Book Review: Better Than Before

April 2, 2015.Reading time 2 minutes.

I loved both of Gretchen Rubin’s “project” books (The Happiness Project, Happier at Home) and Better Than Before is a fantastic addition to the collection. Here, Rubin explores the question, “How do we make (and keep) habits that work for us?” She shares her research and personal experience after trying pretty much every habit making/breaking […]

Extraordinary Time

March 13, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

So…blogging for Lent. That went well, huh? :) I’m not sure what happened. I woke up on day 3 with a clear plan to write here about shopping for a new car and realizing that I am more of a “satisficer” than a “maximizer” when it comes to adding new things to my life. (I […]

A mini-manifesto on enthusiasm and aging

October 7, 2014.Reading time 4 minutes.

Are you enthusiastic or pessimistic about new things? I consider myself a pretty enthusiastic person, but I had a wakeup call on this recently when I read a post by Gretchen Rubin that said something like, “I’m really excited about the technology for automated cars!” My first thought was, “Wow-I’m not excited about that at […]

Kitchen Lessons

November 18, 2013.Reading time 8 minutes.

We are moving to a new house (!!!) As soon as we move, we will renovate the kitchen. Not because our tastes are so exacting, but because right now the kitchen features bright green formica countertops, broken tile floors, and a white plastic kitchen sink that looks like the aftermath of when Julia Stiles died […]

Does Your Personality Make You Unhappy?

September 18, 2013.Reading time 6 minutes.

The question makes me giggle. It suggests a life so absurd – so thoroughly outside our control – that it’s like we’re all living in a game my older brothers used to torture me with, where they’d grab both my wrists and make me whack myself in the face while saying things like, “Don’t hit […]