Chicana on the Edge

Mentioning the unmentionable since 2004

Ask For What You Want, Part Two: People Pleasing

Are you good at asking for what you want? Some insight into those who struggle with it.

How Chicago Failed Its Most Vulnerable: The Heat Wave of July 1995

31 years ago, a three-day disaster revealed an ongoing one.

Touched My Nose to My Knee!

Previous post on weight & health: This was written by a MAN? One of my goals for 2014 was to lose enough fat around the middle to be able to touch my nose to my knee again. I had expected this to take months, but my jewelry has been fitting looser, so I...

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Happy Year of the Horse!

Happy Year of the Horse!

Today marks the beginning of the Chinese lunar year and this year it's the year of the horse. I happen to be a horse, so I'm excited about it. It feels like excellent timing for this to be my Chinese year because this is the year I get divorced, launch an Arbonne...

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Baffled

The one-year-old who lives in the apartment below me is crying again. This happens regularly in the middle of the night, but I usually sleep through it. I only hear her when I happen to be awake, which is actually pretty often, as I rarely sleep through the night. I...

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I’m Less Sweaty!

I’m Less Sweaty!

I often keep my apartment windows open all day, even in 10 degrees, just to stay comfortable. Since 2011, no matter how chilly others were in a meeting room, I was always fine. For years now, when  I come inside from even the most freezing Chicago weather, I...

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Regina the Tourist

I'm spending this week being a tourist in the area where I grew up. Two of my aunts and I are spending a few days visiting my dad who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area (California, USA). We're staying with him in Walnut Creek, but have spent a whirlwind two days...

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Married-Yet-Single?

Ten years ago when I was dating, I had trouble with shifting definitions of "single." A couple of times I found myself on a date with a man who presented himself as single, but who turned out to actually be legally married. Sure, the boy was separated and absolutely...

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Having Children Teaches You Lessons

Having Children Teaches You Lessons

A friend recently emailed me, "Having children taught me lessons I don't think I could have learned any other way." I've heard this sentiment many times and I believe it's true, but there are also lessons you learn from ice climbing that you can't learn any other way...

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A Lovely Winter Divorce

I did this right: during my marriage we had no children, incurred no debt, bought no property, inherited no big windfalls and started no businesses. With nothing to argue about or contest, my husband and I should be cleanly divorced in about four weeks and $1,300. I...

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Change Your Ending

This NPR story completely supports what I know about the power of changing the story you tell yourself. Listen to Editing Your Life Stories Can Create Happier Endings. Changing the endings of some of my worst childhood memories is exactly what I did with Carol Moss,...

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Tip GENEROUSLY During the Holidays

(This message is aimed mostly at Americans and people traveling in the U.S. during December.) To anyone who goes out to a restaurant, bar, hotel or any other place where hospitality employees are working so YOU can enjoy Christmas, TIP GENEROUSLY. Bartenders and cab...

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Merry Christmas Eve!

I recently downloaded the Blogger application (remember that "app" is short for "application") and this is me trying it out. I'm blogging on my tablet from my hotel room in the Hyatt North Houston, where I'm staying for the holiday. Let's see how this goes.I tell you,...

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