Tag Archives | Random Thoughts

Why Animals Are Smarter than Us

Why Animals Are Smarter than Us

My cat has the life. Her biggest decisions are whether to pee and poo indoors or out, and whether to nap in the basement in the baby carriage (where it’s high and dry and warm) or in my favorite chair on a cashmere blanket in a patch of sunlight. Sometimes, I resent her for that. […]

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Dear Reader! What are your dreams for 2016? —Maria Related Posts:12 Simple Ways to Make This Your Healthiest, Happiest Year EverMerry Christmas!Top 11 Ways to Be Happy

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Dear Reader! I wish you a healthy, healing, and happy holiday. —Maria Related Posts:Happy New Year!5 Last Minute Stocking Stuffers Made with CareHoliday Leaf Ornaments… With a Twist of Bling

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10 Ways to Never Be Bored Again

10 Ways to Never Be Bored Again

I have a friend who gets bored easily. I was bored once for about five minutes in 2011. I remember it well. I was home alone, and for a minute I felt a feeling I couldn’t identify. By the time I did figure out it was boredom it was almost gone. Of course, if you […]

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What Your Fire-Building Technique Says About You

What Your Fire-Building Technique Says About You

You can tell a lot about a person by the way she builds a campfire. The fastidious stack the wood perfectly crisscross. People who won’t let anyone help are probably crabby in general. Once I met a woman who was an obsessive blower. She was an experienced outdoorswoman, but perhaps she didn’t have enough faith. […]

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Simple Is Better, Or Spiderman Does Cry

Simple Is Better, Or Spiderman Does Cry

by guest blogger Renee James, humorist and blogger A few months ago, I wrote about my newly adopted philosophy of life: “Nothing Is Easy.” At this point, I’d like to add a corollary: “Simple Is Better.” Given a choice between an overwrought, tortured approach to a problem, or a direct, hands-on solution, simple is better. […]

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The Reinvention Intervention

The Reinvention Intervention

by guest blogger Renee James, humorist and blogger Today’s 21st-century question: When did women of a certain age all agree that we need to “reinvent” ourselves? I must have missed the text. It isn’t my imagination. Hop onto any website’s homepage, and you’ll find some channel or thread that offers dozens of articles, tips, lists, […]

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Top 11 Ways to Be Happy

Top 11 Ways to Be Happy

March 20th is International Happiness Day, and that’s cause for celebration! I wasn’t always happy. In fact, I spent most of my life vaguely depressed, crabby, and insecure. But for the past few years, I’ve really, really worked at being happy, and I’ve found there are a few secrets that make it so much easier: […]

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