Learn how to discover the lost art of convalescence.
The lost art of convalescence: 6 things I did while I had pneumonia
Unlocking the mysteries of motivation
Many of us are counting down the hours to winter break, and I'm sure many of us will use the downtime to think about our goals for the new year and the vision for our life in 2016. I'm excited to share with you a guest post I wrote for UT's Human Dimensions of Organizations... Continue Reading →
Treat yourself with compassion
I'm finally painting again, thanks to a lesson in self-compassion that I received after attending my third seminar (out of four required) in UT's Human Dimensions of Organization "Thinking Smarter" certificate program on November 13. I'm hoping to guest blog for HDO's In the Loop as I have in the past, so I'll hold off... Continue Reading →
The rhythm(s) of Spanish life
The return of the school year has me thinking again about the beauty of routine. I recently wrote about routine here and here, and I can tell you that sticking to my routine and taming distractions is much easier when my daughter is in school. I love summer, but the steadiness and predictability of the school year is... Continue Reading →
Great work must happen before everything else
In my last post, I described what I learned in an offsite with myself on Memorial Day weekend after reading the wonderful book “Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus and Sharpen Your Creative Mind,” a compilation of essays designed to help us find a centered space for creativity by getting out of... Continue Reading →
Four things I learned in an offsite with myself
I'm so glad that May is over. It was a month in which I lost control of my schedule and time to an unprecedented extent. I felt stuck in a "create-on-demand" twilight zone, reacting and responding to almost hourly urgent-but-not-important requests and attending last-minute meetings that hijacked my thinking and real work time. I had to work late... Continue Reading →
Dusting off the paintbrushes
It's been four months since my last post. Thank you for standing by, dear readers. My last post was about caregiving, and when I wrote it, I felt confident I could return to painting while my mom lived with me and fought pancreatic cancer. That wasn't to be the case, as the roller coaster of this... Continue Reading →
The endless art of caregiving
At some point in every artist's journey, art will imitate life. I think that point may be approaching for me. My mother has pancreatic cancer, the most lethal cancer there is. The struggle with the diagnosis in August - and the debilitating effects of the disease and its treatment on her and our family since -... Continue Reading →
Strengths, flow, effective thinking, and the pursuit of happiness
I recently attended my second professional seminar in the University of Texas at Austin's new program Human Dimensions of Organizations. The seminar, titled Flourishing in the Workplace, took place on April 25 and was the second seminar in the Smarter Thinking certification series. I blogged about the first seminar late last year and am excited... Continue Reading →
Mercado de San Miguel
The San Miguel market is located in the heart of Madrid's tourist center, right next to the Plaza Mayor. Completed in 1916, it is the only surviving iron structure market in Madrid today, having been rescued from abandonment and disrepair by a group of investors in 2003 who restored and reopened it in 2009 and adapted it... Continue Reading →
Where's my paintbrush? 