Stuff has a way of coming home with me. Even though I feel like I am a pretty ruthless editor of the things I keep in my home, I still have piles of stuff I don’t know what to do with. I recently wrote a guest post for Erin Tannehill over at The Tannehill Homestead … More The Psychology of Clutter
I am a neat freak, and most of the time I am glad that I am. My house feels peaceful yet lived in, and I can find most of the things I am looking for without too much effort. Most of the time there are toys strung out in nearly every room, but I don’t … More Say Yes to the Mess
When we had two toddlers and a newborn, we were desperate for something entertaining to break up the monotony of those early days. We decided to begin a new family tradition of huddling up on the couch together for one special night each week to watch a movie. What started as a simple thing we … More Popcorn & Movies
Today my first guest post went up on HerStory, a blog empowering women through storytelling. The theme at their site this week is about beauty standards, so I decided to write about the time I ate five cookies in one sitting and the range of emotions I felt with each one. Below is an excerpt. … More Five Cookies
This past December, I took my three kids on a hiking adventure at the nature trails in our neighborhood. Everyone was in a great mood to start, but the hike ended in hysterical crying. The whole essay, Poop Mountain, is published at Kindred Mom. In hindsight, the humor of that situation is easy to find, … More Poop Mountain
As I think of January, the word “hustle” pops into my mind the fastest. A new year and new momentum to make new or better choices. It is a wonderful opportunity, but there is something about the hustle of this month that makes me pause and listen to a faint sound that I haven’t heard … More Rock in the River
2017 was a hard year to pin down for me. I had some successes with my writing goals, which were undefined in the first place. I was a regular contributor at Kindred Mom, and I tried to keep making appearances here on my blog. I am still trying to refine my writing focus for Pepper … More 2017: A Brief Review
To change a behavior like procrastinating, and a mindset like perfectionism is going to take a lot of intentional work. In researching this topic, I have discovered there are stages involved in dismantling a mindset and set of habits. The first is to have an awareness of the need for change. After developing a knowledge … More Dismantling the Mindset
Today is Sunday, and I am going to make this short and sweet. Here are two quotes from Brene Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston and author, whom I have tremendous respect for. She has written books about embracing vulnerability and cutting the grip of shame. I have read her book Daring Greatly, … More Sunday
I attended a memorial service today to celebrate the life of my 1st cousin once removed who passed away last month. Throughout the service songs, scriptures, and personal stories were shared by many honoring my cousin. From my seat, I listened to how my cousin had impacted people around him by showing genuine unconditional love. … More Time to Act. Time to Love
This is a hard question for me to answer because I tend to view life as black and white. I have spent this entire series, so far, painting the picture that perfectionism is a lie and therefore something I need to weed out of my life. When I make contrary arguments about something, my primal … More Is There Anything Good About Being a Perfectionist?
I have learned that one of the side effects of perfectionism, at least for me, is stifling my real interests. I have done this in some manner since sometime in elementary school. Perhaps I was trying to fashion a type of bully-insulation because it is safer to blend in than to stand out. While I … More I Need a Break
