I recently received the infamous “box of childhood" we all eventually get when our parents clean out and downsize and decide we have reached the age where they should no longer be storing “our stuff.” The box that is chock full of photos, ribbons, and report cards—all those odd yet very tangible reminders of what your life was really like as a kid. I found this reminder of my time as a Girl Scout, which is kinda funny - I do not remember  that fondly , a free spirit from birth I never have liked to be told what to wear , what to do or how to do it . When I saw these pictures and handwritten notes from the troop leader it made me giggle that even then at the age of 10 I was doing my own thing .The  majority of the troop was in knee socks and short sleeve dresses and I am sock less , wearing clogs and a jumper with a turtleneck . I also appreciate the fact that I was getting badges and awarded a ribbon for  getting" second most votes" for the second friendliest girl at the "camporee" ...who knew!Grateful for the reminder that  my free spirit and sense of self  has been firmly intact all these years  and I survived girl scouts by earning full collection of crazy badges. 

A good friend of mine has a unique theory that has always intrigued me. His theory states that what is going on with your car reflects what is going on in your life. It has been fascinating to ponder as car problems present themselves in my life and those of those in my circle. Usually upon closer examination there are typically some clear parallels and usually an AHA or two.

As I look back on the last few weeks and absorb that theory, I am getting clearer on what losing the steering capability in my car (while driving down the road) was telling me. I am now clear that I needed to stop and revaluate the way I am "steering" my life, my priorities, and my laser focus on large, overlapping projects with little playtime and an overwhelming travel schedule. I was forced to literally stop in my tracks and reprioritize my plans, and everything that was previously important became "not so much" almost instantly. I was "steered" into a forced time of no transportation and stillness for several days. In the moment, I was very frustrated, as this was not in line with my plans and not what I needed. With hindsight, I probably wouldn't have recognized the need to stop in any other way.

I am grateful for the jolting reminder that could have been much worse and the opportunity to be reminded of the subtle and not so subtle ways the messages come.

Feeling Big gratitude for the lesson in steering and the now pretty humorous reminder to slow down.

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Happy Father’s Day, dad! Sharing some napkin love to celebrate all the big and little ways you have shown up for me always with a sense of humor, compassion and love . I love and appreciate you!

As I was walking this amazing labyrinth this morning, I was feeling incredibly grateful for living in such a heavenly place and for all the craziness I had to go through to be here. I remembered it is officially "Gratitude Day," which is celebrated annually on September 21st.

The celebration of Gratitude Day allows us to celebrate the broad meaning of gratitude in a variety of ways.

The celebration started in 1965 in Hawaii at an international gathering where it was decided that it would be a good idea to have one day per year to formally express gratitude and appreciation for the many wonderful things to be found in the world.

The benefits of having time in one's life for gratitude, appreciation, and positive reflection have become increasingly apparent. The hope of the founders of Gratitude Day is that by taking time, one day a year, to reflect on the many amazing things we have in our lives, it will positively impact our well-being and make us happier, more content people. Wow, compound that by 365 days, and imagine what might happen.

Wishing a happy gratitude day to all and a gentle reminder to stop, appreciate, and honor what you are grateful for, and of course pass it on with love.

Recently, this adorable fairy house appeared on my morning route. I saw it tucked away in a tree overlooking the bay. It was clearly constructed with great imagination, care, and love. I especially appreciate the popsicle stick grate thoughtfully placed on the carved out window on the up cycled kleenex box. It boasts a charming full bedroom suite complete with bedding and a leaf chair.

So grateful for the being that created this and lovingly placed it here so the fairies could be super comfy and enjoy the view.

Janis Martin, one of the brightest lights on the planet, will be leaving soon to continue her soul’s journey. Last week she posted an invitation to "My Celebration of Life" to feel the love. Janis has been a mentor, teacher, coach, counselor, and all around loving advocate for so many throughout her lifetime. So grateful to be a part of her tribe and surround her in love and for the chance to feel her sparkle one more time.

I was lucky enough to work with Janis as my mentor and coach at a critical point in my life, as I was certain it was impossible to live, survive, and thrive without a big corporate job and all the trappings that come with it.

