Posts Categorized: Jane Austen Days-Jedi Knights

Author M.J. Pullen blogs with humor about her life as a writer and working mom raising two padawans with her own personal Mr. Darcy.

And now, the waiting…

posted on 06/15/2009

So there are just under two weeks left until the official due date for our first child, which I have learned is a fairly arbitrary date determined by a German guy in the late 1800’s who decided that a pregnancy should be “10 moon months.” So, according to the obstetric wisdom that follows, sometime between […]

I Want Happiness Insurance

posted on 05/19/2009

Since we are now expectant parents, MDH and I decided recently it was time to grow up and get life insurance. I have to say, there’s something a little morbid and scary about the concept of life insurance, and it’s not easy to talk about the life of yourself, and especially the one you love […]

The Nest and Beyond

posted on 05/04/2009

For the second time in 3 years, we have wrens nesting in the planter just outside our front door. This means that I had to scrap my early spring plans of putting ivy in the shady planter, but it’s totally worth it. Two years ago, we called our feathered visitor “Gertie the Birdie,” (we’re sort […]

The Hidden Costs of Spreading Yourself Too Thin

posted on 03/24/2009

So it’s a little embarrassing to look back at my blog history and realize that I’ve only put up one tiny post in nearly two months… And it’s even more embarrassing to have to confess that — even though I am constantly preaching balance and stress management to my clients and friends — the main […]

How about coffee? Mayonnaise? Whipped butter?

posted on 02/28/2009

I like mustard on my fries. It’s weird, I know, but I’ve done it for years (originating during my years working at McDonald’s in high school — nothing turns you off to the normal fry condiment like constantly wiping stale, wet ketchup off trashcans, tables and trays). I used to like only mustard because of […]

A Lesson in Belonging

posted on 02/04/2009

I read today that a recent study (summary here) at the University of Kentucky strongly linked aggressive behavior with social rejection. In other words, people who are rejected socially are more likely to exhibit aggressive and violent behavior toward others. Well, duh, right? It may seem obvious, but this is apparently one of the more […]

Week 19: Your Baby Gets Superpowers

posted on 01/26/2009

One funny thing about getting pregnant is that suddenly your life is measured in weeks. It’s 40 weeks from start (well, before start, technically) to finish; and each week is brimming with developmental significance. Thanks to ever-improving technology, we know more and more about what happens with a developing fetus from week to week. So […]

Inaugural Blog

posted on 01/21/2009

Well, it’s not really my inaugural blog – it’s my blog about yesterday’s inauguration. I’m sure I am echoing the sentiments of many when I say this, but it’s astonishing to me how the peaceful fulfillment of the democratic process fills me with an increasing sense of awe, year after year. I’m a fairly worldly […]

Bookshelf Curriculum

posted on 01/12/2009

I figured it out the other day — I’m 33 years old, and I have spent almost exactly two-thirds of my life in school (at least part time). My first reaction as I write that sentence is to question the wisdom of all that higher education, and the next one is to try not to […]

Lessons from 2008

posted on 01/05/2009

On New Year’s Eve, a few friends converged on our house for a cozy evening of pizza and silly board games. It was wonderful. Earlier that morning, a colleague shared with me a NYE tradition she has: writing down things she wants to leave behind from the old year, and burning them in a bonfire. […]