"You're my favorite." My daughter grins first at me and then over at her siblings. They pretend to be upset, but mostly they just roll their eyes. After all, next week, or perhaps tomorrow, maybe even five minutes from now... Yep. It'll be their turn. My "favorite child" changes faster than a Continue Reading
New Release
Now, Did You Hear about That Time I Ended up in High Water?
Picture it. The summer of 1984. Clear Creek Lake, Oklahoma. I was fourteen and becoming red just thinking about going out on the water. Did that stop me? Nope. I was born a duck without protective feathers. Or something. My aunt and uncle had bought a motorboat--perfect for pulling water Continue Reading
If I Were Looking for Great, Exciting, and Unconventional Date Ideas…
A friend recently asked my best idea for an unconventional date. Now while Rachel didn't ask for my actual unconventional dates, that's where my brain went, and I'll be honest. I had no idea how to answer the question. You see, my husband and I never dated. Not only that, but I never went on Continue Reading
Isn’t It Cool When What Seemed So Awful Turns Out Great?
When Mom moved in with us back in 2019, we had one problem. Our house is a three-bedroom, one-bath, house with 1100-1250 sq. ft. Years ago, we converted part of the garage into the "annex" for our older girls, but we still had girls and the remaining boy in the middle room. Where to put the madre, Continue Reading
Why I Did Not Want a Wedding Dress That I Actually Loved
While other girls dreamed of their wedding dresses, I schemed to find a way to get Nancy Drew's wardrobe. So when the time for me to come up with a wedding dress, I had no idea. I knew what I didn't want but not what I did. The funny thing is, I ended up with a dress that I LOVED but didn't want. Continue Reading
Yeah, I’m Guilty! Wouldn’t You Be Crazy Excited, Too?
I'd been told the drive from Paris to Lyon would take about five hours. I made it in just over four. Driving in the middle of the night didn't hurt. There was such a delicate balance between whizzing through the country as fast as I could get away from the Louvre and being so reckless that I Continue Reading
How a Beautiful, Heartbreaking Old Song Inspired My Newest Romance
This will probably shock many of you, but I'm here to confess that I was a weird kid. I'll give you a second to let that sink in. Done laughing? Yeah. Didn't think so. I'll wait... Look, while my friends were listening to Bon Jovi, U2, Cindy Lauper, and who knows who else (I remember those Continue Reading
What Happened to the Little Mermaid?
It was just supposed to be an auction. You know, you go, you bid, you spend way too much money on something you don't know for sure you want, you go home, you have buyer's remorse for a few days, and then it hits you. It's yours. A beautiful feeling when you really wanted it. And I did. I Continue Reading
What Does My Dream Island Vacation Have to Do with a New Book?
"If you could visit any island in the world, which one would it be?" I've had people ask me this question before. I don't know how to answer it, frankly. Why Fiji and not Hawaii? Why Nantucket and not Prince Edward Island? For that matter, why Guernsey instead of Catalina? I've had a dream Continue Reading
What Kind of Fiend Would Break a Poor, Unsuspecting Nutcracker?
Twenty nutcrackers lay spread out before me. One by one, I grabbed my gold cord and tied it on. Must. Get. This done. Around me, young people walked through the house--first out to my son's "shed-room" and then back into the bathroom or to the kitchen for a drink and a piece of Hungarian coffee Continue Reading
Our Smartest Dog Used to Do This Crazy Thing All the Time
I was torn between the names Kemper and Mitzi. In the end, I think Kemper won, but I can't be sure. Why don't I remember my own dog's name? My Christmas present in 1985? Well, that Australian shepherd mixed mutt didn't stay whatever I named her for long. We'd just moved to "the property" in Continue Reading
How Clearing out Junk Helped Me Find Treasure
When you spend a weekend with a professional organizer who is trying to help authors declutter their spaces, their schedules, and their minds, it gets under your skin, okay? I am already prone to bouts of decluttering frenzies as it is. I mean, I wrote a whole book on one woman's quest to eradicate Continue Reading
