Hi, friends! This is an early morning coffee date for me, written in an unusually quiet house because I had the house all to myself on Saturday night through Sunday morning. I'm sipping my usual home brewed hot half-caf coffee with a combo of cinnamon churro Nutpods (I found this locally at Sprouts) and 2% Fairlife milk. With my coffee I'm having a homemade chocolate chip cookie made the proper way which is with pecans. One of my favorite things in life is eating a leftover dessert with my morning coffee so together with a quiet house, Sunday morning was... Read more →

Recently we drove for two long days to arrive in Austin in time to see the total solar eclipse on April 8. Originally I thought I'd do a recap post just about our experience traveling to and seeing the eclipse. But on the way home we drove along the border wall at the U.S.-Mexico border for many miles and I can't separate the two experiences, solar eclipse and border wall, and so I had to write about them both. On the road again We were all road trip pros after our recent trip to California and overall the kids did... Read more →

When I was growing up in the 90s, and reading the teen magazines of the times, I had a narrow definition of beauty for women: very thin, trendy clothes, clear, wrinkle-free skin, and perfectly styled clothes. All of it was very visual and one dimensional. What I've found is that as I get older, and live more life, my understanding of beauty keeps expanding. Now I see beauty in every woman, and see it in myself too. I see how each woman is beautiful in her own way and in how they are different from other women, not because of... Read more →

Lately I've been thinking about small changes I've made that have made a big difference. I came up with seven and would love to share... 1. Carrying my AirPod case in my pocket when I'm using them. It's not a hyperbole to say that AirPods have changed my life. Being able to listen unwired to an audiobook or podcast while I go about my day brings me so much joy. And I credit AirPods with bringing audiobooks back into my life. What does not bring me joy, however, is the panic I feel when I can't find one of my... Read more →

Maeve was born four years ago today. Just as the world around us felt like it was crashing down amid a global pandemic. And yet her birth happened in a halo of safety and peace and she brought us overwhelming joy, she still does. For Maeve's fourth birthday I've finally finished writing her birth story. Birth stories, at least my three birth stories, are so much more than recounting a day. This one especially so. Each has been a culmination of anticipating, dreaming, and planning for so much longer than my pregnancies. When I think of the births of each... Read more →

Happy April, friends! And happy spring! I hope that spring is finding you in your corner of the world (or fall if you are south of the equator). It's also our 14th wedding anniversary today, no foolin' (as our wedding invitations said). Although our spring is perhaps not as dramatic as areas that emerge from snow and ice to find blooming flowers, the desert does have its own spectacular spring if you look for it. In our own little desert yard we eagerly await the first yellow blooms of our palo verde tree to pop, usually in time for our... Read more →