When I graduated from college in 1999, I was pretty heavy — over 200 pounds on my 5-foot-4-inch frame. Near the end of my first year living on my own, I decided that something needed to change, so I made a new rule: I will eat ice cream no more than once per day. If … Read more
The short version: my goal is to help people be educated so they can make decisions in an informed way. I am not trying to scare people or to be a downer, though I acknowledge that these days, most of the news is bad news. The fact is that in a capitalistic society, the main … Read more
We recently implemented a three-part economic system with The Kid. Part 1: Allowance He gets a weekly allowance. It’s not as a reward or payment for anything done. In our thinking, it’s a means of teaching money management, and it gives him some autonomy in a world where most of his decisions are made for … Read more
June 15, 2000 Dear 35-year-old Heat, I’ve finally admitted to myself something that I’ve been denying or avoiding for a long time: I’m fat, and I’m rapidly getting fatter. I’m 70 pounds heavier than I was when I graduated high school just 7 years ago. I could blame it on genetics, Heat. Mom is fat. … Read more
…know the quirks of the area. I will never forget the diatribe of a woman I worked with years ago. We were in a training (no idea what the training was actually for) and we were debating pros and cons of putting in a light rail system in Phoenix. Her argument was that they should … Read more
People eat a lot. Depending on your schedule, you could eat six or seven (or more) times a day. Quantities aren’t generally small (or moderate) either. All of those meals and snacks? They don’t have to be amazing. Many people eat junk often enough that isn’t all that tasty because it’s handy or “should be” … Read more
Things about me that make me “weird”: don’t watch TV don’t eat meat don’t eat much fried or sweet food don’t drink coffee don’t drink alcohol rarely drink other delicious crap (I miss you, chai latte!) avoid plastic don’t typically spend much time, energy, money on “girl” things (hair, makeup, clothes, shoes, purses) I have … Read more
Tomorrow, May 1, I am celebrating six months of writing and posting every day. I have always loved writing, even as a kid. I was always redirected to math, and maybe internalized some of the “you’re not very good at writing.” Though I’m not sure that was true, necessarily. <shrug> I don’t know. I did … Read more
I saw this meme the other day. (I don’t know who to attribute it to, though the saying is widely said.) And while it’s true, you can’t do it all now, either. Many (most? all?) of us spend a lot of time on things that aren’t important (games, mindless scrolling, unintentional TV watching, etc.), and as … Read more
A few years ago, I was doing a 10k and was maybe a little undertrained. (What?! Never!) Was running it with a good friend and we knew we’d have a good time, even if we didn’t have a good time. Somewhere around mile 5, I got a text from the guy I was dating at … Read more