Thanks to the thoughtful (and hilariously his & her appropriate) travel goodies gifted to B and I last night by our dear friend Jan, I'd say we are officially ready for our next big adventure....ICELAND!
As with all family trips, I tend to keep most bits of our experiences private out of respect for...well... my family. But, I will definitely follow up with at least a handful of fantastic photos, likely starring my favorite subject (hunky man-bunned/thick-bearded Brandon who honestly looks like an Icelandic fisherman at this point). I'm not the greatest photographer, but Iceland is about as magically, gloriously, breath-takingly gorgeous as any corner of the world I've seen (online). So I've got high hopes for the energy in its mystical landscapes. Plus, we'll be on a boat for a lot of this trip, and the water is always so healing. Fingers crossed we see some orcas!! They're not technically "in season" right now, but oh mylanta I would really love to witness them in the wild... It's been a little high-anxiety around here lately, mostly a mixed bag of unexpected life events and frustration with certain current circumstances and perceived lack of progress. I've had to do a ton of self-coaching with my shifting, sensitive soul. This work has been interesting and beneficial, but also tiring. Poor B expressed the extent of his own exhaustion this week, something he's never expressed before, and it just about broke my heart. I'm so fortunate for him continuing to step it up a notch again and again both with working even more hours and with his love for me while I move through this transition. He's helped me water all of my idea-seeds & is the best at weeding the ol' dream garden. Don't get me wrong: we continue to predominantly laugh, play and explore with each other. But the guy seriously deserves a true break, and I am so happy to be spending it with him in a cool new place with people we love. Fresh air, good beers, boat balcony iceberg views, and puffins. I can already feel renewed energies moving through us, and for that I am extremely grateful. For pics in the meantime, head over to Instagram and follow me at @thegratefullifesf :) {Hint: there may be a matching anchor sweater moment in the works....} “Travel brings power and love back into your life.” - Rumi Gosh I hope that is true. In Gratitude, Trish
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“If you take a chance in life, sometimes good things happen, sometimes bad things happen, but honey, if you don’t take a chance, nothing happens.” Last night the mister and I took a drive over to Oakland to dine at a restaurant called Penrose, since they were hosting the first summer "Sunday Supper" to benefit my favorite bay area organization Hack the Hood. Essentially, a number of East Bay restaurants host dinners to raise money for local orgs and give 100% of the proceeds, after costs, to the nonprofit. It's an extremely generous and no-brainer way to bring attention to folks working to better our communities. One of the founders spoke last night to express his passion behind this cause, and I loved what he said about the power in sitting down together as fellow human beings to break bread. And, it just so happens that the Sunday Supper website was built by a Hack the Hood youth! I personally think it looks awesome. So. Kinda funny thing. The food was very fresh and tasty overall (donated ingredients by local farmers!), but we did unintentionally make a bit of a game out of one particular dish. We ordered a salad that had cilantro (not listed in the ingredients, and a nemesis of B's) and beets (listed in the ingredients but something I had planned to avoid) as one of our tapas style bites, and ended up challenging each other to choke down a heaping forkful of each to see who could successfully fight through the taste-pain. "Eat it for charity!!" we fake shouted at one another. I'm not even sure why it's so difficult for me to eat a beet. It isn't so much that I think they taste badly, but there is certainly something about the texture/chunkiness/flavor I can't wrap my head around. B, on the other hand, has one thing to say about wicked cilantro: SOAP. The candid results: Pretty silly :) For the record, I did not immediately reach for my beer like B is doing in the last frame....so like...I feel as though that means I win. Right? If you live in the Bay area I'd love for you to check out both Sunday Suppers AND my friends at Hack the Hood. And if you do not live out this way, still consider getting acquainted with the work they do. There's some potential freelance event planning work for me in HTH, which I am SO excited about and will definitely keep you posted on. love and light, Trish When it comes to writing, I'd say the most repeated piece of advice I continue to get from those who have managed to make a career of the craft is to, simply, write what you know. And while I have not been the best at more regularly posting on TGL, what I know today is worth taking a break from the hustle of starting my own business to acknowledge that my family said goodbye to a longtime loyal and loving friend. A part of me genuinely wanted to be embarrassed about the weepy mess I had collapsed into when I heard the news it was time -- she's a cat, my ego said, pull yourself together. But the other, more knowing, part of my soul let me cry unabashedly into B's shoulder while he sweetly held me close (after bringing home flowers and "cat themed" treats like goldfish, Hello Kitty fruit snacks & a Kit Kat bar...because, truly, he is the best). The knowing part of me let it all out, practicing the art of self baptizing so I could focus more on how lucky I am to have loved her. Sagey moved with me from my childhood home into the first apartment I'd ever shared with a boy, who happened to be my husband at the time. And although I do like to keep certain aspects of my life more private than others, there's no need to sugar coat that this was a difficult time for us. I was deeply depressed and unsettled, to say the very least. So while I don't wish to share much about who I was during that chapter, it feels important to shine a light on who Sage was to me. In the most lost, loneliest time of my life my tiny buddy never left my side. This is no exaggeration -- my ex would regularly comment or laugh at the levels of "obsessed" Sage and I were with one another. She snuggled close to me while I slept, every single night, stretching & molding herself into the funniest big spoon you'd ever see. She'd find a way to sit on my lap at every other hour of the day, too, which was a lot considering I worked from home -- book, computer, plate, laundry be damned -- squeezing her chubby body onto any available space, knowing I could never resist her and would eventually oblige by clearing room for her to become more comfortable. Her sandpaper tongue insisted on daily baths of my nose, hands, arms...whatever inch of my skin was exposed close enough to her face. She would lick anyone she loved until raw, if they let her. And because I am proudly one of "those" people who believe in the profound meaning behind loving an animal, I do not bat an eye in saying I know in my gut she sensed the depths of my sadness during this time; I know in my gut her constant affection and innocent dependence on me kept me waking up every morning with a glimmer of hope and love for my life still alive and dancing. She forgave me for leaving her in NJ to selfishly move to California a year later, something I hope to forgive myself for one day, too. Though I suppose I really have nothing to feel badly about, since she bounced right back into finding inches of lap space on my caring parents, not missing a beat in becoming the well-loved queen of their house once again.
My goodness. It's amazing how such tiny beings, never once uttering a single word but teaching and showing us so much, can wiggle their way into the cracks of our hearts. It's just an incredible gift to love an animal like this, don't you think? Heart expanding work worth every hairball and litter box cleaning, I'd say. She passed peacefully today, our Sage. Thanks to the whole hearted and gentle efforts of my mom and veterinary Uncle, she did not suffer or feel fear. I feel confident this is as it should be, even though I'm really freaking sad. You guys -- I can't believe how freaking sad I am. And I know some folks may have stopped reading a few paragraphs ago, considering this essay is about a cat. But Sagey girl was my little slice of purry, furry joy, and I will miss her. She was f*cking awesome. Love you always, lady lion. Thank you for being a friend. "Intuition is not a single way of knowing. It is our ability to hold space for uncertainty and our willingness to trust the ways we've developed knowledge & insight, including instinct, experience, faith and reason." ...spend a half hour at the Apple Store in your neighborhood with you, secretly putting your websites up on all the demo computers and iPads! Love my college roomie more with each passing year, especially her sense of loyalty and adventure :) Thanks for the support, Ash!
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