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 →

Every year around the new year, Chris and I have an annual summit. We reflect on life currently, deep dive into our budget, project finances for the year ahead, and set couple and personal goals. To us, this ritual is emblematic of what makes our marriage strong and happy. During and after these conversations we feel solidly on the same team and excited for the adventure of our everyday life ahead. It's a wonderful feeling and a new year doesn't feel official until we've had our summit. A reader asked me to give more details about our annual summits and... Read more →

Two weekends ago I filled the trunk of our car with bags of soil and plants. At home in the backyard I worked all morning digging up the compacted soil, pulling out weeds of long-gone plants, and creating soft, ready beds. It's been so long since I worked in the yard like that with my hands. I kept thinking how good it felt to get my hands dirty and to fill two corners of our yard, plus a couple of pots, with plants. Maeve helped me "tuck in" the plants nice and cozy and even sang them a bedtime song... Read more →

Hi, friends! How was your February? Lately I'm sipping coffee that's half-caf (which I mix up myself) although I always make my coffee strong, decaf or not. I use one very full tablespoon of coffee per carafe cup of water to make my coffee. I'm curious, what ratio of coffee to water do you brew? My personal opinion is that there's no excuse for weak coffee. ;) February was wonderfully rainy, our rainiest month in my recent memory, and I reveled in the coziness. I leaned all the way into the coziness with a weekend trip to the mountains with... Read more →

This year, as part of my 2024 goals, I'm planning to take three days completely off: February 29, June 22 (my half birthday), and December 22 (my birthday). Every year I take my birthday off and love the feeling of being completely "off-duty." I realized I should not limit myself to feeling that way only once per year! As I've been looking ahead to February 29 I found myself trying to figure out how to take a day off. What a funny conundrum to be in! But I wonder if others can relate to it as well. Even though I... Read more →

Great sunset and daily tea time. Two of many things I love about February. We turned the corner from January and are already well into February; life is full and busy lately! Before pressing ahead, I want to reflect on how January started and where we are now. January started off with some rough seas but the waters feel much more manageable. With a lot of intention and effort we made parenting changes across screen time, chores, and behavior which has made a difference. Even if these things still take effort, I feel confident in our approach and what the... Read more →

More than halfway through January and I think I'm finally feeling the rhythm of the new year. We seem to be making progress on the parenting hard stuff I mentioned and will keep at it. Chris and I have been revisiting and tweaking some family routines like screen time, manners at the dinner table, and chores which has me feeling like we're righting a listing ship. And I'm finding everyday routines again for my work as well as laundry, dinner, and tidying which all felt quite out of sorts over the holidays. It feels like a good tidying of sorts... Read more →

Our very lived-in kitchen, with the reminder "the best is yet to come," felt fitting for this new year. Happy 2024, friends! The new year started on a Monday, which I love. On Wednesday the kids returned to school so in a way it felt like the first "real" day of the new year. Routine seems to be a very good thing for my family so I'm glad to be getting back to it. So far January is already feeling much more relaxed than the holidays. We had a really busy and full holiday break. There was a lot of... Read more →

Team Wharton on the last day of 2023! At the end of 2022 I wrote myself a quick email to be delivered at the end of the year. It arrived in my inbox yesterday. I wrote briefly about "what's great right now" and "what's hard right now" and hoped for my future self that the hard stuff would be less so by this time. And a few of the hard things do feel better! At this time last year we were carrying the disappointment of Chris not getting sabbatical which Chris has now processed and put behind him. I was... Read more →

It's November, the time of the year when we seem to enter warp speed. Just when I am most wishing that time would slow down so that we could linger in the good weather and in holiday magic. A few things helping me to slow down time right now are: Christmas planning in my Holidays Master Plan Google Doc and Christmas Gifts Google Sheet; listening to The Lazy Genius podcast How to Make the Rest of 2023 Easier, and queuing up both the Calm Christmas audiobook (for a re-listen; and to note I listen via Hoopla where it's free and... Read more →