I learned that if you want an eternal tube of toothpaste, just buy the worst charcoal toothpaste you can find. It will hardly foam, it will leave your sink and your toothbrush black and weirdly greasy, it won’t freshen your breath by much, and no matter how many months and months you use it, it will never ever run out. Ever. Money saving hack, so you’re welcome for that. I learned I’m not a huge fan of being thought pregnant….
My decade began and ended with a miracle. Around the start of the decade I was living in Honduras, terribly burned out and sad from years of too much loneliness and a few too many griefs. I decided to ask God for the impossible, and asked Him to move us back home in the spring, and not only back to North Carolina, but back to our old house we had left there. This was ridiculous for a variety of reasons….
I know Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Christmas is now making its presence known with blaring music and lights everywhere I look, and even the prettiest snowfall, drifting down on this city of mine and creating a hush in the mania. But for those of us trying to fill our lives with gratitude, every day is Thanksgiving day, right? So without further ado… Dear Tough Decisions, I hate making you, and I love when you are made, much…
I think I promised to tell you weeks (or was it months and months) ago how I was surviving my new job. Time has flown and here I am on my third week in, still alive and kicking although I could be dead in a ditch for all you guys know. I have been too busy to write- too busy moving and staying alive and eating pastries and vegging when my energy gave out, which it does about every three…
Dear Packing, I know people aren’t supposed to like packing, but there is something about fitting everything just so into a box that is immensely satisfying to me. I guess it’s like solving a puzzle, which is one of the best Sunday evening activities (I know, I’m 85). It sure makes this whole moving process a lot easier, all except the books. I started packing my books three times before I could leave them in the box. I’m just gonna…
I’m sitting at my favorite local coffee shop- favorite because it’s actually open until a decent hour of the evening unlike most shops. I can loiter here till almost midnight if I please, which is just my cup of tea. And I’m having a cup of tea, or actually a whole pot of tea, and a double-chocolate cookie the size of my face to balance out all the healthy effects the tea might have on me. I’m a firm believer…
Pack up the rest of your sort-of-summer clothes that you were still wearing and put them far away out of sight. Get out your biggest coats, and furriest boots if you haven’t already. Put an extra cozy blanket on the bottom of your bed, for when you want to curl up and keep your feet warm. Invest in a couple good pairs of fuzzy socks if you don’t have any. If you do, make a point of wearing them. Slippers…
Dear Autumn, is it just me or are you particularly lovely this year? You sure took your time getting here, but then the cold came, and with it, a profusion of colors which leaves me almost in pain at the beauty of it. I’m afraid I spend much more time looking out my office window at the brilliantly red and yellow trees than I should, but I just can’t help myself! Love, Enchanted Dear Dancing, thank you for being the…
Earlier this year I wrote an article for Forever His Princess magazine, on living a life without regrets. I’ve decided to share it with you nice folks as well. Enjoy… Why did I wear that? When I was a little girl, I had a shirt I simply loved. It was dirt brown, with long sleeves and pearl buttons, and it was just the bee’s knees. My older sisters hated it, and rightly so, but I wore it whether it…
Sometimes there are about a dozen things I want to tell you, but none of them are worthy of their own blog posts, so they sit in my head, gathering lint and fraternizing with their fellow baby ideas in there. The only way to fix this, since none of them can seem to develop into full-grown ideas, is to pile them all together and write you a chatty missive, seeing where the tide takes us. So here we go. First…
Take a day to unpack your warm clothes from storage. Wash the ones that smell, and fill your closet with the others. Do some outfit idea pictures, since the clothes will feel new and exciting from being in storage, then you can refer to these once you are tired of them mid-winter. Pack up your lightest summery clothes. Make sure they’re clean, then store them far away where you won’t see them till spring. Take this opportunity to clean out…
I love birthdays. I am not one of those Adulty McAdultsons who don’t tell anyone it’s their birthday, and spend the day exactly as every other day, letting it slide away in insignificance. (Ahem, you know who you are, you traitor to all birthday magic.) I think birthdays are meant to be celebrated, whether you’re turning seven or fifty-seven, and I’m on a mission to destroy the myth that tells adults they are too old for enjoying birthdays. I love…