Blog

True confession time everyone:

This winter while I really should have been working on South Pole Santa promos and my new writing projects, I have watched a lot of TV. A lot. The days are short. Dark comes early. We get rain, cold and fog, on the daily, making driving at night just plain dangerous. Going out in the evenings has no appeal. I think it must be part of this whole getting older thing. Whatever it's from, it leads to an increased number of evening hours watching a variety of programs...

Oh Oh Oh dear readers, life has been a buzz buzz of busy! So I'm top-of-mind writing today with some recent examples of why life is buzzing and about moving out of my very comfortable comfort zone.

First, with seven others who are near and dear to me, I'm fresh off the plane from Thailand! We spent two weeks sailing on a catamaran through the south islands off of Phuket. So exotic! The islands looked and felt like we had...

After finishing Enchantments, the fifth book in the South Pole Santa series, I stepped away from writing for a while. For too long, really. I needed a break and got busy reading so many great books by other authors. For me, I find that I can't be reading other books when I'm busy writing my own. It all gets too jumbled and my mind becomes obsessively focused on my own project.

But the not writing drought is ending. Crazily, the Universe has given me three book ideas of late and I'm excited...

Like the elves in the South Pole Santa series, I have a fondness for staying home. Living in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, there is always something to do. However, like the elves, I also love to explore. Our planet is filled with stunning and interesting places to visit with cultures that are different and people just like us. Reflecting on our travels, both within the US and abroad, I honestly can’t think of any place we didn't enjoy. There are some destinations I might not revisit (this...

It's February and I made it through my month of not buying groceries with ease! I really "cheated" only a couple of times—once, buying my husband's favorite cereal, and once, mindlessly picking up a four pack of muffins at Trader Joe's as I checked out. Otherwise, I stuck to veggies, fruit, eggs, and dairy (plus a loaf of bread, some parmesan, and olive oil that might be considered optional), but that was it. I spent a total of $112 on groceries. Go me! Who knew surviving without cereal could...

Can you believe it’s already just a month until Valentine’s Day? Time really does fly—one minute it’s the holidays, and the next, we’re seeing heart-shaped everything in every shop window!

Valentine’s Day brings out a lot of feelings for people. Personally, I’m not a fan of the expectations that often come with the day, and I know how tough it can feel for anyone wishing they were in a relationship. (For the record: it’s my least favorite day, next to Mother’s Day, to go out for dinner—...

When last we chatted here, I mentioned one of the best things about January was having time to get organized. Well, check it out! I started with my very disorganized refrigerator, and it is miles and miles better than it was. Thank goodness! I still have nine other areas on my list to organize this month but its good to get started and get one done.

My stretch goal for January, though, is a little more unique. I'm going to try to eat only out of our freezer and pantry for the month. We can...

Okay so the 12 months of 2025 are gone, gone, gone and it's time to look ahead and get planning for the next busy 12 kicking off with the long month of January.

Honestly, January is not my favorite month. In fact, thanks to the short days here in the Pacific Northwest (we get light only til 4/4:30 each day) and loads of drizzly rain with cloud cover, January is my least favorite in a monthly line-up.

In the South Pole Santa books, January is Slumber Month and all the elves plus Santa and Mrs....

When I was growing up, it was our family tradition to get a tree right around the middle of December. Dad would load mom, my two sisters and yours truly into the car and we'd head to the tree lot. There was lots of tree lot choices in those days since artificial trees were pretty much non-existent. We'd search around the lot looking less for the perfect tree but rather one that fit the family budget. Us girls didn't care. We were getting a tree!

Then, when I first got married, we had moved...

I read a blog post recently by Sophie Stern that read:

I love Thanksgiving.

I love finding reasons to be grateful, and I love food, and I love celebrating.

Me too!

So I’m just borrowing Sophie’s words to say how much I love this holiday. I have a long list everyday of all that I’m grateful for. Here are some for today:

• The Macys Thanksgiving Parade is on its way! My favorite event of the year. It remains my goal to get in it - in any role.
• Trader Joe's! I know that might seem silly but TJs...

". . . Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue . . ."

Those words from the most iconic song in the Wizard of Oz are true for many, but Seattle, where I am lucky to live, doesn't happen to be one of them. We may be the beautiful Emerald City as Seattle has had as a longtime moniker, but this time of year, something like Silver City might be a more accurate description. We lean to gray tones with rainy and cloudy days more than the sunny days others enjoy.

So, craving sun rays we looked south...

You know how everyone has a dream for something out of their reach. Or supposedly out of their reach. Well, one of mine, for many years, was that I wanted to be in the Pillsbury Bake Off. (Another is that the South Pole Santa series will take off but that's for another column.)

The Pillsbury Bake Off for those not familiar with it, used to be an annual event Pillsbury would put on. People from across the country could submit a recipe and fifty winners would be selected to compete for a prize...

Its November already! Or as I like to call it: Yesvember! Seems like a nice update to one of my favorite months and I'm for saying yes to all the fun this time of year brings.

Here's five of my favorite things about this month:

• It's a month with a holiday all about giving thanks. Living a life focused on gratitude brings instant joy.
• Besides gratitude, I am all about the power of kindness. November 13 is World Kindness Day. On my, when-I-rule-the-world-list, I would add a day devoted to...

Thanks so much for popping on my all new author site! I'll be adding regular content here about all sorts of things relating to adventures, kindness, creative ahas and, of course, holidays!