Janis was and is the voice of loving clarity and possibility, and she is a tremendous teacher in creating a life you love, starting from wherever you are . I am incredibly grateful for the realization that I am living the ideal life now as I defined it in my Janis homework from 8 years ago, which of course I found today.

I am so delighted and honored to have shared the planet with you and feel incredibly lucky to have you in my life. You have touched so many in ways you cannot imagine, and your energy and spirit are so appreciated and will be deeply missed.

I love you Janis, and know you are surrounded in peace, luscious light, and love, with huge smiles, as you continue on to the next phase of this crazy life journey.

I have never cared too much about celebrities or thought of myself as a passionate bird lover. So who knew I would be so excited to meet and hang out with my new favorite star—Morro the brown pelican, Since I moved to the coast, one of my favorite things is to head out in my kayak into the pelicans’ habitat and "lunchroom” as they fly over and feast within yards of me. Morro is featured in the film Pelican Dreams, and his story is fascinating.

Morro suffered a debilitating wing injury in 2009 and was taken in by Willow Tree Wildlife, an amazing wildlife rescue organization lovingly run by people who planned and hoped to rehabilitate Morro and release him back into his ocean world. Morro has a wing disability resulting from an injury and can no longer fly. He now lives in a magical place with a variety of animal friends and seems to be quite happy.

Bill shared with us that when it’s migration season, it shows in his behavior: he perches high on a pole and flaps his wings as if he knows it’s time for his summer vacation and seems happiest with his new life as long as he has fun playmates. We witnessed Morro with his goose girlfriend Lucy; he appears to be quite into her in his quirky male pelican way, and they were pretty sweet to watch. Morro has quite an interesting role in the world now; he is now living his life as an educator and has touched thousands of people. He has starred in a film that has been shown in numerous schools and state parks and helps bring to life the hazards that pelicans face in the wild.

So grateful to spend quality time with a pelican and to get to know Dani and Bill Nicholson. They are not only amazing beings; they care enough about the world to dedicate their lives to lovingly rehabilitating wildlife and addressing issues that impact our environment.

Living in a small, funky coastal town, you never know who you might meet. We have forged some great friendships with complete strangers who have had incredible life journeys. One of our favorites is Dorothy Rooney, a high-energy, super-sparkly soul who has lived 96 years of full-on joy and unimaginable adventures.

Today we were lucky enough to be seated next to her and her amazing partner Liz at breakfast at the local hangout. Lucky for us, Dorothy was decked out in full regalia with her WASP wings and her Congressional Medal of Honor ID badge. They had intended to go to the Memorial Day service at the local cemetery, , unfortunately the dates got mixed up so she didn't get to mingle as she had planned . Dorothy, with her usual enthusiastic smile and twinkle, declared that she was looking for adoration today and had hoped that somebody would notice the hard earned WASP wings pinned to her shirt. Of course, we already had and were thrilled to run into her under such auspicious circumstances. As always, she was beyond inspiring, sharing her life experiences as a pioneering female pilot at the age of 25.

So grateful to have Dorothy and Liz in our universe and to be reminded of all the amazing women that have paved the way with such grace, gusto and relentless courage. Most importantly Dorothy, please know and remember you will always be not only adored for your service but for who you are.

Dorothy, you are a truly inspiring hero and pioneer, and we wish you much adoration and appreciation today and every day.

Driving down Highway 101 along the coast to Santa Barbara has been not only a beautiful very familiar but comforting happy place for me most of my life. I remember mucho fun, water play, and camping as a kid, and chilling at Refugio and El Cap beaches at many different phases of my life.

As I was driving this route on the day after the devastating oil spill, the air was thick with the stench of oil and there was mass chaos in the sky as the pelicans and seagulls were circling in large numbers, clearly confused and impacted.

The sky was filled with helicopters supporting the frantic containment effort in the water below. It is beyond heartbreaking to think about the impact this will have on the environment. The most shocking thing was to see the hazardous materials trucks and containers everywhere and the large force of "helpers” in white suits on this normally spectacular stretch of California coast.

