Let’s make some Christmas magic The holidays are here, just when we need them most. Although the chaos of the world swirls outside your windows, you can focus on the many things that make this the best time of the year. Welcome the spirit of the season into your heart and into your home, and […]
Crush the Quarantine Blues and Get Busy Living
Making the Most Out of the Great Pause Are negative news and pandemic fears giving your morale the old 1-2 punch? If you’re feeling hopeless and apathetic, let’s crush these quarantine blues and get back to the business of living. Good times lie ahead! COVID has arrived at my home. I look across at my […]
Make Peace with Your Past
Thank you, Cheesy Rider! Lessons from my senior summer Do memories of past mistakes make you wince? Make peace with your past and you’ll find more joy in the present. We all have a few memories we regret. I have more than I’d like. I suppose we all do. Painful, humiliating, and impossible to forget, […]
How to Connect in this Crazy COVID-19 World!
Simple Socializing in a Pandemic How do you connect with other people when the whole world is hiding? It’s tough! In the first crazy rush of the pandemic, it was easy to feel alone and isolated. I missed my friends and craved time with other people. How could I connect with them? The mandatory six-foot […]
Finding Joy in Quarantine
Don’t Let the Epidemic Win! You may have noticed my blog is not entitled Plain Jane’s Guide to the End of the World. Perhaps it should be, given the current world crisis. But I stubbornly believe that finding joy is possible, even in the darkest times. If you’re looking for dramatic headlines or fear-inspiring statistics, […]
Finding Happiness in the Midst of the Pandemic
Staying Happy and Healthy in Uncertain Times My heart is pounding. I can’t help it. It’s beating wildly, trying to keep pace with the whirlwind of COVID-19 news that’s swirling around us all. How do you stay calm when your world is going crazy? It’s not that I’m frightened. I’m not. I’m not even particularly […]
Focus on the Positive for a Happier Life
4 Steps to a Positive Outlook I’m going to go out on a limb here. We are lucky to be alive today. Unless you’re living in a war zone or a third world country, it doesn’t get any better than this. Our homes are better, our clothes are better, our food is better. College for […]
Savor the Gifts of the Day
Lessons from the Hunger Trains There is a strange Christmas ritual at my house that always makes me laugh. This year, it also served as a great reminder to enjoy the gifts each day brings. This ritual is based on a game my kids invented when they were quite young, and it continues to entertain […]
Make the Most of Every Moment
Stop sweating the small stuff and focus on what matters most. Stick with me on this, I promise it will end well. We live in a fantasy. The fantasy is a fairy tale where no one dies. That only happens in someone else’s story, in some other time, in some other place. Not now. Not […]