Tag Archives: contentment

Flow: Lose Yourself in Something Now and Then

Many people call it flow. Athletes call it being in the zone. I call it a Very Good Thing, a state of grace, a blessing. What is flow? Wikipedia says flow “is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, […]

Flow: For Good Mental Health, Lose Yourself in Something Now and Then
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Gifts We Already Have

I saw the idea for “Gifts We Already Have” somewhere in Internetland, and I took to it immediately. Made this in about fifteen minutes and stuck it on the wall. I neglected to erase my penciled lettering after I went over it with marker, but sometimes that’s the way life happens around here: “Give us […]

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Christmas is Coming: the Sane, Serene, and Satisfying Holiday Plan

The seductive period of the holiday season has arrived. We are in full planning mode – thinking of gifts to procure, treats to make, activities to arrange, and halls to deck, but Christmas Day itself is still a few weeks away. “Keep things fresh!” “Brighten up your holiday!” “Sparkle!” Pinterest and the ladies mags egg […]

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Past Blast: Fake It Til You Make It?

From my journal, Dec., 2008: Contentment: I struggle with contentment at this time of year. I realize I am more materialistic than I wish to be – I wish I had piles of money to buy lavish gifts for loved ones, and let’s be honest, I wouldn’t mind a few little piles to replace my […]

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Real-LifeThanksgiving

Busy? Thanksgiving to-do list getting you down? Thinking with longing of the grocery store’s “Let Us Make Thanksgiving Dinner” deal you didn’t order? Stop. Just stop for a second and think with me: Find your November issue of House Perfectly-Expensively-Over-the-Top-ly Beautiful. Place it on the floor. Take a deep breath. Now, stomp all over it. […]

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Past Blast: Channeling Olivia Walton, and Other Ways My Life Operates

We begin a new series today called Past Blast, in which I plan to share some of my writing from before In My Kitchen, In My Life existed. From 2008: It occurs to me sometimes that I have probably never had an original thought. What I think and what I do is a direct result […]

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Cerebral Homemaking Part 6 – We Like What We’re Good At: Developing Competency

 Competence drives satisfaction. We like what we are good at, and we shy away from things we think we are not good at. Car mechanics, baking pies, volleyball, spreadsheets, public speaking, settling a fussy baby, higher math – it doesn’t matter what it is – if we have had some experience and success doing it, […]

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Cerebral Homemaking Part 5 – Time Matters

All this thinking about thinking about our work as homemakers may have left you thinking: well that’s great, Lori, to decide that I need to improve my job skills and develop a vision for my home and set my aim higher than the level of my goal, but the thing is, I have a life and I just […]

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In Praise of the Middle-Aged Marriage

Yesterday was our twenty-seventh wedding anniversary, and the ways in which The Husband and I spent the day are illustrative of what it means to be at this stage of our lives together. We are together while we are apart. The Husband was at work, doing what he does to help keep the country safe […]

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For the Record: Why is Patience Never Clearance-Priced?

This is more for me than you, so feel free to move on if your time is more valuable than what’s written here.I have managed to get tendonitis in my “good” shoulder over the last week or so, and at first I just felt like it was so unfair, so too-much-to-be-asked-to-cope-with on top of the […]

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  • In My Kitchen, In My Life is a place where women (and the odd male) can be encouraged, nudged, and occasionally kicked in the pants toward living their lives on a higher plane. Oh, and readers get plenty of chances to laugh at the author's foibles, which is always worth a click.

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