This post is also available in podcast format in which I read the post. Search for "rising shining" on most podcast platforms and subscribe! In two years I will turn 40. (Wait, what?) Our culture has imbued that birthday with such significance and not necessarily a positive one, especially for women. So I will admit that sometimes when I think about turning 40 I feel some reluctance and kind of what to whine, "But do I have to?" Then I stop to think and interrogate the cultural messages we've been given about turning 40. I think about what an absolute... Read more →

This post is also available in podcast format in which I read the post. Search for "rising shining" on most podcast platforms and subscribe! Around June I remember thinking that I should write one last pandemic check-in post since it seemed that life was heading back to normal. All the adults in my family and many friends were fully vaccinated. New cases numbers for our county seemed to be holding steady in the low hundreds, which was a significant improvement from making headlines in the New York Times as a hot spot months earlier. Mask requirements were significantly eased in... Read more →

Costumes for 2021: a Minecraft character for Dash, a last minute costume change into an improvised zombie for Cedric, and a dinosaur for Maeve. She has the cutest dino hoodie but didn't want to wear it. / Halloween High Fitness with my friends who were the most amazing Barbies! / our grilled Halloween pizza that turned out a little ugly but was completely delicious I had the realization this week that November 1st kicks of my favorite, best four months of the year. From now through the end of February we have great outside-every-day-weather, there's the holiday hubbub and then... Read more →