It was meant as a blessing, but it was far from it. My parents meant well. They loved their “darling daughter” and wished to make her life better than their own. They did not have much. My father was a laborer, my mother a seamstress whenever she could get work. They saved every…
Ten Years and Counting
January 31, 2011 – that was the day I wrote words on a page that would change the trajectory of my life. Sounds a bit over the top but it’s true. I laid my youngest down to bed with the first line circling in my mind. I sat at my computer and wrote without stopping…
Beta Listening
The best thing about conventions and conferences is the people – hands down. Interacting with creatives who share a similar sphere as myself is a boon to my soul. It’s being seen and understood while I (hopefully) see and understand them as well. One of those wonderful people is Lee Moyer – an artist and…
New Year – Same Idea
I’m an optimist. Not a “plug your ears, close your eyes and sing a happy song while ignoring reality” type. More like I know reality and hope in the good to come. I believe that problems can be solved, people can learn and be better, and everything will turn out alright in the end…until the…
The Art of Listening
Have you ever spoken to a child and, as they talk, they have a long pause between words or ideas? I’ve seen two main reactions to this. One, there’s an impatience that happens. Either for the kid to finish up because you know what they are going to say anyway, you want to quit being…
Drained, But Doing It Anyway
I don’t feel like writing today. Like at all. That is an odd thing for me since I’m pretty geared up to write most of the time. I am an introvert, which means I recharge when I am by myself. The holidays, having the kids home, visitors, etc is all catching up to me. I…
One Million Words 2020 Challenge
One Million Word Challenge 2020 has commenced! One of the best decisions I ever made was two years ago deciding to attend my first writers conference. That conference gave me information on more conferences. My first LTUE (Life the Universe and Everything) conference was in February of 2018. Who knew that such a decision would…
Overwatch League-When a non-gamer gets invested
I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a gamer. I live with gamers, but I’m not one. My husband, Tod, and four kids are huge Overwatch fans. The three oldest play with their father while the youngest watches, eager for the day that he too can take his ranks among them. It is great bonding time…
Keeping It Short
Yes, I do deliberately keep my blog posts short. You are busy. I’ll cut to the chase, hopefully give you something to think about, and you can get back to your day without too much of a delay. This might be a new record. You’re welcome. Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash
Fresh Prince on Friendship
Will Smith did this awesome video about evaluating who your friends are. It is so important for everyone, particularly young people as they learn to navigate the world. I’ve been talking to my kids a lot about this over the last year. Each of them has had situations where they needed to examine aspects of…
Hands on History
I had a fun opportunity a couple weeks ago to attend a field trip with my fourth grader. This year in school they learned about the pioneers. We live in Utah and the pioneers who settled here are a big deal. They overcame a lot and are an example of perseverance and hard work. The…
LeVar Burton Lecture
The Power of Storytelling. That was the title of the lecture LeVar Burton gave at Utah Valley University on May 16th. I was eager to hear his words and get re-energized about my chosen craft. As I waited with my friends for the lecture to start, the atmosphere was one of anticipation. Excitement seemed to…
Lorna Jane 