Back to Cali / Mighty Summit

I just got back from the Mighty Summit. I think people usually get to go once. But a few days prior to the event this year Maggie asked if I'd like to come again as the photographer. I think it took me about five seconds to book my flight, in large part because of the incredible time I had last year. So many friends I met there, are now an integral, cherished part of my life. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet new women who would no doubt be (and were) equally inspiring. 

I was also excited because it's hosted in Guerneville, which is about 30 minutes from where I grew up. So I got to visit a few best friends from high school too. 

Coming from the Texas summer inferno where everything is dead or dying or on fire, I might have been disproportionately overwhelmed by the abundance of 70 degree beauty. I might have been so overcome that I was willing to risk a car accident to grab a few snapshots from behind the steering wheel. 

Hard to believe this is someone's every day. 

This photo doesn't do an ounce of justice for how beautiful this light was setting over the hills. 

It almost took away from the fact that my phone was dead and I didn't know where I was going. Realizing it too late to buy a charger in the airport, I tried to remember my friend Lisa's address from her text a few hours before. Note: it's not helpful when you only know the street name. I thought I would drive to her road and magic butterflies might emerge from her windows guiding me to her door with trails of glitter. Instead I knocked on three unresponsive doors until I realized I was going to have to wander town hoping for a Radio Shack to jump in my lap.

I even got out of my car at a gas station like it was 1999 to ask if anyone knew where I could find a car charger. That's when the cashier flatly pointed to the rack next to me that was FILLED WITH iPHONE ACCESSORIES. Seriously? That's when you know you're in silicone valley people. That's also when I got back into my car, and while waiting for my phone to charge, looked up and saw this:

Lucky! Car chargers in gas stations and A DIAMOND IN THE PARKING LOT. For real. Fifteen(ish) years ago I was walking out of this grocery store with my mom when she saw something sparkling in the asphalt. Turned out to be a loose half carat antique diamond. I should've purchased a lottery ticket while I was there. 

After charging my phone I made my way back to Lisa's street (again), only to be greeted by possibly the most charming human in the universe. 

I know I have three children and they are adorable, and I know all kids are sweet and amazing, I'm not comparing. I'm just saying that every so often Dakota Fanning or Jonathan Lipnicki comes along to knock you on the floor. Assuming your standing. If you're sitting, maybe they knock you back in your seat, or knock your socks off or the wind out of you. My point is that their precociousness knocks the crap out of you. Which now sounds like a rogue gang that might terrorize Disneyland. This is Stella. She's actually not terrorizing Disneyland. But one day she will be on television, or curing cancer or ruling the northern hemisphere. I spent the night being mesmerized by how much she could relate to adults. It was as if, in her mind, the only thing keeping her from letting us in on all the secrets of the universe were a few vocabulary words. 

The next morning I was on a mission to SEE EVERYONE AND EVERY PLACE THAT HAD EVER MATTERED TO ME IN THE SPACE OF HALF A DAY. I had a delightful breakfast with Lisa, pictured below with Stella Bella.

Then mid-morning coffee with Melissa and her girls, who let us talk for a few hours without even getting fussy. I've written about how much I love her before. It's always great to catch up in person. And I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season.

Crappy photo of the lovely proof that is fall upon us:

Had lunch with Vicki and Rochelle (two more HS friends). And it made me think about this weirdly awesome (albeit sometimes scary) facebook and twitter world, where even if you don't see someone for years, you pick up by talking about current events. No one needs to ask how many kids you have, where you're working, or what you've been up to all these years. We start with what we did yesterday. It makes me wonder what it will be like to be old in this world of easy connecting.  

To celebrate we took the obligatory, overly-processed, mounted-on-ceiling iphone pics of ourselves. ...You know, so we could post them on facebook.

Me and Melissa.

Rochelle, Me, Vicki.

You can check out the the photos from Mighty Summit on our flickr stream.   

Mighty Summit

I have a bad habit of ignoring things in proportion to how much they mean to me. I think it has to do with the disease of perfectionism. If you send me a benign email that can be answered in one word, you'll probably get an immediate response. If you send me a beautiful heart-warming message I'll say to myself, "Oh wow, this is so lovely. I'm going to have to wait until I can send back the PERFECT, most well-thought-out response in the history of mankind". Translation: It will sit in my inbox for so long that responding feels asinine. And as a result, the people who mean the most to me become neglected. Boo. Right? I think I need to order Brene's book asap.

Because the same thing goes for blogging. I've had some of the most life-changing experiences over this past summer, yet I've had such a block up when it comes to writing about them. It's like, there's so much I want to say that my mind short-circuits into silence. 

But I'm working on it, starting right now with The Mighty Summit. So let me tell you how it happened. One day, I was reading Maggie's blog about last year's Broad Summit, and she mentioned that this year they were opening it up to applications. Never one to turn down a girl's trip, I immediately applied. And then I forgot about it because I was 99% sure I wouldn't be selected.

*Note* Tara wrote a fantastic post about putting yourself out there "how the 'no' we hear should never come from our own lips." Amen sister! And it turns out that sometimes the answer is yes! Because weeks later, an email appeared saying that I'd be joining these incredible women in the redwoods, to drink wine and roast marshmallows. And by the way it was paid for. DUDES. I'm sure I screamed for five minutes. 

And then I stressed over losing weight (of course). And finding the right outfits to wear (of course). 

And then I got there and realized I'd been stressing for nothing (of course).

