Politics, Stories
Sarah Holland
Campaign Update: March

"How's the campaign going?"

It's the question I get most often. It's also the question I'm never quite sure how to answer.

Good? ... Great! ... Your guess is as good as mine. ... We'll see May 17th!

The truth - I suppose - all depends on what you're measuring. 

Campaign Update: March
Celebrations
Sarah Holland
Felix's Winter ONE-derland

This weekend we hosted a Winter ONE-derland party in honor of Felix's first birthday. Considering this child was born during a snow, it seemed like an appropriate theme. Well, the weather had other plans and it was 70 and sunny! I could have hosted the dang party outside! 

Felix's Winter ONE-derland
Stories
Sarah Holland
Ruby

For my 30th birthday, I created a list of 30 things I wanted to do. One was to write a historical fiction short story. This is the story and as Ruby keeps calling to me here lately. I thought I'd share it here. 

Ruby
Food
Sarah Holland
Nicholas's Freezer to Crockpot Meals

One of Nicholas's New Year's resolutions was to try freezer meals. He'd prepped meals for the week on and off through 2015 and wanted to see how it would work to prepare an entire month's worth. Then, we could just pull a meal from the deep freeze, throw it in the crockpot, and on a busy day dinner would be waiting for us.

Nicholas's Freezer to Crockpot Meals
What I Learned
Sarah Holland
5 things I learned in January

Dear 2016, Slow. Up. I just picked my word for the year and finished off my New Year's Eve champagne like five minutes ago and now it's two days until February!

Whew.

5 things I learned in January
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"The Perfect Mother" and Self-Compassion

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I would never have described myself as a perfectionist. My house is frequently cluttered. My desk is covered with projects and reminders and stray papers. My kitchen floor is filthy.

For the longest time, my desktop was giant colorful graphic proclaiming "DONE IS BETTER PERFECT." That creed is not empty words to me. I believe it. I don't let perfection slow down my desire to complete a project. Perfectionism is paralyzing, as I would often lecture other people.

No, I was not a perfectionist.

Except...

I've recently realized that perfectionism is a deep, deep river that flows far beneath my attitude towards my house's cleanliness or craft projects. Just because I'll publish a blog post with typos or slap together class treats that are far from Pinterest-worthy doesn't mean that perfectionism doesn't affect me. 

The perfectionism that haunts me is far more insidious and harmful.

Why I'm a Democrat

I wrote this post 8 years ago in 2006. I still feel the same way. 

If I had to pinpoint a time when I began describing myself as a Democrat, it would be the winter of 2000. By this point, my transition from a good little Baptist conservative to what Cartman describes so aptly as a "college know-it-all hippie" was really in full swing. As you can imagine, 2000 was not the best year to switch parties because we started losing...a lot. 

7th Grade Life List: The Unchecked Items

In 7th grade, I made a list of 64 goals I wanted to achieve in my life. Some were big (Win an Oscar, a Tony, and a Grammy) and some not so big (Read Gone with the Wind). After having a fabulous experience checking one SUPER item off, I decided to keep at it and achieve as many of my 7th grade goals as possible.

I’ve had a lot of fun checking items off my 7th Grade Life List. Ok, maybe reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X wasn’t FUN, but it was enlightening. And while I still have plans to mark some more off the list (I’m coming for you Harlem Globetrotters!), I think it’s time to face a basic fact.

Some items will go unchecked.

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Amal Clooney and why I changed my name

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The hard-charging international barrister Amal Alamuddin recently married a movie star and changed her name to Amal Clooney reigniting the age-old feminist debate over whether or not a woman should change her name upon marriage.

My decision to change my name came down to a simple majority vote conducted among my bridesmaids in the car on the way to my rehearsal dinner.

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4 Reasons Kids Don't Need Cake

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A school district in Boone County, Kentucky recently received a great deal of media attention. There were no new test scores or viral videos or even school violence. No, the district got a lot of attention for a new rule.

While revising the district’s wellness policy, the Boone County school district decided ban food from birthday celebrations.

That’s right. No more cupcakes. No more ice cream. No more frosting or sprinkles or icing.

And, let me tell you, people are in an UPROAR.

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The Best Advice for visiting the Magic Kingdom with Small Kids

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Here are the lessons we learned from our first visit to Disney World's Magic Kingdom with a 5-year-old and 3-year-old!

We've just returned from our first family trip to Disney World and we had a blast! After months of planning, I have to say our day at the Magic Kingdom was indeed magical and I'm here to share all our tips, tricks, and advice. 

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