Photo above is a screenshot from my phone of the Headspace app tip. The photo in the background is a shot I took of a sculpture of natural stones Chloe and Alex created when we were on Washington Island in Wisconsin last summer.
What a month it’s been. It’s been a rollercoaster on so many levels. February has always been my hardest month. It’s when Chicago’s winter really grips you and you feel like your heavy winter coat has become a part of your body. February truly depresses me and I’m always happy when I turn the calendar to March because we get to celebrate the first day of spring. Shout out to my awesome friends and family who made this past month bearable. Here’s to longer days and warmer nights and dress weather!
For those who’ve been following my meditation progress, I’m happy to report I’m still practicing daily. Not breaking the chain has been motivating me and it’s crazy how being forced to sit still and just *be* changes my outlook and carries through my entire day. Friends and I have been sharing things or books that have been particularly helpful and one that keeps popping up is Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. I’ve talked about Cameron’s work before since she’s how I learned of the Morning Pages but many people were reminded of her body of work since she was featured in the New York Times earlier this month. I highly recommend reading it if you’ve not yet.
Professionally I gave my very first webinar this month, which was a blast. I continue to write mostly about food as well as architecture, interior and landscape design this month. I have a piece coming out next month in a major national consumer print magazine that I’m excited about so I hope I can share it once it’s published. My clients continue to keep me excited about the work they’re doing around social justice, clean energy and sustainability. I’m so honored to be part of their teams.
Personally, I’m excited to be plotting out my backyard garden and deciding with my family what we’re going to grow this summer. Tomatoes will always be a part of our plan but any recommendations for Zone 5 vegetables and fruits are welcome! I can’t wait to make our annual pilgrimage to Lurvey’s Garden Center and load up the back of our car with plants to add to our garden. Then we’ll hit up our local farmers market to fill in the rest of the gaps. Last year we had amazing results with zucchini but we learned we need to give them space. They crowded our raised bed and didn’t leave any space for our eggplants. We’ve been planting our tomatoes in containers and I think that didn’t give them enough space for their roots so this year we’ll plant them directly in the dirt.
Three more weeks until spring. We got this, right? I’m so ready to put my boots away and get my hands dirty!
What are your plans this spring? How are you holding up this season?