::June 2013::

June! For Mema's birthday we created pathways in her backyard. It was days of cutting out grass, hauling grass, shoveling crushed granite, packing granite, hauling stones, laying stones. It was sweat + cold beer on the patio. We all felt so accomplished. I loved seeing Mema's delight throughout the entire process. My little brother Cody came to town to say hi + see you later! He and two of his friends are traveling central and south America right now! I went to VegFest with my Aunt Mary and had the best time. Spent $8 on a green juice. Worth. Every. Penny. I stapled old flight charts to Cliff's office wall. Changed the entire energy of the room in the happiest way.

Went to Dallas for the Gift Show to hang out with friends. Visited my dear friend from college and met her new baby girl for the first time. I ate a ton of collard greens. Kale Yeah stickers went out and images came rolling in! My friend Monet and her husband came over for dinner before moving to Canada. Amazing fried rice. Amazing conversation. Cliff changed direction on his book about The Hinge. We've never laughed so hard. It's true that laughter is healing. I went out on a kindness mission and put happy notes on cars in the gym parking lot. And of course we went swimming. A LOT.

::May 2013::

May oh May it feels like you were a million years ago. When I think of you I just think EPIC. You were filled with so much good, all quality!

We celebrated Mema's birthday and surprised her with news that we'd be putting in backyard pathways around her gardens. I'm not sure I've ever seen her as happy as the day we mapped it all out and the day we broke ground and the the day it was all done!

Renewal Retreat in Austin with Aunt Mary + Kayla was all about healing and forward motion. I was just looking at my journal from that retreat yesterday. I am so grateful for people I met, the laughter + radiate sessions in our bedroom at night. Radiate sessions first started in February in Manzanita OR on retreat with Kelly Rae + friends and I love that they (the people from that weekend + radiate sessions) are a part of my life now.

The anniversary of Cliff's dad's passing came and went quietly. I don't feel him around anymore. I thought of him a lot on Memorial Day. He had some awesome war stories. I mean truly AWEsome.

I attended a weekend IIN conference and filled the inspirational well for my work as a health coach. Sat at my computer all weekend on Live Stream. It was totally worth it.

I flew to Boston to surprise my gf Leigh on her birthday. Just about peed my pants when I saw her release this card the week I was set to fly out. I already had my dressed picked out and the balloons planned. I showed up on her front porch and became an unintentional but totally cool living card. It was a super secret only Molly + Leigh's husband knew. From there I got to surprise all our friends one at a time. SO MUCH LOVE. SO MUCH FUN!

I got my haircut. Then cut my hair some more myself. Cliff started voice over acting classes. We went to Austin for a weekend getaway and saw Flight of the Butterflies in IMAX. Cried it was so beautiful.

I'm really loving doing these updates. Feels like the perfect virtual scrapbook.

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p.s. Talk to you next week! We're headed out on VACA! Long awaited, much anticipated... my first time back to Cali since we moved to Texas! If you care to join us virtually you can follow along on Instagram!  

xo, Lacy

She can fly!

I'm a January baby. Jan 24, Aquarius. I turned 34 this year and one of my gifts was a helicopter flying lesson. About a month ago I finally redeemed that flight! To this point I'd never even been in a helicopter but I've always known I can fly them. It's feels like a memory, like I just need to start learning to remember.

This experience was exhilarating! It was pure meditation from the time I strapped myself in to the moment we landed. All I could think about was the task at hand. That was such a gift. There was no to do list in my head, no awareness of emails to answer, the laundry pile... nothing but me and the controls in my hand. It. was. awesome. I can't wait to do it again!

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Aaand the NEW larger Campaign For Confidence Kale Yeah! stickers have arrived! They are SO cute! Wanna help spread the word? I’m sending out FREE stickers for YOU! I bet you know of a street sign, produce scale, mirror, laptop, etc etc etc that could use a little sprucing! Kale Yeah you do! Get in touch via my contact page with your mailing address and I will send some out to you this week! I promise to keep your address locked in a vault and only used for this one-time mailing!

Post pictures of where you put your Kale Yeah! stickers to Instagram and tag them with @lacylike #campaignforconfidence I’ll put them up here for you to see once we have a little collection!

Thank you so much for reading, for supporting, for being here and for being you!

