Do you remember the game of Life? I have specific memories playing it when I was a kid, rolling the dice and making my way around the board. Your player piece was a tiny little plastic car with one little pink or blue stick which was meant to be you. As you progressed through life, you would get an education, a job, and if you pulled the right cards you would land a…

This weekend the Barbie movie came out and with all the hype around it I cant help but reminisce a bit on the brand and what being a Barbie girl meant in my life. Any of my friends who knew me growing up can attest that I was a Tom Boy through and through. I would tell everyone I hated the color pink and wanted nothing to do with Barbie. Then, I would go home, and secretly play with my Barbie…

This week I had a friend of mine tell me to be kind to myself; I had not slept well the night before and I was yawning into the video message I was sending her. When I mentioned that I was trying to find the motivation to do my daily run, she rightly encouraged me not to push myself too hard and to be kind to myself.  What’s interesting is when I think of that phrase I immediately…

MVP, aka Minimum Viable Product, is my favorite concept in business. It is the idea that in order to progress in an effective way - not wasting time and gaining valuable insight as you grow and improve a product or concept - you need to work in iteration. When we start we ask the question: what is something I can get to quickly? What’s the minimum? We don't do this to be lazy or take short cuts…

It's 8pm on Saturday night and I've got nothing. Usually earlier in the week, I'll have a Sunday Starter already written that I'll schedule out ahead of time. If that doesn't happen then Saturday morning I'll go through the dozens of half-finished posts I have written on OneNote pages and try to see if there's something worth finishing. Most weeks, it goes pretty fast. I take an old topic, clean it up, and I'm done. Today… not so much. I mean with topics like Burnt Hair, Back to the Future Inventions, and Crapper, I can't imagine why I had a hard time getting something solid written…

Are you a foodie? I’m not. Yet, I still know the world renowned restaurant ranking system, The Michelin Star. I can’t tell you who the top chefs are on tv or the name of that one that always says bam!, but I know that if a restaurant was awarded a Michelin it must be among the best in the world. So how did the Michelin Star become so popular? Who devised this ranking system and led to its success? One would think…

My niece and nephew love playing Minecraft. Whenever they visit, the first thing they ask is if we can play together. With my nephew we'll explore abandoned mine shafts, avoid the spider spawner, and I'll dump a bucket of water on myself whenever he thinks it’s hilarious to light me on fire. With my niece, we'll build out our purple house, with purple windows, and a purple bridge. The yard will be filled with exotic animals and art will cover every inch of every wall. When it's time to go, the conversation goes something like this…  

It's 5:13am and I'm wide awake. After an hour of trying to get back to sleep I gave up and got out of bed. In my house, it's very quiet. Andrew still sleeps upstairs and so in an attempt to not wake him I just grabbed my robe and started my morning routine. The smell of fresh coffee is beginning to waft through the living room as I open the curtains. This is a routine usually done at a little later, but this morning my mind was filled with heavy thoughts…

I have re-written this first sentence what feels like fifty times. As a result, I have finally given up on writing something coherent and valuable, and have decided just to write. Sometimes, when he have commitments that we want to stick with, we need to stick with them even when we know it's not the best.  

Every once in a while, someone unsubscribes from my weekly email. I can't deny that it hurts a little bit. I wonder what I did wrong that week to make them say I don't want this anymore. But just as quickly as I start to doubt myself, I force myself to change the soundtrack in my head. I stop the negative self-talk and remind myself that it's okay.  The more of yourself you put out into the world…

As I walked the streets of Dublin, I snapped a picture from the corner at The Temple Bar and sent it to my old Ireland buddies. It was one of hundreds I would take in just the few days I would be in the city. As I reminisced and shared stories of my time back then, I wondered if any of my pictures were still on Facebook and so I pulled up the app…

How far would you go for a croissant? On July 12, 2022 Albert Van Limbergen arrived at Boulangerie Roy Le Capitole after cycling 870 miles across two countries. In CNN Travel, Chrissie McClatchie shares his story of planning and executing his adventure, all for the special lavender croissants found in the bakery in France.  When I heard this story, what intrigued me was not the 870 miles, but it was how the dream was born.

Last year, Andrew and I went to an Art in The Park exhibit to support our friend who had some paintings on display. While we were walking around and looking at the other vendors, the picture above caught my eye. I asked the young girl about it: how did you capture such a moment? She then told me about the work that went into the set up…

The high five is something deeply ingrained in our society and so it's odd to think of a time before it existed. Years ago, I listened to a RadioLab podcast about the origin story. I remembered it being interesting and thought it would make for a good Sunday Starter, but when I reread the transcript this morning I was taken on an unexpected journey and into a topic that goes far beyond the high five itself. 

As many of you already know, this week I became a published author. Publishing a book has been a dream of mine, but I kept it to myself for so many years. When I finally mustered the courage to admit to someone that I had this lofty goal, it took another 10 years after that to finally start pursing it. I think what put me off for so long was the overwhelming feeling of playing the long game…

Tuesday night, March 28, I couldn’t sleep. At 7pm I received an email that required a decision. It was an email I wasn’t expecting; a decision I didn’t seek out. Yet there I was, like a traveler making their way through the forest I turned a corner and found myself at a fork. All night I thought through what I should do. Do I continue on the path I had been on? Or do I take this new road and see where it goes? 

Today, is Easter Sunday. No matter where you stand on religious beliefs I think anyone would agree that this holiday is celebrated all across our country. Some celebrate by going to church. Some dye eggs. Some hunt for plastic and chocolate hidden by a mystical bunny rabbit. Some do all of the above. When I think on all the different things that have made their way into this once religious holiday, I can’t help but ask the question: What would Jesus say?  

In March we spent 10 beautiful days in Costa Rica. During that time, in a new environment with no deadlines or pressure to do anything, I became a different person: relaxed, care-free, and spontaneous. The shift was so dramatic from the anxiety that I had been carrying the last few months that Andrew and I started to jokingly refer to me as Costa Rica Kristen. In the past when I would take time off, it would be very difficult to shift into vacation mode and leave Corporate Kristen behind. Like the rest of America…

The day I started this post was March 13, 2023, five years to the day since my brother died. I choose to say died instead of some softer version like saying he passed away or since he left us… or the more annoying since he went to heaven. I can only speak from my personal experience, but I have often felt a pressure to change the words I say for the benefit of others. No one wants to talk about death so we try to gloss over it. But the truth is…  

This is your reminder to take a sick day when you need it. Take vacation when you need it. You can be a responsible person and love the people in your life, while still putting up boundaries and taking care of yourself. And in case it wasn’t obvious…. I am sick. So that’s the post.