Unless you’ve been living under a rock lo these last few years, you’ve heard of Hamilton! The Musical. I admit I was a little late to the party when it came to the soundtrack, but I more than made up for it once I started listening to it. Put it this way: I had to institute my own 12-step program to wean myself off of … Continue reading This Is 50: I Was in the Room Where It Happened!
I’ve never been one to seek attention. Some people would love to be Beyoncé. Me? I’d rather be one of her backup singers — you know, like the rest of Destiny’s Child. (#PoorMichelle #PoorKelly) So parties in my honor have never been something I’ve sought. I remember when I turned 9 and my mom invited a few girls over for a birthday party. These were … Continue reading This Is 50: The Birthday
I know, I know … it’s been a long time since I last posted. How dare I call myself a writer when I haven’t been taking care of my own blog? It’s been a crazy year, though: In addition to turning 50, I moved to Norway. Norway! I’m an expat, y’all! The last several months have seen so many things, starting with a surprise birthday party … Continue reading This Is 50: An Introduction
I married a Norwegian who hates winter. By the time February rolls around, he’s pretty fed up with the cold. How to fix this? Hit the beach! Every year since we’ve been together, we’ve been like the birds, heading south to warmer climes. Our first vacation, in fact, was to the Dominican Republic (I’ll eventually get caught up on our travels and will have a … Continue reading U.S. Virgin Islands
The very first friend I met in 2001 when I started working at Random Nonprofit Publisher (RNP) was a woman named Pat. Eager to make a good impression, I often showed up a good 30 minutes before my scheduled time. She had a different schedule, so she’d be there in our big communal office, and for those 30 minutes before anyone else started filtering in, she … Continue reading Atlanta
One of our friends is Icelandic. One night over dinner with him and his wife earlier this year, Snaevar shared some of his favorite things about his country. It was enough to set Espen’s wanderlust ablaze. A week later, he called out from his desk, “So. Iceland. Would you really want to go?” I said yes, of course. The next day, the trip was booked. … Continue reading Iceland
Our first vacation together was to the Dominican Republic back in February 2014. Espen had booked seven days in Santo Domingo. Turns out, that nation’s capital doesn’t have seven days’ worth of things to see. (Believe me, there will be a post about that trip at some point.) After visiting pretty much everything worth seeing in a day and a half, Espen insisted on forgoing the rest of … Continue reading Road Trip: New England and Canada
I love cathedrals. It was one of my favorite sections in art history class. The scale, the symbolism, and, of course, the windows … We’re lucky to have the world’s sixth largest cathedral in the nation’s capital. It had been a while since I’d seen it, and Espen had only seen it from a distance, so we visited Sunday. They’re still working on repairs from … Continue reading National Cathedral
Whenever I visit someplace new, I ask myself, “Could I live here?” Even if it’s a lovely place, it may not be a place I want to wake up every day. Case in point: I love New York. But I love visiting New York. I couldn’t live there. Not unless I was was so enormously wealthy that I could afford to live, say, overlooking the park. … Continue reading Philly: More Than Cheesesteaks
If you’ve never visited my little corner of cyberspace before, welcome! If you have, thank you for coming back. Things probably look a little different from the last time, since I finally spent longer than five minutes trying to figure out how to feature things on the home page. Don’t get too used to things, though: Chances are high that there will be future changes, and “featured” articles … Continue reading Welcome!
Where the Road Takes You 