As traffic was slowed by flashing lights, orange cones and emergency vehicles everywhere, the cleanup efforts and wildlife rescue were clearly in full force. I passed mile after mile of teams of Helpers and equipment being dispersed and focused on the brilliant wisdom of Mr. Rogers:

“When I was a boy, I would see scary things. In the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially In times of “disaster" I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers, so many caring people in this world.” —Mr. Fred Rogers

Grateful for the reminder that life as we know it can change in an instant and another huge thank you for the "helpers” that seemingly appear out of nowhere to help restore and repair in tragedies around the globe .

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These are the caring hands and one of the snuggly "grand bunnies" of the amazing Anna Deis . I was lucky enough to stop by the farm on a few occasions, just a few days after they were born. Anna was beyond adorable in her excitement and had clearly put a lot of love and preparation into her role as "grand bunny mother.” Her enthusiasm was delightful and infectious.

I will always remember her this way, which even makes me smile as we grieve for Anna, who was recently taken to heaven. She left tragically and unexpectedly while she was cycling. There is some comfort knowing she was doing something she loved, with someone she really loved, her fiancee Jason.

Today is Anna's wedding day, and she was certain to be a breathtaking bride while marrying the love of her life on a beautiful sunny day on the coast. It is incredibly heartbreaking that this will not come true; the grief felt by her family and a very large tribe is palpable. We miss her glow and her pure delight in living each moment.

The sweetest synchronicity I have found is this very inspiring Facebook post that Anna did a month ago—a lovingly written and perfect message for today. Grateful to you, Anna, for the amazing person you continue to be. for the sweet reminder of the joy found in a box of bunnies and, most importantly, for taking nothing for granted.

One of my favorite people will be celebrating his 93rd birthday tomorrow, and in true style, he will be having his party in the ICU as he recovers from a "bump in the road," which is what he would probably call it.

Emil Dockter is a total bright spot and one of a kind; he radiates joy and continues to be a huge support to my parents and family.

I will always appreciate a fun dive into the conversational waters of chakra healing, Hindu deities, and other random stuff we covered one night while eating great cheese and drinking wine. Emil is a truly inspiring student of life and a believer in the power of soul connection, still writing books, teaching, and creating avenues for authentic communication. We need more people like Emil in the world.

Happy Birthday, Emil! I am so grateful to have you in my life!

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I have always been a softie for lemonade stands and was very happy to discover this one a few doors down while heading out for my morning run. This is Murray and his baby sister Maya, and they were the team behind this pretty amazing lemonade stand that was formed to celebrate the summer solstice last week.

The adorable, enthusiastic, and quite brilliant Murray probably thought he enticed me over with his sweet cry of “free lemonade." Of course I would never pass up a lemonade stand, but he didn't know that. As I was getting money out to leave in the donation pitcher, I was delighted when he sweetly "up-sold" me, sharing that "If you give me all the money you have, you can also have a piece of taffy.” Funny, I started to babble about my sugar intake with a 4-ish year old who promptly pressed a piece into my palm and declared, "If you don't want it now, you can save it for later," as I was happily and clearly dismissed for the next customer.

I was grateful as I walked away with a delicious cup of home-grown lemonade. A great kickoff to the summer and a deeper appreciation for the evolution of lemonade stands.

Thank you, Murray! I just found the taffy in my pocket. You made me smile all over again.

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Father’s Day is here again, and as I sit down to write this, I realize I may know my dad better right now than I have ever known him before. We have always had a strong connection, and our time together as main caregivers for mom’s final journey forever bonded us as a tight team.

This is a recent photo of dad and his friend "Bear” at a celebration we just had for mom in California.

Dad and Bear have been friends since 1957, seem to perfectly intersect at critical points in their lives, and have a crazy shared passion for Nebraska football.

It was pretty sweet watching them together and realizing the history and life events they have been through together, both professionally and personally. I am starting to really appreciate and understand the whole “circle of life” thing. I've spent a lot more quality time with him and know many of his friends now, as well as much more about him as a human. It’s been touching and inspiring to see dad graciously receive love and support from the large circle of good friends he has made throughout his lifetime. He is focused on random acts of kindness these days and helping whoever crosses his path in meaningful ways. I am delighted to witness the scope of his generosity, thoughtfulness, and kindness.

