I Run These Towns

I truly detest the phrase "it is what it is". I hear people say it regularly, and I cringe every single time. Because when I hear "it is what it is" I hear "I no longer care enough about whatever IT is to react in a different way". Saying "it is what it is" isn't accepting what one can't change. It's indifference to how you can react to the things you can't control.  Of course there are circumstances beyond our control where we cannot change or anticipate the outcome. Maybe it's an illness or an accident or someone else's decision that you cannot change. But to take whatever this circumstance is and say "well it is what it is" just feels like giving up. Sure, there are things I can't change. But what I CAN change is my reaction and how I manage the things that are out of my control.  I have a chronic illness. I could say "well it is what it is". I have Crohn's. I can't change it. So I'm ...

I really enjoy the show House Hunters even though there are lots of reasons to not enjoy it. (Ex: I raise butterflies for a living but our budget is $1.5 million!) One thing that I notice on almost every show is the buyers say "This space will be great for entertaining." It begs the question of how many people actually entertain. I love to host. LOVE it. I love to have people over and cook. I even have friends and family where I've hosted at their house. However I know most people don't host. The concept of buying a house with great entertaining space is probably lost on a lot of people, and that's okay. If everyone loved hosting I'd lose my role. However there are responsibilities on both the part of the hosts and the guests. I'm flummoxed by the lack of expectations and rudeness of both hosts and guests. Let's discuss. So you're the host. Properly hosting takes a lot of work. And let's be real - it's expensive. Unless you've expres...

Michigan winters can be brutal. When I first moved here, in February of 2006, the temperatures did not rise above freezing the entire month of February. Harsh. In fairness with climate change our winters have generally become more mild, but this one has been tough. It's been cold and icy without any of the things that make winter fun (like snow one can actually play in).  Yesterday I got up to walk my dog at 6 am like I do every day. I checked the temperature, and it was 17 degrees. I hesitated because I had zero motivation to go outside in the dark with temps in the teens to walk the dog. But then I thought about the busy day I had ahead of me. I wouldn't have another good opportunity to walk her. She needs exercise and so do I. So I sighed and bundled up to walk the dog. You see the winter I've had ZERO motivation for any of the things. I don't feel like walking the dog. I don't feel like exercising. I basically don't feel like going outside. The winter blues ...

I love the holidays. December is always a blur of parties and events, and I love every single minute of it. I was hospitalized in early November, and one of my biggest fears was not being ready for all the holiday events I love so much. I shouldn't have worried.  I decorated for Christmas two weeks before Thanksgiving to be ready for the festivities. Starting the Friday before Thanksgiving we attended our community's holiday parade that kicks off the season and attended a cocktail party at a friend's house the next day. The day before Thanksgiving I put 225 Christmas cards in the mail. We had Thanksgiving with my in-laws and then flew to Arkansas where we enjoyed an annual weekend with amazing friends.  A weekend with friends in Hot Springs, Arkansas The first weekend in December we attended the inaugural Big Red Ball, a celebration of and fundraiser for our neighborhood organization Downtown Lansing, Inc. The following week was our son's 10th birthday and our 16th wedd...