Here’s one that came to mind: creating an echo chamber around yourself by excluding everyone who disagrees with you. I don’t know if this often happens in real life but it definitely does online. And I see this behavior on both sides of multiple issues; it does not seem like a left/right or conservative/liberal thing….
I mean, I don’t think I have anything that technically qualifies as a superpower. And neither do you, probably! I do joke about something being my superpower, though, and I think I might have written about it here before: my internal compass. For whatever reason, I have always had a pretty accurate internal compass, even…
Oh man. I have mixed feelings about these types of prompts; writing about something irritating or annoying can shine a spotlight on that irritation and make me think even more about how irritating it is! Plus, focusing on irritations makes me focus on things outside of my control, which is not super helpful. But I’ll…
When I stroll through my memories to think about times that I felt smart, there’s a common theme. I have felt the most smart when I have been faced with something cerebrally challenging or confusing, but I hung in there and kept working at it until I figured it out. This often happens when I’m…
Well. My favorite thing to “cook” doesn’t really involved cooking at all; I much prefer to bake. And if I am going to bake, I like to bake bread. This is less about the process than it is about the end result, though! I’ve written before about how I cook because I like to eat,…
If I were to answer this in a big, overarching sort of way, I would say that my priority is to honor God in the way that I live my life. As I’ve been thinking about personality types and the varying ways God has designed people, I’ve thought about how much that impacts how we…
What always makes me smile? Multiple things come to mind! Also: my default is to be smiling, so it’s not like the bar for making me smile is super high. Nevertheless, here are a few notable things that make me smile. kittens Is it possible to see a kitten and keep a solemn face? I…
The first thing I thought of was this: my tendency to mentally get out of the moment and into the future. Is that a behavior? It’s kind of more a mental habit, but I guess it could fall under the “behavior” heading. Anyway, the reason this is a problem is that I end up borrowing…
My goodness, there are so many things that come to mind because there are so many things that bring joy to life in this world. How would I choose just one? To name just a few: sunshine season changes (prevents boredom!) hugs from people I love books God’s unconditional love heavy cream chocolate the internet…
Geez. I’m not sure what to say here! If you’ve read all of my posts here and on my main blog, there’s an awful lot you do know about me. Let’s see. I think most people that meet me don’t have any idea that I am a classically trained pianist. (though you all already know…
I know I’ve shared this on my main blog, but maybe not here: my worst time-waster is Instagram. I never waste time on Pinterest (I hardly use it!) Facebook isn’t at all addicting (I basically only have pages and groups related to my blog, so there’s almost no feed for me to see.) Twitter isn’t…
Right now, I’m working through The Coddling of the American Mind. I cannot remember where I heard about this book! Maybe on a podcast? In a blog post? I wish I remembered. Anyway, I got it from the library, and I’m about a quarter of the way through. Basically, the book’s premise is that we,…
This is indirectly for me, so I’m not quite following the prompt. You know how it goes…my blog, my rules. 😉 So, you know Sonia and I got vaccinated through the vet hospital already, right? That left Mr. FG and Lisey to still get shots (Zoe is too young). They both are eligible now due…
As I understand it, feeling brave is not the same as feeling unafraid. I think bravery is in play when you do something despite feeling afraid! Something that helps me feel brave: pep talks and encouragement from people that I trust. In some areas of life, it is very, very easy for me to sink…
Last week was good, but busy. And that is why there were no posts here all of last week! I spent an afternoon with a friend. I helped my pregnant cousin two afternoons. I did a whole bunch of biology homework (I got a little out of my routine, so I ended up doing two…
The first thing that popped into my head was that I have felt appreciated by a number of blog readers recently. I’ve gotten some emails and comments from people letting me know that my main blog has been a source of encouragement and calm and cheer in their lives. I feel a combo of honored…
Technically, I don’t believe in luck; I believe the unexpected good things that happen to me are blessings from God. But in casual language, I do use that word. For instance, I might say, “Oooh, lucky me!” but I don’t literally believe that things happen to me because of luck. So! Here’s an unexpected good…
Obviously, I haven’t been all over the world, so my range of thoughts here is somewhat limited. But if I had to choose, based on where I’ve traveled, I think I’d like to live in California, north of LA, somewhere between Santa Barbara and Monterey. I like warm weather and sunshine, and California definitely checks…
I don’t know if this is precisely the last time, but I’m going to roll with it. A few weeks back, I read several news articles in a single week that followed the same pattern: a man had sexually harassed/abused women and/or girls underneath him (in an organization of some type), and when his behavior…
I saw this prompt and found myself making a wry smile because I could basically say, “I should have spoken up All of the Times in My Whole Life.” Speaking up is not at all my forte, which is no surprise to you if you have read this blog for any length of time. I…
We have a lot of savings accounts, and most of them get automatic monthly deposits. Long-ish Term: our retirement nursing school for me higher education for our kids future replacement vehicles Shorter Term: annual auto insurance auto maintenance/repairs Christmas future vacations future home repairs/maintenance self-employment taxes Basically, my goal in saving is to prepare for…
This is sort of a funny prompt; I don’t think I’ve really thought about my life quite like this. I mean, it’s sort of a common concept in business; it’s normal to think about how you might provide value to your employer, or about how your small business might provide value to a customer. I…
Sunshine! I feel so much more sluggish when the weather is rainy and/or cloudy. But give me a sunny day and I feel perkier both physically and mentally. Sun is good any time of day, but my very favorite sunshine is the early morning variety. I like mornings anyway, because they feel so full of…
…spring break! Sonia and I just finished our second big biology exam, and now we get a week off from biology and our biology lab. I’m doing well in it, but this class is legit a lot of work, and it will be nice to have a breather. Will I possibly use some of the…
I’m going to edit this and replace “work” with “school”. I mean, I’m self-employed and I am the only employee. I can only get so frustrated! But school has offered up some frustrations. The most recent one: Last chapter, we had something like 5 practice assignments due. They all had the same due-date (Saturday) and…
Probably my favorite thing about my neighborhood is that it does not have a bunch of rules. Prior to this, we lived in a townhome community where you had to ask permission to even plant a shrub in your front border. I understand the need to control the community more tightly when the houses all…
I’m going to take this in a positive direction; I do know I have faults and failings, but I’m just choosing to focus on the positive in this list. I see myself as: made by God loved by God kind thoughtful hard-working sensitive smart cheerful optimistic friendly gentle compassionate patient a work in progress How…
This is easy: my deepest belief is that God made me, loves me, and has saved me. When it feels like life has dropped me off a cliff, and I am falling, falling, falling, that’s what I land on. It might feel like I am falling into an endless abyss, but this belief is at…
Hmm. Well, one thing I usually do is plot out the upcoming week. I like to plan, so there is something satisfying about writing in appointments and goals and getting everything organized. I think I like looking forward to a new week in the same way I like getting up to start a new day;…
In the online biology class that Sonia and I are taking, there’s another mom student who has four kids. She’s a little bit shy, but when she does speak up and answer questions, I can tell she’s working hard at the class. I sent her an email to say hi and to let her know…
