Skip to content

stress relief

14 Comments

We arrived at my in-laws near eight and the kids snuggled in for the night. Meanwhile Andy and his mom poured the wine, set out the snacks. Martin (a friend of ours from Austria) shuffled the cards. We gathered around the table, dealt the cards, began to play. And the stories flowed. Of childhood and Austria and the crazy-busy week. We laughed and teased and didn’t want to go to bed. But the hours kept churning and our wine glasses were empty. My head hit the pillow and all  of… Read more stress relief →

behind the comments (soLs)

36 Comments

Words have power. A power all of their own. A power like no other. Words can heal giggle love admire strike fake encourage please ponder Power. I want to tap this power during the Slice Challenge. Not just in the writing I do here, but more importantly in the   comments I leave for others. I’m humbled that people trust Stacey and me enough to start a blog, to join the challenge, to document pieces of their lives. How can I show the slicing community how much they mean to… Read more behind the comments (soLs) →

a morning conversation (soLs)

25 Comments

For the past few years, storms have brought an extra body into our bed at night. The good news is, when Sam turned six, he proclaimed:  “Six year olds aren’t afraid of storms.” We’ve been waiting to test the theory. Late last night, a storm rolled in, and soon Sam snuggled under my covers, took over my pillow, and whispered, “I need you, Mom.” It’s because he says sweet things like this that I don’t kick him out. The next morning, with my muscles sore from being sandwiched between two… Read more a morning conversation (soLs) →

it is about to begin…

4 Comments

Tomorrow marks March. After five years, March holds a special place in my year. It is the month of the Slice of Life Challenge, which Stacey and I host on Two Writing Teachers. This year it feels significant. Maybe it’s because of the five year anniversary. Maybe it’s because last weekend people were talking about the challenge at Dublin Literacy Conference. Maybe it’s because I’ve helped more than 20 people set up a blog in the last week. Maybe it’s because the challenge has its own hashtag (#slice2012) on Twitter.… Read more it is about to begin… →

ncis (soLs)

6 Comments

We (Andy, Karianne, and I) are NCIS junkies. It is an addiction. Truly. And I love this about us. Right now, they are waiting for me to watch the episodes from tonight. It’s too late to watch them both (NCIS and NCIS Los Angeles), so we’ll watch LA. Last week it was “To Be Continued.” We’ve been waiting all week. And now we are still waiting. Because I’m writing. Which brings me to the end of this little snippet of time, because I love them too much to keep them… Read more ncis (soLs) →

4 seasons in 3 days (soLs)

5 Comments

Yesterday I went for a walk under a crisp blue sky with the sun beating down on me. It was summer. The grass turning green. The tree branches stretched toward the sun. Flowers breaking free from the hard ground. It was spring. This morning I creeped along, my tires slipping on the snowy road. Giant snowflakes, the size of tablespoons, swirled around. I tucked my shoes in my bag and wore boots. It was winter. On my way home the wind howled. The grey sky spit rain. Dry leaves spun… Read more 4 seasons in 3 days (soLs) →

pie (soLs)

24 Comments

Nearly fifteen years I’ve been trying to learn the art of rolling out homemade pie crust. Fifteen years filled with failure. My mom is a pie artist. She whips out crusts. She used to say, “You’ve gotta hold your mouth right.” Fifteen years and I know there’s more to it than that. This summer I got serious. Mom came over many times. Made the dough. Showed me the art. Hovered over me. In the end I watched. She rolled. Held her mouth right. I tried, but didn’t hold my mouth… Read more pie (soLs) →

mission STORY

2 Comments

So I think this little image is going to start appearing more often in my blog posts. In fact, I even gave it its own label. It’s something that is slowly spinning around my being. Mission Story. What does it mean? And why is it taking up so much brain space? It’s about remembering your story is unwritten. It’s unfolding. Sometimes we think things are decided, but they’re not. This life you’re living, it’s not done. Story is organic. Constantly living and changing and adapting. I like this. I like… Read more mission STORY →