I was so excited when my daughters were old enough to take ballet classes. Dance was such a precious part of my girlhood. I studied ballet from elementary school through high school, performing in ballet companies and musical theatre productions. I rediscovered ballet after my oldest child was born when I started teaching at my former studio and working as a rehearsal assistant for the ballet … [Read more...]
The Literary Medicine Cabinet: Comfort Reads (and something I made for you!)
Psst! If you're looking for the new Literary Medicine Cabinet that I've expanded from a simple printable to a beautiful 35-page ebook, go here to check it out! When life is crazy, do you reach for certain titles on your bookshelves? I definitely do. During the year that we sold our house and moved from Florida to Texas so we could live on a farm and Daniel could switch careers and start a … [Read more...]
How to Pursue Your Passions (And Not Sacrifice Your Marriage and Family to Do It)
A few years ago we were living a life we didn’t want. It included an unfulfilling office 9-5 for Daniel that required too much overtime and didn’t leave enough hours for family time. We just weren’t thriving. Now we’re both doing good work that fuels our creativity. We are all thriving. And I am so glad we took the leap we did to change our lives and get where we are now. When we first announced … [Read more...]
Has Parenting Perfectionism Killed Self-Care?
If you’re a parent, you definitely understand the whole parenting perfectionism phenomenon. It tells us, don’t EVER take your eyes off your child. Interact with them every day 24/7 --no breaks for laundry, sending a text message, or talking to your spouse! Sacrifice your health, your sanity, your passions, and everything else in order to make their childhood perfect. Everything from food … [Read more...]
This Week’s Miscellany: Vol. 168 (Big News, Our Easter Best, Farm Dogs, and Reads)
Welcome to This Week’s Miscellany, the occasional round up of Carrots family updates, photo dumps, books I’m reading, links I loved, and big news. It's Eastertide! We survived another Easter Vigil with three kids. It gets a little easier every year and it's totally worth the effort because of how much they love it. Even though it's three hours. I mean, it starts with a giant fire and … [Read more...]
Good Music Monday: Some Tunes for Spring
Welcome back to Good Music Monday at Carrots! Last week during Holy Week we played a lot of classical: Handel's Messiah, Lent at Ephesus, and Bach's St. Matthew Passion. But now it's Eastertide and I'm ready to play some cheery tunes--although there's always some melancholy included in my playlists because that seems to be what draws me. Wishing each of you a Happy Easter! Ready for some … [Read more...]
How a Lump in My Breast Gave Me a Very Memento Mori Lent
While the kids were putting their shoes on for Ash Wednesday Mass, my husband and I had a moment alone in the kitchen. I took a deep breath and said the words I’d been dreading to say out loud: “I found a lump in my breast.” I had known for a few days. How many days, I’m not sure. Something powerful inside me wanted to believe “this isn’t happening, this isn’t real. Everything’s fine. Just … [Read more...]
S-town: The Anti-Bedford Falls (Podcasts, Privacy, and the Human Soul)
I can’t write about S-town without giving away spoilers. So if you want to experience the whole series spoiler-free, this is not the post for you. Last weekend I started listening to Brian Reed’s new podcast S-town from the producers of Serial and This American Life. It has consumed my life a little bit over the past few days. If you’re not familiar, it’s set in rural Alabama and begins as an … [Read more...]
Liturgical Living at a Glance: April 2017 (Holy Week and More)
I’m always trying to figure out how to make it easier for families to observe the Christian Year because we felt so overwhelmed when we first started that journey (which is why we wrote the book we wish we had then). I thought it might be helpful for our family to have resources compiled for the month ahead so that we can plan in advance which special saints days we want to observe and I hope … [Read more...]
Hey New Bloggers, There’s Room for You! (& How to Create a Mastermind Group)
A week ago I was flying home after a weekend in the Twin Cities where I was speaking at a Catholic women’s blogging conference. I’m not sure why I use jazz hands when I’m speaking but there you are. A lovely venue (there are some seriously gorgeous Victorian homes in St. Paul!), thoughtful workshops, good food, great swag bags, and beautiful fellow speakers Nell and Laura really made it … [Read more...]
