Weekly Reflection – 51

And here we are. I know I didn’t post last week, I was in Edmonton, Canada, and I didn’t take my computer with me so I didn’t get to post. And next week I will be posting all about my plans for 2017, so there will be enough reflection posts to last a lifetime. All of this is to say that this will be the final Weekly Reflection for 2017. I will be continuing these next year since they were so helpful in making sure I am intentional with my time and reflective about life week to week. This helps me see all I do, it helps me see who I am and the choices I make day in and day out. It also allows me to pause and enjoy my life while I live it. Gratitude in real-time.

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to slow down this week. I read, I made puzzles, I rested.
    • Two: I chose to travel with my family even though I really dislike traveling during the holidays.
    • Three: I chose to finally sit and make plans for 2017. I feel good about where I am now.
  • I read/learned: Between travel and the quiet week at home, I have read a lot of books. Since I last posted, I’ve finished This is your Life Harriet Chance!, the sequel to my friend’s book, Behold the Dreamers, Talking as Fast as I can, Hillbilly Elegy, The Chemist, The Undoing Project, Why We Get Fat, Infinite Home, The Association of Small Bombs, and I am now reading Swing Time. I’ve also watched a new series on Netflix called The OA this week. I have mixed feelings about it.
  • I celebrate:  Christmas. I love this time of year.
  • I am grateful for:  my home. downtime. family.
  • I focused on my health by: i’ve been working on the food. not a lot but slowly.
  • I made art:  still working away at december daily. i wanted to make art for January but I am not really feeling inspired.
  • I let go of: everything this week. I’m trying to let go more and more so i can really relax.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to the kids this week. I’ve been trying to as we are all home.
    • Strong: I was strong with persisting that I wanted to make 2017 plans. I finally pulled it together.
    • True: I was true to myself and didn’t over commit for the next year. Though I am still on the fence about my art plans.
    • Generous: I was generous Jake since we’ve been back so he can have the time to finish off some work.
    • Brave: I was brave to not check any work mail this week. I don’t even want to know what will welcome me when this vacation is over.

Happy 2016 everyone. Here’s to an amazing 2017 for all of us!


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 49

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to show up at work and get as much work done as possible. Early part of my week was day and night meetings.  but I showed up. I did my part to the best of my ability.
    • Two: I chose to buy lots of warm clothes. I think we are readier than we were.
    • Three: I chose to do my December Daily. I planned a bit more of 2017 but still nowhere near ready. Oh and I am almost done with Christmas shopping.
  • I read/learned: I finished Hungry Heart, Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares, Salt to the Sea and the sequel to a book that came out this year ( i got to read an early version.) I’m reading This is your Life Harriet Chance! at the moment. I watched the two episodes of This is Us waiting for me on the Tivo and loved them both.
  • I celebrate:  getting cold weather clothes for all of us. Shopping is a big struggle for me.
  • I am grateful for:  my husband. I am just so so grateful for him.
  • I focused on my health by: nothing still. If i were less honest, I’d remove this section but I think it needs to stay.
  • I made art:  december daily baby!
  • I let go of: nothing this week. I have been having a tough time on and off. Sometimes I feel totally fine and other times the smallest thing can set me off. It’s crazy, I tell you.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to Nathaniel’s school this week. Went to a parent meeting, listened and made some plans.
    • Strong: I was strong with work still and my meetings and the shopping. that was strong and brave of me!
    • True: I was not true to my wishes around planning for 2017. I am not sure what it means that I just can’t seem to get it together.
    • Generous: I was generous with the boys and Christmas presents.
    • Brave: I was brave to do the shopping. I was brave to go to work so much.

