candid thoughts on having kids

So. Kids. Since I'm, like, a married woman now it's kind of what people expect from us next. Usually people don't bother asking, because I think I'm relatively obvious about my desire to not yet broach that subject with my uterus, but occasionally the, "so when are you guys having kids?" question gets asked. Lately I've been thinking about the nature of my apprehension towards that whole kid thing. I've realized that I'm not worried about the carrying/birthing of said child. I trust that my body is pretty much designed to do such a thing and despite the prospect of extreme pain and possible complications during birth or prior or post, the physical aspect of babymaking doesn't phase me much (yet). The part that is freaky? Where they hand a tiny human to you and say, "Here's your human. You made it, now keep it alive and don't fuck it up!" and then slap you on the ass and send you home with a couple pamphlets.

In a lot of ways, this is a big reason I want to get a puppy, rather than rescue an older dog. While I love the idea of rescuing a dog, and want to support that wholeheartedly, part of my desire to have a dog is to learn to take care of a living creature from infancy(ish). To train and be a mother to a baby dog before I have to do it with a person. I know it's not the same, not even close, but it's a step. And while I don't need that step, I want it.
I'm excited to make a person though. I'm a lot more excited about having a 3-4 year old tiny human than an infant. I love hearing stories about kids like Harper and Jacob and Rowan, who are developing interests and personalities, saying hilarious thing, and being silly little people. I'm sure when I have a headstrong 3 year old who is a total brat, I'll long for the days when it would just lay around and look at the world with big eyes. I think about how great it is to be friends with my mom, and I long to have that relationship with a child in some 30 years. Life is so indescribably enriched through having children in a way I don't believe can be replaced with anything else, and I look forward to that. I'm not entirely sure a human can experience their full capacity for love, joy, and pain, without having become a parent. It's a scary thing. Probably the most vulnerable thing you can do. I don't know if I'm ready for it yet, but at the same time, I don't know if anyone ever really is. I mean, you can probably think you are, but things almost never go according to plan, and life has a tendency to throw you in the deep end when you're still learning to dog paddle. At least we have wine.

goddess vibes






summer lovin'







life lately

Excited about...
My garden growing! I came back from my Brave trip and it was so much bigger! There's a tiny green strawberry starting to emerge, even! I was afraid my strawberries weren't going to make it after the transplant, but they've bounced back nicely.
Even more excited about...
My best friend (hopefully) moving to Tacoma! She just graduated college and is in that weird post-graduation-what-do-I-do-now place, and I've been trying to convince her that Tacoma is a great place to figure it out, haha. She loves coffee and yoga and tattooed, bearded men, so Tacoma is clearly a good match. Even if she ends up not staying, it'll be nice to have a best friend around for a while, someone who knows you that completely.
Busy...
Editing photos of Molly's wedding! It was a lot of fun shooting, especially since she is such a beautiful and carefree soul. It was kind of a test run to see if I enjoyed shooting weddings, and I think I do! Of course, it's probably a bit less stressful shooting a friend's wedding, especially a friend who is so low-key. I'm definitely open to shooting weddings now, though! It was good to get outside my comfort zone, even photographically, as I had to shoot with a flash for the reception. I shoot with natural light exclusively, so it was interesting to figure out the whole flash thing. I definitely prefer natural light, but I'm glad I had an excuse to figure out flash photography. I'm still a newb, but I'm glad I did it!
Reading...
Quiet. It's SO good you guys. If you're an introvert, or married to one, or just want to understand the differences between introverts and extroverts, it's a must-read. I'm about 3/4 done now, and I would recommend it to anyone. I think a lot of times introverts feel like the way they are is wrong or inferior, but that's absolutely not true. The more we understand about one another, the better we can communicate and interact with each other.
Thinking about...
Cultivating a rest day. Dan brought up having Sunday brunches where we invite friends over on Sunday for pancakes or whatever and I loved that idea. Working from home, I never really have days off, just random chunks of time where I'm not at my computer. And during those times I feel like I should be working, instead of genuinely taking respite from work. Having a day, or even just a part of a day, where I am intentional about stepping away and not feeling guilty about it, would be healthy. I've thought about making my office my work space, and not working unless I'm there, but I so enjoy working in the kitchen or living room, or in coffee shops, that I don't really like that idea.
Making...
An effort to be a better friend. As an introvert it's really easy to thoroughly enjoy just staying at home, doing my own quiet things. But knowing that I need that time to myself, I can also use that to fill my tank with solitude in order to fuel times spent putting myself out there, even if my natural instinct is to avoid going out with people. Thankfully most people I'm friends with are also introverts, so the going-out-together avoidance isn't one sided.
My garden growing! I came back from my Brave trip and it was so much bigger! There's a tiny green strawberry starting to emerge, even! I was afraid my strawberries weren't going to make it after the transplant, but they've bounced back nicely.
Even more excited about...
My best friend (hopefully) moving to Tacoma! She just graduated college and is in that weird post-graduation-what-do-I-do-now place, and I've been trying to convince her that Tacoma is a great place to figure it out, haha. She loves coffee and yoga and tattooed, bearded men, so Tacoma is clearly a good match. Even if she ends up not staying, it'll be nice to have a best friend around for a while, someone who knows you that completely.
Busy...
Editing photos of Molly's wedding! It was a lot of fun shooting, especially since she is such a beautiful and carefree soul. It was kind of a test run to see if I enjoyed shooting weddings, and I think I do! Of course, it's probably a bit less stressful shooting a friend's wedding, especially a friend who is so low-key. I'm definitely open to shooting weddings now, though! It was good to get outside my comfort zone, even photographically, as I had to shoot with a flash for the reception. I shoot with natural light exclusively, so it was interesting to figure out the whole flash thing. I definitely prefer natural light, but I'm glad I had an excuse to figure out flash photography. I'm still a newb, but I'm glad I did it!
Reading...
Quiet. It's SO good you guys. If you're an introvert, or married to one, or just want to understand the differences between introverts and extroverts, it's a must-read. I'm about 3/4 done now, and I would recommend it to anyone. I think a lot of times introverts feel like the way they are is wrong or inferior, but that's absolutely not true. The more we understand about one another, the better we can communicate and interact with each other.
Thinking about...
Cultivating a rest day. Dan brought up having Sunday brunches where we invite friends over on Sunday for pancakes or whatever and I loved that idea. Working from home, I never really have days off, just random chunks of time where I'm not at my computer. And during those times I feel like I should be working, instead of genuinely taking respite from work. Having a day, or even just a part of a day, where I am intentional about stepping away and not feeling guilty about it, would be healthy. I've thought about making my office my work space, and not working unless I'm there, but I so enjoy working in the kitchen or living room, or in coffee shops, that I don't really like that idea.
Making...
An effort to be a better friend. As an introvert it's really easy to thoroughly enjoy just staying at home, doing my own quiet things. But knowing that I need that time to myself, I can also use that to fill my tank with solitude in order to fuel times spent putting myself out there, even if my natural instinct is to avoid going out with people. Thankfully most people I'm friends with are also introverts, so the going-out-together avoidance isn't one sided.





