intentional living
What We’re Reaching For When It’s 95 Degrees Outside
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
Nothing Dramatic Happened This Month
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
The June Record: Survival and Saying Yes
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
Running Behind and Doing It Anyway – Building It Live #8
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
Same Practice, Different Results: Building It Live #7
Six weeks ago, Tom and I started working through the Framework. Most days, we sit down and answer three prompts. Ten or fifteen minutes. Sometimes less. At this point, it’s simply part of the week. We usually do it together. Compare notes. Talk about whatever comes up. Sometimes the conversation lasts a few minutes. Sometimes … Read more
When Your Week Stops Cooperating (Building It Live #6)
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
The Life You’re Moving Through Is Already the One You Were Waiting For
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
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
Why Can’t I Start? (Even When I Finally Have Time)
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