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 48

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to do a lot of work. At last count, I had 47+ meetings last week. Not to mention the email and todos.
    • Two: I chose to spend almost all of Thursday at David’s school, volunteering for many hours.
    • Three: I chose to do fill my weekend up, too, a bit unintentionally but here we are.
  • I read/learned: I read Crosstalk and Leave Me this week. I have a few books checked out from the library that I don’t want to read but won’t let myself move on which is stupid so I’ve read a lot less than usual this week. I’m almost done with Hungry Heart, too. I watched the last  Stanford Election 2016 class and the final OLW presentation. Almost no TV this week. Too much going on.
  • I celebrate:  finishing the Harry Potter puzzle we were working on for weeks. It was a hard one!
  • I am grateful for:  my manager and how supportive he is of me. And all my workmates.
  • I focused on my health by: nothing. i suck at this.
  • I made art:  december daily is here, yey!
  • I let go of: getting anything personal done this week. it was a busy work, kids’ schools and commitments week.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to David’s school this week. I was there for 7+ hours.
    • Strong: I was strong with work and allllllll those hours of meetings.
    • True: I was true to my goals for this week. Connecting back at work.
    • Generous: I was generous with work and David’s school.
    • Brave: I was brave to show up at the Google Party and my friend Evelyn’s party. Small talk is not my favorite.

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 47

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to rest all week. I barely touched the computer.
    • Two: I chose to listen to a lot of books while I worked on puzzles. I loved the peace though it wasn’t so great for my posture.
    • Three: I chose to do nothing this week and I think it was with mixed results. I needed it so I am not complaining but it was also a reminder that structure and plans and schedules work better for me.
  • I read/learned: I read a lot of books this week. I finished My Year with Eleanor, The Year of the Runaways, The Course of Love, Homegoing, On Living, Today will be Different, Hag-seed,  Buffering, and The Spy. I am reading Crosstalk at the moment.  The last  Stanford Election 2016 class has finally been posted and I can’t wait to listen. Jake and I watched Search Party on TBS and I watched the Gilmore girls on Netflix of course. We didn’t get to see Fantastic Beasts or Moana. We’ll have to do that in the coming weeks.
  • I celebrate:  having a full week of downtime. oh and a lovely spot bonus at work.
  • I am grateful for:  books. i love reading more than pretty much any other way to spend my time alone.
  • I focused on my health by: nothing. i didn’t this week at all.
  • I made art:  no art this week either. unless putting up the christmas tree counts.  but here comes december daily.
  • I let go of: being productive, being healthy, or just about everything else this week.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to myself this week. I wanted to take the week off and i did.
    • Strong: Well I was strong in not checking work mail, does that count?
    • True: I want to spend December exploring what’s true for me.
    • Generous: I was generous with my time this week. I wanted to not stress about it counting down. I tried and was partially successful.
    • Brave: I was brave to truly disconnect this week.

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 46

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to work pretty hard and finish all my todo list items. I also checked in with all my teams and feel like I am in a good place and can take a week off without too much guilt.
    • Two: I chose to go see the middle school musical with David even though I didn’t really want to and it turned out to be wonderful.
    • Three: I chose to take Sunday to read on the couch. Slowly and enjoyably. It was quite wonderful, too.
  • I read/learned: I finished The Versions of Us,  Underground Railroad, Hatchet, and The Sun is Also a Star this week. I love love loved The Sun is also a Star. One of my top five from this year. I am now reading The Year of the Runaways and have a bunch of great books queued up.  I’ve been waiting for the final  Stanford Election 2016 class lecture. Though I am still one behind. I also got to see a few movies this week that I loved. I watched Sing Street on Netflix. We had watched some of the Dark Mirror episodes the previous week and I found it to be too disturbing but I had read that there was one episode this season that was really uplifting and good so Jake and I watched San Junipero which did indeed turn out to be wonderful. And last night we went out to see The Edge of Seventeen which was sad and lovely at the same time.
  • I celebrate:  feeling really connected to my job and life this week.
  • I am grateful for:  my rich, layered and full life.
  • I focused on my health by: I’ve totally declined in this area. And thinking about how poorly I am doing is only making it worse, unsurprisingly.
  • I made art:  No art this week. December Daily is coming though so I know I will be doing a lot soon.
  • I let go of: sleep. this was a bad week for sleep and I let go of fighting it.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to my teams this week, took the time to connect with each and it made all the difference.
    • Strong: I need some help with this one. It’s been something that I need to work on redefining for myself.
    • True: I feel that I always have to balance between allowing me to be my true self and trying to stretch myself.
    • Generous: I was generous with work this week, too. But also with my kids. I spent a lot of time at both kids’ schools.
    • Brave: I was brave to try to tackle so much last week and it was very hectic with 3 book clubs, 4 school visits, and 20+ meetings, but it all worked out.

