restful productivity to live deliberately & avoid overwhelm

Teaching My Teen to Leave Gracefully

I am in the midst of teaching my teen how to navigate this world and deal with big decisions. The saying goes that you learn how to do things best when you teach them. I am finding this to be very true. Recently we have learned what it looks like to leave a commitment (and…

Celebrating the End of the School Year

What does Summer Break mean to you? How do you separate that time from the rest of the school year? As a homeschool mom, I have the added challenge of making that time feel different to the kids than the rest of the school year. Sure, we take a break from our school work, and…

Plotting, Pantsing & Progress Trackers (w/Reed Mingault)

Reed sat with me in my quiet kitchen over muffins and tea. We talked about creating structure and putting in the work. She needed to go upstairs and pack her suitcase, but I kept her at the counter asking more questions and taking notes…🙂 (I love talking with writers about the craft. I have so…

Practical Meal Planning #2 (the How)

I am often frustrated by the meal planning systems created by others. They often assume that everything is “just peachy”. Most meal planning that I have found is based on having lots of time, strange fresh ingredients, or chef-style cooking skills. I usually don’t have that kind of evening cooking environment. I am a mom…

Resources for Fiction Writers (w/Reed Mingault)

Reed is a fiction writer primarily of secondary world Fantasy. “I write about whatever shiny has currently grabbed my attention, usually with magic, talking animals, and/or mythological creatures, wrapped up with hope.” she says. She started writing about the characters in her tabletop role-playing games when they wouldn’t stop pestering her, and eventually gave them…

Series Intro: Conversations About Writing with Reed Mingault

I am fortunate to have people in my life who inspire me. Reed Mingault is one of those. She is my cousin and writing buddy. We are both relatively new taking our writing seriously. This sparks great conversation whenever we get together. It is exciting to share the writing process with someone who thinks differently.…

Easy Family Routines: The Monday Meeting

It’s a Monday morning.  We are all moving slow.  The kids would rather play computer games and I would love to sit on the couch with a good book. The weekend was very busy with household tasks, catching up on laundry, activities with cousins, farm chores, shopping, and church. Now we must move into our…

Tackling Meal Planning #1 (the Why)

This week I will make 15 meals for my family. Lunches, dinners, and a few fancy breakfasts. I will hand wash dishes at least 10 times and spend several hours in prep.  In a month, I will spend 68 hours on meal prep and feeding my household. How much time do you spend in the…