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New News – Welcome to the Inside Scoop!
Since most lists have at least three points, here are mine: Uno, thank you for opening this new post. Whether you’re stretching your way to getting out of bed, busy making breakfast, lounging with your café, hustlin’ on a treadmill, waiting in a line, watching TV you’re not really into, or winding down before you zonk out, I am grateful you clicked here. B, a writer friend reminded me that my email list has only been used for alerting you about new blog posts and that you might want to hear about other insider things going on with me. I’m not sure I’m that interesting, but I’m ready to change…
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15 Favorite Family-Friendly Flicks to Watch at Home With the Kids This Weekend
There are tons of great animated movies that we adults can love right alongside the littles, but this is a list of our family’s favorite real-life flicks when our kids were in elementary and middle school. Depending on your strict meter, most of these are for ages 8/10 and up, and they’re all rated G or PG. Even when I got a movie recommendation from a friend, I still jumped on a review site to double-check how appropriate it was for our kids. My favorite is pluggedin.com from Focus on the Family, but crosswalk.com, movieguide.org and kids-in-mind.com are also great. In alphabetical order, so no one gets their feelings hurt……
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When Daily Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect
Lesson #1 Around ten years old I got ushered to a piano bench by a concert pianist. She seemed kind, I was cluelessly optimistic, and my parents paid good money for the woman to deal with me for two years. If you don’t know my family, my father also earned the title of a concert pianist. So it would seem logical for the two of us to meet weekly in the formal living room for 30 minutes so he could enlighten me with everything he knew on our own piano. But my parents were well aware that teaching his [athletic, stubborn, distractable] daughter himself wouldn’t be the best idea. Instead,…
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Home Sweet Trailer in Baja: Abraham’s Forever Faith in My Face
I am no longer a journaler. Journaler? That’s a weird word. I engaged my pens decades ago, especially when the subject matter revolved around boys, but then I tapered. Since then I’ve started and stopped more than start-stop technology in city traffic, but I just can’t get into it. So now I use them as notebooks, and I’m totally fine with that. No more guilt. For years I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t want to journal anymore until I realized the list involved reasons I didn’t want to admit. Mix together slight perfectionism and the constant inner critic of an Enneagram one, with a full schedule and a woman…
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Corner Office Syndrome as a Boss: When it’s Always Lonely at the Top of the Business or Ministry
A few years ago I reported the results of a missionary survey I did and was surprised by their answers. (Especially when they matched mine.) With global loneliness at an all-time high, I thought I’d take a closer look into the phenomenon where some people might not look. The old cliché, “It’s lonely at the top” rings loud and true… 92% of missionaries I interviewed said yes to this question: Do you ever suffer from Corner Office Syndrome? (Knowing a ton of people but not having any real friends.) “Totally. I have lots of friends on Facebook, but nobody checks on me; I always have to reach out. It’s hard…
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All I Want for Christmas This Year is a Book. And Star Wars Baby Yoda.
If Christmas prep has you clicking your orders more than shopping in stores, this post is for you. Check out these popular, high-ranking books for everyone on your mostly-always-nice list. Or buy them for yourself and call it a day. Merry Christmas to you! (Happy Reminder: when you purchase from my links, Amazon throws me a modest kickback, but it costs you nothing. Gracias and Merry Everything!) This is the Way: Star Wars: The Mandalorian Even though I’ve never been a die-hard Star Wars fan, this new series got me ploppin’ on the couch and cuddlin’ up with my guys every Friday night for the newest episode. And who doesn’t…
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Simple Family Thanksgiving Ideas: Goodies & Gifts to Keep it Basic This Year
Raise your hand if you’re tired. Same here. And yet, most of us want a cozy space and a fun Turkey Day, so we press on. Here are a few items to bring the Thanksgiving spirit, help you keep the kids out of the kitchen while the goodness cooks, and usher in rad memories. Click the pics for Amazon ease and order today for quick delivery! First up, it’s time to decorate the wee ones. No need for a busy outfit though—just plop this knit beanie on any baby and snap those pics. I love this pumpkin, but the yellow shirt is my fave! Grab one for yourself and one…
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Kicked Out of the Bank: When Rejection Suddenly Strikes You and Your Family
A few years into Baja living, my husband learned to roll with the inconvenient punches, knew exactly how to pay all the bills in person, and understood the cultural norms. But of all the places we visited in the city, going to a Mexican bank never felt fun. Between 230 cars jockeying for 13 parking spaces, sketchy holes in the sidewalks and a general feeling of being a tad nervous carrying too much cash, I preferred to stay in the car. Or at home. At least their banks had real police officers packin’ heat at the front door. None of this rent-a-cop packin’ snacks nonsense you find in the States. …
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I Got Laid Off, He Got The Rona: 5 Things We Did to Recover
After a rough July and August, I put all my hope in the September basket that life would mellow out. But in the first week of the new month, I got laid off from my job and our oldest son got you-know-what. When he first came home from an afternoon of swimming, eating too much, and throwing a football in 112˚ weather, we assumed his sick feeling was heat stroke. Or food poisoning. Or both. I mean, I might’ve uttered a nervous whisper that sounded something like, “That you, Rona?” But I mostly blamed it on the pulled pork and Hawaiian potato chips. The next day his energy plummeted and…
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Optimists and Their Kryptonite: Why Blowing Sunshine Doesn’t Always Work
Just because I normally see my kombucha bottle as half full doesn’t mean I don’t get sad when it’s empty. A large portion of optimists I know tend to be funny, super friendly, or both. One friend said she’s the funniest on social media when she’s depressed or going through muck. Another posts closeup pics of calm objects and events even though her life is falling apart behind the scenes. I belong to the optimistic lifers club. And I married a pessimist. Of course I didn’t know he was a pessimist when I walked down the aisle, but I figured it out pretty quick. He says assuming the worst makes…
