Lara Krupicka
The Reluctant Naturalist
Has 2015 been a good year for you? Or a struggle? What can you learn from your experiences this year to make the next one even better? What do you most want to see happen in your life in 2016? If you are serious about living your bucket list dreams, then I invite you to…
Imagine helping trim the trees at the White House. Did you know that you can? The White House boasts 62 trees and enlists about 100 volunteers – florists, interior designers and regular folks – to put on the lights and ornaments. The First Lady decides the theme and then the team of volunteers goes to…
What is your one thing? The goal, experience, skill or what have you that you would love to throw yourself into accomplishing? Or the theme around which you could imagine centering your pursuits? I ask this because one of the dangers we all face in writing our bucket lists is getting so bogged down in experiencing…
Living out a bucket list is not as much about the items on the list as it as about being open to – and inviting – adventure. It is about being transformed into an adventurer. Our family suffered two losses this past week. On Wednesday, my husband’s grandmother died. A spunky Brit with a quick tongue, she lived…
In the movie Big Hero 6 we meet two orphaned brothers in the future city of San Fransokyo, the elder following his dreams to make the world a better place, the younger frittering away his talents as a robotics prodigy. Tadashi, the elder, wants more for his brother Hiro and challenges him to put his…
The temperature reads -3 degrees on my Weather app. The flag outside the grade school behind our house whips furiously in the wind. School itself is cancelled because of “extreme cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills.” Yet I still plan on heading out to the gym today for a workout. In fact, I’m pumped about it….
I was talking last night with a longtime friend when she mentioned her “November List. “What’s your November List?” I asked. She explained that for years she has kept a list of things which would usually get done in December, but felt too much like chores and marred the month. She made a point of tackling…
This week I am putting the finishing touches on my daughter’s Halloween costume. None too soon, I know! She is dressing as her favorite movie character: Arwen Undomiel from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Can I say that I’m a bit jealous? I wouldn’t mind having my own elf princess costume (complete with pointy…
We have a Spanish exchange student living with us for three weeks. She is so excited to be in the United States. She is eager to experience our culture, try our foods and see the sights. It’s delightful to see her reaction to the things she has most anticipated about the U.S. When we pulled…
Do you remember the vultures in Disney’s 1967 Jungle Book movie? The Beatles look-alike, sound-alike characters? I often think of their patter, “What we gonna do?” “I dunno. What you wanna do?,” when I think of the indecisiveness that can creep into motherhood. If your answer to the question: “what do you want to do?”…
