At this time of year, many of us put pressure on ourselves by striving for perfection. Whether it be the perfect gift, the perfect meal, or the perfect gathering, we set standards that create unnecessary stress when our loved ones would be happy with something simple. If you’re facing the task of planning a get-together, read on for five ideas for low cost and low … Continue reading Ideas for Low Cost and Low Fuss Winter Gatherings
On Saturday night, most of us in North America turned our clocks back an hour before going to bed. No matter how you feel about it, the much-debated practice of switching between standard and daylight time is a good opportunity to review sleep habits and consider ways to improve your sleep. Some people hate the practice of changing the clocks, but the twice-yearly time change … Continue reading Improve Your Sleep with These Helpful Tips
Why is it so difficult to form healthy habits or overcome bad habits? In many cases, we have good intentions, and we know what we need to do. Yet it’s so difficult to translate those good intentions into action. Read on to learn how you can bridge the gap between good intentions and healthy behaviours. A few weeks ago, I saw a presentation by Monica … Continue reading The Keys to Forming Healthy Habits
Are you a list maker? Like most people, you probably have a daily or weekly to do list. You may even have a bucket list or a list of long-term goals. But do you have a curious list? If you’ve never heard of such a list, keep reading. My goal for today is to inspire you to start one. I’ve always been a list maker. … Continue reading What’s on Your Curious List?
When I was graduating from college with my electrical engineering degree, the last class I had to take was a technical writing course. I was taking it as a correspondence course because I thought that would be more convenient. This was back in the day when you had to literally mail it in. Unfortunately, I learned more than just how to present technical information. Because … Continue reading Sequence Matters
And just like that, it’s July! Reaching the halfway point of 2024 also means it’s the start of Plastic Free July. If you’re considering making some changes to reduce your footprint, you might be surprised to learn that sustainable living can make your life better in many ways. Plastic Free July started in Australia in 2011. It has since grown into a global movement that … Continue reading How Sustainable Living Makes Life Better
I was standing frozen on the front on my yoga mat this morning. I do a series of seven sequences of about 14 poses each. It only takes me about 15 minutes but it’s amazing how often I unroll the mat, step into position, and find that I don’t want to begin. I know that the sixth sequence with side plank pose is the hardest … Continue reading Just Start
Yesterday, I shared on my personal blog that I’m retiring at the end of June. After working full time for over 40 years, I’m excited to get started on my next chapter. In the back of my mind, though, is a small seed of concern about being made to feel irrelevant thanks to the negative stereotypes of older adults that I see in the world … Continue reading It’s Time to End Negative Stereotypes of Older Adults
Several years ago, a friend of mine went to climb Kilimanjaro with her then boyfriend. She was in her early forties, about 5 feet tall, and about 100 pounds. He was 6’3” tall and probably 250 pounds. Because she had climbing experience and he didn’t, she’d did as much as she could to help him prepare. She worked out with him. She helped him with … Continue reading What Do You Do When Things Get Hard?
A couple of weeks ago, I took my kids to a performance of The Nutcracker. As an indication of how steeped they are in the style of the Pacific Northwest, where getting dressed up means putting on your good fleece, I said something my eight-year-old daughter about wearing a dress. She practically choked out the words, “What do you mean, dress?” But I digress before … Continue reading A Note About Style and Newspapers
The other day I was editing a post I’d written about the dichotomy between gratitude and greed when a similar post popped up from the delightful and lovely blogger, Julia Preston. It wasn’t exactly the same – she was talking about a similar tension between love and fear. But it was close enough that I felt my internal defensiveness spark off instantly. Something like a … Continue reading Am I Copying? Getting Over Writing Defensiveness
The last time I took a new job I wasn’t a writer. Well, I wrote white papers and technical manuals so I could put pen to paper. But I didn’t have a personal writing practice. But four months into a new job and I’m surprised how much creativity is a part of my job. Sheesh, that sounded dry. Bear with me – I think I’m … Continue reading Creativity as a Job Skill
Two days ago, I was in the car with my friend on the way to listen to a book reading. As we drove, my friend commented on how observant my four-year-old son is. It immediately sparked some stories about conversations we have when he’s riding in the back seat of the car. Like on a recent frosty morning when we passed a baseball field and … Continue reading Creatively Seeing
Friday is Black Friday—a day I would love to erase from the calendar. Why? Because it’s symbolic of the out-of-control consumption that is taking over our world. In addition to harming our bank balances, overconsumption impacts our mental health and it’s destroying the planet. But there is an alternative! Friday is also Buy Nothing Day. Continue reading Turn Black Friday Into Buy Nothing Day
At a recent elementary school open house, my daughter’s third grade teacher said something profound. Well, she said a lot of wise things, because the knowledge of teachers is immense. But one particularly thing about writing and reading that caught my ear. Here it is – that she looks for books for these young readers to be either “windows” or “mirrors.” Windows are the books … Continue reading Writing Windows and Mirrors
Jesus wept. The shortest sentence in the Bible. As a pastor’s kid, this is the type of trivia that I know. Although I know I’m not alone, and that one doesn’t have to be a Bibliophile to know this. The short sentence has power. You couldn’t guess that I know this from my writing though. The readability analysis of my writing is forever telling me … Continue reading The Power of Short Sentences
Climate anxiety is real. Dire environmental news is everywhere, and it’s easy to think individual actions don’t matter. But they do! Adopting a positive mindset and some new habits can make a big difference. Today’s post has 7 steps you can take today to live more sustainably. Continue reading 7 Steps You Can Take Today to Live More Sustainably
The other day I was introduced to a brilliant piece of self-promotion in the course of my work. A man had a small business that he wanted to promote. I don’t know the exact number, but there are probably at least 100,000 other businesses in the United States that do the same type of technical consulting he did. He didn’t want to buy Google or … Continue reading Promoting Your Writing With Search
The stats on my personal blog show that the most viewed posts are my weekly ones where I publish photos that I took during the week with a quote. The themes vary based on activities – vacation, the puppy, my kids, hiking but they generally are the fruits of enjoying life. These posts are short and sweet. But the stats also show that my longer … Continue reading Is Short Form Content What We Want?
There was a carousel in the town I grew up in that held a special attraction for me as a kid. It was originally built in 1909 and had beautifully carved wooden horses big enough that they could create the illusion of really riding. But in addition to that, the ride purveyors had added a chute of rings that riders on outside horses could reach. … Continue reading The Universal You
