The Optimistic Musings of a Pessimist

Demerits and Gold Stars: April + May 2024

What can I say? There are always things that need improvement and there are always improvements that need celebrating. These posts help me sort out the difference…

DEMERITS

Vitamins. If you have whiplash from watching this…

Chapter Five: May 2024

In January I suggested we “write a book together” this year and pitched the idea of assigning each month a chapter title.

So far, I’ve had:

January – Steady: Finding Solid Ground After a Year of…

Guest Post: Welcome Julie!!

Happy Monday! Happy June! And happy reading!

Today’s guest is Julie. If you haven’t been introduced before, she lives with her husband (Ted) and their daughter (Maya) in Northern California. She’s been blogging since 2005,…

What Gives You Oxygen?

At a recent therapy session we were discussing burnout and the impacts of long-term stress. I mentioned emerging from a season where it felt like my proverbial fuel tank was running on fumes more…

Mental Health
Jun, 01, 2024
43 Comments

Happy Things Friday: 31 May

And just like that…May is over (I wrote this before Nicole posted but…ditto what she said). This means we have a little over a month to go until the half-way point of 2024.

I have…

Summer Brain Dump + Booking Another Adventure/Suggestions?

I have a love-hate relationship with summer. On the one hand, during the long, dark and cold Canadian winter I am kept alive by the promise of a day in the future where we…

Random, Travel
May, 30, 2024
49 Comments

Introducing My…Dreadsheet

I’ve been thinking about dread lately. That sounds like a rather somber and melancholy topic, but I’ve been considering it in the context of what that emotion can tell me. More generally I feel…