Plan-schman


I had great, big ambitions for my Sunday at home.
I was going to go through my closet, drive that pile of stuff in the garage over to Goodwill. Maybe clean the toilets and mop the floors, get groceries, clean the pond filter. Oh! And haul that bin of weeds that been sitting in the back yard for 3-months around to the front curb because Monday is bulk-trash day.
I wasn’t going to open my computer. I wasn’t going to open email. I wasn’t going to stare at a screen all day.

But the day took a way different turn. Ken and I looked at houses-for-sale online for hours. It was fun. It was restful. We got excited about possibilities.

I’m happy to start the day with a grand plan.
And I’m OK when the day doesn’t go according to plan.
☕️✏️🥰

Nerves

I’ve been keynoting & leading workshops since 2011 and I still feel like my heart is going to explode *every* time before I go “on”.

Today’s doodle shows the nervous shake of my hand as I prepare for my 2-3pm workshop at @spark_womens_retreat (which… may not be discernible from my normal doodles now that I look at them. 🤣)
☕️✏️🥰

New Logo + Updates!

Updates!

  1. Check out the gorgeous logo @simon_letters created.
    I couldn’t love it more!

  2. The logo is part of a whole bunch of things I’m working on with my writing. More soon on that front!

  3. I’m in an amazing cabin at Zion’s Ponderosa Resort with my daughters and their besties. I’m leading a workshop tomorrow for @spark_womens_retreat
    Which is one of the most amazing and supportive communities ever. Excited to share: “How to solve the ‘what’s next’ puzzle”
    ☕️☕️☕️
    Don’t worry, coffee doodles will keep a’coming!
    ✏️✏️✏️

Dear Friend

Had a call with a dear friend yesterday – one of those friends that help me find a focal point in my scattered thoughts. I often try to resort to self-solving but the answers are not 100% within, 100% of the time.

It helps to talk it out sometimes. It helps to have some folks in your life that know you well enough that they can take in your meteor shower of thoughts and help you sort it out a bit. Or even just let you know, you haven’t completely lost your mind (yet).

I believe we have great tools and strength within, but it’s also enormously healthy to step outside yourself now and then.

Sidenote: @disaster_castle doing a #tinychallenges 30-day #gratitude + #whatsgood challenge which really makes me smile! If you haven’t checked out her insta, you totally should.
…
Today’s doodle has an old date but not a repeat.
☕️✏️🥰

Keeping On

I’ve been a little stuck lately, which is quite out of the ordinary for me, so I’m going to try this to help pull me through -I’m posting a few oldies for a few days instead of not posting at all!

I’ve always found that if I’m stuck, breaking things down even smaller helps get me unstuck.
Even though my coffee doodles usually only take 2-5 minutes to make each day, even that has felt like a lot lately. 🙃
Here’s to keeping on!
🙏⚡️🙌 ☕️✏️🥰

When Life Feels Heavy

What do you do when life feels heavy?
I’m pretty sure I’m an optimist. I see the best in things and situations, I smile a lot (some people have that “resting bitch face” thing… I have a resting pleasant face. I can’t help it most of the time). Folks who know me (but don’t live with me) tend to think I don’t have bad days and ask what I do to stay so happy.
In all honesty, it could be genetic? BUT I do have sad, bad, and terrible dark days and I do have some little practices that help me pull through.
Two of my favorites:
1. #Gratitude Every day for 30 days, in two minutes or less, write down 1 thing you are grateful for. Like this: Today I’m grateful for [fill in the blank]
Don’t repeat the same thing twice, if you can’t find anything, please message me, I can help.
Bonus points if you share it publicly.
Extra bonus points if you tag me #coffeewithjaimee so I can celebrate with you!

2. #WhatsGood Every day for 30 days, in two minutes or less, answer the question: What’s good?
Don’t repeat the same thing twice, if you can’t find anything, please message me, I can help.
Bonus points if you share it publicly.
Extra bonus points if you tag #coffeewithjaimee me so I can celebrate with you!
☕️✏️🥰

Missing My Mom

My mom passed away when I was 27 years old. She was 53. As I get closer and closer to the age she was when she passed, I learn so much more about her. I suppose what I mean is that I understand her in ways I never did as a kid. Or even as an adult that had no children at the time of her passing. Having my own kids helped me understand her exhaustion. Knowing she’d lost my older brother helps me understand how strong she was. I knew she was strong but I can honestly say, even now with more relatable context, I still have no idea how she held it together for my little sister and me. But she did. There were days when she’d lay on the couch and I’d try really hard to get her to get up and go on a walk with me or go DO something…

I didn’t understand then what I understand now.

Today, for no reason other than my heart is both heavy and full with memories of my mom, I want to say aloud, “I love you mom. I miss you.”

-Jai.
☕️✏️🥰

Remembories

Have you ever had an experience that happened quite a long time ago, that mostly vanished from your mind, then suddenly it pops into your head and reminds you to feel gratitude? I feel this particular sense of gratitude for remembering some memories today. Remembories.
Do you have any remembories?

☕️✏️🥰

Dad-stories

My dad used to tell stories of his war experience in Vietnam. He was a great storyteller. Some of his stories would make you cry, some would make you sad, others he’d tell with such energy and animation. Some of my friends in high school loved hearing his stories. A few times, I’d get home late after school and some of my friends would already be there listening to his tales. Sometimes it felt a little embarrassing, but now, it’s 100% an incredible memory. My dad gave me a million great stories.
❤️🥰⭐️☕️✏️

First Day of 7th Grade

Kid 1: “You’re ugly!”
Kid 2: “I love you, too.”
…
Zia started 7th grade. This was an exchange that happened on the bus.
How do you handle mean words? How do you teach your kids to handle mean words? What if you find out your kid is the mean-word sayer?
I’ve been on both sides of this as a parent, and both sides are horrifying and hard.
😢❤️✏️☕️

Cheers, Austin Kleon!

Do you have a favorite author or book? I have lots, but
I’m a huge fan of @austinkleon — if you don’t know his stuff, I highly encourage you to check it out. You don’t have to be an artist to appreciate his work. 🙌⚡️🙏👍❤️
Austin has really inspired me to dig back into some of my earlier work and pull it all together, and to share more.
I was doing this over on Instagram but as my coffee doodles started taking. amore heartfelt/journalistic nature, I realized it’d be better to build my work over here first. One, unified spot. :p