport on a plane in peru on our way to Bolivia and i wasn't sure what to do.   i felt this when i was worn out having  had no sleep  

for a few nights  climbing to the top of huayna picchu.

or currently taking on bolivia with 20 teenagers under my care for the next 2 weeks, while i live in a tent in the cold and rain.

but hey with small steps, anything is possible to do.

to become.
to achieve.

wish me luck.

what level are you?

after a killer workout with coach judy and coach brian.  love these people.

we've started going to a cross-fit gym.  

the people are awesome and you leave feeling motivated to be your best and do your best.  the workouts are short and uberly intense.

in fact here's proof of just how intense some of the workouts are:  

not pretty, but you do push yourself to your limit.  unfortunately for shawn that involved the parking lot and his lunch.

at the start of one of the workouts this last week coach brian shared the following with us that has kept me thinking a lot since:  the 5 levels to mastery

gosh, looking at this slapped me in the face.

i see myself frequently living in the comfort zone in areas i shouldn't nor want to be.  whether working out, chasing after my dreams or in everyday living,  i'm often times only doing what it takes to get by.  

but why?  don't i want to be in my best.  don't i want to feel proud that i am at the mastery level?  the level of extraordinary? 

yeah... 

i do,  

but sometimes what it takes to get there is a little daunting for me.

and, more often than not, fear is what stops me from committing and excelling.  

                     fear of looking different.  

                     fear of disappointment.

                     fear of being outside of what's comfortable.  

                     fear of change.

                     fear of seeing how little i might have to give.

                     fear of not excelling as much as everyone else.

it's like, if i don't try, i won't be disappointed, right?

wrong.
i think i'm more disappointed in myself by staying comfortable.

i am committing now.  today.  to start living with an extreme commitment to do the extraordinary.  i'm going to start here:

in my workouts;  push myself from the start and not worry about the end and whether or not i finish or how i look.  give it everything i've got from the beginning.

in my life;  live up to my potential.
forget the fear.
allow myself to dream and commit to chasing after them.
focus on the result i want rather than accepting the fear that's keeping me paralyzed.

where i go from 9 to 5.

so long freedom.
i'm workin' for the man
yep, i gots me a job.
i rill job.


many of you know i was in no rush to get a job.
i mean, why would i be when i was so busy doing things like this...

spending some QT with the greatest friends

hanging out with these two a-dorable boys among my other cute nephews and nieces (just don't have any pics of them. darn!)

 ugh, i love them so much it hurts.  

remodeling my mom's guest room

chillaxin'  

playing:  sports, shopping, cooking, reading, etc.

traveling: utah (several times lucky me :), maui, DC, europe, turkey, greece, Lake Powell

i have been so spoiled this last year.  it was about time that i put that living aside for after hours and weekends.

and embrace... the office.

while an office is not my ideal, i have a pretty awesome set-up.


this is my desk.
and yes, on occasion while i work i get to watch the ellen show and this morning while no one was around i watched the today show.
my morning favorite.
not bad, eh?

also, lucky dog me,
i get to sit on my ball.
i love it.
during lunch i hit a sweet running path just outside or the workout room.
love that too.

this will be me in 6 months:

i'm learning life is not how i planned.
but it's still pretty great.

not just any walk in the park.

i love living where i live now.  don't get me wrong.
there are times, especially on sundays, that i miss my strolls through my old stomping grounds.
i mean, look at that view!  can you blame me?

 i would go in the morning, after work or at sunset.
sometimes by myself.
sundays with shawn.
and frequently with ashley.

the greatest conversations were had here on these walks.

this was one of my favorite buildings we'd walk past.  loved the brick.

the good thing is i never took it for granted.  we'd start walking past the old homes in our little revine over a bridge and along the stream through the park and up the canyon.  with each step i was flooded with gratitude and would count my lucky stars for this time.



there were the horse drawn carriages pulling tourists that would circle our neighborhood.  when our windows were open i could hear the horses feet hitting the pavement.

