my journey, destination unknown
The family website. I find that I change its focus ever few years as our family changes. And of course, re-evaulation of the blog is on my Happiness Project plan. Once a year, every August, I look it over. Does it have a mission that fits with what I want and with our family? How…
Rings. I like the idea of rings. My wedding ring has been a tight squeeze to get over my knuckle since I was pregnant, so I’ve been going without rings for years now. But last year while we were in Galway, I let the girls pick out Claddagh rings. And I found a thumb ring…
Five years ago, our family of four went through a major downsize. We moved from a three-story, three-bedroom, 3.5 bath, two car garage, storage room, giant house (in the absolute best place ever – nothing will ever compare to Pine Lake) to a downtown Decatur condo. Two-bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, a laundry room, and…
One of these days, I’m going to get back to writing some instead of simply posting photos and more photos. I miss the writing, but have been so overwhelmed lately. I believe that the end is in sight once again. I’m caught up at work and now onto forward-looking projects there. The full house organization…
Summer. The time for our big family trips. We’ve made some memories on our travels – camping in Evie on the Out West trip. Living in Galway for three weeks on the Irish summer. Turkey, Japan, St. John, Cape Cod, and more. Unless by some miracle the stars align next summer and we finally get…
Each year when summer approaches, I put together a list of all the projects I want to accomplish while school is out and activities are slower. And I always over-estimate the time that we will have to accomplish it all. “I’m not really traveling this summer; I’ll have lots of time!” While the house is…
June is the “Blogs” month in my Happiness Project. In 2014 and 2015, I spent hours and hours cleaning up all of my blogs. I moved any remaining content on Blogger over to WordPress. I merged some blogs. I found new owners for some blogs and websites (for example: UUHomeshool, PLAIN, and KPL Fans). I…
I think this has to be the title of my next (aka first) book. Maybe I should claim the URL if it hasn’t been already. Alas, looks like ThriveInPlace.com has been claimed already. But “Thrive in Place” (derived from Shelter In Place), has been my mantra for years now. I don’t love Atlanta. I never…
I have posted my final photo-a-day for 2015! This past year, I posted my daily photos to Picasa and to facebook…. In my 2008 daily album on picasa, I posted 202 photos. In my 2009 daily album on picasa, I posted 227 photos. In my 2010 daily album on picasa, I posted 346 photos. In…
As I planned my trip to France, I started to think about things to do while I was in the area around Nice. I’ve been to most of the touristy places in the area and wanted to do something different. On the same day, I came across the Lerins Islands and a friend recommended them…
As I stepped into the hotel breakfast Saturday morning, I knew I was home. Not my real home of course, but a place that was absolutely familiar to me. A place I love and I miss. France. Having traveled to France more than a dozen times now, I still very much don’t belong here. I…
I had no idea. I knew it was bad, but didn’t realize how bad it really was. When I stepped out the door to walk Phelix early yesterday morning, I realized how ABSOLUTELY, AMAZING, and WONDERFUL it can actually be and was hit by the realization that it had been awful for weeks now. WONDERFUL:…
The condo is organized. The car is clean. The dog is groomed. The family to-do list is created. The schedule is up-to-date. The inbox is at zero. And yet I still have difficult, dark days. I was sure that once I got this organized that it would be easier. To be honest, it is easier,…
Once again, it’s the first of the month. A time to clean up, update, and prepare for the month ahead. At home, I’m nearing the end of the round of de-cluttering/cleaning; I wish we had finished last week, but there was just too much going on. On my computer, I’ve taken care of the long…
Lately, I have been dreaming a lot at night. A lot. Often, I wake up feeling not at all rested due to my dreams. I have the feeling that I need to start a dream diary, but my mornings are so rushed, I’m not sure that I would keep it up for very long. I…
I heard the initial call. From the very first, I knew this was no standard call. My heart hurt. I knew more than one life would be changed. While I tend to find solace in listening to the scanner, once in a while the news isn’t reassuring. Is it worth it? No idea. 99% of…
one step back. Last week at this time I was feeling on top of everything. Work, home, volunteering, exercising and the rest. Today I’m feeling like I am barely staying afloat. I want to do some fun things with the kids during their spring break, but hardly see how I can get through the days…
We all do it, don’t we? You see someone do something that goes against your *style* or convictions and you judge. I do it far too often. I try to stop myself every time. That person has a reason for doing what they do. Call me naive. I don’t mind. I know I am, and…
I have posted my final photo-a-day for 2014! This past year, I posted my daily photos to Picasa and to facebook…. In my 2008 daily album on picasa, I posted 202 photos. In my 2009 daily album on picasa, I posted 227 photos. In my 2010 daily album on picasa, I posted 346 photos. In…
Last year, the girls when the girls headed “back-to-school” it was actually Camille’s first time ever going to school, so not really “back” for her. I have dreams of getting “so much done” now that school is back in session. Of course, I had dreams of getting “so much done” once school was out for…