Tag: inspiration


Blow drier + bathtub does not = Jacuzzi

Blow drier + bathtub does not = Jacuzzi

Or: Lessons learned the hard way from ideas that sounded good at the time When I use hair driers in hotels, I’m frequently hypnotized by the giant warning tag they all have. You know the one — it warns you in bold red letters not to immerse your blow drier in a tub of water. For years, I’ve stared at…

Food Inc. inspires rethinking of what we eat and how we eat

Food Inc. inspires rethinking of what we eat and how we eat

John and I finally watched Food Inc. this weekend. If you haven’t seen this challenging documentary on how the American food supply works, now is a good time to put it in your Netflix queue — Earth Day is Thursday and if you have any doubts now that what you put on your plate affects the environment, you won’t after…

Micro change that's actually pretty darned big

Micro change that's actually pretty darned big

More magazine has an article in its April issue headlined “The power of micro change.” I just returned from a work trip and one of my guilt airplane pleasures is photo-heavy women’s magazines. Glamour is a go to, and I try to mix it up with some others I wouldn’t typically read at home: Vogue, O, Real Simple or anything…

Would you trade misery at home for success in your work?

Would you trade misery at home for success in your work?

David Brooks at the New York Times asked a tough question this week in his column: Two things happened to Sandra Bullock this month. First, she won an Academy Award for best actress. Then came the news reports claiming that her husband is an adulterous jerk. So the philosophic question of the day is: Would you take that as a…

What are you doing to be happier?

What are you doing to be happier?

If happiness is good for your health, what are you doing about it? Yesterday I blogged about new research that shows a connection between mental and physical health. Deborah Kotz at U.S. News and World Report blogged about the same topic — but took it much farther by interviewing Gretchen Rubin, a New Yorker who spent a year working on…

What should I be when I grow up? How do you know?

What should I be when I grow up? How do you know?

I’ve pretty much worked in the same field since high school — I got a job pasting up newspaper pages using X-Acto knives and hot wax when I was 17 and I’ve earned my paycheck from something related to writing or media ever since. This week I met a friend of a friend who is studying criminal justice after getting…

Are you free? If you aren't, is it time to free yourself?

Are you free? If you aren't, is it time to free yourself?

Last night, John and I went to see Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Blind Boys of Alabama — a phenomenal show full of joyous, uplifting music that makes my soul feel good. One of my favorite numbers of the night was Blind Boys singing the traditional spiritual Free At Last. Though it’s a powerful anthem of the Civil Rights movement,…

Party pointers from a hostess who learned later in life

Party pointers from a hostess who learned later in life

John and I like to host parties. In our dozen years together, we’ve hosted multi-course dinner parties, booze-fueled cocktail parties and backyard barbecue parties. John grew up with parents who threw parties so whether through nature or nurture, it comes naturally to him. Though my mom often had friends pop over for a beer, other than her 30th birthday, I…

Day 31: How will you celebrate your gratitude tomorrow?

Day 31: How will you celebrate your gratitude tomorrow?

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me in a Month of Thanksgiving, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 31: How will you celebrate your gratitude tomorrow? Is it a long tradition or a new idea? When I launched the Month…

Day 30: Giving thanks, social media style

Day 30: Giving thanks, social media style

Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me in a Month of Thanksgiving, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas. Day 30: Tweeting about thankfulness and getting ideas from a blog Thanksgiving is this week and that means lots of other people are…