Slice of Life

    • The magic of the library

      This weekend I went on a quick trip to Seattle with my sisters, their kids, and our parents. We packed in as much eating and activity as we could with two 6-year olds in tow. On Sunday, having been on a ferry ride, visited a farm fall festival, watched fish…

    • The hills are alive

      The hills are alive

      …with the sound of music! This last weekend, the hubs and I headed back to the Hollywood Bowl for The Sound of Music Sing-a-Long. If you’ve never been to one of these, the event typically starts with a costume contest and then the sing-a-long version of the movie is played…

    • Sober September

      Back in my May, my husband, stepkids, and I decided we could all use a little detox. So we challenged ourselves to a month without vices. After negotiating all of life’s events and situations that would make this difficult, we finally settled on September. I agreed to give up alcohol…

    • Doggy paddle

      Last Sunday marked the second time in a row our dog Ginger didn’t fall or jump into the water while we were paddleboarding. She’s been out paddling with my husband and me four times now. The first time we took her out she ended up in the water unexpectedly–my husband…

    • Red Vines or Twizzlers

      This weekend the boys, my stepsons and husband, and I went to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. We were there to see Mt. Joy because it’s one of my son’s favorite bands. (It wasn’t appreciated as much as I hoped, but that’s another story.) Anyway, as we waited for…

    • Reading in community

      On a whim last month, I posted a call on Instagram for anyone who wanted to do a book club with me. For almost 15 years I had a book club that read professional development books together, but now that most of the group has retired we’re reading “regular” books…

    • Secret mission

      Last week I went on a 7-day cruise to Mexico with my family and my sister’s in-laws. All together there were 27 of us on the ship. My cabin mate was my 6-year old niece. I was nervous that I’d become the constant babysitter to my roomie, but her mom…

    • Living a writerly life part 2

      Last week I wrote about daily diary idea I learned from Lynda Barry’s book Syllabus. Well, here’s how it went… I got really excited and set up a frame/template to use in my GoodNotes app with the intention of spending 5 minutes in the evening to complete my diary. Then…

    • Living a writerly life

      One of the things I appreciate about the March Slice of Life Challenge is that it really forces me to live a more writerly life. That is, it makes me pay attention and look out for possible writing topics all the time. What is happening? What am I thinking about?…

    • Could you just shhh…

      I fear I’m getting more curmudgeonly as I age. Going to the Hollywood Bowl during the summer is one of those things that make me grateful to be a Southern Californian. Nothing like packing a picnic, riding the Park and Ride bus up the hill, and enjoying an evening of…