Emily Sutherland's Blog (15)

Here's an excerpt from my latest blog post:



We are quick to speak up when our kid can’t breathe or someone we love is in danger… but when its us hurting and the hurt isn’t physical – or perhaps our threshold for pain is high – we tend to sit quietly waiting for someone to notice while we conceal the broken pieces of ourselves...



Here's the whole deal. Lesson's from the New Year's trip to the E.R...…



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Certainly I'm not the only one who has some less-than-ideal vacation memories! Nothing like spending a week in the backseat of the family car with my little sister and 100 flea bites.

Read more at: http://emilysutherland.wordpress.com/2009/05/19/imperfect-vacations/

Everywhere we turn, we are bombarded with bad news about the economy. Today my wordpress blog is focused on what the economy DOESN'T have the power to threaten in our lives! Thought Smaller Indiana might enjoy a positive slant on the economy.…

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It's December. People don't see rainbows in December. Maybe April or May... or during the summer after a brief shower. But not in December. And certainly not for Indiana residents. So on December 21, I blogged about a crazy experience earlier this month when I saw six rainbows on one December day in Hawaii. But today... I was in Houston, Texas, and I saw a seventh...… Continue

2008 has been a wild ride that winds up with me quarantined, blogging from a codeine fog about rainbows, coughing and songwriting. Read about it here if you dare.

After the worlds most annoying night's sleep (or lack thereof) what happened this morning is the only thing that could help me stop acting the way I felt...

Read I'll Sleep When I'm Deader here.

There are few things in this world more beautiful than a cardinal in the snow. What is it about seeing a splash of brilliance in a monochromatic landscape that makes me feel hopeful? Maybe it's a symbol of survival. Most often I'm huddled over a warm cup of coffee, staring out the sliding glass doors at the freezing blanket of white covering my world, when I see that welcoming flurry of red... spreading his wings in spite of the bleak climate. I want… Continue

The days leading up to Thanksgiving were hectic and I was fighting a cold (which, no doubt, everyone in my life is tired of hearing about). So the warm feelings that usually rise up as my favorite holiday approaches were squeezed out by deadlines, proofreading, exhaustion and that ever-loving cough.



By Wednesday evening, I had finally come to a good stopping point with all the work stuff and it was time to begin preparing to host the Thanksgiving meal. After we finished up our own… Continue

I'm developing a strong distaste for the word "should". It is, at once, both a completely useless word and a loaded statement. If you think about it, should serves as a synonym for "didn't" or "won't" with a hot steamy pile of guilt thrown in. For example this sentence, "I should call my friend whose husband just left her," is basically code for "I'm not comfortable calling my friend because I don't know what to say... so I didn't. And I might not ever. But at least I feel bad about… Continue

It's interesting to look into the faces of strangers when I’m out in public and try to imagine what their deal is… where they’ve come from, the stories they could tell, the things they know how to do, the things they hope for… the things they’ve given up hoping for. It’s like a puzzle. Part of the picture is visible, like their smile or lack thereof, their eyes and whether or not they look into my face as I pass by.



It can be overwhelming reading people because every time I dare to… Continue

I was slightly offended this morning when I got an email from Priceline marketing a 'last minute deal' for a flight to Hilton Head Island this weekend for only $64.00. Ummm... hello?! We watch the news, Priceline! We know you don't care about little things like life-threatening hurricanes scheduled to hit the island just hours after the plane touches down for our island getaway, but we aren't stupid.



Hey, I'm a sucker for a bargain. But like my mama always said, "A bargain is only a… Continue

I’m watching my dog, Maggie, in the reflection of the window and she doesn’t know I’m watching her. Black as coal, her retriever face and bird-dog-build lie stretched out on the carpet in front of my desk and she soaks in the sun like a little baby sleeping. She is as gentle a creature as I’ve ever known. Now weighing more than 60 pounds, she still looks much like the little 9-week-old orphan puppy we adopted just two years ago. She picked me as her favorite in the family… Continue

Okay, I've just ended my first-ever attempt not to multi-task for 24 hours and whoever said "multi-tasking is dead" better not come within 10 feet of me for awhile. :-) Those who knew me couldn't muffle their snickers when I told them about this experiment. One co-worker didn't bat an eye before retorting, "You're WAY too creative for that." Maybe that was his kind way of saying, "You're way too hyperactive for that..." but I digress.



Here's my journal of the day. Don't laugh. I knew… Continue

I just read this quote and at first it hurt my feelings!



“Multi-tasking is dead. It never worked and it never will. Intelligent people love to sing its praises because it gives them permission to avoid the much more challenging alternative: focusing on one thing.” –Timothy Ferriss



If multi-tasking is dead, someone come over here with a shovel and bury me now! Two things came to mind the first time I read it (hoping he was kidding): 1) He isn't a woman. 2) I want his life,… Continue

I'm a preacher's kid and got the mixed blessing of moving around quite a bit as a kid, so when my husband and I settled here in Indiana 18 years ago we had no clue how much we would fall in love with this state or how long we would stay here. While I must admit every year (sometime around early February) we threaten to move to a warmer climate someday, it's hard to think about ever leaving the incredible community we enjoy here.



Our church, the schools, friends we're blessed to know… Continue