• “My dear, all life is a series of problems which we must try and solve, first one and the next and the next, until at last we die.” – Dowager Countess, Downton Abbey

    What do we do when faced with something new? Do we blindly accept it? Overthink it? Consider the pros and cons and make an educated decision? Go with the recommendation of family and friends?

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  • Flipping Paradigms

    Our world is built upon the principle that first is better.

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  • Books were as much a part of my childhood as breathing. Bookshelves lined every available wall in our house, filled with books that my mom picked up at used book sales or stores for 25 cents. I read them all, educating myself so thoroughly that I never did a formal study of American history until I reached high school (I was home-educated, so this was an option).

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  • Don’t Force It

    I assembled a lot of furniture today.

    For the most part, I was successful.

    Except when I tried to force it.

    And so it is with life.

  • Stop signs. Yield signs. Four way stops. Traffic circles.

    They’re all useful.

    But only helpful in certain combinations.

  • This is The Stuff That Pings Me: a curated, ongoing series about the stuff that makes me laugh or cry, makes my heart beat a little faster or takes my breath away. It’s the stuff I read, watch, listen to, and think about. Books, podcasts, films, music, quotes, articles, whatever.

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  • My friend tugged on the silverware drawer. It groaned in protest and refused to budge.

    We were staying at an Airbnb, which meant learning the quirks of a new house—which floorboards creaked, how to operate the shower…and how to open the silverware drawer.

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  • In a slight departure from our regularly schedule programming, and with the summer Olympics only a few months away, I want to take a few minutes to make the case for why Calvinball should be an Olympic sport.

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  • I love Aldi. It’s a small discount grocery story that keeps its prices low by selling almost entirely its own brands, charging for bags (before that was cool), limiting the size of the store, and running minimal ads.

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  • Follow the Leader

    One of my goals for 2019 was to clean my metaphorical social media “house.” Over the years, my Facebook friends list had grown to include a lot of people I’ve only met once or twice. My Instagram feed was filled with accounts I’d stumbled across five or six years ago. And Twitter, well, it was Twitter. I wasn’t ready (and I’m still not) to throw in the towel entirely, but I wanted to regain intentional control of the social media I use. Here’s what I did.

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