I was raised by a loving and supportive family. I’m aware of points in my young life where things could have gone very differently. This awareness has colored my outlook on life. I am so grateful for the life I lead. This blog is a practice in gratitude and an exercise in sharing the good life with others.
In grad school, I got lucky and met this mysterious, brilliant, slightly older Frenchman in a swing dance class. I have forgotten most of the Italian and Spanish I studied to learn French.
We have two kids together, plus a bonus teenage stepson and a puppy. My husband’s professional success allows me to enjoy the roller coaster ride that is raising kids, running a household, and learning ALL THE THINGS (piano, guitar, dance, martial arts, whatever). I try to discipline myself by focusing on an area I want to pursue more in depth each year. Because I am so fortunate, I feel compelled to give back and share what I learn along the way.
I have a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. I interned at Johns Hopkins in Neuropsychology. Then worked as a manager for a residential traumatic brain injury program. After which, I became a mental health counselor, ran group classes, performed psychopathy evaluations and sat on an interdisciplinary board for pre-release as part of the Restart program at a maximum security women’s prison. As fun as that was, I eventually moved on to work at a major children’s institute as a Psychology Associate performing neuropsychological evaluations.
Fortunate Femme is About…
Learning. Through life experience, research, literature, basically wherever I can get it.
Sharing.Rather than just being a constant consumer of information, I want to give back and contribute. I want to share with you my unquenchable thirst for life and learning. I am a stay at home mom. In my free time I like to read and take online courses. I love following politics and sharing my opinions. We also travel quite a bit and I want to give back and share those experiences.
Gratitude. This blog is a practice in gratitude for me. It forces me to stop and think about the life I lead and be more purposeful about it.
What Can You Expect to Find Here?
Politics and Current Events. Every week I will provide a rundown of the previous week’s trending news stories to keep you updated and save you time, in a section called In Case You Missed It (ICYMI). I’ll also share my (admittedly liberal) opinions as the inspiration hits me.
Book Club. I’ll post reviews of all the various fiction and nonfiction books I read as well as “assigning” the next books up for review so you can Join the Club, comment on reviews and start a conversation. For non-fiction books, I’ll share important information gleaned to save you time.
Travel. Especially with kids. We travel to France to visit my in-laws every year and take a week away with just our kids and discover somewhere new while we are there. Previous years included the South of France, Paris, Bretagne (Brittany) and Italy. This year was Spain. We also take a family trip over spring break. We like to go somewhere different every time. Travelling with kids is tricky. I hope to offer advice, solutions, great places and fun kid friendly activities to explore.
Parenting. We are a blended family of 2 young children and a teen (my stepson). We are also big supporters of the Montessori method. I’ll be sharing my thoughts and experiences as a parent of young kids, a stepmom, a Montessori mom, and mom to an awesome dog.
Food and Home. We live in an old historic home that I love to decorate and requires a little TLC now and then. We are also working with an architect in France, renovating an apartment in Grenoble for when we move there in four years. I cannot wait to share this project with you and my journey towards becoming an expat. I also love to share organizing tips and decor ideas. As for food, I’ll share my experience trying new recipes and other adventures in the kitchen.
Favorite sources and references
The Skimm which gives a daily Reader’s Digest version of big news happening.
www.electoralvote.com keeps me up to date every morning during the election season.
Fareed Zakaria’s GPS podcast, posts every Sunday with thoughtful analysis of current events.
Tim Ferriss has a really thought-provoking podcast featuring successful people in different areas. Especially great for entrepreneurs, but there is something for everyone.
On science, IFLS (I fucking love science) is a super-interesting and informative site for every realm of science. Wait But Why is fun, irreverent, and educational in an easy, brilliant way, covering a number of topics. Check out the posts on Artificial Intelligence if you want to be blown away. So much good stuff there.
As for books, I try to alternate between fiction and non-fiction. Goodreads is my go-to app for organizing the list of must-reads and connecting with fellow bookworms.
Contact
If you’d like to contact me for a feature, collaboration, or anything else, email me at contact@fortunatefemme.com
Fortunate Femme 