Category: #CelebrateLife
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Letters to a new mom: A ChicagoNow series
Over the course of this week, ChicagoNow bloggers have come together to provide our collective wisdom to new moms. This series came to be thanks to the efforts of Mary Tyler Mom. It was her suggestion and it caught on like wildfire. To date, there are 41 posts by both moms and non-moms alike. As…
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You Say It’s Your Birthday? It’s My Birthday Too . . . In 6 Weeks!
We need to have a serious discussion. It has come to my attention that some of you have not yet begun to shop for my birthday, which is just six weeks away. That’s like tomorrow! Knowing that you want to get me the perfect birthday gift, I’ve taken it upon myself to make a few…
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DONE: 1 Year, 160 New Experiences
One year ago today I set out on what I believed to be an incredibly ambitious journey and one that I wasn’t sure I could complete. Today I celebrate the successful completion of that journey and reflect on the lessons I’ve learned and the new person I’ve become. My life was in a rut, both…
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Happy National Siblings Day
According to my Facebook wall, today is National Siblings Day. All of my friends are posting pics of their siblings and spouting lovely platitudes about just how great their siblings are, blah, blah, blah. I hate to break it to all of you, but I have the most supercalifragilisticexpialidocious brother ever. EVEH. Let me tell you why your…
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Do You Make Your Bed?
If you know me at all, you know I tend to lean towards the OCD side. I’ve never been diagnosed or anything, but my uber-organized ways, along with my love of office supplies, and constant desire to be surrounded by cleanliness, is ample evidence of my tendency. One of the ways this comes out is…
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National Day of Unplugging, Oil Pulling, Pinterest, & Spaghetti Squash
Last Friday I wrote a post about my plans to participate in the National Day of Unplugging from sundown on Friday through sundown on Saturday. I was going to give up my electronic devices – iPhone, iPod, and laptop – for 24 hours. At exactly 5:48 p.m, as the sun went down, I shut down…
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A Day in the Life of Little Merry Sunshine
Do you ever have “those” days? You know, those days when you’re kind of feeling a little blue? Where the blue feeling may or may not be based in what’s actually happening in the world, but where you’re only focussing on things that make you feel that way? Don’t lie. I know I’m not the…
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Could You Unplug for 24 Hours?
Could you unplug for 24 hours? No, this is not a rhetorical question. I’m completely serious. A few days ago, my friend Anthony posted a story from Fox Chicago about something called the National Day of Unplugging. Without knowing anymore than it meant taking a pledge to turn off all electronic devices for 24-hours from sundown…
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Happy Birthday Sammy and Zoey
Sammy and Zoey are my kittens and they turn two today. The following conversation may or may not have actually happened. Zoey: Mommy, because it’s our birthday will you tell us the story about when we became a Forever Family? Me: Of course, Zoey. I’d be happy to tell you that story. Why don’t you…
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New Experience #185: Jump Off a Cliff
Today I jump off a cliff. Okay, it’s more of a figurative cliff than an actual cliff. I’m not THAT brave. What am I actually doing? I quit my job without a new one to head off to immediately. I’m sure that many of you reading this are thinking “You did WHAT? In this economy?…
Jessica L Gardner 