Totally Be

  No matter how much quality time we’re getting outside, some more wouldn’t hurt. Many studies show spending time outdoors improves the health of our mind and bodies. And since we have to eat everyday, why not link our outside-time along with meals? Al fresco dining isn’t as comfortable as we’ve become accustomed to in our climate controlled interior worlds, but it can still be incredibly pleasant in ways that eating inside can never be. Eating outside offers up sounds, smells, and sensations we just can’t get in a sealed room. Sunshine, wind, dirt underfoot, bugs flying, flowers blooming, glittering snow… Getting outside our comfort zone bombards our senses and we notice things we otherwise wouldn’t. Like the tang of the tomato sauce, the texture of the fish, the sharpness of the carbonation, and maybe how full we already are? Perhaps when we think of al fresco dining, we think of Mediterranean cafés, the deck of a cruise ship, or bazaar food carts, but eating outside need not be ...

  I am a parent working at home with three children aged seven and younger. I rarely have days where I know exactly how many productive hours I will have. I’ve tried the Bullet Journal and really like many aspects of it, but found it hard to keep up with. I needed something less goal-oriented and more supportive. From years of experimentation, I’ve created my current diary setup, which I call my “Dailies”. I start a fresh page each day and use simple symbols to block off sections for supportive goals, acknowledging successes, practicing gratitude, and task management. One page is usually enough. If I feel the need to journal long-form about anything else, I start on the next free page and go on for as long (or as short) as I’d like. At the top of the page, I write the date and day. Additionally, I use my phone’s calendar app to keep track of all my schedules, events, and appointments. I prefer my phone so I can schedule things as they come up, without needing my notebook on hand, a...

  Mainly because I can’t grasp that the internet is a place to   be . You want to know why you won’t find me online? Do I explain my experience as an internet user? Do I defend my diversion to social media? Do I share my opinions disparaging having an “online presence” and the unattainable “fully developed platform” — both I have been encouraged to have regardless of cost? I have many nebulous thoughts on these topics so a static post about them is fallible. Online, I am here, on my website, but I am not everywhere. I want to share, but differently — anti-algorithmically. Here, I can be contradictory. I can be quiet and still be known. A digital calling card left to be discovered. I don’t want to be fed to you. Current marketing focuses on branding not the product, but the person. I don’t want to  be  a brand. I want to tell stories, a wide variety of stories. This website is my storefront. I am not the store. I just work here. Oh, the internet… We’re all just visiti...