We’re already well into Q2, so I can say with the certainty of retrospect and the vividness of recency that everything on this list helped me get through Offspring’s first few months at daycare and my own first semester teaching a new-to-me-course. I’m hoping several will continue to help through…
If I were choosing based entirely on the impact on my life, this list would be full of diapers and bottles and so forth, but I’m sticking with my plan of not including baby-centric things. Still, you can tell that baby life has been getting easier to manage, because I’ve…
The astute observers among you may have noticed that it is, in fact, no longer 2023, and, moreover, it hasn’t been for over a month. You are correct. However, for all of that time, I’ve either been heavily pregnant or had a newborn to take care of. (Hooray! We’re all…
It’s been a while! I’ve been working with and around health challenges which have made it tough for me to get things done on the schedule I’d prefer. So here’s what was making my life better these past (gasp!) two quarters. Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention-And How To…
This winter has been busy and stressful, but I’ve still found a little time to enjoy things. Here are a few of them: A new toothbrush When I realized that my decade-old electric toothbrush was brushing only half-heartedly even with its ancient battery fully charged, I knew I had to…
2022 ended with a busy three months, but they weren’t so busy that they precluded little things that brought some joy. Here are a few of them: brushing my teeth before I shower Sometimes, I delay showering at night until it’s way too late, and then I don’t want to…
It’s the best of yearly quarters, it’s the worst of yearly quarters: April is a very intense time at work, as the end of the school year brings final projects and presentations and burnout (for both students and faculty/staff). May is a million loose threads as we wrap up the…
I’m purposely slowing my roll with this blog this year, in part to see how it affects my mental health. So far, taking a break has been good for me, and I’m realizing that, if I choose to continue, more sporadic posting may be more sustainable. I like making these…
We’re almost at the end of 2021, a year of confusing changes and choices (What are the rules for everything opening back up? Where am I OK going? Whom do I feel comfortable seeing? Where do I feel comfortable not wearing a mask? What is my “new normal”? Why are…
A lot of the best stuff in my life this quarter has been specific to my location and situation. Pandemic-related restrictions have been loosened in my area, and I’m fortunate that the people I’m close to have access to vaccines. But I didn’t want to fill this entry with the…