inspiration
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Family photos at Bodega Bay in the fog, August 2011I absolutely loved taking a week offline. We were in Colorado for a family reunion, so there were lots of other computers around and people to look up useful information like the location of public pools in Boulder, where it was in the 90s (which we loved after camping in the 60-degree Bodega Bay fog earlier in the month). I wasn't trying to get away from the practical aspect of the Internet, which certainly is useful. I was trying to get away from the "always-on" nature of the Internet, the need to constantly monitor, respond, update, and communicate, the lure of online entertainment, and how quickly I can go from looking up useful information to mindless website-hopping that cuts into my already limited sleep.I did not turn my computer on for an entire week, definitely a record for me in the last 5 years. I took the week off from my grantwriting work, and I did really feel OFF in a different kind of way than if I had ... more
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Rebecca - - One responseElan, March 2011 I love my computer. I really do. But I've noticed lately how much time I spend on my computer, even when I'm not actually working, how I'm always checking emails, reading blogs, looking at the news. I'm so often distracted by my computer -- by my work, by always needing to be in the know and always responding so fast to everything. You know what I mean, most likely, since you're reading this blog. I've also been noticing how much we are all ... more
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Rebecca - - No responsesBoy plus elephant, April 2011, San Diego ZooI've got my new camera that I'm still learning, and a rediscovered passion for photography to go along with it. As a result, I'm bucking that second-kid trend: I take more photos of both my children now than I took of Elan was he was a baby. Given that, I'm very excited about my friend Andrea's new Superhero Photo online class. She's an amazing photographer and an amazing person. Lots to learn from her. I'm going ... more
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Rebecca - - One responseview over SF Bay from the Lawrence Hall of Science, Elan's new favorite placeHave I ever mentioned that the money-making part of my writing life is freelance grantwriting? I had a few small jobs last year, and I've been working part-time steadily since Emry was born. Even though I don't make much (I'm writing grants for non-profits, after all), my work has been a helpful piece of our ever-evolving employment puzzle this past year. But what I'd really love, of course, is to ... more
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Rebecca - - No responsesIn what is becoming a yearly tradition, in early January, Mikhail & I picked our word for the year: Or two. Okay, three. Words that describe what we want to create for 2011, the possibility we want to live into. Abundance, vitality & faith. I love how the three relate, connect, and influence each other. When I imagine vitality, I can imagine energy propelling me into abundance. When I am confronted by the idea of abundance, I think of the backbone of faith. And I love how the word abundance contains dance inside it, ... more
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Rebecca - - 2 responsesBecause I get hooked, lose all self-control, and - boom! - just like that! - the precious morning Elan-in-preschool hours are gone, and I've got nothing done.Nothing except lose myself completely in a love story. It's nice to see a woman who, after 4 children, still has the hots for her husband so much that she posts a picture of his Wrangler-clad assets in the sidebar of her website.I have the hots for my husband, too. But I'll hold off on the picture, at least for now.In the middle ... more
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Rebecca - - No responsesI'm halfway through my 3-week goal of writing Morning Pages 5 days a week, and I wanted to share my progress. I've done it! I've done my 10 minutes of "brain drain" writing 8 days. It hasn't always been in the morning, and I'm okay with that. Doing morning pages sometime during the day is a habit/practice that reminds me that I'm a writer. It's especially important on the days when that's the only writing I do, and my little guy is clinging to my leg all day.I'm ... more
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Rebecca - - 4 responsesYesterday I spent a lot of time thinking and writing about what kinds of habits or practices I could put in place that will support my vision of myself as a writer. Immediately I thought of Morning Pages, a classic tool for artists of all stripes from Julia Cameron of The Artist's Way. I last did Morning Pages regularly many years ago, when I was living in San Francisco and trying to decide if I wanted to go to a M.F.A. program for creative writing. As soon as ... more
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Rebecca - - One response"The deepest secret is that life is not a process of discovery,but a process of creation. You are not discovering yourself but creating yourself anew. Seek, therefore, not to find out who you are,seek to determine what you want to be”– Neale Donald WalschI'm thinking a lot lately about the idea that I am creating my own life everyday, with every choice I make. This way of looking at things doesn't come that naturally to me. I feel like so much of my life since becoming a mother is ... more
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Rebecca - - No responsesOn my birthday, a few days after the New Year, we went out for dinner with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law. Everyone at the table made a toast at some point in the evening. Mine was To a year of Courage. Courage: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty (Merriam-Webster). Courage means being in action in the face of fear. If you experience no fear, you summon no courage. I think it's interesting that a word we associate with physicality (the image of a knight, ... more
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it’s a boy!We are so thrilled to welcome our baby boy to our family! Emry Isaiah Brams Davis October 22, 2010 7 lbs 15 oz, 20.5 inches Emry is a Welsh name…
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the end of an eraToday my grandfather, Popa Al Alper, passed away. He was 101 and a half. June 2008 Back when he turned 99, many of you sent him postcards in the mail.…
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new story published!New story in print for the first time in a looonnng time I am happy to say that I had a story published in The Stonecoast Review, Issue 8. It’s… -
In DecemberIt is December now, and I notice that for the past several months I have maintained silence here on my blog about how I have continued to deal with the…
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a goalYesterday I spent a lot of time thinking and writing about what kinds of habits or practices I could put in place that will support my vision of myself as…
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All The Rest Is Just Icing30 weeks Warning: this post involves vomit. You might want to put down your sandwich. I might have mentioned before that I am not a puker. I have not vomited…