tacoma // pretty plants at the nursery // molly's bouquets! // winne times
just for pictures




Hi, I’m Liz
I'm an artist, writer, designer, DIY renovator, and … well basically I like to do all the things. If it’s creative I’m probably doing it. I’ve spent over 30 years voraciously pursuing a life steeped in creativity and I wholeheartedly believe creativity and joy are inextricably linked.
Read more…
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VISIT THE SHOP
PRIVACY POLICY & DISCLOSURE
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Lino relief print created during the 2026 Wayzgoose Steamroller Print event in Tacoma. Each print was pressed using a 1.5 ton steamroller. See the entire process here!
The Wayzgoose theme this year was Tacoma Works, a celebration of the labor history of Tacoma, labor solidarity, Tacoma industry, and what work in Tacoma looks like.
As I thought about the theme, I realized I wanted to highlight the unpaid labor that women do, all the work that doesn't get acknowledged as “real work" and goes uncompensated but quietly forms the backbone of society. Care work, cooking and cleaning, household management, pregnancy and child rearing, carrying the emotional and mental load, etc.
I wanted to use the imagery of a quilt because this devaluing of "women's work" has extended into the art world by deeming mediums historically associated with women as merely "craft" - lots of fiber art, quilting, embroidery: highly skilled and artistically incredible work that wasn't considered "fine art."
Women's work is the thread that stitches everything together. It's the thread that goes unnoticed and under appreciated, but without it, everything would fall apart.
When I say “women’s work” I don’t mean that only women engage in these types of work, but historically these types of unpaid labor have fallen vastly upon women. I also don’t mean that women don’t or haven’t engaged in paid labor and industry throughout Tacoma’s history, they obviously have. To me, “women’s work” is the phrase that embodies how we devalue certain types of labor typically associated with women, and can extend into forms of paid labor— why is it that teachers are so underpaid in our society? Could it have anything to do with teaching having been a workforce of primarily women historically?
So when we talk about women’s work we’re talking about things like care work, elder care, feeding a family, procuring groceries, household management, keeping a home clean and stocked, rearing children, pregnancy, birthing and breastfeeding, emotional labor, mental load, community building and organizing. Without these forms of “women’s work” our society would unravel.
Women's work is work. The labor and industry history in Tacoma could not have happened without the women in the background supporting it all with the work they did that wasn't considered real work.
Tacoma Works because Women Work.
—
Due to the nature of printing outdoors, on the ground, with a steam roller, there are variations and slight imperfections from print to print.
Prints ship rolled in a cardboard tube.
Local pickup is in Central Tacoma.
Paper size: 30.5 x 44 in
Print size: 24 x 36 in