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Spring Break on Corona(virus): Party or Stay Home?

Mar 12 2020

I know. Yet another terrible joke linking terrible beer with a terrible pandemic. But, like so many families on the brink of spring break, you are probably trying to decide exactly where to drink your ale, on a beach or on your couch. In my last post I mentioned the irony of human nature: how humans ignore what we know and then go off the deep end and wipe the shelves clean of toilet paper (but not canned food?) in fear of what we don’t. Not that we shouldn’t be worried about the coronavirus (COVID-19). We should. But we need…

Mar 05 2020

It’s a stretch. But there is an upside to the growing outbreak of the new strain of coronavirus, Covid-19, that has us on edge, changing spring break plans (or tenatively going ahead with them), making jokes about beer, and the limiting by grocery stores of the purchase of cold-and-flu products. We fear what we do not know, it’s human nature. And we should be concerned about this novel strain of the coronavirus. As of this writing,* COVID-19 has a two to 3.4 percent fatality rate (2 to 3.4 in 100 people afflicted). The virus can incubate for up to 2…

Let That Sh–t Go: Finding Time and Happiness

Feb 27 2020

“…But that’s when we’re happiest, and that’s when we’re at our best. When we have time to do those…things that we like to do.” ~Megan Mullally, in her book with husband Nick Offerman, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told. Before I get into it, I’m gonna give a shout-out to my husband. He did a TED talk on rethinking happiness: instead of basing happiness on attaining success, my husband lays out the path to happiness by living our values. In short, do what you love and the rest will follow…whether what you love is a new job or if doing…

Feb 20 2020

I recently failed at something. And I failed BIG. As in, I lost not only valuable time and plenty of money but when I threw in the towel I lost some new friends as well. Talk about a learning experience. So you could say I have some regrets. But one thing I don’t regret is trying something new. And I don’t regret attempting an endeavor that was totally out of my character. Over time I have used products sold by MLM-structured businesses and been very happy. But never, EVER, did I think I’d want to start up my own biz…

Feb 13 2020

I remember the first time I tried yoga. It wasn’t completely of free will. Up until that morning, I thought yoga and its buddy, pilates, where some kind of granola-y form of useless exercise. Like Lamaze breathing during labor: it sounds good but doesn’t do a damn thing. (At least that was my experience…) But then my parenting group invited an exercise instructor to give us an intro to yoga. Given it was a small group of friends, and I wasn’t going to miss my favorite social hour just because I was skeptical of yoga, I took my place on…

Dec 06 2018

My husband can’t balance a checkbook to save his life. I tease him and tell him he needs the practice, so he should give it a go but he doesn’t see it that way. It’s fine, really, that the task falls to me. I mean, it’s only a once a month job, right? But things are all fine and dandy until the checkbook won’t balance and I find myself taking way more time than I have to get my calculator and the bank statement to agree. Arrgh. Life is busy, especially so during the holidays. And money moves in…

Nov 30 2018

Thanksgiving. The Biggest Shopping Day of the Year. Someday, that’s what this cozy November holiday will become. With store hours creeping up from their Black Friday haven to ooze into Thursday morning opening hours. Which would be sad because I love Thanksgiving just as it is…time with family and great food. The carved-out opportunity to reflect on everyday gifts and express our gratitude for them. It doesn’t get any better than that. But sometimes, we have to earn the opportunity. Oh boy, do we have to earn it. Our family’s Thanksgiving foibles and drama never happen ’round the turkey and…

Nov 21 2018

Back in January I began a series “10 Ways to Live an Extraordinary Life” based on a list my son brought home from art camp. I would have loved to know how this “Extraordinary” list, from bemorewithless.com, was incorporated into camp but my tight-lipped boy, true-to-form, wasn’t forthcoming. So I had to find my own inspiration to use these bits of sage advice in my own life. Each month, January through October of 2018, I devoted time to exploring a tenet of living an extraordinary life and then blogged about my journey. Here’s a recap of what I learned: The…

Nov 13 2018

He couldn’t control himself. HIs rage had reared its ugly head many, many times, and we labeled it Puberty. His renovating brain and growing body are overwhelming him and emotional outbursts are a symptom of the wild ride. But this time things were different. For the last several days he complained of stomachaches unaccompanied by any other signs of illness. At first I thought it really was a bug, then I worried he had the beginnings of appendicitis, then I settled on the “Halloween Flu”…the result of hoarding and munching a giant helping of chocolate, suckers and body part-shaped gummies. …

Oct 09 2018

It couldn’t have been more obvious we were “not from those parts.” Wearing comfortable clothes. Lingering, in no hurry to get somewhere. Tilting back in slight back bends (our mouths agape) to marvel at the height of the skyscrapers surrounding us. Ok, we exaggerated the last bit just to be silly. But yes, my parents and I were the quintessential tourists in New York City. We stuck out, even in a sea of other visitors, even in a city where we definitely weren’t the weirdest thing on the street. It’s one thing to embrace the tourist persona while on…

Category - blog

Spring Break on Corona(virus): Party or Stay Home?

Coronavirus (Covid-19): the Silver Lining

Let That Sh–t Go: Finding Time and Happiness

Failure as a Blessing

Yogaaaah: Its Benefits for You and Your Kids

Checkbook Balancing Hacks: Tweak Your Balancing Act This Holiday Season

Holiday Memories: Parties, the Bird and the Other Bird

The Extraordinary Life: a Recap

Our Best Parenting Moments: the Ones That Challenge Us

Step Nine for an Extraordinary Life: Act Like a Tourist