Spotlight

It's the most wonderful time of the year...       If you're like most people, you've spent a lot of December shopping (or thinking about shopping). Something clicks this time of year, where many people have an inexplicable urge to splurge on $30 socks for their mothers, or pick up bottles of body mist for every distant…

This week's inspiration photo comes in the form of a video of a very very tiny house. If you don't have time to watch, I can sum it up: it is possible for two people to live--and thrive--in 128 square feet. From the youTube description: Tammy and Logan began with small steps. They sold one car and moved into…

  National holidays are always low-hanging fruit when it comes to coming up with things to write about, so I'm not even going to try to be clever or avoid the obvious here. Let's talk turkey. Or Prime Rib. Or tofu rolled around stuffing. I'm thinking about food today, and judging by the crowds at the grocery…

When we are children, we are (usually) at the mercy of our elders' judgment. For most people that means that we have unpleasant memories of having been treated unfairly. Even the best parents and teachers throw around a "because I said so" when they don't feel a need to explain themselves, and we have a…

Those of us in Florida are enjoying our first chilly day of the season. Blustery, wintry days are so rare here, so they tend to be notable! Our friends up the East coast are starting to see snow, and all over the country, people are already gearing up for the holidays and making plans for…

I hear that old insurance company jingle talking about being a "good neighbor" all the time, and it occurred to me today that so many of us don't really connect with our neighbors the way we used to. Maybe since the whole world became accessible from our home computers, it's been hard to remember that…

In honor of this week's holiday, I thought it might be fun to toss you all a few quickie writing prompts about scary things! For each one, only allow yourself three to five minutes. 1. What's the most scared you have ever been? What happened? What happened after it was over? 2. What was your most memorable…

If you don't know anything about Brene Brown, she's a social work researcher who has spent the last decade or so studying shame and vulnerability. Before appearing with Oprah, she presented two TED talks (which I recommend you watch), about her own life experiences, her research, and striving to understand the connection between human connections,…