Spring Cleaning
During our Snow Day, we decide to attempt some much needed Spring Cleaning. The girls’ bedrooms feel light and airy with so much taken out to donate or throw away. Clothes now too small, projects not important enough to save, and supplies scattered now rest elsewhere. We make room for fresh creativity. We create space […]
If It’s Snow We’re Having
I put the vegetable dip in the Christmas bowl. I light all the candles. I turn up the heat. I even play a Christmas song. If it’s snow we’re having, let’s just embrace it. Let’s go all the way into watching holiday movies, sipping hot chocolate, and finding our warmest winter pajamas. On this first […]
A Single Ant Who Comes to Visit Me
Every time I sit down to write at my computer, a tiny ant arrives to visit me. I’ve noticed this for a week now. I don’t eat up here, so there’s no food for this ant. And it’s never more than just this one ant. It’s so strange. It’s whimsical. I sit down to finish […]
All the Jamaican Spices
My daughter brought me two items I wanted from the market in Jamaica: coffee and spices for cooking. She purchased spices for Jerk Chicken, Jamaican Pumpkin Soup (a recipe involving chicken feet–I’ll use chicken breasts), and Rice and Peas. I’m excited to try new recipes with new flavors and report back to you. I’m thrilled […]
Another Great Question to Ask Your Children
I have a friend who reminds me so much of my sixteen year old daughter. I decide to ask this wonderful friend what helped her connect so well with her mother–especially since the two have such a great relationship now in adulthood. She tells me to ask my daughter to “tell me a story” about […]
When Your Southern Husband Cooks Dinner
My husband announced that he will cook dinner tonight since he has southern barbecue defrosting from the freezer–sent home from North Carolina. I imagine we’ll have barbecue sandwiches with maybe some fruit. Oh, no. I’m told he’ll fry hushpuppies, serve “slaw” and whip up some southern potato dish. My favorite thing about today is the […]
A Big Day: Turning in the Manuscript
When All the Socks Find Their Match
It was a small moment: I folded the fresh, warm load of laundry on our bed. Something about folding laundry and putting it away makes me happy; it’s one project completed in a day full of long projects with looming deadlines. And then, the scattered socks–blue, brown, patterned, and white–all found their matches. It was […]
Thankful for Lunch
I often go back to the original concept for Live with Flair: to find the meaningful and beautiful thing in an otherwise ordinary day. I wrote every day to cultivate a thankful, joyful heart. I wrote in order to pause, to notice, and to record. I’m in my office at Penn State, and I pause. […]
If I Would Have Tweeted
I honestly try to have more of an author presence on social media, but I find myself laughing at myself each time. I’m so sorry! I hope I haven’t let you down. It’s just that, if I did tweet, it would go something like this: Happy that Leo the cat was miraculously found! Yeah, neighborhood. […]