dripping with passion

i’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude lately. of course this is because thanksgiving is coming right up, but also just because i have been searching for solutions for certain challenges in my life, and thankfulness seems to keep arising as the answer. and so, when i find myself starting to feel worried or comparing or blue, i am trying to thank god more, show more appreciation to ian, and just cultivate more gratitude in my heart … because wow!! i have so much to be thankful for.  today i was walking with moses down the broad avenue that cuts through kensington gardens, and the world around us was glowing with autumn gold. and i just had one of those moments where i felt so overwhelmingly grateful for the beautiful life that i lead. i wrote ian an email at work and thanked him for helping so many of my dreams come true, and for giving me a family and a home that i adore, and in my heart i poured out thanks to god for all the joys and challenges and wonders of my day-to-day life. d...

i have a pretty obsessive personality. there are some things that i have a lifetime obsession with, and then there are obsessions that come and go during different seasons and chapters of life. some discoveries are just so awesome! here’s a few things i’ve really, really been loving lately: one. the royal courts of justice – an insanely beautiful london building that i feel is often overlooked! my friend julia and i met up there the other day to explore. we couldn’t take pictures inside, but woah, the interior is stunning (in addition to the sublime exterior, of course)! we got to sit in on a court case and watch the lawyers do their thing – with their traditional robes and wigs on! two. these workout pants i got from the gap the other week. i bought two different colours because i liked them so much. i just think they are so fun with their “chameleon” effect. when i fell running in prague, my first concern was obviously the baby in my womb, and my second was ripping my legg...

on one of my morning runs this week,  as i crossed over the thames on the golden jubilee bridge, i had one of those life-is-so-beautiful-i-can’t-even-stand-it moments. i could hardly catch my breath. i was so full of gratitude and joy. every electron in my body felt alive and invigorated by this city, and by my mortality, as it is right now . the past six weeks have been full of transition that has been difficult in many different ways. but the mixture of that challenging stuff with so much good stuff has yielded something really, really beautiful. i have grown. i have realized (not for the first time!) that i can be a total baby, i have been humbled, i have summoned strength, and i have found beauty in life’s moments. life is such a wild, awesome ride. i am grateful for this specific time in my life. and to celebrate it, i wanted to share a few random things that are making me happy here in london. 1. new “regular” foods. after so much traveling from place to place the pa...

life is wild! there's so much buzzing around in my head - work is crazy busy, wedding planning includes so many trillions of details it seems (and the lessons i mentioned earlier aren't learned all at once!), the boy and i are headed to utah this weekend, and i am moving into our new place on tuesday. i am finding a center in the middle of this swirling, and i am really happy. here's some things i'm loving lately: -chocolate drizzled coconut luna bars. i'm kind of obsessed. -bodypump classes. i am determined to be in the best shape of my life for our wedding, and i am feeling strong. can i just share some self-pride for one second and say that i have been doing ten minute planks at the gym? yes - ten straight minutes of planking (switching to side planks at different intervals). -etsy. so many pretty things that are just what i want for the wedding. -almonds and raisins. i've been mixing raw almonds with the jumbo mixed raisins from trader joe's and...

i have been a little bit whiney about a few things in my life lately, which is absolutely ridiculous. it's funny how we can get caught up in the stressful or bothersome details of life and they can be like temporary but strong blinders of how much beauty is totally around us. when i strip everything away, i am deeply, immensely happy - i feel as if my fondest and richest longings have been fulfilled in a series of miracles. but that doesn't mean the challenges hanging around go away. i love that this culmination of my aches and dreams is still hard in beautiful ways. amidst the stress of complications at work and the complexities of planning a wedding and a new life and hardly sleeping, i've been thinking about the things i really like about my life right now, and decided it was time to make a new list. { here's all my similar lists of the past } 1. i have some super rad coworkers that inspire me. we have lots of new teachers at our schools (we opened our seco...

1. january in palo alto the weather was positively glorious this weekend. on saturday i went on a bike ride with a friend from our neighborhood through the luscious, sun-drenched, tree-lined streets leading to downtown palo alto. we ate lunch outside on a pretty patio – it was just so lovely ! i took a long run along the alpine trail in portola valley that evening at sunset. sunday morning i woke up and hiked in the hills above that same trail, and it was balmy and verdant and so pleasant. not bad at all for the last week in january. 2. running and my body i am training for my second half marathon, which i will run on february 8 in san diego. i am just amazed by and so grateful for my healthy body. like most (all?) women, i often wish my body looked differently in some way or another, but – seriously! – it is magnificent! i love love love the feeling i have after finishing a long run (i don’t always love the feelings before finishing!). 3. following humansofny on instragram i had se...