I'm trying my hand at Periscope! Yesterday, I shared one of my new favorite parenthacks. It's shockingly simple but is always paying big dividends!
Being my own boss
Book + Friend Bundling
These two guys were my first book club guinea pigs.
I'm on Modern Mrs. Darcy - one of my FAVORITE blogs - talking about my new favorite way to connect with friends and family.
I love to read, but realized I was only finishing one or two books a month. I love connecting with friends and family, but realized recently I was going months without talking to the most important people in my life.
Then, I discovered “temptation bundling.” “Temptation bundling” is linking together two activities — one you should do but maybe avoid or have trouble making time for; and one you love to do but can be easily forgotten among more urgent tasks.
What if I combined my goal of reading more with connecting with family and friends?
How I got my family to help around the house
Recently, I looked around my home and realized I WAS DOING ALL THE THINGS.
I am lucky enough to have a husband who cooks and does most of the grocery shopping. But guess what? With church and community events and family obligations, we can go days and days without eating dinner at home, which means he is basically off the hook.
But breakfast? Packed lunches? Laundry? Picking up? Cleaning up? Plain ole KEEPING UP?
That was ALL. ME.
Beryl and the books
Little known fact about me. I want to write a book. I want to write a book so badly. The problem is I. am. terrified. by the prospect. There is a voice in my head that yells so loudly when I think about writing a book. That voice tells me I have no idea how to write a book. That voice tells me I have no idea worth writing a book about. This voice tells me no one will read it.
I am trying desperately to quiet that voice. The only way to write a book is to start writing. Last year, I tried writing every day with a dear friend and one challenge we gave ourselves was writing an adventure tale.
This is my tale. I hope by sharing it - by just putting my words OUT THERE - I'll realize that starting is the hardest part ... but not as scary as the voice makes it seem.
So, here you go. My adventure tale.
Your right to own a gun is not absolute
People are talking about gun control. Over Facebook, over dinner, around town, I’ve found myself in multiple conversations about gun legislation and mental health and Constitutional rights. The tragic shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, - and President Obama’s impassioned speech afterwards - seemed to have sparked honest reflection on what we as a nation are doing wrong when it comes to guns.
I’ve noticed a reoccurring argument in many of the conversations I’ve had over the past few days. It’s an argument as old as guns themselves.
“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”
This theme is followed closely by a call for enforcing the gun control laws we already have and increased outreach care for the mentally ill.
No one - especially me - is going to argue against enforcement or attention to mental health. However, particularly with regards to mental heath - as my friend Kristin passionately argues here - there is no simple answer.
