Posts By: MJ Pullen
M.J. Pullen is a distracted writer and the mom of two boys in Roswell, Georgia, where she is absolutely late for something important right now. Her books include quirky romantic comedies and playful women's fiction. She blogs erratically with writing advice, random observations, and reflections on raising very loud kids and dogs. Join her Distracted Readers newsletter list for updates, free content, giveaways and more.
Moving day is (hopefully) just a few days a way, and I am scuttling around like… like a scuttle-bug, trying to make all the various pieces of the process fit together: preparing for closing, repairs in both places, packing, etc. Some days are like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, and other days are like putting […]
After the epic battle (or at least, slightly elevated conversation) between my Ego and Superego, the denial stage of weight loss grinds to an unhappy halt. No longer can I ignore the upward creeping of the scale, and the rationalizations begin to wear so thin that I can see through them clear to the nearest […]
Well, it’s been a busy and exhausting but fulfilling weekend. I really enjoyed Yom Kippur services this year, not to mention our family’s now-traditional Italian feast before the fast began with Kol Nidre Friday night. And sometime before the headache kicked in, I did notice (with surprise that shouldn’t be surprising, because it’s what I […]
Today’s blog is inspired by the fact that — as of this morning — I am 11 pounds down since the beginning of summer and only 6.5 to go before I hit my pre-pregnancy weight. Anyway, it got me thinking about how many times I’ve ridden the weight loss roller coaster over the last 20+ […]
I had sort of a nonstop, stressful day today, one that left very little space for contemplation and creativity. We’re in the process of preparing to move, closing on a new home in a couple of weeks and getting our current space ready to rent out to someone else; and today was one of those […]
I had surreal experience the other day. There I was, driving down the road toward the Marietta Square, when something caught my eye. It was one of those promotional signs people put in their yards in support of an election candidate. Not unusual, except that I recognized the name. Not from commercials or the newspaper […]
I’m not a political blogger, but I couldn’t help but notice something in the wake of the last week’s firestorm over a tiny Florida church’s plan to burn the Quran, the sacred book of Islam. Like many people in this country who would like to see an end to hate and religious persecution, I breathed […]
First I want to say thanks for all the supportive feedback on my 30/30 experiment. I’ve already received some great ideas for blogs, and please keep them coming! A couple of the suggestions I’ve received are for blogs are about how my life and perspective have changed as the mother of a one-year-old (interestingly enough, […]
There is an ancient story I’ve heard told and retold in different forms for years, with the original dating back to Rumi, the 13th Century Persian poet. Or possibly even before that. This is a slightly modernized version I heard from my wonderful teacher, the great Coleman Barks. Stop me if you’ve heard it. A […]
Rosh Hashanah has passed, Yom Kippur is on its way… It’s time for the Apology Blog. I just read my blog from two years ago, and I could almost cut and paste, because I’m having many of the same feelings today. And I noticed that many of the wrongs to which I referred are pretty […]
