What Surprised Us Most After Three Weeks (Building It Live #5)

Three weeks in. Module 1, Phase 3 — Structure. Days 19–20. Three weeks ago Tom and I sat down at the kitchen table and started the Fully Lived Framework on ourselves. To test it. I’ve been sitting with this material for months — writing it, living adjacent to it, believing in it. But believing in … Read more

What I See Every Shift That Keeps Me Choosing Movement

I keep choosing movement. Because four years in clinical environments showed me specifically what happens when the choosing stops and it scared me. But the habit of choosing started long before the facilities did. It started with Tom’s hips, a cul de sac, and a dog with the zoomies. How It Actually Started For years … Read more

Why Can’t I Start? (Even When I Finally Have Time)

Handwritten journal open on a dining table with a full list across life areas — the starting point for getting unstuck

I had days off and a list. Real plans — things I actually wanted to do. I finally had the time. And I still couldn’t start. Why can’t I start when everything is lined up? That’s the question this long weekend answered for me. The list was there. I was there. And somehow the distance … Read more

The Handcrafted Newsletter – May 2026

The May Record — Handcrafted Adventure Volume 05 · The May Record The May Record:The Month Direction Got Specific May was the month direction got specific. May wasn’t a month about starting over. It was a month about finally getting honest. Honest about the gap between what the calendar shows and what actually matters. Honest … Read more

The Hardest Part Was Being Honest (Building It Live #4)

Three weeks in. Module 1, Phase 3 — Structure. Almost done with week 3. Three weeks ago Tom and I sat down at the kitchen table and started the Fully Lived Framework on ourselves. Not to test it. Not to generate content. Because it was time. We’re three weeks in — we’ll finish week 3 … Read more

We Went Looking for a Hike and Found Something Bigger

We found it the way we find most things now — by googling “hiking near St. Louis” on a Saturday morning when we didn’t quite want to waste the day. Don Robinson State Park came up. Thirty minutes away, free to visit. Neither of us had ever heard of it. By 9:30 we were on … Read more

The Life You’re Postponing Is the Only One You Have

Morning coffee on the porch — the life you're postponing is already this good.

There’s a version of your life you keep meaning to get to. The life you’re postponing isn’t a dramatic one. Not a fantasy. Just the version where you actually do the things you say matter — where you’re present at dinner instead of half-thinking about the week ahead, where Saturday morning doesn’t disappear into logistics, … Read more

How to Find Your Heading (Building It Live #3)

I want to tell you something about the heading exercise that I didn’t expect. I thought it would feel clarifying. Like the moment you finally name something that’s been circling, and suddenly the room gets clearer. That’s the version I had in my head going in — a small revelation, a sentence I’d write down … Read more