11 ideas that I have learned about why goals matter, how to set them, and how to avoid the most common goal-setting pitfalls.

Once or twice a month, a friend or colleague will reach out to ask if I would be willing to connect with them or someone they know about the education landscape in Oakland or the broader Bay Area as they think about how they can best contribute in their own career. Here are my thoughts for people considering a career move, considering how to grow their skills, or wanting to build their network.

Being a parent is hard. Being a mom can be especially hard. Having a supportive community is important in all stages of life (research shows that human connections lengthen your life and improve your mental health, among other benefits).

A few years ago, I let go of guilt that I wasn’t reading many books. You can only do so many things well in a given life chapter. I opted to focus my time on doing impactful work professionally and being a good partner to my husband and mom to my kids. I knew that some day in the future I would get back to reading more.

A friend recently shared a picture of her newly-updated bedroom heading into 2020. She made sure to note that underneath the sheets was the heated mattress pad I had recommended to her several months ago. I love that mattress pad with all of my being, and knowing that my dear friend was also going to enjoy that coziness each night made my day. It also inspired me to want to share more about some of the things I love the most.

So here’s three things I’m loving lately.

Nick Eastman passed away in 2015. We celebrate his life by doing random acts of kindness all year long and especially on his birthday (July 3). #nickwaskind

We brought some things that have made our trip easier, and there are others that we wish we had brought. Here’s our suggestions for 10 things to bring with you for an extended trip.

The truth is that balancing everything I want in my life (to be a great employee, a great parent, a great partner, a healthy person) is a daily struggle for me.

But I have also learned some things from experience and from the wisdom of others. Here are my thoughts, and I’d love to hear in the comments how else you find ways to align your priorities and make it all fit together.

As 2019 begins, and my 36th birthday nears in just a few days, I pulled up our list to see how much progress we have made and consider what we might prioritize next. With professional and personal life being a bit intense in these past few years (two kids joining our family, tragic losses in our family, me becoming a maternal near-miss survivor after the birth of our son, and job changes), I had assumed that little progress had been made since we haven’t checked in on the list in a while. I was pleasantly surprised to have completed more of the list than I had guessed.

Six activities for kids to celebrate Earth Day.

I've included the more traditional activities (like dying eggs and an egg hunt) as well as some that will be new for us (like making a plastic egg sculpture with glue dots and creating a collage with the leftover dyed eggshells). I have also, as always, built in easy activities for days when doing something involved is just not going to happen (like reading these two Easter-themed books before bed).

I could not stop thinking about why this is a bad idea. There are too many reasons even to count. So instead of sleeping, I wrote. Angrily. Passionately.

An easy, printable countdown to have fun as you count down toward Valentine's Day with your family.

In our first guest blog, Jonathon Stewart shares about our choice to move to a tankless water heater and what you should consider when making the decision for yourself.

I found out yesterday that some of my favorite folks are expecting their first baby. Here is my advice to them - I hope it will be helpful for others, too.

I was surprised that several of the items that ended up becoming must-haves in our family were things I did not even know about as a pregnant woman. I learned about them from moms groups, friends, and by googling various problems that needed solving. It would have been great to know about them before our baby arrived, so I'm sharing them today in hopes of helping other new parents have a slightly smoother first few years with their kids.

I recently offered an incredible woman a job. Before I picked up my phone to call her with the offer, I jotted some notes for myself. I thought I'd share those notes with you today, with a little extra "behind-the-scenes" thinking.

The easiest way I have found to organize them is to simply put two holes into each card using a hole punch, then use these inexpensive book rings to capture all of the cards from a given year together. I typically put our family's card on top and jot down the year in permanent marker.

The 34 ideas in here include everything from sending a care package to a soldier to buying a toy for a child in need to watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas to writing a letter to Santa.

A friend recently asked about LASIK surgery, and her request sent me looking for an old note that I had written the morning after my experience with the surgery in 2009. I still have friends ask about the surgery all the time, so I thought I would share those words here for anyone wanting to learn more.