Category: Inside Outcome
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Cleaning a Bathroom the Easy Way (and without chemicals)
My working past is rich in cleaning experience. None of it until the past few years was without toxic chemicals, but I did learn some fun techniques that still make things easier. The bathroom is my least-deplored room in the house to clean, maybe because I don’t have to vacuum it. But when our family switched…
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An Anniversary Shoutout
Tomorrow will mark two years since my husband and I traveled to the beautiful state of Hawaii and joined each other’s hands in marriage; and instead of writing a personal letter this year, I decided it would be more fun to shout it from a virtual mountain top. Husband, you gave me the courage, the…
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I Want to Change the World
I never really knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. For a while, I wanted to be a garbage man, because they got to ride on the back of the truck. Then I wanted to be a veterinarian, because I love animals. As I got older, the length of schooling required and…
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I Love Dandelions
Do you remember, as a child, picking a bouquet of dandelions for your mother? I do. I genuinely thought dandelions were beautiful and that I was giving a beautiful gift to my mother. I did not consider them a weed, something worthy of destruction. In fact, not only were they beautiful, but when they went…
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#reallifewoman
Women, show of hands. Who loves how they look when they wake up? You look in the mirror and the woman who stares back has no makeup, crazy hair, puffy eyes, unlifted boobs, and dons her eighth-grade softball t-shirt. At this very moment, how likely are you to take a selfie and post it online…
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Why I Stopped Wearing Makeup
I learned a few things in high school. I learned algebra. I learned chemistry (just kidding). I learned the definition of viscosity. And since I’m a woman, I also learned that in order to go out in public, you must “put your face on.” For at some point in history, we determined that women’s faces,…
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Life Is About the Journey, Not the Destination
Finally, I heard the bell — that beautiful, beautiful bell. The ringing continued to vibrate deep into my little body as I shook with exhilaration. School was over for the day; I was free at last. First grade is hard. Much harder than kindergarten. I am most certain that this will be the most difficult…
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Family Cloth
After reading Being Green, a friend asked me to elaborate on family cloth. She wondered why she would want to use it. Let’s start with this: What is family cloth? Family cloth is squares of cloth used to wipe at the toilet. Don’t leave yet! Let me explain the logic and benefits first. I hadn’t thought much…
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Being Green
For today’s post, I thought it would be fun to list the things we do to minimize our impact on the environment. Hopefully I can give you some ideas you may not have thought of yet. Many of these items fit in more than one category, so I just picked the most obvious one. Reduce…
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How to Conquer Irritation
Annoyances. Aggravations. Irritations. We all have them. We all get annoyed. Some suffer from few grievances, while some have peeves streaming out of their ears, ready to jump out of their chairs at the sound of a co-worker clicking his pen or the sight of a grammatical error. But why? Well, irritation is an emotional…
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When I Found Buddhism
It was around 2009 when I started longing to belong to some sort of group. I was no longer Christian, but I missed belonging to a congregation. I didn’t need a group of people or a religion in order to be a good person. I learned morals growing up, and I generally knew to follow…
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The Three Poisons and Their Antidotes
A few years ago, when I was just starting to study Buddhist philosophy, I learned about the three poisons and their antidotes in this documentary. This concept immediately clicked with me and has been a part of my daily thought process ever since. The three poisons are the root of all suffering. Every bit of…
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Parents Should Hug Trees. And compost.
One evening my husband and I were at a child’s first birthday party. The house was packed with stylish mommies and daddies, family, and family friends. We wove a delicate tapestry as we slid between one another to mingle and sample the hearty buffet. I was pregnant at the time, and my husband and I…