At 41 . . .

Today marks the turn of another year for me.

I can honestly say I face it with no regrets and good amount of enthusiasm. I have a wonderful husband Mark, two great children, Graham (4) and Lauren (2), and two energetic hounds, Hamish and Isla. My career challenges and satisfies me; I work with wonderful, intelligent people. I have deeply held interests and I get to pursue them: books, fountain pens, travel, photography, modern art, food and cooking. I am curious and try to be an active, lifelong learner. My life feels balanced . . . mostly.

Like seemingly everyone else, I wish for more time. I could be thinner and more fit. And I will be both, in time. I strive to be more patient and kind. Every year, every day, is a new opportunity, a chance to improve.

At 41, I am comfortable in my own skin. That's worth celebrating. Cheers!

Just Finished Reading . . .

I just finished reading Steven Shaw's "Turning the Tables: Restaurants From the Inside Out". Shaw is an engaging writer who makes clear the mysteries of everything from how to get a reservation at a great restaurant, to the value of becoming "a regular," to how to interpret restaurant ratings, to big, thorny questions about sustainable agriculture and the future of dining out. A great book on "The Life." Shaw's book changed the way I will dine at restaurants. I will survive on his references to food and dining resources while he "works on the next one."

Prior to Shaw's "Turning the Tables", I read Maureen Corrigan's "Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading: Finding and Losing Myself in Books." As a fan of "books on books," I was enthralled with this memoir. Being an unabashed fan of the printed page, I was inspired to read of this life shaped by books--classical, contemporary and somewhere in between. I was equally delighted to find a fellow fan of Sarah Paretsky's V. I . Warshawski mysteries. Paretsky has been my favorite mystery author since I heard her speak at my husband's fifth year reunion at the University of Chicago. If you've grown up with your nose stuck in a book and still find that's a pleasurable state, don't miss Corrigan's book.

Welcome to the new blog

I decided to do this, in part, because I love reading other people's blogs. The opinions, insights, images, and general quirkiness of blogs fascinate me. The notion of a personalized internet motivates me. I'm now moving from observer to participant.

The content of my blog will likely be fairly idiosyncratic, as the title reflects. I expect that "Life's Random Walk" will chronicle the things about which I am most passionate: my family, books and learning, paper and pens, photography, food, and bits of business, design, and technology.

Lao Tzu stated "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Here's to that first step . . . hitting the "publish" button.