2007 was an incredibly difficult year for me - mostly of my own making. I had a bit of an early mid-life crisis: at one point, I was unsure I wanted to be married, a mother, an employee, or anything. I ran away from home for a few days (yeah, really! And no, I didn't blog about that!) and did more soul-searching in a year than I ever had in my entire life.

The conclusion I came to was this: I… Read More

Usually my New Year's Resolutions are about losing weight, completing training, and being successful at work.

But frankly, this has been an incredibly difficult year for me and the people who love me. Although I haven't blogged about it much, I've hurt people in ways I never thought myself capable of.

So this year, I want to focus on my family. Not on being fit, successful at work, or accomplishing goals like running marathons or doing an Ironman.

First, I resolve to… Read More

I remember one gift from my childhood more than any other.

It was a clothes hanger.

My younger brother, who was probably five or six years old at the time, had received $5 from a family member. And with it, he decided to buy gifts for his parents and siblings from the dollar store.

His gifts were probably not the most thoughtful - but he wanted to share his small fortune and who knows, maybe he thought I ought to hang up my clothes… Read More

This year marks the fifth Christmas we're spending in the beautiful place we're lucky enough to call home. And it's also the fifth year we've held a house party at Christmas.

When we first decided to hold a party, we had some concerns. We felt like our friends were completely random - we had friends from my office, friends from John's childhood, friends from my college, friends from the kids' schools and daycares, and so on. We worried that the party might… Read More

Last weekend when I braved the mall with my daughter, I reached that oasis. Between Victoria's Secret and the Helly Kitty store, it beckoned to both of us for different reasons.

For The Girl, it was full of exciting play. For me, it was a soft seat to rest on while I gathered more energy to continue our shopping trip.

The Ferry Boat. A few of our local malls have these large play structures in the shape of a boat. Kids… Read More

My baby girl completely and totally freaked me out a couple of days ago.

She had come downstairs for breakfast completely dressed, in cute pants, a shirt, a sweatshirt, and a headband that all matched. Her hair was reasonably brushed and she even had put her own socks on.

As she went to the pantry to get her favorite cereal, I said to her, "Can you stay four and a half forever?"

She looked at me with those huge green eyes and… Read More