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 45

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to cross off every single work todo list item I had. I stayed up late on Thursday morning and just got my whole list done. It was driving me crazy so now I am ready to build a new todo list.
    • Two: I chose to run several mornings this week but I’ve also come to the conclusion that I hate running and I just need to come up with a different exercise I can do first thing in the morning. Something I can do at home, and something short but rigorous.
    • Three: I chose to exercise my right to vote. I consider it a major privilege.
  • I read/learned: I finished Tuesday Nights in 1980, The Mothers, The Wonder, How to be a Person in the World, and I am almost done with The Versions of Us.  I am also reading The Sun is Also a Star which is wonderful so far.  I’ve have a new lecture available in the Stanford Election 2016 class that I plan to watch today, it’s a class from before the election so it will be interesting to watch it with that perspective.
  • I celebrate:  getting so much done this week.
  • I am grateful for:  the election being over. I feel a plethora of emotions and haven’t processed all of them yet but I am still grateful to be off the rollercoaster. Even if I so wish the ride hadn’t ended where it did.
  • I focused on my health by: 
    • I did run this week and walked a bit but not consistently. I need help in this area.
  • I made art:  I did not but I’ve started making plans for 2017 and I am hoping that counts. Oh and I changed the banner on my site in prep for 2017.
  • I let go of: my hopes around the results of the election. this is what it means to live in a democracy.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to everyone this week. It was a rough week.
    • Strong: Thankfully I don’t feel broken anymore but I do still feel too tired all the time, I know it’s food related and need to work on it.
    • True: I’ve been working on my 2017 plan and it’s been interesting thinking about what my true self wants to feel more of.
    • Generous: I was generous with work this week. I gave a lot extra to get work done.
    • Brave: I was brave to show up at David’s school this week, I didn’t want to be there, I was worried but it all worked out, of course!

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 44

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to rest and give myself grace. I was sick all week and really needed to rest. So I just gave up on fighting myself and took Monday off and took it easy the rest of the week. Which meant, of course, that a lot less got done. But alas.
    • Two: I chose to support my kids this week by showing up at both their schools. I volunteered, I went to conferences, I showed up.
    • Three: I chose to work late many nights this week. It was an important week for my team and we had meetings. I was sick but I showed up anyway. Having said that, I did drop a lot of things on the floor so net-net I’d consider this not the best getting-work-done week.
  • I read/learned: I finished Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy, am about fifty pages short on  Tuesday Nights in 1980 but I think it’s likely I will abandon it. I also started and put down Razor Girl. I finished and loved How to Party with an Infant. I am now reading The Mothers and loving it so far.  I’ve have a new lecture available in the Stanford Election 2016 class that I plan to watch today.
  • I celebrate:  having some cuddle time with Jake watching Stranger Things this week. It was lovely.
  • I am grateful for:  finally feeling a bit better. Last week was rough. Also grateful for the one extra hour today!
  • I focused on my health by: 
    • well no exercise or eating well but I did try to rest a lot.
  • I made art:  I did both my OLW for November and all my pre-pages for the December Daily this week.
  • I let go of: getting anything reasonable done and finishing all the books I have checked out from the library.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to myself this week. I needed it.
    • Strong: Finally feeling stronger again.
    • True: What’s true for me right now is that I need to step back and do a bit of a self-evaluation and planning for the end of 2016 and for 2017.
    • Generous: I wish to be more generous with my time. I want to feel more expansive and not such a sense of scarcity. The scarcity makes me less productive, not more.
    • Brave: I was brave this week and this year so far. But here’s what I want to be brave with this week: learning to love what is.

