This is the first essay in a series where I look at some of the topics that I touch on in my books. I try to make my books funny and lighthearted, but any time you have murder, you have conflict, and the conflict should be worth something, right? Dear Jessamyn is a podcast I’ve… Continue reading Cheating, polyamory and other ideas about relationships
My Ms. O Mystery series is set in a middle school, and when I started writing, I wanted to make sure that none of the victims or the perpetrators are students. These aren’t middle grade books, with kids who are main characters. “Summer Breakdown,” the first book in the series, has kids as side characters,… Continue reading What we tolerate, we teach
Most people, when they want to live in the woods, have this deep-seated fantasy of a cabin somewhere. There’s a chimney with smoke drifting out, and a candle glowing in the window. Many of us in the west have this fantasy, it might go back to the deep-seated cultural idea of having shelter and prospect.… Continue reading Fires, and the dividing line between urban and wild
Speaking of follow-through, I think I have talked myself into training for a sprint Triathlon. Last summer I was part of a team in the Outdoor Divas Triathlon in Longmont, Colorado. My sister had participated in the past, doing the swim leg of the event with friends she had known a long time. Last year… Continue reading Speaking of Follow-Through
Instead of resolutions or goals, I try to do “watchwords” for the new year. I wrote about my watchword for 2019 in our book, Musings of a Yoga Community, available here (I’m pretty proud of it). Last year’s watchword was “order” and I used it to help organize my life. It kind of worked, although… Continue reading New year, New Watchword
This weekend I went to eat at Chipotle. For those of you unfortunate enough not to have one nearby, Chipotle is a chain restaurant that has giant burritos, with beans, rice and meat wrapped in tortillas. You stand in line and order at the counter, and it winds up being about a $10 lunch. It… Continue reading Chipotle love- compassion in the wild
My dad used to ski hard. He skied at the top ten percent of his ability. When I was a kid, he would barrel down the mountain, then stop and wait for me and my mom as we leisurely drifted back and forth across the hill. He always waited for us, but when he was… Continue reading Being Thankful on the Darkest Days of the Year
So, we wrote a book. I find it super awkward to mention this, even though I am really proud of being part of it, and I really want you to buy a copy. I mean, if you want to. See, it’s awkward. Talking about it feels like bragging, and bragging feels wrong, even though I… Continue reading Shameful Self-promotion
My former principal used to tell us that everyone is juggling, all the time. We have so many balls in the air, and we try really hard to keep track of them, but sometimes, we drop them. Some of them are bouncy, and there’s no harm done. This blog is a bouncy ball for me.… Continue reading Glass Balls
So, I’ve been struggling with hormones lately (another thing I have in common with middle school students- crazy chemical imbalances) Things have evened out, fewer hot flashes, fewer random rages, fewer unpredictable gushes. One of the terrifying things I read when I was first dealing with peri-menopause (definition- menopause is a one time event: last… Continue reading Spooky Halloween Story- Just Gain the Weight
