northern life
I didn’t realize the depth of my unmet need for outdoor adventure until I hastily concocted a winter tent camping trip over lunch one day with a co-worker. While I love exploring with my family, I read Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail thru-hiking memoirs all winter, and I am consumed by a longing to hike to […]
When Beatrice was little, people said to us all of the time, “She’ll sleep well tonight!” And we always laughed, but inside we thought, “Nope, she’s going to sleep the same as she does every night, because she’s always this active.” Since then I love to ask other parents what comment they hear most […]
Like we often do, because great minds think alike, Jen and I decided independently to get standing desks this year. If you’ve read any of the research, they are calling sitting the new smoking, and saying that even if you exercise regularly you cannot overcome the adverse affects of sitting at your work all day. I’ve […]
Forget filling your car with hand warmers and signal flares, true winter survival is about keeping your spirits up and your eyes on the prize (i.e. spring). Here’s a foolproof recipe to help you survive winter a.k.a. enjoy our fourth season. First, get comfortable. Head to your favorite pharmacy/co-op/Amazon and fill your cart with Vitamin D, a […]
You may have guessed by now that while Breanne and I have much in common, there are some ways we differ. For example, her kind of adventure, and my kind of adventure. She packs up her baby and hikes to a cabin in the winter. I pack my Kindle and park myself on the beach. […]
{Continue reading…}
I can’t believe I’m even posting about the little first birthday party we threw for Beatrice on this site, alongside Jen’s elaborate and exceptionally awesome affairs. You know how Jen felt inadequate posting about her Anna Maria “adventure”? Well I feel the same about parties. I tend to think small, telling myself that having just […]
{Continue reading…}
Me, with my parents, after graduating with my master’s degree When I was 23 or so I had a job but like most people my age, it wasn’t what I wanted to be doing. I knew I could do more and I was hungry to have that job where you can really use your brain […]
{Continue reading…}
Adam and I are like puppies: we get frantic and anxious if we don’t get our daily walk. Too much nervous energy. So Saturday mornings we usually pack up the Bee and head out for a spin around Wirth Lake. There are a lot of reasons why we still carry around Beatrice in the front […]
{Continue reading…}
I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been with Adam since I was 18 (and thus have never developed proper dating skills) or because I went to high school during the grunge era (and thus cultivated a lifelong aversion to fussiness), but I suck at getting dressed up to go out. Last weekend I was […]
{Continue reading…}
I heart yoga. I started about 18 months ago, shortly after leaving my full-time job. It had been on my I-really-should-but-don’t-have-time list for years, and I finally screwed up my courage and took a beginner’s class at a studio down the street from me. I had the best teacher who seemed to read my mind […]
{Continue reading…}
I wasn’t going to write about this but then thought: what is northern life without an occasional carbon monoxide scare? So: I’d been noticing that Adam and I were feeling slightly sick every weekend. Not real sick, but tired, headache-y, lightheaded — a general malaise. And last weekend it was even worse: Saturday I just […]
{Continue reading…}I can’t remember the last time my husband and I went out for Valentine’s Day. I think it was an early seating at some popular place more than 10 years ago. They’d clearly brought in extra tables and I was closer to the person next to me on the banquette than my husband across the […]
{Continue reading…}