Kristin Sample's Blog, page 6
July 20, 2015
A big break
Inmates choose books to record for their children with the help of WSP.
My piece about Women’s Storybook Project was published on Motherlode, the New York Times parenting blog, a few weeks ago. I’ve been pitching to editor K.J. Dell’Antonio for a few years now. I think my first pitch was about conducting a successful kickstarter project to publish my novel while I had a toddler at home. K.J. has always been gracious enough to read my work and even when it was a “no,” her feedback was polite a...
May 21, 2015
Preschool Graduation is tomorrow
And my heart is full. Jackson graduates from preschool tomorrow at 11 am in the chapel of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. He’s already revealed that the class will sing “Jesus Loves Me” and do sign language along with the lyrics. I’m bringing tissues for that part alone. I have no idea what to expect other than the song and my deepest desire that the school plays Pomp & Circumstance when the kids walk in. I think the last preschool graduation I attended may have been my own or Maggie’s.
It’s not...
March 22, 2015
“Three Miles”: A Visceral Response
I was never a podcast person. I barely even listen to talk radio on the morning commute. Listening–in the car, at the gym, around the house–is for music. But that all changed when I started listening to Serial, a podcast by This American Life that took my facebook feed (and the iTunes charts) by storm. Since finishing Serial, I’ve mostly been complaining to myself that there isn’t more Serial. But this week, I decided to try This American Life. A quick look at the description of the podcast “...
February 3, 2015
Saying Goodbye to Funny Girl
This will be a long post.
This will be a sad post.
I’ve been thinking about this for awhile, about the experience of eulogizing a beloved family member. And first and foremost, I’d like to thank my Uncle Kenny for not only allowing me to speak at my aunt’s funeral service but also for giving the okay for this blog post.
My dad called at 7:15 on Friday morning November 21, 2014. It’s not completely unusual for my parents to call early–they know that with two young children that I’m up and caffein...
February 2, 2015
On Second Children
I wrote this in April 2014, about four months after Darcy’s arrival. Updates are in brackets. I thought it was worth a share.
“On Second Children”
“The first child gets bathed everyday. The second child gets bathed when they smell,” the pediatrician joked at the one week well visit. But it was a half-joke. I laughed but I thought (rather arrogantly) the second child will be bathed everyday as well. Two days later I kissed my baby on the neck right beneath her ear ready to inhale that delicious...
January 15, 2015
Revamping my website
Welcome to my new and improved website! Special thanks to my husband who did something technical to make everything load faster and make my dashboard faster while I write. Faster dashboard = Less frustrated Kristin. And Less frustrated Kristin = More posts for you. I know how you wait impatiently for my nuggets of wisdom. Oh, and C.K. put that snazzy twitter feed in the sidebar. That way, you get more Kristin Sample with your Kristin Sample!
What’s new?
a streamlined, modern, and easy-to-read l...
January 8, 2015
2015 Goals
Notice how I didn’t call this post New Year’s Resolutions? I hate resolutions. So permanent. So scary. If I haven’t made the change already, the chance that it’s going to happen just because there’s a new number on my calendar is pretty slim.
Besides, my New Year’s resolution always has to do with losing weight. This could be due to the barrage of Weight Watchers commercials and news pieces about dieting or fitness that tend to gather like media storm clouds at the beginning of each year. More...
December 27, 2014
Christmas Reflection
Dec. 27th…
This may turn into a 2014 reflection. In which case, I apologize in advance for the long-windedness and waxing sentimentality. This post will also be rambling and slightly incoherent. It’s 6:02 here in Austin. I’ve been up since 4:09 when my 4yo Jackson busted in our room in tears because he had a bad dream. Zombies again, I think. At 4:34, my 11-month-old dragon baby stood yelling at the corner of her crib and pointing at the red lights on the dropcam. On the monitor itself, Darcy...
December 6, 2014
The Elf on the Shelf Debaucle
It sounded like a good idea. All my friends on facebook were doing it. All my church pals who had little kiddos were talking about it.
I decided that this year Christmas would be extra magical. There would be decorating of cookies, our annual Nutcracker trip, tree trimming, present wrapping…and now there would be a stealthy elf who would hide in a different spot every night. Jackson would wake up, find him (maybe even with a little note or an advent present), and be the ha...
August 5, 2014
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
My husband and I recently moved our family to a new neighborhood. We were lucky to find a totally redone townhouse in a really nice complex. Soon after we moved, we realized that we had altered the median age of said complex considerably. In fact, most of our neighbors are elderly women between the ages of 75 and 97. Ooh, another man. Oh a young man. So nice to have a young family. I don’t know that I’d use the word “young” to describe either myself or my husband. But to the cast of Cocoon re...
