What Ana Does

I have so many thoughts about this pandemic and all the scary uncertainty rolling around everywhere. I worry for my family and my loved ones and my coworkers, but I'm also filled with some certainty that we're all going to be safe. And, someday soon, we'll share stories about what we did during these days/weeks we were isolated at home. Work From Home! I'm also fascinated by the sociology of this and what kind of mark it will leave on our culture. Big changes come from being uncomfortable, from uncertainty, from a massive crisis. That's true for us individually and as a civilization. So this is all so fascinating from that point of view. There's just so much swirling it will be weeks until we can really understand it all and see the big picture. Until then... We're all home. Dave and I are working from home. The kids are getting e-learning assignments and keeping busy. And Bruce the pup is confused that we haven't all left him to his day-long ...

Other than resolutions and the odd ambition here and there, I haven't thought much about my goals or an ideal 5-year-plan in a few years. But, the last time I did -- in April 2014 -- I aimed high and you wouldn't BELIEVE how many of those goals I hit.  Here's that post.  (Living in Paris is actually on there. Crazy!) I sincerely believe there's power or magic in saying your goals OUT LOUD and often. Publicly. I've read this before but didn't buy it until recently. I'm currently living the life of a Parisienne homemaker, so it's the perfect opportunity to really dig into some of my ambitions. What do I seriously want to pursue? Either here in Paris or when I get back to the States. It's a lot to consider. So here's my game plan: Step 1: Gather a list of what I'm passionately interested in. It's a big question: What deeply interests me? Looking at what I write about on this blog is a good start. And looking at past year's go...

What do you call people that you follow on Instagram or read their blogs but they're not really your friends or celebs or actors? They provide great ideas, inspiration and food for thought. And they feel like sorta-friends but they don't know you. And it becomes kind of awkward when you talk about them in real life. For example, I'll watch Emily Henderson's instastory and Alice will ask "who's that?" from over my shoulder and I'll answer "oh that's Emily and her son Charlie." And she'll ask "do you know them?" and I don't. But kinda I do because I get snippets of her work and family and see inside her house and read about her lives daily. And not in a weird stalker way, she's creating this content on purpose. I mean, it's like reality TV but in teeny doses. So the term in Influencers . That's what I'm told. They are Influencers because they have a lot of followers/fans and are experts in some field. A...

It's a frigid weekend here in the midwest but we're starting to think about Spring and backyards and gardens and grilling. Oh Spring, you are so full of promise. Spring also means a slew of new books I can't wait to get my hands on. There are two in particular that I'm counting down the days to their release. The first is Laini Taylor's new book (part one of two) called Strange the Dreamer . Gah! Just the title hooks me in! It looks to be the aftermath of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series and I'm counting down the days. It's always a good season when my friend Kieran Scott has a new book coming out. This one is called Pretty Fierce  (such a rad title) and it's about an assassin's daughter on the run. YES! It comes out in April and of course I've already preordered it. This one is right up my alley, so I can't wait to devour it. In other book news, I'm sailing through The Rose and the Dagger , which is the sequel to The Wrath ...

It's been a while since I've posted which is unusual for me so here's the catch-up on a few things. San Diego Convention Center I just spent last weekend in San Diego for the cabi convention. I recently became a stylist selling cabi at home shows and I'm not going to talk about it much on this blog but ... just know I'm testing the theory of stepping far out of your comfort zone to make a real big change in your life. We'll just see how it goes. The basement is complete as I've posted before except for a rather longish task list that includes painting the second coat in the bathroom, trim painting and touch up, and tackling the finish on the pine cabinets. But, as I'm told is common, I'm burnt out on these home projects. Especially over winter break when the girls were home. So burnt out. But I may be feeling the itch to get my paintbrush out soon and get this list done. The stay at home experiment has been rather eye-opening and inter...

So ... I did something crazy ... I put in my notice and am leaving my current day job. Pinterest Told Me To Do It I know. What am I thinking!?!?! But there are a thousand reasons swirling in my head that have to do with home and family and career and I'm 40(!) and all sorts of things ... but the one thing I've learned from past jobs is NOT to stick around after you're get just done with it. I did at AOL and regretted it because my relationships with those coworkers suffered. It's just ... I want to pursue my original career path and over the last decade I've moved so far away from it (and really, it's the only thing I'm good at) that it's going to take a concentrated effort to kick back in to it. So, never fear, I'm not planning on being out of work too long. Just enough to decompress, clean out my house and build up what I need for the next gig. My head is saying "HOW CAN YOU QUIT?" because I'm not a good quitter. But t...

So, I listened and learned a little. Here are mini-reviews of the Podcasts I choose (spoiler alert: I enjoyed most of them): Young House Love has a Podcast  - A friendly podcast about homes and blogs and decorating, which I really enjoyed because John and Sherry are so delightful. I especially liked their concisely edited format, which made it easy to listen to. I'll likely subscribe to this one.  Stuff You Missed in History Class  - I listened to three scritped episodes, each about 30 minutes long, and each was interesting, informing and entertaining. The banter format between the two hosts annoyed people in the reviews, but I found it made it added a little charm.  TED Radio Hour  - These NPR-produced episodes pull together several TED talks around a subject into one well-produced 60-minute show. I listened to "The Meaning of Work" and it was thought-provoking and awesome. My one complaint is I wish they were a bit shorter, as one podcast doesn't fit...

Lately I've been feeling a little in the clouds. And I realized it might because I'm starved to learn something new. Is it a summer thing? Maybe because I've been reading too much fiction. Or spending too much time on news events. Election years can be so draining. I've been thinking about spending a bit more time in nonfiction land, so starting today I'm taking a break from the audiobooks I usually enjoy on my commutes to and from the office and listening to some informative podcasts. Once I started to dig into all the podcasts available, I was astounded by the amount out there. Hundreds! I thought podcasting was going the way of the dodo but, not so! Alive and well! Here's what I pulled: Young House Love has a Podcast  - Decorating and house stuff.  Stuff You Missed in History Class - Deep dive into people and events.  TED Radio Hour - We all know TED talks.   The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe - The Dirty Jobs guys has the best voice.  Anna Fa...

Yup. 40. I know. I'm doing just fine with it, actually. You can't stop the flow of time, it's ridiculous to deny the years, but you CAN make the most of your days. Isn't there a poetic saying about that somewhere? Dave threw a SURPRISE birthday party for me on Friday night at my favorite restaurant. It wasn't something I would have done for myself. But I loved it. It was fun and great to chat with friends all night and eat pizza and drink wine. And not have any of the stress of planning it. Perfect. And now I know why Dave thought next weekend for Leah's party made more sense. heh. It's My Party! I love birthdays and the weekend was so fun. And the next year will be just as exciting. Besides, I always like even years better. 

Here's the posts that received the most pageviews in 2014: 1. My San Fran  list of things I love and don't love about that city, with some pretty pictures of sights -- including the Ferry Building. 2. I briefly entertained the idea of wallpapering my entryway , and picked out some pretty geometric paper, in February. The entryway instead got a board-and-batten redo instead at the end of May ( seen here ). 3. My odd habit of throwing rotten fruit and veg into my backyard got a lot of pageviews, for some reason. Maybe the nice photos? 4. Last, my early attempts at  bento-style lunch boxes for Leah , and some of the lunch-box shots that followed, were viewed a bunch. There you have it!