Kathleen (a.k.a. Kathy) here, coming at you from the fast and furious first days back at school. (For my kids, not me. Although I do love a good pencil case.) In last month’s post, I mentioned that the secret sauce in my recipe for sanity includes time parked in front of the television. After a few years sans TV, I’ve been making up for lost … Continue reading The Beauty in Ordinary Things

When I do a reading or other author-y event, I tend to hear the same questions: “Where do you get your inspiration?” “Is Maggie based on a real person?” “Where’s the bathroom?” I think my favorite is, “With work, author duties, and a family, how do you not go crazy?” I laugh maniacally at that one, causing the question-asker to back slowly away as if … Continue reading Sanity Savers

I tend to avoid personal growth like the plague. Or pleated pants. If something’s going to inspire soul-searching, introspection or the pain of change, I’m out. But Vickie’s great post about Twitter got me thinking, which led to that dreaded introspection—and a discovery. I’m afraid of social media.   I’m terrified of Twitter, petrified of Pinterest, and intimidated by Instagram. I can Facebook. Kind of. … Continue reading Social Media for the Socially Awkward (AKA: me)

O Typo, I know ye well. You are a constant companion. A feared adversary. The source of “send now” trepidation. The raison d’etre of my delete key. The typo and I go way back, all the way to tenth grade, the year my father insisted I learned to type. My father is A Man of a Certain Generation who, as an attorney, had an office … Continue reading Ode to the Typo

Confession: I’m a terrible cook. Actually, that’s an understatement. I’m abysmally awful at cooking. I have seven dinners that I can make with consistent success that don’t involve help from the Hamburger Helper hand.   But that doesn’t stop me from poring over #foodstagram posts or oohing and ahhing over master chef creations. I also love to buy cookbooks. For Christmas, I bought my dad … Continue reading Food for the Soul

There seems to be cosmic power in the number three. Triple crown. Triumvirate. The three Rs. And let’s not forget the three pigs, the Three Musketeers (the men AND the candy,) and those bastions of slapstick, the Three Stooges.   However, the triple-powered axiom that’s been on my mind the most is “third time’s the charm.” Why? My third book came out this month. As … Continue reading Third time’s…the charm?

I used to hate my guts. Not literally, of course, and not metaphorically in the door-slamming, I’m-never-speaking-to-you-again way of teenagers. I’m talking about my refusal to listen to my gut, to heed my instincts, to trust my intuition or the possibility that I know myself best. Case in point: a recent health event. About a year ago, I started having issues with my right eye. … Continue reading Know thyself.