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 43

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to work a lot while I was in Sydney as much as I could. And I also chose to socialize even when I was tired.
    • Two: I chose to go to the beach in the middle of one of my days to ensure I didn’t spend the week there without seeing the sculptures by the sea.
    • Three: I chose to take David to his first middle school dance the same night I got back from Sydney. Jetlagged, exhausted, and still there. I am so glad I was.
  • I read/learned: I finished A Darker Shade of Magic, Nutshell and Creative Schools this week. I am now reading Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy and Tuesday Nights in 1980. I have 18 audiobooks checked out of three libraries at this moment and I wish I could read them all simultaneously. Or at least before they expire! I’ve also watched the three new lectures in the Stanford Election 2016 class.
  • I celebrate:  being back at home. I really like Sydney and am always happy to be there, but always happier at home.
  • I am grateful for:  a solid week of work. Jake, being so wonderful with the kids. my kids, being magical creatures. my life.
  • I focused on my health by: 
    • oh man, did nothing this week. it was a week of just surviving it.
  • I made art:  no art this week. i am hoping with a new OLW, I’ll do some next week.
  • I let go of: trying to balance between my two teams while in sydney. i just did the best i could.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind the boys. When my plane landed on Friday, I went to N’s school for halloween parade and D’s school for his dance. It was a long, long day.
    • Strong: I am not super-strong at the moment. Jetlagged and tired mostly.
    • True: I was true to myself in Sydney. I went to the beach, chose smaller social outings and did whatever I thought was the right thing to do along the way.
    • Generous: I’ve been generous to work this week.
    • Brave: I was brave with all the social work engagements. Those are tough tough for me and then a social at David’s school Friday night.

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 42

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to get a lot of my todos done. I feel better about tying some of these loose ends.
    • Two: I chose to go to David’s school 4 times this week. It was worth it every time.
    • Three: I chose to step in and help David with some struggles this week. It was tough on me but really worth it.
  • I read/learned: I finished Hoot and Loving my Actual Life and most of Bad Feminist and started A Darker Shade of Magic this week. I am looking forward to more reading on the airplane tonight.
  • I celebrate:  I celebrate my kids this week. They are truly magical.
  • I am grateful for:  my parents. they are so kind, so generous, so supportive. I can’t say enough about this.
  • I focused on my health by: 
    • I did run a mile in the morning three days this week but it was an exceptionally hard week and I just decided to give myself a break from other things this week. More on this once I am back from Australia.
  • I made art:  no new art this week.
  • I let go of: having to do it all this week. I was just exhausted.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to David this week. I tried to help him with several things.
    • Strong: I am still feeling really weak this week. I need to make a plan for being stronger.
    • True: I was true to my feelings this week and communicated when I wanted something.
    • Generous: I’ve been generous this week with the kids’ school and preparing food for when I’ll be gone next week.
    • Brave: I was brave to drive to the school four times. To be honest about what I didn’t know. To own my feelings. Much bravery this week.

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 41

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to do a lot of art and journaling this week.
    • Two: I chose to finish several books. That made me happy.
    • Three: I chose to have a few conversations/social meetings go longer than I should have. I will do better next time.
  • I read/learned: I finished Finding Your Own North Star, Underground Airlines, Another Brooklyn, Modern Lovers, and Siracusa. I am almost done with Hoot and in the middle of Loving my Actual Life (and still reading Paradise in Plain Sight.) I’ve also listened to the first lecture of the election class I was hoping to take at Stanford that was sold out so now the lectures are available here.
  • I celebrate:  I celebrate reading so many books this week. I really liked all of them and doing art and reading are my happy places.
  • I am grateful for:  being able to live the full life i live. it’s challenging but i am grateful for it.
  • I focused on my health by: 
    • I got the notification today that it’s been 30 days since I did my 7-minute exercise. Isn’t that amazing? this is why I try never to take a day off because it’s so easy for me to take all the days off.
    • Walked 10K four days this week.
    • Ran 1 mile every week day.
  • I made art:  I did my November art this week. It was wonderful.
  • I let go of: being done on time this week. Most of my Thursday was at David’s school and my Friday was at work, it messed up my regular schedule but I just let it be.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to kids at David’s school. I started leading the Lit Club and it requires a lot of patience.
    • Strong: I am having trouble being strong. I am going to work on this one.
    • True: I was true to my needs this weekend and did art and read.
    • Generous: I’ve been generous with my time to others this week.
    • Brave: I was brave to share something with another parent at David’s school this week and I think it really helped.

