I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. – Henry David Thoreau This week has been a rough one….

1. I am still alive. 2. I do still want to blog. 3. (and I don’t mean Twitter Party RSVP posts) September started out so nicely.  I was sticking to my 2013-2014 school year plan to end my workday every day by 4:00, focusing my time on my family except for the evenings when I…

So hey, there are some images in this post. If you’re reading this in email, you’re going to want to download them or else this rambling post will make even less sense. I can’t find my blogging mojo.  I’ve lost that blogging feeling.  Blogging don’t live here anymore. Okay, maybe it’s not quite that bad….

A little over a week ago  I had my gallbladder removed, sucked out through one of four little holes I now have in my torso (but more about that in another post).  I went into the surgery fully intending to politely decline pain medication after the first few hours.  I joked that gallbladder removal would…

Right now I am sitting in my office, which is to say that I’m in the extra bedroom on the second floor of my home on the side facing the street.  It is 4:46 and since my husband’s work day ends at 4:45 and he teleworked today, he is no longer sitting at the computer…

Today I clicked on the list of friend’s birthdays on Facebook like I do every day, partly to wish friends and loved ones a great birthday, and partly to be reminded that at some point four years ago I met someone for five minutes and accepted their friend request. Except that today when I clicked…

Monday was the official launch day of my first book, , and it was a day I will never forget thanks to all of you.  Since I can’t track you all down and send you thank you notes – and the book is a tech title after all – I want to make today about thanking you…

When I found out that I was pregnant with Emma, the first thing I did was call my husband at work to let him know that the test I’d taken three days earlier was wrong.  The second thing I did was call my friend M.  She had been told by a handful of doctors that…

Yesterday I went searching for a sketch pad that has followed me from small town Pennsylvania to Washington, DC, to London to Philly then back to DC, filled with poems, random ramblings, and a list of boys I had kissed.  One of my prized possessions, it spent years on various bookshelves, snuggled oddly next to…

Last weekend I sat in church and listened to my pastor describe the restoration of his 130 year old home.  His account was what one would expect from a long-neglected house more than a century old: warped floor boards, cracked plaster, electrical systems needing to be replaced.  As construction progressed, he took comfort in the…

I did it.  I finally bought my first new car (mmmm, breathe that new car smell in…) and as promised, I’m introducing you to her here.  You all followed along as I checked out the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder with a one week test drive in February, and those of you who follow me on Twitter…

Yesterday I came home from a meeting to find that everyone on the planet had emailed me during the hour and a half that I was away from my desk.  During the frantic responding to the emails, I came across one that was too good to be read in that chaotic moment.  You know those…

Last week Emma turned nine.  I took some pictures, dropped off a class treat at school, ordered her favorite take-out, and watched her open her gifts.  Last weekend five of her best girlfriends came over and they had a sleepunder that included all of the best sleepover characteristics but ended with the girls all going…

Last week I headed out to Target to purchase a strange list of items from read/write CD’s to washbins to birthday presents.  I got to the aisle with office supplies and hangers (can’t make this stuff up, folks) and realized I had no idea if a pack of 10 hangers met my husband’s request to,…

You may have noticed that I’ve been a little absent here lately.  My blogging disappearance can partly be explained by the flu that loudly reminded me of the importance of remembering to get the flu shot.  I’m also still recovering from three crazy months leading up to the end of the year that included nearly…

Last week I received a friend request from someone I only recognized as a person who frequently comments on a friend’s Wall.  I looked at her friend list – dozens of familiar faces.  I looked at her photos – some taken with people I know at events I attended.  Do I know her?  Have we…

Last year I vowed to have a resolution free 2012.  I rolled into 2013 on the wake of one of the most relaxing holiday breaks of my entire life and once again the last thing on my mind was goal setting or resolution making.  After all, why would I want to yuck my yum by…

Halfway through winter break it dawned on me that I should have texted the babysitter.  I was so desperate to make it to Christmas, the entire list of gift purchases left until the 22nd, that it was impossible to see beyond December 26th.  I almost didn’t text her, the idea of a potential 16 year…

There has been a lot of chatter around the internet in the last couple days about social media blackouts, fundraising, project commencing…all of us trying to make sense of the illogical and encourage busy hands to quiet our breaking hearts.  I am confused about how to go about daily tasks, drawn to the images on…

I did not know what to expect when I left for church this morning, but I knew that 9:00 a.m. Sunday could not come fast enough for me this weekend. On the schedule was another sermon in the holiday themed sermon series, The Characters of Christmas.  Today we would be learning about Joseph and the…

I’m going to start by admitting that I no longer follow every bit of Mommy War, women’s rights, equality in the workplace, breastfeeding battles, this-is-right-and-you-are-wrong drama that is played out in traditional and new media what seems to be constantly.  I tried to care an enormous amount about these types of issues and read Perfect…