I met Tammy Strait in real life last summer when I was on a family vacation visiting my friend Krista in Idaho. Krista and Tammy are neighbors and one day during our trip Tammy and her 3 sons came over for lunch. It was casual yet hardly superficial. Because though we...
We have celebrities in our lives, people we get giddy when we meet or see in person. But then we have heroes, those people who embody the character and grit we admire. They are the people we emulate because we want to be more like them. They don’t have to be famous,...
I love a good deal. And I really love a free deal. And I really, really love moms. And Mother’s Day is THIS Sunday! That said, I’m happy to be joining a whole bunch of other writer-types who also love moms in the Mother of all Mother’s Day Giveaways hosted by Grace...
I put on the sweatshirt this morning. The one I was wearing a week ago. I haven’t worn it since last Friday and when I pulled it out of my closet today and over my head, I hoped to claim a new day for it. It’s grey and has a cowl neck (that’s a thing right?) and I...
As I’ve been preparing to speak at a conference in a few weeks on blogging as a platform, I’ve been thinking much about the idea of the kitchen table. The kitchen table used to be a place to invite your neighbors in to have a conversation. To make a cup of coffee or...
Derek and I paused our Sunday night Netflix consumption to watch a story on our local NBC station. This story about Purple Door Coffee Shop is filled with Derek’s friends and soon to be partners. Providence Network is in the process of buying a property to house young...
All around me there is evidence I have four children. In my house. My car. My garage. Even the stains on my clothes reveal motherhood. Depending on the day, my inner pendulum swings between embracing the mess and resenting every crumb maker in my family. Yesterday I...
It’s Monday the day after Daylight Saving Time. And though I know yesterday was the first official “spring forward”, the lost hour always seems to get absorbed in the relaxed nature of Sunday. So today is the actual day where I feel the crunch of only 23 hours to...
How did this happen? That March arrived so soon? When the Christmas tree was just up yesterday? Or at least it seemed. I’m bracing myself for March Madness. There are no brackets involved (though our family’s Google calendar with it’s different color for every member...
“I wish that I could be like the cool kids, Like the cool kids they seem to fit in.” Cool Kids, Echosmith The lines from the song get stuck in my head, repeated constantly. Partly because the tune and mostly because the truth resonates. No matter the age, we all want...
