When my husband suggested a staycation earlier this year, I was skeptical—and a bit bitter about the prospect. It’s been a number of years since we’ve had what I would call a vacation getaway.

However, a backyard vacation made the most sense given that we didn’t want to leave our aging cat alone for an extended period of time, and we have a basement we want to remodel this year. So we set some ground rules: no checking in with work, no excessive computer use, lots of dining out so there wouldn’t be a kitchen ...

It’s been four months since I wrote a blog post—and here’s why. I’ve been searching for the elusive key to happiness. Now that I’ve found it, I can share. The key (at least for me) is boundaries.

Sadly, boundaries are my Achilles heel—and I’ve developed one hell of an aching foot (not just because of my plantar fasciitis flare up). In fact, due to my inability to erect boundaries, my entire body is suffering and so are my mind, the cleanliness of my house, my friendships, my family and my own happiness.

When ...

Anyone who’s known me for more than a week probably knows I am a bookworm. Give me an hour of precious free time, and I’ll quickly bury my head in the world of words.

It took years before my husband finally realized that when I’m deep in a good story, he no longer exists to me. And should he persist in trying to get my attention, he deserves the fury he may unleash for pulling me so cruelly back to reality.

One of my best childhood memories was the regular trips to the public library with my ...

How does one find oneself in the parking lot of a retail store eating yogurt with a fork in her car?

Not a cup of yogurt, mind you, but a dinner-sized yogurt-fruit-granola parfait. And the store was appropriately, in this case, named Hobo, which is what I felt like huddled in the front seat, wondering whether an officer would come knocking on the window asking what the hell I was doing.

What I was doing was improvising. The day hadn’t gone exactly as planned. My well-thought-out plan was this: a morning lovingly sending my daughter off to school, followed ...

It’s been 12 years since I have started a new job. I had forgotten how physically and emotionally draining the first few days, weeks and maybe even months can be.

After a whirlwind first day, spent meeting new coworkers and going through a massive project list followed by rushing home to wolf down food and get my daughter to gymnastics, I crawled into bed exhausted. Yet sleep eluded me.

My brain was stuck on repeat: “must process, must process.” I tossed and turned and had weird dreams. When the alarm finally went off, my inner introvert pulled her head ...