Jungle Love   It’s the wedding season. Love is in the air. A while back, I came across what I think is one of the best pieces of marital advice and I’ve given it to my own children. If you’re getting married this summer, or know of someone getting married and need to write something…

Lego My Ego   Years ago, someone teased me about how many self-help books I had on my shelf. I didn’t understand anyone not wanting to improve and the teasing about that still doesn’t make sense to me. I know I’m not everyone’s cup of kombucha. Which is fine. I’ve “read enough books” to be…

Habitat for Humanity   How’d your day start?  Let me tell you how the tone was set for me. My day began with my legs flinging out the side of the bed escape-style and waking to the sound of my own blood-curdling screams.   In the dream, I’d opened my back door and was startled…

Under the Sun     One of the main reasons I bike is that I love taking in the view. The wildflowers right now are CRAZY. I can’t get enough.   I saw a biker wearing this jersey, and it happened to be a couple of days after someone threw a rock at my head…

      Humble Quinoa   George Orwell said that to see what’s in front of one’s nose requires a constant struggle.   Even though we might, in theory, have the “best” vantage point, we can be completely blind to see what everyone else sees. Rather, we refuse to believe others might know what they’re talking about. In our self-sufficient,…

Squint   Anne Lamott said, “Never compare your insides to everyone else’s outsides.”   Don’t compare what you see in your Facebook newsfeed to what you see in your own house, because what you see in your feed—for the most part—is not reality. It’s not necessarily an intentionally misleading or a flat-out lie, but it’s not the whole…

Little Star in the Fog   I noticed this cactus asterisk (I’m assuming it’s a cactus) on my mountain biking trail yesterday,  the day after someone was airlifted out of a ravine down below. With the helicopter swirling above and the ambulance and fire truck perched at the top of the hill, my husband John…

  Twist   I love the art of story. In my opinion, the best story is one that includes a twist you never saw coming. Jen’s Dodge Demon story, for one.* I bet Jen’s parents did not see that coming. I think the story of Jesus is truly the most dramatic, most theatrically delicious, greatest…

  Head’s Up     While I was climbing Pacific Park on my bike today, someone threw a rock at me and nailed me right in the head.   For real.   Deliberately.   They had quite the throwing arm with pinpoint accuracy.   Let me back the bike up for a minute and explain….

Chains   You teach people how to treat you.   I’m not sure who said it first—Dr. Phil, Oprah, or Tony Gaskins in this fleshed out version: “You teach people how to treat you by what you allow, what you stop, and what you reinforce.” In my own experience, I have sometimes allowed unacceptable behavior…