[No one]: I wonder if Maria will ever make a new blog post. [me]: I’m so glad you asked! [Literally everyone in the universe]: [me]: I can feel your anticipation and enthusiasm. It’s electric! [Literally everyone in the universe]: [me]: For today is the day I shall post to this poor, neglected blog! Friends, a … More Pitch Wars Life
Yesterday was tense, as the Twitterverse watched the ill-advised, amazing ascent of one very nimble Minnesotan raccoon up the side of an office building. He was the beloved, bumbling protagonist we all are, some days, making one bad decision after the next but refusing to back down. Well, he made it all the way to … More Happy Birthday to me, from the #MPRaccoon
I had a birthday this week, and it was lovely and full of sweetness despite falling right in the wake of Sunday’s horrifying massacre. The thing is, after you reach a certain age, death always seems to show up for your birthday. It’s not like you invite the Grim Reaper to the party, but you … More A Birthday Wish
If you happen to be one of those people who hates Valentine’s Day, I think it’s because you’re doing it all wrong. I mean, how could a holiday where chocolate and crafting play such critical roles be a bad thing? Yes, there’s the whole romantic, wooing, expressing-your-love aspect, which is great if you’re lucky like … More How to Win Valentine’s Day
Life is strange and unpredictable. Dali famously said, “I do not understand why, when I ask for grilled lobster in a restaurant, I’m never served a cooked telephone.” That’s never happened to me either, but I have, when I least expected it, felt a copperhead’s fangs sink into my foot, or got to pet a … More Winning Even When Losing
I’ve never been one to make New Year’s resolutions, but I have made and kept life resolutions at random points in time unrelated to the calendar. In these final hours of 2015, as part of a promise I made to myself last spring to focus on the positive and to celebrate the small wins, I … More New Year, Same Old Wins
Gather round, children, and let me tell you about the day I achieved a feat astonishing in both its level of difficulty and its utter meaninglessness: I contact papered the shelves in the kitchen pantry. With a clever tromp l’oeil plain white contact paper that looks pretty much exactly like uncontact-papered shelves. Because apparently even … More The Oscar for Pantry Organization Goes To…
After a few decades of unblemished health, in recent years, I have become a copperhead-bitten, emergency-appendectomied, metal-hipped, celiac-diseased, breast cancer survivor. I’ve been hospitalized five times in the last seven years due to four different, unrelated ailments. You might say that bad luck and I are more than just passing acquaintances. Still, every once in … More Winning at Life
Maria Linn 