I told a bunch of people recently that in the month of January I did only what I wanted to. For the whole month.

To tell the truth, I was a little nervous about what might happen because I have a secret fear that I'm lazy. What if I got through the...

My mother was a docent for many years. Which made her a terrific museum companion, except that woman had STAMINA when it came to viewing art.

I’d be limping 10 paces behind begging for another espresso while she called over her shoulder that...

Instead of telling you in my lighthearted but dictatorial fashion how to throw off your burdens, I want to talk to you about something near and dear to my heart.

My years of work in hunger relief led me to an interest in public health. I even...

Confession: there is one thing I acquire a LOT of. I purchase them without guilt, and I can’t ever have enough.

Plants.

I have supersized yards both front and back. In my wisdom I’ve rejected the idea of simplicity and made landscaping...

In January I encountered the weirdest car problem ever.

It didn’t help that I was still dripping wet from an interrupted shower when I raced out to move my car so my kid could drive her car to work.

I reversed out of the...

Let’s imagine your great-great-grandmother crossed the country in a covered wagon. She travelled 2500 miles through blizzards and droughts and clouds of locusts. On the way she lost 3 of her 8 children and bore a set of twins.

The wagon...

Am I the only one who finds infinity pools terrifying?

I’m not keen on swimming a solid lap and then FALLING OFF THE EDGE. I guess you can’t really fall off? Probably? But some of them are situated at the top of (more or less)...

I love a good junk drawer. I've got a bunch of them, and I always know where to look for the thing I need. My secret? I have a category for each. 

Here are some examples.

The key drawer. This one is super tiny so there's not much else that...

I had surgery last week.

A lot of people I know toss that line out like they’re saying, "I found a new dry cleaner last week." I am not one of those people.

Because I am terrified of being drugged and cut open.

That fear might be a vestige of...

A confession: as of Friday morning, I had 585 flagged emails in my inbox. I planned to come back to each one. REALLY! Cue maniacal laughter…

Ok, many of those were business receipts: my strategy is to leave them all in the inbox then move...

Guess what? You are not your mess. Again: you are not your mess.

You are not your exhaustion, your frustration or your lack of motivation.

If your house is beautifully decorated and perfectly organized, you're great. If you haven't seen the inside...

Vacations are tricky things. Your brother wants to go scuba diving, your Dad likes camping in the desert, your sister wants to visit museums, and your Mom's just looking forward to letting someone else do the cooking.

It's hard to find a venue that...