MamaManagement

Over the years I have become a master in the art of notes. I make notes to myself in my phone, on sticky notes, in my calendar, on long lists, in writing notebooks and planning notebooks, and in my head. I leave notes for my kids in their lunch boxes. I write notes in cards and emails and text messages to my family and friends. I send reminder notes and favor notes and random thoughts to my husband when he's at work. I have note pads and note books and note apps galore. Lots of places and spaces to make notes to myself. Do this. Do that. Don't forget this. Remember that. And I love them. They give me a certain sense of security. They assuage my anxiety. Or, at least I thought they did. I mean, they did...until they didn't. Somewhere along the line my note making went from being a helpful habit to being something more akin to an addiction. But, as far as I know, there's no twelve step program for note making. So, I'm on my own with this one. Over the last ...

Oh my Lord, it's December, people! The month when my brain goes a mile a minute during all of the minutes. The season when I am forever remembering that I've forgotten something. (How is it even possible to be constantly in a state of both forgetting and remembering??? It's like having my feet in two different dimensions at the same time. In one version of reality I am remembering everything--Yay; in the another version I am forgetting everything--Boo. (I hope there's a third reality where I'm just napping and reading and drinking coffee.) Fifteen minutes ago, I checked out twice at Target because the first time I forgot a gift card-- the gift card that was my main purpose for going to Target in the first place...and this was my third trip to Target in the last seven days. (insert eye roll here-- Target you are a blessing and a curse.) But my brain did not just short circuit on December 1st, oh no. That happened on November 24th... We visited my in-laws f...

I've been obsessively listening to audiobooks lately. I have multiple books running on my phone through Audible, plus library books running through Hoopla, AND the kids and I are listening to (and loving) The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens audiobook in the car. Not only am I listening to new books, but I'm also relistening to one of my favorite "pump me up" books, You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero, pretty much any few moments I get. I actually just paused an audiobook so that I could write this blog post. I'm still reading hardcopy, hold-in-my-hand books too, never fear (currently: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer; just finished: Obsidio (The Iluminae Files book 3...see earlier blog post on that trilogy) and Crazy Rich Asians (which I did not love)). BUT, it's audiobooks that hold my passion and attention right now. I'm not entirely sure why...the ease? the fact that I can listen while I drive or fold laundry or walk the dog? am I just "into" non...

Dear Diary, I was really tired last week. Like, really tired. Like in my bones. Throughout my body. In my brain. Just, tired. My first inclination is to react to this by powering through. I can do it. I'll get up and get going and it'll be fine. I ignore what my body is telling me with fatigue, and aches and pains, and brain fog, and I plow on through. And then, on the, like, third day of exhaustion, despite reasonable nights of sleep, it occurs to me that maybe I should listen to my body. Maybe it's okay to take it easy. Maybe the ridiculously heavy period I'm having is somehow related to how I'm feeling. Maybe my body needs me to slow down...just for a bit. Fun Fact: Did you know that back in biblical times, women went to a special place together during menstruation? The Red Tent. (The book of the same name, by Anita Diamant, is wonderful, by the way.) There were lots of reasons for this back then (some, not so great) that we don't need to get into ...

I want to simply share a yummy fall recipe with you today, but I'm not sure I can just do that. I am going to share a recipe, which I highly recommend. I've actually had a great week of new recipes. This Vegetarian White Chili plus a delicious Vegetarian No-Beef Stew and a hearty Pasta with Ground Beef and a Thai-Peanut Chickpea Slaw and a Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry. BUT, I'm feeling so raw and emotional lately, that I feel the need to do a little emoting here, too. Is it wrong to mix food and emotions? If so, I ain't right lately. Because Lord knows I've been stress eating like a boss this last week and I'm having trouble shifting gears back to healthy-girl. So, bear with me... The political and emotional climate in our country right now is so upsetting to me. I'm feeling a bit like a kid in tiny boat out in stormy waters. Genuinely, this all makes me feel very kid-like...naive and like my hopes for the world I want to live in are being...

Do you ever feel frazzled? Overwhelmed? Ready to burst from all the balls you're juggling, all the weight that's perched on your shoulders, all the expectations and judgments that feel like they're coming from other people, but really all come from your own thoughts? Maybe sometimes you swipe the thoughts and feelings aside and just keep going. But other times, the weight becomes too much, and you crack. Maybe you cry, maybe you yell, maybe you recede into yourself, maybe you eat, maybe you drink, maybe you have panic attacks, maybe you feel depressed. Whatever you do, you become suddenly aware of your tight grip on the wheel, the tension in your neck and shoulders, the roil of your stomach, the aching tiredness in your bones, and all the mistakes you're making. If you have ever felt like this, well, this post is for you. Read on. So, I use the meditation app Insight Timer pretty much everyday. (I highly recommend it.) I listen to guided meditations and use the m...

My dear, sweet bibliophiles, I bring you good news of fun adventures in outer space! A few months back, a bookseller in the small, independent bookstore, The Country Bookshop, in Southern Pines, NC, recommended a YA book called Illuminae . And, as I am want to do when other book lovers recommend books to me, I bought it, without reading the blurb or first page or anything else. Fast-forward to a couple of weeks ago...I picked it up. When I finished it just a few days later, I put book two in the series on hold at the library. (Moving quickly on to book two, or moving on to it at all, is not a given with me when it comes to trilogies/series. I have read A LOT of book ones and never moved on to book two--even when book one was enjoyable.) I devoured book two, Gemina , in a few days. This time, I put book three, Obsidio , on hold before I even finished book two. I will be picking that one up at the library today! So, this begs the question, why are these books so compelling? ...