Happy fathers day and thank you for being the model of grace, strength with the perfect scoop of vulnerability, its delightful to know who you are as a person outside of "my dad"• you are a gift to the world and I am grateful to have the opportunity to cheer you on as the next step in your beautiful story unfolds.

It has been a very long week since my mom left for heaven, but only one week. As I finish going through photos for her "life celebration service," I keep coming back to this one. I love this photo and believe it represents their marriage and relationship beautifully.

This photo was taken about 6 weeks into a 7 week intensive naturopathic protocol to treat her very aggressive cancer, which, unknown to us at the time, was rapidly taking over her body. As she grew weaker and needed more support than she wanted, they proved to be an even more amazing team.

I believe the sweetest thing about this photo is she is walking on her own, although weak and a little wobbly, and her dad is holding her up gently by her pants. He is letting her be on her own, yet ready to support her in any way he can, and they did that beautifully for each other for 52 and a half years.

This experience has been a gift wrapped in sandpaper, as I learned more about my parents, my family, and myself during this journey than at any other time in my life.

It was a privilege and delight to support her and them as a couple and I am incredibly grateful that I had these last two months with them.

Happy one week in heaven, mom—we miss you more than you could imagine!

I went home to visit my parents three weeks ago for a seemingly casual visit, there was nothing on the horizon to worry about. As it turned out, I was there when my mom, after not feeling great the previous weekend, went to a routine OR appointment which would prove to be not so routine, and after swift action from an efficient team of ORs and many tests and procedures, less than two days later we were given a stage 4 cancer diagnosis with tumors in the pancreas, liver, and lymph nodes.

Of course, we were all in shock, as mom is known for extreme self-care and is in great shape, and yikes, this is serious news. I extended my visit, and our newly banded and very determined tribe of 3 (my parents and I) began a thorough tour of the Ors offices with little good news about treatment options, total overstimulation of information, and the consistent reminder to move fast on treatment. My brother had also planned to be there over the next week—another crazy coincidence—and we pooled our family strengths, knowledge, and incredibly supportive medical connections to move into action with a sense of humor and grace.

As the information continued to unfold and connect us, we were able to find a great doctor and team at a holistic cancer clinic with a treatment plan and protocol that felt good and right for her. Looking back, it all lined up so quickly and powerfully that there is no doubt now that it should have been any other way.

Mom is now in her second week of an intense and complex treatment that, to greatly simplify, creates conditions in the body that cancer cannot survive and thrive in. A huge part of the success of this protocol comes from nutrition and juicing. I believe this label says it all: “Not for Sissies (Hardcore)” Mom is drinking 4 of these a day, very strong I could barely get down half a bottle. Yes, that label captures not only the taste and strength of this very potent microjuice but also the experience of being diagnosed with cancer, weighing all the options, and moving forward to take responsibility for your healing.

The photo above shows mom on day 5 with a full juice in front of her, an empty one beside it, and a sweet "bring it on" kind of smile. I bet she will not like this photo, but I believe it captures the experience perfectly. I remain inspired and impressed by her gusto, her open mind, and her spirit towards the whole experience; it has shown and taught me a lot.

I am incredibly grateful for all the loving support we have received on this journey and that I was there and able to be a part of what will no doubt prove to be a powerful healing experience for mom and our entire family.

I recently returned from a 5 day silent meditation retreat deep in the back country of beautiful and very serene Ojai, California. Going into silence after a busy year is an annual ritual that brings me peace and clarity to wrap up the past year and jump start the new one. I always gain insight, usually in the most unexpected ways , yet one of the most challenging aspects of meditation for me is to consistently bring a beginner’s mind and childlike wonder each time I sit.

My new year’s day began with the perfect reminder as I was spending some down time hanging out with the eclectic mix of peacocks, geese, roosters, and chickens. They were the sweet noise in our silence on this historical family house and farm we were staying on, based at the entrance to a very secluded park with rugged terrain and great trails.

