I’ve done an exercise at several workshops over the years where you have to write down what you would do if someone suddenly gave you one million dollars and you could only spend it on yourself. Oddly, a pair of new running shoes was the item that stuck out for me the first time I wrote this list. It was noticeable because I instantly realized how silly it was to think I needed to have one million dollars in order to buy new running shoes. In fact, the exercise was to give everyone this same epiphany: That we usually don’t have to wait to get what we want. Later that week, I did buy myself a new pair.

I've been cooking since I was 10 years old and some of my family's favorite recipes use a lot of eggs, so I thought I was pretty good handling eggs. Well, from the land of "You Never Know Who You Can Learn From," I just learned a better way to crack eggs from my 19-year-old nephew, who is finishing up certification as a pastry chef.

My favorite part of going to the hair salon is not my hair looking good. It's having my hair washed by someone else. The hair washers at my salon provide an incredible scalp massage. I never want to get out of the chair.

My brother-in-law passed away last Thursday, December 29, after a 10-year battle with pulmonary fibrosis. The weeks leading up to his passing were especially difficult as Jeff steadily declined toward his too-early death. It was awful for him, of course, but I must also admit that it was not easy watching a loved one deteriorate before our eyes—for his brother (my husband), for his two sons, for his parents, his nieces (my daughters) and extended family.