Many, many years ago, as I was passing through the kitchen on the way to the coffee pot, an orange Nerf gun bullet whizzed past my head. Spinning around, I spied my then 9-year-old crouched behind the counter. "Shoot!" he grinned. "I missed the little French woman." That boy is now a 21-year-old man and--would you believe?--that story was one … [Read more...]
Where I’ve Been and Where I’m Going: a Journey from Overwhelm to Here
So we all have our ways of coping with overwhelm. Clearly mine was to step away from this blog for several months and just....deal. ‘Cause that’s what I’ve been doing but now? I’m back. 😋 Back on Track and Feeling Fine To bring you up to speed and because not everyone’s on Facebook, here’s the briefest of recaps. May 1st was the one-year … [Read more...]
Going Places: a Midlife Reflection & Modern Map Art Review
Once, for Christmas, my four sisters and I drew names for a gift exchange. My sister Mary was surprised, I think, when I told her the "boring" gift that I had in mind: an atlas. I wanted an atlas. Because I wanted the world. To this day, I love maps and traveling, but am not {currently} at a stage in my life when I can go very far. … [Read more...]
{Selfish} Gains
I'm being somewhat tongue-in-cheek with this blog post's title, because I have to admit that the more improvement I make in achieving some of my goals, the more I tend to obsess about them! It's a win-win-lose scenario: 2 Steps Forward (i.e. logging 15,000 steps, making a great new recipe from the Trim Healthy Mama book, reading two more … [Read more...]
The Simple Woman’s Daybook
The post-Chicago Edition This blog post is dedicated to my dear friend Barbara, who asked me to write a post about LIFE. It was inspired by Peggy's blog, where the daybook idea originated. For Today I am happy to be back in this space. I miss blogging dearly—I miss the connections—and I am getting close to maybe (please, God) finding a … [Read more...]
Getting the Pin: An Inaugural Reflection
You guys. I started out January thinking, "Okay, I'm going to schedule ALL THE THINGS and like that, I'll get the important things done. My poor forsaken blogging habit! Do I not think it's important? No excuses, though, 'cause I am having a pretty good year so far. Note that I didn't say "perfect" year, because I don't want you getting all … [Read more...]
In the Summertime, when the Weather is Fine
Has it really been over a month since I posted? You're probably thinking I'm all like: When in truth it's been more like: With a little bit of... ...thrown in for good measure. In short, these active kids are keeping me BUSY, but it's all good (truly) and even when it's not … [Read more...]