Dear Reader, The world is all about perspective. How do you see what is happening? How does your brain file it away? Good.Bad.Scary.Annoying.Manageable.Impossible. Those labels matter. Those of you who have been with me for a long time know I have three daughters. One of them, Penelope, is 6’1”. And she does not exactly try to hide it. She loves wearing these huge boots — I think they’re called Wraith boots — that add several more inches. So suddenly, she is standing there looking like she is...
13 days ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, Sometimes love looks like someone washing your hair in a sink. Those of you who have been with me a long time know that in 2022, two years after my husband Brace was healed from terminal cancer, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a full mastectomy. And after surgery, they put in tubes. It was not my favorite chapter. They would not let me shower.They would not let me exercise. And honestly, not showering may have been one of the hardest parts. 😄 So I went to Chuck. Chuck...
16 days ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, While we were in Sun Valley, we went to watch the Olympic skaters. And they were amazing. The speed.The control.The grace.The strength. It was beautiful to watch. At one point, one of the male skaters came out onto the ice, struck his opening pose, and waited for the music to begin. The music started. And immediately… It was wrong. Wrong song.Wrong rhythm.Wrong track. It did not match his routine at all. Bless his heart, he just stood there in his pose and said something like,...
26 days ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, I have to show you this picture. This is Penelope. She is a skinny little thing... and she loves fat suits. Not one fat suit. A collection. She has a white one. She has a pink one. Every Halloween, she has options. Most little girls dream about princess dresses and sparkly shoes. Penelope dreams about fat suits. I have no idea why. But it makes me laugh every single time. Here's the thing about a fat suit. Underneath all that padding is a skinny little kid. The padding isn't her....
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, One of my daughters is an incredibly gifted sewist. Now, I'm old school. I would call her a seamstress. But she assures me that the new, hip Instagram word is "sewist." She makes the most adorable beach covers for her children. Sun covers, swimsuit cover-ups, whatever you want to call them - they are darling. And they get used. They live three miles from the beach, so around their house, a cover-up isn't a cute accessory. It's required equipment. Those little ones would be crispy...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, The day after my pump track spill in Sun Valley, I slept in at the Airbnb. I was resting my wrist, shoulder, ribs, and chin after riding my beautiful pink e-bike straight off a turn I did not understand. So while I was home recovering, the rest of the extended family biked to breakfast. Then they went on the gondola up the ski slope. My daughters and the babies stayed at the top to play and enjoy the view. But Brace, my son-in-law, and a few brave riders decided to do the...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, This week, our family escaped to beautiful Sun Valley, Idaho. We spent our mornings doing one of my favorite things — biking to breakfast with my husband, my two daughters, my grandchildren, and extended family. On Thursday, we biked to Hailey, Idaho. After breakfast, everyone decided to head over to a pump track. I’ll be honest. I did not even know what a pump track was. I like biking on the road. Smooth paths. Predictable turns. Nothing too surprising. I am not a mountain...
3 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader, Have you ever seen A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder? It is one of the most entertaining shows I've ever watched. Great story. Laugh-out-loud funny. And it has a secret. One actor plays a handful of the characters in the show. The same man keeps showing up in each murder scene. Different costume. Different voice. Different walk. And most of the audience doesn't fully catch on until the end. One actor. All those parts. Sound familiar? If you're a solopreneur, that's you....
3 months ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, During COVID, my husband Brace and I went on one of our favorite Saturday bike rides in Irvine, California. After lunch at our favorite Asian restaurant, we did what we almost always did. We walked next door to our favorite little French bakery. There was just one problem. The bakery required everyone to wear a face mask. Now if you know Brace... ...you know he has a great sense of humor. Instead of pulling out a regular face mask, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a...
3 months ago • 1 min read