Moving overseas is the kind of thing that everyone imagines themselves doing “one day,” but rarely imagine doing “tomorrow morning, with their family of four.” Yet, this is something we undertook just a month ago, leaving behind the snug pleasures of Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States, for North Fitzroy, Australia (a Melbourne inner suburb). […]
No Spend Month – Feb. 2018
We are once again kicking off an annual family tradition of designating February “No Spend Month.” I originally read about this creative family challenge on the now-defunct (but highly missed) site, Small Notebook, and was instantly intrigued. We did it, and loved it – and have been doing it every February (or occasionally another month) […]
2011 Check-in and Reflection on 2010
What I learned in 2010 is simple: the things I swore to myself I wouldn’t do have brought me the most joy in my life. When I was in high school, I told myself daily that I was going to use my years of adulthood to work in a high-powered (but otherwise undefined) job, never […]
When Freckles Hobnobbed with Martha Stewart at MLSO Headquarters
I have to say, it’s a bit humbling to be given an umbrella by a pitying and insistent homeless man when one is on a business trip in New York City. “I can tell you really need this!” the kind man said, gesturing to his own warm set of woolen hats, forcing the already-opened awning […]
The First Month as an Entrepreneur – My “Martha” Calendar
If you’ve read Martha Stewart Living magazine, you know that one of the most prominently placed items that appears in the publication is Martha’s own monthly calendar. I read through it every month, even though I don’t even so much as glance at the Letter from the Editor or the Table of Contents. Frankly, it’s […]
Creating a Wealth of Experience to Pull From…Via Mentors
So, here’s the thing about this little company I’m starting. I’ve, uh, never started a company before. (Throat clearing sound.) And certainly not a food company. (A hard cough.) And, I need to cultivate business wisdom and experience as fast as possible, because in less than two weeks, I will be my own boss. (Yeeeeeeeessss!) Here’s […]
Happiness Project Works It Out, Final Recap
It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, but I was holding onto a secret that I wasn’t quite ready to share. But, as of yesterday, the secret is no more. I’m leaving my steady job during a huge economic downturn…to start my own small business venture full-time! So, why am I not throwing up yet? […]
Happiness Project, Month Three: Cultivating Creativity
May’s happiness project felt really great. We really did create and enjoy many happy family memories–even our first trip to Iowa to visit my Dad. It’s funny how much it takes to go from wanting to do something to actually doing something, however. Here’s what I learned last month. There is no substitute for a […]
Happiness Project, Month Two: Creating (and Enjoying) Family Memories
It’s May, which means I continue on my happiness quest one month wiser (or whatever); here are the three takeaways I have from last month. Don’t diss the incremental. Progress is progress. Even though I only made progress on two of my five critical success factors (CSFs) 20% of the days last month, the progress […]
Happiness Project, Month One: Aim Higher
So the Happiness Project is on! I’m sure it’s psychosomatic but the past few days also happened to be some of the best days I’ve had in a while, even though I was only able to mark “Yes” for some of my five CSFs (more about that later) each day. Still, the point of this whole thing is […]
Happiness Project, Month Zero: Plotting
In 2009, I was lucky enough to hear Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.com, speak. As you might expect with a presentation titled “Delivering Happiness,” he spoke of finding meaning in lots of the typical (and, in many cases, typically vague) ways…”What could you do happily for the next 10 years, even if you never made […]
Oil Painting for a Dollar? Done.
One of the hardest things about No Spend Month is how it cuts into one of our family’s most cherished activities, Saturday morning yard sale mania. In theory, these outings shouldn’t be affected by limited spending, since they are already so cheap by nature. But the problem is that we don’t want cheap stuff for […]