October 30, 2025 Happen To Notice with Vanessa Micale Hello Reader, I’m in the middle of a self-directed ten-week book writing sprint through November (with a two week extra buffer if desired). I am writing three days a week, for about three hours a day. I have revision notes carefully organized and catalogued. I have a a long-held vision and a felt sense of how I want the pacing to feel. I follow my breadcrumbs. Some mornings I toss them up in the air and let imaginary birds devour them. Or...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
October 2, 2025 Happen To Notice with Vanessa Micale Hello Reader, On the last day of school before summer vacation, I heard kids at an elementary school chanting “Kick it like you mean it!” Their chanting was exuberant. I try to kick it like I mean it. I try to be present and intentional. But what about when I don’t know what I want? How can I kick it like I mean it if I’m flailing in some in-between, unclear on what I actually desire? As we move through a major transformation, time can feel...
2 months ago • 3 min read
September 11, 2025 Happen To Notice with Vanessa Micale Hello Reader, In her memoir, Fearless and Free, Josephine Baker (a world-renowned artist, animal lover, and French spy) asks, “Why don't we make more funny faces? What are we scared of? Making faces is a sport [...] just as important and interesting as the others!” This summer, I gathered weekly with over a hundred strangers to make funny faces, strange sounds, collective songs, and sometimes to weep gently, full-bodied. We were led by...
3 months ago • 3 min read
August 14, 2025 Happen To Notice with Vanessa Micale Sign up for tomorrow's "Somatic Sometimes" in-person class, Friday August 15, 4:15 p.m. in 222 SE 8th Ave, PDX. For a 20% off coupon code: TINYLOVE20 Hello Reader, At a Livelihood Northwest business networking event, there were name-tags with cute fill-in-the-blank prompts. Mine said “I have been thinking a lot about…” I wrote “community.” In 2020, I took my first essay writing class with author Emilly Prado which led to the first essay...
4 months ago • 3 min read
July 31, 2025 Happen To Notice with Vanessa Micale Summer Friday’s in Portland: Sign up for “Somatic Sometimes,” body-mind practices. Register for one on one custom sessions, private group sessions, or a cozy & casual group class on August 15 at 4:15 p.m. PT. Hello Reader, Last summer I attended a “Poets for Palestine” open-mic event. I went last-minute, alone with a couple poems in hand (poems make great company). I noticed my anxiety but I made it out the door anyways and used my supportive...
4 months ago • 3 min read
July 10, 2025 Happen To Notice with Vanessa Micale Schedule an in-person somatic private session to include rest and integration at the gorgeous REVEAL Healing Arts on Friday’s in inner SE Portland; or let's meet virtually! Hello Reader, Have you had a Tiny Chef meltdown moment recently? I have. I received unexpected news that destabilized me instantly—heart pounding, stomach contracted, a real sense of scarcity. Tears rolling down my face, voice shaking even though I wanted to be stone-faced...
5 months ago • 4 min read
June 26, 2025 Happen To Notice with Vanessa Micale Exciting news: This summer, starting in mid-July, I’ll be at REVEAL Healing Arts on Friday's in SE Portland. Schedule an in-person one-on-one session or get a group of besties together to book a private group session with me. Learn more here. Hello Reader, My naturopath doctor asked if I bought the weightlifting gloves he recommended months ago. The gloves are to support my hand and wrist conditions during my workouts with five pound weights....
6 months ago • 3 min read
May 29, 2025 Happen To Notice with Vanessa Micale Portland: Last call to sign-up for my in-person series in June. Details below! Hello Reader, On May Day, I drove an hour to Salem to volunteer for an annual march organized by PCUN (Pineros Y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste), a farm workers rights organization. I get nervous about the volatility of large public crowds, but my desire to support this event was a full embodied “yes.” I was seeking collective joy and tenderness. In a podcast, Ross...
7 months ago • 3 min read
Happen To Notice with Vanessa Micale Portland, save the dates! I will be in conversation with Caro De Robertis May 20 at Powell's. I also have an in-person Somatic Sometimes workshop series in June. More details below. Hello Reader, I was gifted a beautiful book,“Bowie: Una Biografía,” by Mária Hesse and Fran Ruiz. The book incorporates elements of David Bowie’s life with speculative vivid illustrations. I turned the pages and wondered: What would have happened if Bowie had to work a day job...
7 months ago • 3 min read