Be Kind to Animals

May 1st begins Be Kind to Animals week. Whether you’re talking about our domesticated pets who shower us with love, or the beautiful, awe-inspiring creatures in the wild, they make our lives better. But why do we need a designated week for this? Here are a few facts that might shed some light. According to…

The Season of (Self)Love

When you think of  February, you picture red hearts, candy, and flowers.  We go to romantic dinners, have weekend getaways, and enjoy the company of our loves. But February can also be the perfect time to show love for yourself. Last year was stressful on many levels. We were lucky enough to be able to…

Hope and Cabin Fever–Plus some free books.

These are terrible times. We are seeing humanity at its dumbest (stay home, people!) and its cruelest (hoarding without regard for others). Our leaders are failing us and increasing the risk to our lives by putting corporate greed over the health and safety of their constituents. Yet, some businesses are taking it upon themselves to…

Impostor Syndrome

Definition:  "A collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success." No matter how educated you are, or how much work you do, or how many words you write, or how many books you sell, it's never enough.    You feel like a fake.  You think your success doesn't matter or isn't sufficient. When…

National Cat Day!

I never thought I'd be a cat person.  I grew up with dogs.  Dogs made sense to me. They loved you unconditionally.  They greeted you with a wagging tail and a smile in their heart.  It took so little to make a dog happy; just a pat on the head, a game of fetch, or…

Into Silence

My first active shooter drill was in 2001.  I was a junior in high school.  Columbine had happened two years previous and shaken us out of our complacency.  We hid in the corner of a classroom, lumped together. One kid commented how this meant the shooter didn't have to aim.  He got suspended. We learned…

Righteous Anger

I want to be angry.  My whole life I've been taught that anger is not an emotion "good girls" have, but it sits in my chest, slowly gnawing away at my insides, diagnosed as anxiety.  Sometimes anger is good, and necessary.  Being passive doesn't work anymore.  It's time to get angry and stay angry to…

Stronger in Love

We were warned that marriage is hard. I don't think that I truly appreciated that statement when I got married less than a year ago.  We hadn't lived together before getting married either, so it was quite the adjustment.  Things are different when you don't have your own space you can go back to. Finally,…