What Motivates You: Calling or Ego?

I found this gem of an article in the March 2014 issue of Inc. Magazine.  I wish it were an entire book – there’s much to consider here. But narrowing it down to three basic distinctions isn’t a bad place to start. I’m taking some of this verbatim from columnist Shelley Prevost – these are […]

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A Quieter Life

We had a great weekend. Saturday, my in-laws hosted a family BBQ in the back yard. It was relaxing and fun (except when my sister-in-law’s 7 pound chihuahua made a power move on THIS DOG, who currently weighs in at 89.3 pounds. That was a little tense. But funny afterwards, because the little dog did […]

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Book Review: Rare Bird by Anna Whiston-Donaldson

About halfway through this book, I stopped reading, found the author on Twitter, and messaged her: Rare Bird is breathtaking. Thank you!  Indeed, Rare Bird is the brilliant, heartbreaking, yet somehow encouraging memoir of a mother coming to terms with the death of her twelve-year-old son, Jack, and her struggle to keep life afloat with […]

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Bikes, Cows, Dogs. Also…Footloose

So much to catch up on. Blog posts are stacking up in my head! And then I sat down to write this update and Steve starts watching Footloose. I mean, who wouldn’t be inspired by that?!? Let’s hear it for the boy!  I want to finish this before the farm kid finds his rhythm, so […]

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Our Try at DIY

  We refinished a bedroom dresser this weekend! It was quite the adventure. I’ve longed to refinish this dresser for awhile now, along with the mismatched assortment of side tables we’ve gathered along the way (the overall look of which was less “charmingly eclectic” than “indoor yard sale”). The dresser dates all the way back […]

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Three Books I’m Excited to Read

Planning my blog post this morning, I was working with a theme of “Summer: Our Chance to Read More Books!” That’s when I realized that I see EVERY new season as an opportunity to get more reading in, so this theme was a bit ridiculous. In summer, I think of long afternoons reading on the […]

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Book Review: Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas

Friends, THIS is the novel you should read this weekend. Okay, I’m not sure if that’s possible, as the pub date isn’t for a few days yet. But order a copy now and then take a day off from whatever you have planned to dive into this astonishing book. Mother, Mother is Koren Zailckas’ first novel. […]

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THIS DOG…Not the Biggest Loser

Today was Bergie’s BIG day at the vet: her second weigh-in since she joined our family. As you may recall, she’s been on a slim-down regimen for the past three months, and we’ve noticed a small but exciting difference as her hip bones emerged from the flab. She’s still a full-figured pup, but we’ve been […]

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