Posts from 2016

How to pack for the gym…January 3, 2016
If your New Year’s resolution to hit the gym means you’ll be showering and getting dressed at the health club, …
Secrets to success at the gym…January 14, 2016
What separates those who succeed at their New Year’s resolutions from those who don’t? Some sources indicate that 40 …
Stream of cold consciousness writing…January 21, 2016
My husband has saved me from curfew worry much of the time. He simply awakens me to let me know our child is home, and I am lulled, comforted, back to sleep. Except when the child isn’t at home by curfew.
First world problems…January 27, 2016
A month without reliable cable and internet connections is like a month in which bill shouldn’t be paid. Right?
My 21 seconds of fame…January 28, 2016
As the marketing representative for the Innovation Hub, I am often asked to approve media coverage of the building, its events, and its tenants, but I have never had to represent the company on TV. Until now.
Identity crisis and blah blah blog…February 6, 2016
If you’re looking for “Sound Off,” you are in the right spot. I have decided to rename my blog “All Things Work Together” — based on my favorite Scripture verse, Romans 8:28.
Lost in the translation…February 9, 2016
Technical instructions, such as how to set up and use software, must be clear, step by step, and precise. And, for me at least, in English that is clear and precise. Therein lies the rub.
To my new neighbors…February 13, 2016
To Whom It May Concern: (Which is not you, apparently, my could-have-been-dear, new next-door neighbors.) Some advice for you: When …
When you have a screw loose…February 18, 2016
How is a toaster oven like a sliding glass door? It sounds like a joke, but in our house it isn’t. …
All in a day’s workout…February 23, 2016
It was just a typical day at the health club — a snapshot of the workout world that encourages me to join it each day. See you there!
A little advice on “cow tipping”…February 25, 2016
I can no longer remember just how I responded to Mr. Namaste. I’m sure I remained my sweet, friendly self though inside I was thinking, “Let me give you some advice about ‘cow tipping,’ Mr. Namaste. Don’t. Say. It.”
Why I write…March 14, 2016
Welcome to All Things Work Together. This post “Why I write…” is a good introduction to my blog, which covers my moments, musings, memories and milestones — as I live, learn, love and laugh. If you like what you read, please share it, and I’d certainly be honored if you’d follow me.
Do you hate popups as much as I do?March 17, 2016
Recently, I’ve been exploring a variety of blogs. The instant I land on a blog I once considered a promising read, a box pops up, offering me the blogger’s firstborn child in exchange for my email address.
I wear my Fitbit for the buzz…March 18, 2016
For those of you not wearing a Fitbit tracker, “the buzz” is a vibration and visual display of celebration that flickers across the tiny digital screen when you reach your goal for the day. It’s like a party on my wrist.
It’s time to “man up”…March 24, 2016
It isn’t often that I pour myself into a project only to see it fail. But failure can build character that success fails to do…
The goal of parenting…April 2, 2016
I hadn’t realized until it happened that having one of my children host the holiday meal was a goal of parenting.
When we fail to use the tools we have…April 5, 2016
“Desperate times call for desperate measures”? Why not avoid desperate times by using the tools you have now?
Stand by your work…April 14, 2016
Showing your art or writing for public consumption is like offering your heart, your very self — and chancing rejection. It isn’t just a technique or a style or the juxtaposition of color. It is heart and soul offered.
Skimpy showers suit me…April 27, 2016
Longer workouts, shorter waits, happy hair, and still early to work — all because I didn’t get what I wanted.
For the love of mom…May 8, 2016
My mother has loved me well. I will remember that as she remembers less and less — and love her well in return. I hate Alzheimer’s disease.
Was this an unredeemable moment?May 11, 2016
What kind of person can leave behind a tampon in a shower? Did it fall out, unnoticed? (Not bloody likely.)
How’s your masterpiece?May 16, 2016
Thinking of my body as a masterpiece — as Rosie does — makes me appreciate how and why God made me uniquely me.
On an overly exuberant toilet…May 28, 2016
This auto-flushing toilet was like a bidet. It flushed five times while I sat on it, and I was not on it long.
Six things I learned from back pain…June 1, 2016
My back talks. When I listen, it tells me what to do. When I don’t, it gets downright bossy. Back pain, I’ve discovered, is a good teacher.
