July is when we find out which products actually earn their place. Here’s everything we’re reaching for when the heat is real and we’re determined to be outside anyway — plus a few things making the indoor hours better too. July in St. Louis is not subtle. The heat index hits triple digits before noon, … Read more
This month we built a retaining wall. We were both really busy with work. There were dinners with friends, a cardinals game, walks with the dogs, rounds of mini golf, a movie with Tom and Sam, coffee outside before the day started, and a brunch we almost talked ourselves out of. There were nights I … Read more
Looking back, June felt like a month of surviving the day without putting life completely on hold. Work was busy. We built a retaining wall and the garden bed behind it. There were days I came home from work, ate dinner, and went straight to bed. But somewhere in the middle of all that, we … Read more
What surprised me most is that we’re both working on the same module, but almost opposite problems. Tom used to run until he was wiped out. He’d push hard enough that the next couple of days became recovery days. Lately he’s been learning to back off a little, add strength training, and leave enough in … Read more
Five weeks in. We’ve been working through a simple idea: decide what matters, put it on the calendar, and protect it. Simple doesn’t mean easy. Because eventually life pushes back. And that’s when you find out whether your calendar is a plan or a priority. The Difference Between Planning and Protecting Most of us are … Read more
For a long time, I thought life was mostly about its biggest moments. The trips, the accomplishments, the finish lines. I was always looking slightly ahead of wherever I was. This was especially true when I was back in school. Getting through it — just being finished — was never far from my mind. I … Read more
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
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
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 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