Love + gratitude for days! Lacy

::March 2013::

The weather was PHENOMENAL all month. I worked outside several days. Truly happy making. I conducted a raw food experiment eating only uncooked fruits + veggies. I attended a weekend conference for work that was so inspiring I gave away free sessions and had such a blast doing it I now offer everyone (new clients) 1 free session! Seriously! We did the color run on a COLD morning and got crazy dirty It was a blast! Mom and I went to pick up our color run packets at REI the day before and ended up standing in line for two hours to get into the REI garage sale which was totally worth it! Scored a pair of Vibram shoes for 30 bucks, a North Face rain coat for $20, sunglasses for Cliff for $5. I got to be a part of a love bomb for a friend. Created two flower arrangements and totally felt like a flower artist! Dad and Jeane hosted an Easter egg hunt on St. Patty's day at their place. Got to see my sweet sis + niece Chloe. Note to self: always wear necklace Chloe can play with + taste. That was a big hit! Cliff and I drove to see bluebonnets in bloom on Easter Sunday.

Color Run!

In the wake of all that happened in Boston yesterday I keep thinking about The Color Run that we did in Houston last month. Mind you, it was no Boston Marathon. It was a 5K blasty blast! The energy of all the people was undeniable, positive, full of fun. Pretty sure grumpy people don't sign up to get color thrown all over them. Hey, but maybe they should! A former coaching client was running in the Boston marathon. I have friends in Boston. I have history in Boston. My thoughts went to all of them, all of it. Everyone I know is safe and sound. I'm so grateful and sending love to Boston and to each and everyone.

::April 2013::

All the sudden it's June and I'm behind on my months in review! How is it that always happens around summer? Summer gets here and the last few months fade into the background? Nothing a quick download of my instagram photos won't fix! I use Instaport to download + save my photos to my desktop. Ok so April...

- Cliff went to Cali. His first time back since we moved to Texas. It was surreal for us both. He got to see friends we miss, eat food we love and spend QT with his mom. I still haven't been back and truth be told if I could go for even a day I would. I'd get my brows waxed with Jenn, get my haircut with Silvia, go to the beach, eat at Tandoori Oven + Aqui and hug about a half dozen friends good and tight!

- We found a baby opossum in our backyard and Cliff helped it get back over the fence to it's mama.

- Co-lead my first webinar on eating raw food with my Aunt! It was electric, exciting and so easy. It just flowed. Mary shared her raw food experiment + tremendous results (weight loss in the double digits). Here's a reCap of my Raw Food experiment if you're interested.

- Aunt Mary and I did a service day and planted trees. Lots and lots of little seedlings got pots to grow up in and when they're ready they will get planted in areas of Texas that have been deforested.

- I drank a lot of smoothies and ate really simply. Baked cabbage became Cliff's favorite, maybe ever.

- I went on a renewal retreat with my sis and aunt. It was healing. Transformative. Inspiring. So many things clicked into place at that retreat... I realized how much love and support I have in my life.

- My gf Monet took me to Sheldon Reserve for a walk + talk. It was just what I needed that day. It's a total find around here. Actual beautiful nature tucked away from it all but so close!

- The first batch of Kale Yeah stickers arrived and I started mailing those babies out into the world! And I put out my  FREE juicing poster for perfect green juice combos every time! If you'd like to help spread the Kale Yeah! message I'm still sending stickers out!

- Went to the Women's expo with Aunt Mary, Mom + Mema. Derrick (my cousin) + Jaymi's house warming later that day. Cutest house ever. It's so perfect for them.

- And last be certainly not least I did my first helicopter ride... officially bitten by the flying bug.

Wow April you were pretty awesome! I love how everywhere we've been leads to where we are. I love tracking back. I love remembering where I was, what I was doing, who I was with. It takes me right back to what I was feeling, what was stirring inside, what I was excited about, worrying about, thinking about and working on.

::February 2013::

We celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary and it was AWESOME! The mini trampoline became a part of our days. We had our first baby potatoes from the garden! They grew up to be part of the most delicious veggie bake ever. We visited the beer can house in Houston with my aunt and uncle and I found a street called Lacy! I traveled to Manzanita, OR for a girls weekend that was so beautiful, so revealing, so inspiring. Ned was super snuggly when I got home. Our green house veggies really started showing off. Our Cali buddies, Tim + Michelle brought their sweet + enormous fur face kid called Murphy (great dane!) over on their way driving across the country. They drove back to Texas from Louisiana enroute to Florida just to see us. Yeah you read that right, they drove hours back the wrong way just to visit us! They took us to dinner at Uchi where I had what can only be described as a religious experience with food. February was a good one. A super good one!

::January 2013::

This was January 2013. In the year of Genuine I felt genuinely grateful this month.  Grateful for connection, for relationships, for the people that fill my life with love.