Let the empty nest begin…June 8, 2016
I have entered that period so many lament: the empty nest. My five children have left me one by one. But rather than lament it, I say…
Terrorism too close to home …June 14, 2016
Today I think of those who lost their loved ones. Of those who may have survived but will remain haunted by the images of that night, that horror, that loss.
What do you give your husband on Father’s Day?June 19, 2016
What do you buy a man who has everything — five of everything, actually, packaged up in each child who has grown up in our house?
He is my brother still…June 21, 2016
I was content with an “out of sight, out of mind” relationship with my brother — until he broke his neck.
When you get to tell your story…June 24, 2016
Stories never cease to remind me that God can make something incredible from a perfect mess.
The Scrooge of summer…July 1, 2016
Ah, the 4th of July, when you celebrate in hot, buggy humidity along with everyone else and their brother’s vehicle on the road. Yay. Or bah humbug.
A matter of perspective…July 7, 2016
I couldn’t help but feel sorry with him for the years he had wasted. And recognize my own years wasted on insecurities, when I might have simply chosen a different frame.
Sweet on Paris…July 17, 2016
Knowing a friend is vacationing in Europe during this time of uncertainty makes this latest terror event too close to home.
Begin with vacation in mind…July 21, 2016
Begin with the end in mind doesn’t mean focus on the end so much as to focus on making the most of the time before the end.
Driving away the vacation lament…August 4, 2016
As I reflect now on my vacation, I realize that it was good and it is over and all is well.
Today’s workout goal? No sweat!August 12, 2016
The reason was this: I had walked into the nearly empty locker room before 6 this morning in time to hear a woman in a wet swimsuit say, “The showers are closed?”
Living like a princess…August 13, 2016
She was wearing the title “Daughter of the King” and living in the truth that God is in control. That is living like royalty; we must trust our Father the King.
“Sara’s birthday’s in the house”August 24, 2016
Sara’s birthday’s in the house. Or gym. Or office. Wherever. Today.
Power to the people, not to the parentsSeptember 6, 2016
Sometimes our son misses our power. Such as the night before we lost ours when he lost his.
Snarky and hush…September 21, 2016
A part of being snarky makes me hush. In that reflective hush, I can explore my motivation, tame my words, or simply stop the post.
Keep the girls covered…September 24, 2016
It might be American culture or simply our locker room’s culture, but our unwritten rules clearly indicate that nakedness is a transitory state.
Delight in the opposition…September 27, 2016
My friend’s husband was in the midst of an ugly political race. To encourage her, I shared my son’s perspective: Delight in opposition.
Did you have a nice trip?October 4, 2016
I fell, sprawled on hands and knees — but no scrapes, no bruises, just a wrenched back that I optimistically thought might have been moved into alignment.
It’s official: His death was a lifetime agoOctober 21, 2016
Had he lived, he would have celebrated his 50th birthday this year. As of today, he has been dead more days than he’d been alive.
When Trouble is a teenager and acts just like oneOctober 26, 2016
Our cat is like a teenager who shows up when she wants — and doesn’t when she doesn’t…
Hindsight is, indeed, 20/20…November 1, 2016
Looking back on what we had considered difficulties, we often gain the perspective of hindsight…
When you have to say goodbye to your big sisterNovember 14, 2016
My oldest sister is dying save a miracle. The doctors declared her “terminal.” Her organs are shutting down. She has no hope for recovery.
As a result of her death, the missing beginsNovember 19, 2016
She will miss wrinkles and arthritis, her daughters marrying, her grandchildren growing, and getting old with her husband. And we will all miss her.
An argument for communication…November 22, 2016
How I was forced to communicate my frustration with someone’s lack of communication.
Fight breast cancer and carry a big stick…December 15, 2016
I don’t care if this blog post goes viral, but I sure wish your prayers, good thoughts, fingers crossed or whatever on Connie’s behalf do. Pray for Connie. Spread the word, please.
When your friend battles breast cancer…December 20, 2016
What I appreciated most about Connie throughout her battle with breast cancer was her transparency.
Have to drink and run? Not funDecember 22, 2016
A “prepper for a colonoscopy” is merely a pooper, stockpiling nothing, flushing everything.