Resolutions. I love reading about what my friends are planning (I’m looking at you, Amber, Leslie, Kat, Erica, Sara, and Jen). I like how some of you are taking a new approach to the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. I like the idea of changing my mindset, rather than achieving goals or committing to [...]

I was introduced to Christine in our company’s Heath, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE) newsletter several months ago. Her story started out as follows: At 23 years old I weighed 255 pounds but managed to lose a total of 110 pounds over the course of 4 years. When I tell people this fact many shake [...]

Today is my birthday, and I’m looking forward to a weekend of visitors–old friends I haven’t seen in a long time. And if that wasn’t enough happiness for one day, our friends gave birth to their beautiful son this morning. I can barely stay in my seat, I’m so excited to meet him. And yet, [...]

On Sunday, November 13, 2011, the day after Camp Mighty wrapped up, Robbie and I drove from Palm Springs to Joshua Tree National Park. We spent the day driving around the park, getting out of the car to explore or take pictures when something tickled our fancy. The weather was beautiful. The Yucca brevifolia are [...]

I built bookshelves with my dad during the summer of 2010, shortly before I launched this website. I sat down to write about the experience several times since then, but found that it’s hard to do it justice, and that my heart leaps to my throat when I think about how much my parents mean [...]

As my life has taken a new direction this past year (in different and important ways), there have been several times when I felt starved for the types of deep, meaningful interaction with talented and smart people that happen in the creative world. The majority of my formative years as a professional writer were spent [...]

On October 8, 2011, I checked a significant goal off my life list. I ran in the UWM Panther Prowl, a 5k race to raise money for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Alumni Association. It was significant not because of the distance (nothing to serious runners, I know), but because I had to prepare mentally and [...]

I can’t remember when I first met Joy Lehmann—it was probably in Jon Aceto’s First-Year German course during our freshman year of high school. When I think of that class, I remember Mr. Aceto leading us through daily drills—“Ich heiße Rebecca, wie heißt du?” and “Wie geht es Ihnen? Es geht mir gut.” He taught [...]

One of my favorite types of reinvention, one I will probably bring up often, is physical reinvention—making changes to achieve a healthy weight, become physically strong, eat better, and pursue overall wellness. Maybe it’s because I’m a terrible athlete (except for being irrationally competitive) and struggle to exercise consistently, but I am totally impressed by [...]

I met Cameron Gillie and his wife, Nazan, in 2008, when Robbie and I were searching for a wedding photographer. During the wedding planning process, I found out quickly that it’s important to book your photographer a year ahead of time, especially if you’re getting married in summer in Wisconsin. We started planning our wedding [...]