The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

Demerits and Gold Stars: January 2026

When I did a bit of navel-gazing about the past year of blogging, one thing that came up multiple times was how much people seem to enjoy reading about my Demerits and Gold Stars.

Let’s…

Well, Butter My Butt and Call Me a Biscuit

Years ago, when we were visiting my sister in South Carolina, we came across a book of “country sayings,” and we still laugh about it to this day! Turns out there are a lot…

We’re Really Doing This!!! An Update on Our Epic European Adventure

So much of my mental bandwidth lately has been going into planning for Europe. While all the regular rhythms of daily life continue as usual, I feel like my brain is also subdivided—one part…

Five FIGs At the End of a Heavy Week

A quick reminder that one week from today—next Sunday, February 1—we’ll start tracking FIGs. For more information, here are all the details about our online gratitude crew.

The world has felt especially heavy…

Happy Things Friday: 23 January

Winter has arrived!

We had snow, snow, and more snow. (And then some rain!) The kids had a day off school on Monday and a delayed start on Tuesday. I got my cardio and…

Two Questions for Your Thursday (Inspired by James Clear)

Happy Thursday! Here are a few questions/thoughts I’ve been mulling over after a recent edition of James Clear’s newsletter.

A reader mentioned that she often feels overwhelmed because his newsletter always seems to leave…

Christmas 2025 Debrief: What Worked and What I Want to Change for Next Year

Is it too late to post about Christmas? This is clearly a rhetorical question, since this is my blog and I get to choose what I post and I AM going to post about…