cheese dog, Canon Digital Rebel

So it wasn’t the Virgin Mary, but there was a miracle in my salad last night. A fluffy dog in my gorgonzola! Unlike the animals I see in clouds or the faces I see in the cracks of the marble shower, everyone at the dinner party could actually identify and appreciate the adorableness of Cheese Dog. He became the patron saint of our dinner party.

And speaking of dogs, the party was hosted by our dear friend Jane Wattenberg who just came out with the most wonderful book called Never Cry Woof! published by Scholastic Press. Go check it out…

Andrea running at Baker Beach, photo by Sasha, Olympus Epic

I was talking with friends the other day about how certain activities change your body chemistry, how you can jump in water, or simply walk along the ocean and breathe in that air and your body alters with every step. You feel different. Your head clears, your skin glows. You are quite literally a different person than when you started. Putting on the right tunes, getting in your car and screaming (as one of my friends likes to do) or going on a walk can all turn you into a different you.

On the one hand, this is all very basic and intuitive. On the other, we tend to swirl ourselves into a messy head so easily and forget that we have our bodies as our allies and collaborators in climbing out of our heady tangles.

For years I had anxiety attacks that ranged from inconvenient to totally debilitating. I wouldn’t be able to catch a full breath, and of course the harder I tried to breathe, the worse it got. I went to the doctor thinking I had asthma or some other respiratory problem. {He sent me home with no advice.} It took me years (and a xanax one day) to realize that it was anxiety.

When I moved to San Francisco I decided to try yoga, and a mere two weeks into my practice the attacks went away for good. I’ve been practicing now for almost 10 years and probably will never stop. I see it not so much as exercise, but a rearranging of my cells. Like water and food and love, my body seems to need a regular dose of this too.

My friend Sasha said all of this so beautifully, “Often we tie ourselves in knots in our minds. Though frustration comes from the head, often the best way out of it is through the body.”

I have a tendency to try and figure everything out, to try to control my life by processing it all and intellectualizing it. And sometimes that’s appropriate… but I am starting to wonder if a hot shower or a walk around the block or a hit of ocean air could often help even more.

Maybe you need to playfully tackle your dog or sing loudly in your car with the windows rolled up or lay flat on your back on the floor and shout, “I surrender!”

Maybe you just need to dance it off.

Or run until your shorts are all sweaty.

Or sing into your hairbrush for a spell.

My horoscope by Rob Brezsny recently offered up a quote from St. Augustine: “Solvitur ambulando” which is latin for “It is solved by walking.”

the most elegant design of all, Canon Digital Rebel

Each room is unique and created by a different designer at this hotel

Or stay at the Ice Hotel in Sweden and get hitched on ice.

Say yes to this

Loving these playful votives you can design yourself.

This bracelet is on my wish list!

Woodgrain notecards via the fabulous Mighty Goods site.

Rent or buy this movie immediately and fall in love.

My friend Angela from Omondieu makes flower rings that look mysteriously like the real thing…

And the most wonderful quote:

“Don’t ask what the world needs.
Ask what makes you come alive and go do it.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
– Howard Thurman {via Jos}

lovin the san francisco graffiti, Canon Digital Rebel

gimme the goods.

water from the Camera Obscura, Canon Digital Rebel

What part of you is trying to reveal itself?

This was a question that was posed to me yesterday and has me all stirred up. I know that this year has been a passage for me and that I am coming into something brand new. I feel a new self is emerging and the only word I can really think of to describe it is coming into adulthood.

I sense that I am coming into my womanhood, into my strength, and into my power. I am coming into my sexy, my strong, my fierce and my wise.

I am coming into trusting myself.

It’s as if I am still me, but I am being upgraded to a new operating system. Andrea 2.0 or maybe jaguar or tiger!

I suppose we’re doing this all the time, but there are times in our lives when we take big leaps and fill bigger shoes than we ever imagined we could. {I see those shoes for myself and they are some kick-ass hottie boots.}

I remember similar passages from my early twenties: the one where I started taking responsibility for my life and pursued my passion of art, or when I started my business and realized no one was in charge but me.

Do you ever get that feeling that you’re still a 13 year old kid no matter how old you are? Like you are never just the age you are but every age you’ve ever been as well?

What does it mean to be an adult? a woman? a leader?

These are the questions swirling around in my head these days…