This group of women is so remarkable. I adore, and was so inspired by each and every single person there. I know that sounds so shmoozy. But it's just true. I love them. And ever since I've been back, I've been wishing the internet would please just move into my neighborhood already. 

Thank you Maggie, Helen Jane and Laura for creating this incredible experience, for allowing me to be a part of it, and for inspiring so many women to live their lives more courageously. It was a gift. And for anyone who wasn't able to go this time, guess what? I think next year it will be open to anyone!

Okay, now this is the part where I mention that my other bad habit is not taking pictures in proportion to the level of fun that I'm having. I literally forced myself to grab it a few times, so these are just a bunch of random moment snapshots (cleaned up in PS). If you want to see more, you can look through the Zan's flickr set. She photographed the whole weekend, and I was lucky enough to have her as a roommie too. 

 

What's not pictured here (that you'll see in Zan's set) is the highlight of my whole trip when we were in the wine cave. I mean, for one WHO KNEW THERE WAS SUCH THING?! And second, who knew how amazing it could be to talk about your dreams in one, especially with a group of women who was so willing to offer up ways to help you achieve them. It was nothing short of magical. And if you want to read more about it, mostly everyone who was there (aside from me) is a real actual writer. Maggie has a great wrap up with links to their posts here. 

I have to also mention that another (slightly unrelated) highlight for me was driving RIGHT PAST our old house on the way in. It's been seven years since we left, and I feel like I've lived fourteen lifetimes. It felt somewhat serendipitous for a separate event like this to be swinging me right back where I started, like a reminder of how far I've come from the sad, home-sick girl crying on the laundry room floor when we first moved away.  

The little house that used to be painted pink, is now beige and being guarded by a doberman pincher with anger issues. Oh well. It was still a moment. 

Next up, why I've been traveling almost every week since June, plus photos and stories from Paris and England! 

My Life List

Posted here. Have you written one yet? It's fun.

For more on life lists, visit Maggie or Karen, and many more.

Life List Item: Maybe don't photograph a family in SF Chinatown.

Turns out that I've found a way to procrastinate posting my Life List for one more day. In the mean time, go here to read about one of the most fun sessions I've done in a long time. Thank you Maggie, Bryan and Hank!

Also, BlogHer (okay, really it was Stephanie) convinced me to join the masses on Twitter. Want to follow me?

More soon. xo

a painting named desire

I was brushing my teeth when he said, "You're never going to believe what I got for you." I knew it was against his better judgment that he was telling me, but he was about to burst.

My mouth full of toothpaste, "...huh?"

Him grinning, "Yep."

Drooling. "...you got me something? ...why??"

"Because I'm amazing."

And then it began. The part he hates. The Inescapable Questions. He knows they're coming, but the secrets eat him up so much he can't help himself.

Me, smiling. "What is it?"

"I'm not saying, so don't even ask."

"Is it something I can hold? Is it someplace we can go? Would it fit into a kleenex box? Is it something for the house? Will I need a bathing suit? A sweater? It's not a joke right? Because that would be really mean."

"Nope, and you're really going to love it."

"When does it get here? Is it a vegetable or mineral? Does it require a babysitter? Was it over $100?... $1000?"

"Stop ruining every gift I get for you by asking how much it costs."

"But..."

"I'm serious."

"Fine. ...Will it help me check something off my life list?"

"I'm not sure, but you will love it."

Well, unbeknownst to him, it actually DID allow me to check something off my life list.

A week went by and I had actually forgotten about it when Emily burst into my office door. "MOMMY CLOSE YOUR EYES DADDY GOT YOU A PRESENT AND YOU HAVE TO CLOSE YOUR EYES HURRY CLOSE THEM!!"

When I opened, THIS AMAZING BEAUTY was staring back at me. In a million years I would have never guessed that his surprise would have been so well thought out and personal. Because (before you go thinking that we're some kind of dream couple that writes love notes to each other on the mirror) this is just out of character. Nothing against Jason. We're both pretty dreadful at birthdays and special occassions. We know it, we hate it. And that's why he said, "I want this to be the start of changing that." 

And that ordinary day became a very special occasion. Because in addition to him being so thoughtful, I HAVE WANTED THIS PAINTING FOR YEARS.

By now you guys must know that Kal is my favorite artist. I love how you can see the graphic design in her fine art pieces. And I LOVE how she combines words with everything. And when you meet her, it's almost the same dichotomy. She is a total straight shooter, super strong lady who does things her own way. But underneath, there is a deep well full of intuitive insight. Basically, I just love her, and her work. And what Jason didn't know is that it WAS on my life list (which I'll write more about later) to own one of her original paintings. 

Umm, sidenote. How fascinating is that? The fact that I had written it down and a few weeks later there it was hanging up in my office. Once again, there is SO MUCH power in putting stuff out there.

About the painting itself. It comes from one of her collections called "It's All About The Shoes". Each painting is from an actual pair of shoes from real women who had a story to tell about when they were wearing them, or what the shoes meant to them. This pair says "She was moved by desire." And (I found out after it was on my wall) that they were ordered by someone in Canada who wanted them so much she had them shipped to two different friends in Colorado and New York who ultimately traveled to Winnipeg to deliver them to her. Where they came from originally? THAT WOULD BE TEXAS. Um, I think this painting was meant to be mine. :) Thank you Kal for letting her go. She has found a very loving home here! 

And thank you Jason for making such a thoughtful effort to bring us out of our all-work-and-no-play ways!

Love you both! xo