As I was standing there, a local hiker and his toddler son approached the pen, as this very spirited peacock started doing his peacock thing and got beautifully puffed up, animated, and loud. I found and listened with my delighted beginners mind as the questions started rapid fire and dad calmly explained "when the peacock gets all fancy like that he's trying to impress the girl peacocks" .... dead silence from the boy who continued to stare and try to understand .... dad continues after a few minutes with "kind of like when daddy wants to make mommy really happy he puts on a suit and brings flowers" . The boy seemed to get that easily, with no further questions. Then the peacock turned around, started shaking, stomping, and showed us his other side. Dad quickly and easily explained, "As you can see, this side is beautiful too, like when Daddy is grumpy and wears his sweatpants and Mommy loves him anyway, everybody has other sides, and you can just see his clearly." With that, Dad got no more questions.

In our mutual silence, we were then treated to a great peacock show, and I walked away with a shiny new view not only on peacocks but on the two sides to everything. Grateful to start the year with a beginner’s mind.

I have always been a big fan of parades, and the more "small town creative" the better in my book. The annual Christmas parade in my new world of Los Osos, California, was themed "Christmas Under Construction" this year and made light of a current nuisance we are experiencing, our little slice of coastal heaven is undergoing some serious street surgery for sewer installation, and the construction is creating a bit of chaos everywhere. It seems we have embraced the inconvenience and are celebrating our progress towards completion soon.

I was pretty inspired by the creative use of standard everyday construction icons throughout the parade and thought these two were quite something. Who knew a horse could be turned into a unicorn by a strategically placed traffic cone and another horse decked out in full parade regalia fashioned out of construction vests and dazzling with a construction tape tail bow?

Grateful to be part of a creative community with a well placed sense of humor and a new twist on a holiday parade.

I recently left Portland and moved back to California to follow my heart and live in a small coastal town in an area I have always loved. It has been a big transition in every way, and I am now beginning to realize the magic of simplicity in a new way.

I have been making a conscious effort to be outside hiking somewhere new and amazing for sunset each night and have found many beautiful and totally isolated places along the coast and mountains.

This is now a favorite, a spot next to the Cayucos Pier with nobody around, dolphins playing in the water close to shore, and the special, sweet sound of a young boy practicing an instrument. He is out on the pier, playing his trumpet with his whole heart and soul. He brought his music stand and all; he was pretty good, and the sound of the ocean waves crashing was the perfect background. I will always think of him when I am here now and am grateful for the magic and the music of the moment.

The weekly farmers market is foodie heaven. Portland is a unique adventure, filled with amazing locally grown produce and always interesting people. Recently I had the great pleasure to meet Felicia, a delightful 7-year-old from China who is in Portland for a few months with her family.

Felicia has been busy making soaps and candles by hand and then uses fabric and other scrap materials to package them with her special flair. She declares her products "completely sustainable"” She engaged me in conversation about the proceeds and giving to World Vision while her younger brother played guitar beautifully to draw a crowd and their proud parents looked on from a safe distance.

I was blown away by her passion and spirit and asked her which of her products she would suggest for me, with no hesitation, she told me Felicia's Starry Night Soap had magical powers. I bought the soap and remain convinced it is Felicia who has the magic power, and I am certain she will continue to spread her magic message of giving back in a way only she can.

Always grateful to support free-spirited and soulful entrepreneurs of any age.

One of my favorite things about Oregon is the surprise and delight found in little doses everywhere. I have seen several varieties of bike racks covered in crocheted granny squares, artisan-upholstered bus stops, and many other cool examples of creative expression in unusual places.

This is the most inspiring and original so far: the Japanese maple in the heart "sweater" to protect it from the cold Oregon winter, with its fancy matching slipcovered planter and trashcan, and its neighbor tree decked out in rainbow stripes.

You have to have to stop and appreciate the tremendous effort, the TLC and the soul it took to do this, grateful for the anonymous knitter for the sweet surprise and perfect sense of humor ... after all every tree deserves a heart "sweater"”