An Open Letter to Little Duck

Hi! Check out my latest on Medium. An Open Letter to Little Duck

Mom Always Said…

There are several things I would change about my house, given the opportunity to do so, but our family room is pretty large with high ceilings, and we all love it. We purposely have a decent portion of the room empty so Amelia can run around, pull out all 3,000 Lego blocks at once, or … Continue reading Mom Always Said… →

Apparently, Some Lessons Stick

Christmas Eve of 2014, my mother-in-law, Mary, drove up from central Illinois to celebrate with my husband, daughter, and me. She brought along her daughter, Lida, and the daughter’s new husband, Brent. We did the big meal thing, chatted over mostly coffee—I don’t drink coffee and my daughter, Amelia, was two years old—then settled into … Continue reading Apparently, Some Lessons Stick →

My Path to Freelance Writing

Before my daughter, Amelia, was born, I had been a successful IT project manager for over a decade. Project management is one of those things that sounds boring on its face, but depending on the environment and how much the PM needs to accomplish, it can be exhilarating—and exhausting. One of my favorite projects was … Continue reading My Path to Freelance Writing →

Navigating Family Purchases: TV Edition

A few weeks ago, our television started randomly switching sources. We’d be watching a streaming channel when the TV would blip, and then we’d be looking at broadcast TV or the DVD player. At first we thought the remote had an issue, but after several sets of new batteries and a sternly worded conversation with … Continue reading Navigating Family Purchases: TV Edition →

Time to Give Away Some Toys

Amelia has always taken very good care of her toys. She also can’t stand parting with anything. We hit Christmas, her birthday, or any other gift-giving occasion, and our extremely generous family showers her with gifts, yet nothing ever leaves. The result: shelf upon shelf filled with items. This past year, something changed. It started … Continue reading Time to Give Away Some Toys →

Cat, Vacuum, or Child? Ten Chances to Match the Scofflaw to the Crime

I wrote something for Motherwell Magazine. Enjoy! https://www.facebook.com/motherwellmag/posts/2667098823588174

The World’s Tiniest Alpaca That is Maybe a Llama

My husband, Walt, and I struggle with anniversary gift giving. Early on, we tried the anniversary gifts by year guides, but they didn’t help. We didn’t want what we were supposed to get, we already had what the list suggested, or we contorted ourselves so much to match the list that the whole affair was … Continue reading The World’s Tiniest Alpaca That is Maybe a Llama →

Walking and making cake at the same time

I made cake yesterday for Memorial Day. I had planned to make either jelly-filled cupcakes or a mostly-from-scratch two-layer cake with strawberry and whipped cream filling. With my rheumatoid arthritis (RA) flaring, I made a last-minute decision to make something involving a little less time standing. I started with a blue velvet box mix, hacked … Continue reading Walking and making cake at the same time →

How I Met My Husband

My husband and I first met online before we met in person. I had just broken off my engagement. In my boredom, I started hanging out in Yahoo Messenger (naturally), which was like Reddit, but not really so much. We met in one of the computer geek rooms, where he slayed with his awesome advice … Continue reading How I Met My Husband →