I did it again.

I checked out another book about home organization. This time it was Martha Stewart—the QUEEN of all things in the home! Once again, I just knew I was going to read some amazing paragraph, some unique and mind-blowing tip that would change me into an organized, label-wielding, container-buying maven.

There are days when I have oodles of patience and compassion and understanding. And then there are days when I’m a little snarky and blunt and fiesty. Today is one of the latter.

Slime.

I HATE slime. I’ve hated it since the first time my kids brought it home from some party years ago. It’s messy and nasty and always seems to find a way to ruin things.

A friend posted on social media about her love of maps, and it got me thinking.

I also love maps. I always have. When I was younger I had a globe that I adored. It was my favorite piece of decor. There is just something magical about a map—the possibility of travel and adventure right in front of you. I love, love them.

My family used to go vacation at Lake Powell every summer. One of my favorite things to do was get in the speedboat and go to Rainbow Bridge, where we would climb the cliffs and jump off into the water. It was so fun—but also incredibly scary.

2023 was a long year for me, mostly because I had a frozen shoulder for the majority of it. There were a lot of painful, sleepless nights filled with endless tossing and turning. I stretched, medicated my pain, googled A LOT, bought, tried-out, and then returned the most expensive pillow contraption known to man, and even went to a chiropractor for relief. I had my husband give me a PRP shot, which I couldn’t even get done without a humiliating fainting episode in his office.

My dog is old.

In dog years, she is approaching 98. Ninety-eight!

But in regular people years, she is merely 13, and that time has gone way too fast.

A few months ago, I watched an old interview with Michael Caine and he spoke of an incident early in his career where he told his director of his play that he couldn’t make his entrance on the stage because there was a chair in his way. In a bit of exasperation, the director told him to “use the difficulty!”

Once again, it is Nutcracker time at our house. I have one less dancer this year, but the life lessons just keep on coming.

“I can’t really remember Grandpa Haddock anymore, Mom. What was he like?”

I saw it first in print. I was casually flipping through the pages of a random magazine, and stopped because the pictures were absolutely gorgeous. I looked closer. The Hiawatha trail.

I believe people can learn a lot from mistakes—improving and growing after failures. In my opinion, it is a crucial part of any successful life.

I also have children in the public school system.

These two things go hand in hand, right?

“We’re all just one small adjustment away from making our lives work.”

This is a line from a movie that came out years ago, but the truth of it lives on in my head. One small adjustment. A lot of products we use today needed a little tweaking first. Play-doh, Post-it notes, Coca-Cola, and the Slinky have similar origin stories where a little adjustment was needed, and then everything fell into place. So if this is true for business ideas, is it also true for us?

I have a few teenagers living in my house right now. I’ve had at least one teenager in my house for the past 11 years, actually. I am a little more experienced now than I was a decade ago. Although I’m getting better at riding the emotional roller coasters, I still need some practice.

I do dumb things sometimes. Really dumb things.

I don’t advertise all of the stupid decisions I make, but this one ended in me wearing a boot, which meant that I had to tell and retell the story many, many times. And when you have to tell a story so many times, it gives you the opportunity to really think about what you did wrong, and how you can be smarter.

About a month ago I was out running errands, like normal. As I left the store and spotted my car, I couldn’t help but laugh a bit. I felt so grateful for a car that I loved, and especially for my windshield sunshades that make it look like I drive Sally, from the movie, Cars.

I drove my daughter to college last week.

From Texas, it is a VERY long drive. Just under 19 hours, I didn’t plan to drive straight through. But that is exactly what happened.

The summer of 2024 was fast. A blur. It was filled with the normal things like sleeping in, family reunions, vacations, and hours of swimming and watching movies. But for me, the most memorable part of it was my cough.

Brian and I were newly married in the summer of 1998. We were both students, with no kids and no money, happy and so in love.

I tried to cheat, I think.

Or maybe I got bamboozled. I’m not sure.