Catalyst Ninety-Nine is: What’s something you wish you knew about your parents?

The Journaling:
I wish I knew you when you were kids. I wish I knew your dreams. What did you want to be when you grew up? What hopes did you have for the future? Did you wonder how your life was going to turn out? Were you happy? How I wish I knew you when you were little. How I wish we could have been friends then. I love you.

Catalyst Ninety-Seven is: When in life have you felt most alone?.

Journaling Reads:
While there are also many good memories from that time, The beginning of Freshman year of college was a really hard time for me. I remember a day when I received a package of CDs from my mom. I put on “Little Jeannie” by Elton John and so many memories of home came back that I sat and wept. It was hard to be so far away from home, learning so many new cultural things along with educational ones. I made it through beautifully but there were a few rough months there at first.

Catalyst Ninety-Five is: What’s something you struggle with?.

I made a list of all the things I would like to do. I constantly struggle with choosing which thing to do, to learn. I want them all. I made a list and printed it as my background.

Here’s what’s in the list: Teach David how to read. Learn Russian. Get a PhD. Study Mathematics. Learn to sew. Learn to crochet. Drive fearlessly. Visit Antarctica. Ride on a hot air ballon. Write a novel. Write another novel. Learn to ballroom dance. Learn to draw. Really well. Play the saxophone. Read. read. read. a lot. Learn Hebrew. Visit New Zealand, Australia, and Africa. Pet a penguin. Master web design. Teach Nathaniel to read. Teach both my kids math. Spend oodles of family time together laughing and hugging and playing. See the Northern Lights in Alaska. Drive across the country again. See all of the states. Go camping. Write a product that I am really proud of and one that becomes popular. Learn to quilt and make a huge quilt for our bed. Get my coaching license. Learn to ride a bike. Make beautiful art journals. Teach courses. Let go. Journal every day. Run a marathon. Cook more and better. Start my own non-profit. Run a non-profit bookstore. Embrace imperfection. Publish a book with my photography. Take a lot more photographs. Master post-processing. Master photography. Become fluent in Japanese, Italian and French. And Sign Language. Go to an art retreat. Let go. Stop seeking validation. Embrace joy. Make a movie. Create art products. Affect the education system. Let go. Learn to paint. Acrylic. Oil. Learn wood carving and metal smithing. Learn more about physics. Chemistry. Statistics. Become a therapist. Learn to decorate a cake. Master design principles. Have a photo shoot with my family. Read all the classics. Go to the movies. Take daily photos. Make more scrapbook pages. Tell our stories. Tell my parents’ stories. Tell my grandparents’ stories. Collect family photos. Find my own style. Let go. Embrace myself and the way I look. Make lifelong friends. Spend regular time with good friends. Apologize from people I’ve hurt. Donate to charity. Volunteer. Learn to knit in the round and to knit a cable. Change a tire. Make wreaths. Make bread. Take photos of myself everyday for a year. Reach out to family more and connect. Take a trip alone. Watch the sun rise and the sun set on the same day. Bake a pie. Let go. Make a really complicated dish. Walk across the Brooklyn bridge and the Golden Gate bridge. Declutter. Practice kindness towards others and myself. Let go.

Catalyst ninety-four is: What’s something you swore you would never do? Why? Did you do it?

When I had my first son, David, I was working from home. Even though it was hard at times, I loved watching him grow and being there to see it all. And when he turned eighteen months or so, I took a job with Google and was working in an office for the first time since he was born. Although his dad was home with him, I missed him everyday and regretted not being there with him. And then I got pregnant with Nathaniel. I told myself that there was no way I was going back to work once the little baby came. My job at Google wasn’t something I could do from home and I was determined not to miss Nathaniel’s childhood which meant I had to quit my job.

Then, a month before my maternity ran out, I went into work and told my manager I would be happy to stay at work but only if they would let me work from home. I would be willing to do any job, as long as it meant I didn’t have to come into the office. As it turned out, they were very wonderful and helped me move into another job in the same group. One that I could do (and have been doing) from home. As it turned out, I got the best of both worlds: I get to see Nathaniel (and David) grow up and I get to work at a wonderful company, with a product I am proud to be a part of.

This week’s catalyst is: If you had to pick one single thing you wanted to do or accomplish before your next birthday, what would it be? What’s stopping you from doing it?



The one thing I’d like to accomplish before my next birthday is to find a way to feel more peaceful inside. To choose peace and joy. To let go of worry and feel a little lighter, look at the world in a more positive manner. My life is really full and beautiful and I would like to be peacefully blissful. So I stitched this dove and created a little olive branch out of wire and beads. This would, by far, be the greatest gift I can give myself.

Catalyst ninety is: What’s something that embarrasses you?



My words:


I have a hard time accepting compliments. When someone says something nice, I am immediately embarrassed and start saying that it wasn’t that hard, or it’s not that great, or it looks better than it is. Anything. I’ll say anything to take the focus away from me and from the gratitude someone is showing me. One time, a friend to me to stop doing that and just to say thank you. I’m working on it.

I wanted to create a bouquet of flowers (like someone presenting flowers to me.) with wire and beads. I learned this technique from the amazing Rebecca Sower. She inspires me endlessly.