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 40

  • Three Choices I made this week:
    • One: I chose to work hard while in Seattle and ran my mile every morning anyway.
    • Two: I chose to commit to a recurring volunteer slot at David’s school.
    • Three: I chose to take a rest day on Sunday. I am struggling with resting.
  • I read/learned: I am still slowly savoring Paradise in Plain Sight but I almost finished Finding Your Own North Star and I just finished The Nix which I loved. I’m also a third of the way through Hoot as part of the Lit Club I am leading with another parent at David’s school for third and forth graders.
  • I celebrate:  I celebrate being back home for two weeks. I like working hard when I travel but I am feeling exhausted lately and need some rest.
  • I am grateful for:  my husband. He’s been so very kind to me always and I feel so lucky to have him in my life.
  • I focused on my health by: 
    • I am still failing on the food and the 7minute. this is why it’s important not to stop!
    • Walked 10K+ daily except today.
    • Ran 1 mile every week day.
  • I made art:  I worked on my September and October OLW this week. I love this class.
  • I let go of: I let go of doing anything today. I needed to rest. I still need to rest more I think.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to parents at Nathaniel’s school.
    • Strong: I have been working extra hard lately. It’s hard but I am hanging in there.
    • True: I was true and had a lot of 1-1s this week to connect with my teams.
    • Generous: I’ve been generous with my joy of listening to The Nix this week. I enjoyed it so much.
    • Brave: I was brave to do the lit club at David’s school. I am looking forward to it but nervous, too.

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.

Weekly Reflection – 39

  • Three Choices I made this week: 
    • One: I finally signed Nathaniel up for swimming again, woohoo!!
    • Two: I came up with a really simple accountability system for the kids. More coming on this later this month.
    • Three: I chose to help David with his work.
  • I read/learned: I finished Deep Work, which was very interesting, Twelve Steps for a Compassionate Life which was wonderfully thought provoking, and Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty which I thought was going to be bad but was actually a surprise. I am still savoring Paradise in Plain Sight and now listening to Finding Your Own North Star. I read a short story called Opabinia by Neal Shusterman for the Lit Circle I am leading and I think I am going to start reading Nutshell next but I am not sure. No new classes this week, though Nathaniel and I did a bit of his programming class.
  • I celebrate:  I celebrate making it through this week. The last two weeks have been taxing and I am trying to find a new normal. In the meantime making it through feels good. And a weekend without obligations is even better.
  • I am grateful for:  I was talking to someone about my life recently and they mentioned how I didn’t have work-life balance but more like work-life integration. As soon as she said it, I immediately knew it to be true. My life and work are just intertwined. Working at home and having unusual hours (like Zurich and Sydney) and kids still at school (getting out in the middle of the work day) creates this intertwined life. And I love mine. I love that I can go to my son’s school in the middle of the day, that I can have meetings at night when they are sleeping, that I can help them with homework in the middle of work day, etc. I understand this might not work for everyone and I respect all choices but it’s a true gift for me and I deeply believe it’s what makes me good at my work and good as a mom (and wife!) because I feel very autonomous and because I am super-responsible the autonomy ends up being a huge gift. I am so incredibly grateful for this that I can barely explain it to others.
  • I focused on my health by: 
    • Sadly I am still not doing the 7minutes. I plan to start this though because there’s really no reason not to do it.
    • Walked 10K+ daily
    • Ran 1 mile every day.
    • My food is still not well though I have a bit of a plan now.
    • I’ve also decided this morning that I will take the weekends off running and the 10K. If I get the 10K in great but I will not put so much pressure on myself on the weekends. At the moment life is very full and busy and I think having these down days really feel like I can have them as rest days is really important. So I am going to give myself some grace while hoping that it doesn’t destroy the discipline of the other days.
  • I made art:  I’ve been thinking about OLW and my dailies for November but I’ve done nothing.
  • I let go of: I let go of doing anything this week that wasn’t on my calendar. Many of my todos fell by the wayside. I will catch up.
  • Core Desire Check-in:
    • Kind: I’ve been kind to David this week. Giving him grace when he needed, sitting with him when he wanted and helping with his work.
    • Strong: I am aching all over at the moment. I think I need to rest.
    • True: I was true to my need to sleep. When my meetings ended and todo list was overflowing, I still chose sleep.
    • Generous: I’ve been generous with my social time this week. I am learning that two is my limit and I need to stick to that number.
    • Brave: I was brave with signing up for Lit Club in David’s school (but for the younger kids). I am scared but excited.

Here’s to another good week! 🙂


Weekly Reflection is a year-long project for 2016. You can read more about my projects for 2016 here.