Self-promotion is my kryptonite

I’m usually the first person to tell myself I’m good at writing. I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil, and I still have a mountain of notebooks from middle and high school full of barely-legible stories that no one else has ever read. To be honest, not sure if I could even read […]

You’re only as old as you feel and I feel old

A few weeks ago, I threw my back out putting my shoes on, which I think qualifies me as an old person. Now, I am 27 years old. I know that, technically, I’m still young. But someone needs to tell that to my body. I originally injured my back when I still worked retail. I […]

Child Abuse Prevention and Autism Awareness Month

Well, April is here. Somehow, time keeps moving at an unreasonably fast pace. But with April comes two very important things that you may or may not know about: Autism Acceptance Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month. While April is many things, Alcohol Awareness Month, Earth Month, National Frog Month (didn’t know that until I […]

The annoying little sister

My puppy is jealous. Not of our other dog. Of me. I’m an only child so maybe someone with siblings can explain this to me. Our lab, Cosmo, is a sweet, sensitive boy. He needs attention all the time. If we’re home, he’s asking for attention. On the flip side, our golden, Wanda, wants nothing […]

When did I get school spirit?

A few weeks ago I did something that I will probably regret later: I volunteered to plan my high school reunion. It has been almost 10 years since me, my husband, and our friends were students at Richmond High School, home of the Blue Devils. Our graduating class was about 150 people, a majority of […]

When the sun never sets on news

I didn’t sleep Monday night. I’m sure many of you were the same. I’ve always said that news doesn’t take a holiday or a day off. Apparently it doesn’t sleep either. The violent acts at Michigan State University aren’t the first time I’ve been unable to turn off breaking news coverage. When Damar Hamlin collapsed […]

Please consider my fear of words

Every time I tried to write this column it sounded sappy and poetic, two things that I secretly am but don’t like to admit. But that’s what this column is about. One year ago on this day, Feb. 4, I published my first book. That is a wild sentence that I never thought I’d say. […]

Adulthood isn’t always fun

Sometimes I think that I’m pretty good at being an adult. I have a job, I’m married, I have a house, I keep two dogs alive and happy, sometimes I bake things and I read for fun. But there are two things I have to do as an adult that just aren’t fun or easy: […]

Cosmo’s commandeered dog bed

Anyone who has been following the paper lately has probably read some pretty downer dog stories. Animals are something I care deeply about, and I, like many of you, could use a happy dog story. About a year ago, I got a big, memory foam bean bag thing for our guest room. The room is […]

My un-resolutions for 2023

By now, we’re a week into the New Year, and everyone is hard at work on their resolutions. Not I. Well, I had two resolutions, but I try to not make the resolutions about myself, but about a project I’d like done. The two I have are to publish my third book (which was a […]