  

a favorite part of the walk was stopping in memory park to watch the entertaining dogs jump in the water and swim around.  between them and their owners and hearing ashley ewwing and ahhing over each little "puppy" i walked away giggling.

bear with me as i take a walk down memory lane in memory park ;)

• one time during my stroll, with the water level high, i just stood awing at kayakers coming down (pic right above) in that narrow space.
• walking up and around the capitol.  sitting on the steps, overlooking the city from sunset to stars
• walking down the switchbacks from the capitol with ashley.  passing a small group of hispanic kids taking pics for a prom or quincenera.  the photographer saying, "cheese" while ashley yells out "QUESO!"  oh ashley...
• trail running with shawn on the other side of the creek
• ashley and i dreaming up our family camp, golden retrievers, world travels, and life plans 

love this place.
and loved my virtual sunday stroll this morning :)

it's been 4 on the third.

july 3rd, four years ago, shawn and i made "us" a married thing.

in the 4 years we have faced some serious hard battles together.  when i look back i am overwhelmed at the rough road and terrain we've covered.  i can't  believe what we've done and achieved sometimes.   we know how to have fun, how to laugh and live even when life throws you curves.  after four years i look over at shawn and i see a gentle and good man who knows me deeply.  who's love for me is even deeper.

and who is my forever best friend.

thanks shawn gregory.

**i found this little ditty and had to share.
shawn grew up on oldies and knows the words to just about every song.  i quizzed him on a road trip and was not only surprised by his extensive repertoire but was highly entertained in the process.
enjoy.

i looked out the window.

i need curtains for my glass patio door.

this is how it looks currently.
(sorry for the crap pics...but i do love just how much light we get from these windows)

as you can see, you can totally view our storage patio area.  this is one of the reasons i need curtains up more quickly.  also, you can't quite see in the pictures but our neighbors are super close and at night can see straight into our place.  when shawn is gone it totally bothers me because i feel like i'm announcing to the neighborhood that i'm home alone.


these are my two ideas.

West Elm.  love these.  but it's like $80 for just 1 panel.  (but view #2 thought)

i could sew these.  (but view #3 thought)

a couple of my thoughts:

1. i'm diggin the navy blue and white.  
2. i don't want to spend much on these.  (no more than $75)
3. i'd rather not have to make them.

i've search for hours online and am feeling stuck.


the end.

how to escape the heat...

Bridges Beach

made our way down to santa cruz and met up with our friends dave and annie and their cute kiddos.
sunbathing.  great food.  fun conversation.  big waves.  cool breeze.  mmmm :)

lovely day.

**for anyone wanting to take a trip to bridges beach it can be a little crowded.
in order to beat the crazy traffic, we left by 9:20 (which i think is the latest you should leave) and then made our way back after 3pm.  if it's much after 4pm annie advised we'd hit traffic.

prancer-what?

abilities like this don't just come from the womb.  shawn has given many months of study and training from his prancersize guru to be able to move like this...

yoga and a cheeseburger

shawn was a trooper to come with me.  couldn't find anyone else so last minute.

yoga at grace cathedral in san fran (tuesdays @6:15)

• acoustics of the live yoga euphoric music
• light streaming through the stain glass
• colorful ribbons hanging from the ceiling
• cold tile floor
• hundreds of people moving together in complete silence
• soul filled and spiritual connecting

 

the yoga was not quite shawn's scene but we ended on a note that sure made him happy. what's that old saying, "the way to a man's heart is through is stomach"?  true that.

for shawn, it's all in the burger :)

we walked down to pearl's burgers (grass fed beef) and got ourselves some "healthy" (yeah, right) food.  downed that, fries and a milk shake. yeah, not quite the yoga-ish type dinner but the burgers were delish (sadly though they stayed in our guts for the next 3 days) 

such a fun evening but who knew the best part of the evening was to come from walking through the streets of san fran...click here