Recent Posts
Journaling to Set and Achieve Writing Goals
When I was a foil fencer, I kept a meticulous journal to track progress, practice, and goals. Now, here's how I'm applying what I learned to writing.
How to Harness Patience, Expectations, Flexibility, and Relationship in Parenting for a Smoother, Less Stressful Life with Your Children
Tantrums, meltdowns, anger, sadness: How do we deal with children's normal emotions? Here are some tips from a mother of three.
Reflections on Our Homeschool Year (2022-2023)
Cataloging learning in an always-learning household is a challenge! Here's what we've been up to this year—such as learning math from board games, joining a new co-op, and of course, plenty of time outside!
I wrote 200 words a day for two years. Here's what I learned.
I wanted to write regularly. I had writing goals! To meet them, I needed to make consistent progress... so I began writing daily. Here's how I did it, the methods that worked for me, and the best lessons learned.
Why Self-Awareness and Experience Are Better Than Data
Many people are enamored of quantified self apps. But being aware of your body and what you need—rest, exercise, food, water—is a crucial part of being an embodied being. How can we use both subjective experience and objective data to iterate and improve?
What Does it Mean to be a Scholar?
Drawing on the insights of a Ronin Institute Women IG+ discussion, I explore what ties us researchers and writers together. What makes a scholar a scholar? Is it a title, or a state of mind?
What You Gain From 2 Years of Writing a Weekly Blog (5 Key Lessons)
What makes writing a blog worth it—especially when you're starting out and traffic is low? How do you analyze your content, build an audience, and keep up the motivation to write every week?
"How do you do it?" 5 Ways to be Patient, Calm, and Improve Your Relationship with Your Children
Do you feel your kids are stressing you out? Here are tried-and-true tips for building up calmness and cooperation.
Ten Things We Learned From One Year Writing Our Blog
We've been writing a weekly blog for a year! Here's what we've learned about meeting our deadlines, writing and editing, building readership, running a blog, and appreciating life!
Brainstorming: Are All Ideas Welcome? Why You Shouldn't Discount Ideas Before They're Explored
Why I consider all ideas—not just the "good" ones—and how doing so improves my work, helps me find unique solutions in arguments and software, and leads to counterintuitive insights.
Why Watching My Parents Cook Means I Can't Share Soup Recipe—And How I'm Encouraging My Kids to Cook Too
Growing up, I spent many hours swiveling a barstool at the kitchen counter, watching my parents cook. Here's what I learned—and how I'm setting up my kitchen to encourage my kids to learn the same.
The Learning Edge: Independence Outside My Comfort Zone (Study Abroad #5)
To grow and change, we need to reach our limits and push beyond them. Being abroad was one big out-of-my-comfort-zone adventure—on campus, exploring Sydney, and beyond—and here's what I learned.
How My Phoneless Semester Reminded Me To Stay Present: Life Isn't All Digital (Study Abroad #4)
Phones connect us to the not-present. But the present is where we are. Here's why, and how, a semester without a phone showed me the best of putting my phone away to attend to what's in front of me.
Finding a Voice Down Under: A Short History of My Blogging Career (Study Abroad #3)
I started writing my first blog while abroad in 2009. Here's why I began, what I enjoyed about blogging, and the key reasons I continue now.
The Necessity of Solitude and Reflection in Learning (Study Abroad #2)
Learning can have a cyclic nature from experiencing, to reviewing and reflecting, to learning from the experience, to planning for future experiences. Here's how that cycle played out for me while abroad.
Seeking Growth: Why I Decided to Study Abroad in College (Study Abroad #1)
Vassar's campus was a happy green bubble—but a predictable bubble. Outside the bubble, the unpredictable heralded change, learning, and personal growth.
Why Outdoor Time Is Important For Kids
We spent a lot of time outdoors. Being in nature makes everyone happier—and allows our kids to have more freedom and independence.
Only a Parent Can Understand Love
I thought I knew what love was. Then I had a son and it changed everything. I felt love for the first time, and it was that day that I really grew up and became a man.
Adjusting to Life in North Idaho
How I began switching from being a full-time academic in Boston to some mishmash of stay-at-home-mom, scholar, gardener, and writer. Change is a process; here's part of the story.
Discovering the Traditional Catholic Mass
How I discovered the traditional Latin Mass a few years ago, why that discovery changed everything for me, and what was wrong with the Novus Ordo Masses I'd attended.