Truth + Beauty in a photo.

My friend Lizzy is the shutterbug of the group. There's rarely a time when she doesn't have her camera or iPhone in hand or close within reach. When we walk together I can see her gazing off framing shots in her mind. She sees the world through her lens and when I'm on the other end of it I always feel held, seen and loved. This is me. It looks like me. It's everyday life. It's real and honest. We'd just been on a walk, taking photos of our pregnant friend, documenting the magic of her body during this time. This photo was a afterthought, it was me taking off my coat and following on the tails of another friend getting her photo made. It was the Lacy that my parents and family joke about, the one that says 'ok take my picture now.' Lizzy giggled as I stepped up and assumed the position. It's not the first time I've insisted my photo be taken. And it won't be the last :) You can see my hair all freshly cut and blown out. I felt pretty, I think you can see that too. Once a quarter or less I get a haircut and always leave with a blow out. I feel like a different person for a few days. It's always fun.

You can see my crows feet. Those are from my dad. I love his, I love mine.

You can see the crown on my front tooth. I tripped over a rock, fell and knocked out my tooth in a jump rope race in elementary school. The boy I liked pick me and my tooth up. Smart boy. The nurse had me put my tooth under my tongue and the dentist put it back in. Smart nurse. Thinking of it still makes me smile. I had a cast on my two front teeth while it healed and then it was years with a slowly dying and then dead tooth. A major hurdle for a young girl to worry about a yellow tooth. Later I got a veneer. That fell off when I was in college the week I was to meet my sisters serious boyfriend (now her husband and the papa of their first little one, Chloe). I tied the veneer back on with dental floss. It was hilarious, devastating to the ego and completely awesome.

You can see that one eye closes more than the other when I smile. That means I'm sincerely happy. Nothing forced about that smile.

You can see my sun spot on my cheek. Proof of hours spent luxuriating on the beach feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. Some of the moments when I've felt most alive were spent next to the ocean.

I look at this picture and see my beautiful self. I see the little girl who loved having her picture taken and still does as a woman. I see a girl who's happy. Face value, truly happy. I see a woman who's deeply loved and surrounded by beautiful people. This past Thanksgiving week I was given much to be grateful for. I felt loved and supported by old friends and new ones. For a little over a week I got to be in the mix of what's it's like to live in the village where real life happens and people show up for you in a really big way. This was my 4th trip to Boston and it was nothing short of miraculous. Every. Single. Trip. I've ever taken to Boston has been a life changer in the best of ways.

And I'm grateful. Thank you, Leigh for being the champion of good things in my life.  So so many good things. Anytime I think Truth + Beauty I think of you. Thank you, Lizzy for these moments in pictures. Some of my favorite pictures of me you've taken.

Love, always love, Lacy

Status Update

My sister has just had a baby. Her first. A girl. Chloe Emma Mae. And she's perfect. So much so that holding her just brings me to tears. Sheesh typing this now brings me to tears. It's an exciting and confusing time. I've held so many babies but this one is different. This one lived in and came out of my sister. My sister who has taken to motherhood with such grace, patience and calm. And Brian, her husband - oh my gosh this man. His face when Kayla talks about the labor experience (a completely natural birth). He was with her every step. He was in it. He was her rock. And she was amazing. They are amazing.

Putting the layers on our new home is making me deeply happy. Though at times I have to remind myself that it's not a race, there is no deadline and to enjoy the process. I still practice mindfulness around patience which translates to sometimes I am SO IMPATIENT and I want it all done yesterday. We're down to the tedious parts and I see a huge garage sale in our future!

Our garden is done. The first plants are in! We check on them several times a day. It feels like a new puppy. Yeah, it's that exciting.

The galley kitchen is actually working out. We've come up with some great space saving solutions, a pot rack hung upside down to fit the space, hanging the cutting boards, taking the upper cabinet doors off. It's my favorite room in the house so far mostly b/c we use everything in there. It's efficient. It's the nourishment center. There's a lot of love in that little room. And it's been a total team effort. Mom and Mema laying shelf paper. Mom taking off cabinet doors, Cliff hanging the pot rack and me deciding what goes where.

It's regularly 100 degrees or higher and it feels like your face is melting off. Still not used to that one. I am not sure if one ever gets used to it. And the bugs. Lord the bugs.

And that's my world.

All is well.

Life is in progress.

Cliff loves his job. I love my job (sometimes to the point of the ridiculous).

And little Chloe has my heart.