July 2, 2021

I’ll set the scene for you. It was a beautiful summer evening in Bloomington, Indiana, in the middle of a global pandemic. We were all thrilled to be outside without masks, many of us vaccinated and starved for human interaction. Starved for food too, because it was Food Truck Friday at Switchyard Park. The smells […]

lunchtime writing

How much can I write in 10 minutes? From 12:36 to 12:46 I shall write stuff here. So, hey, how’s it going? We’re all living in a pandemic. I got COVID-tested and the swab went straight up my nasal passage, through my eyeball and into my brain. Test came back negative, so cool. 2020 isn’t […]

Beer for dinner

Hey, everyone. It’s been 22 months since I’ve written here. Whoa. Nothing like a pandemic to bring out the bloggers. To my two readers: hello! It’s me! If you have been following along on social media, where I tend to overshare to an embarrassing degree, the past year has been, well, um, not ideal for […]

Misfit mom

I’m sitting on my screened-in back porch this morning, listening to the many birds of Sherwood Oaks, drinking my coffee, and thinking about my existence. About how I’ve always felt different from other girls and women of my age, about how I don’t quite fit in with them. Does everyone feel this way? I’ve always […]

A survivor, a poet, and my hero

To be 14 years old again—would you do it? Never ever, I say. But look at this girl below. She’s beautiful and quirky and smart, she does a mean winged eyeliner look, and she has come back from the edge of despair to win a writing award. My daughter, who has given me the OK to […]

Hey, 2017: I’m still standing

Have you ever grocery shopped on New Year’s Eve day? It’s a scream. Kroger was crowded with frantic shoppers loading up on chips, booze and other edibles to celebrate this super-hyped holiday. I think I may have been wearing sweat pants while I was there. Not in the mood. I’m never in the mood to grocery […]

When platelets go low, we go high

Today was the second blood draw in as many weeks for my Bella. Her routine complete blood count (CBC), which she has every six months to make sure the Depakote isn’t destroying her liver or body in general, showed a low platelet count two weeks ago. Her neuro asked us to get it rechecked two weeks […]

back on the wagon

Yesterday I worked out at our local YMCA for the first time in about two months. And I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting since September 10. I am trying to get my health back on track after a very stressful fall with various child health emergencies. This workout selfie was taken after completing […]

Awareness is good, or something

It’s November, and that means it is now Epilepsy Awareness Month. Most of you know that my younger daughter, Annabella, has epilepsy and was diagnosed at 15 months old. This video was taken about a year later, when we still didn’t really know how the heck we were going to live with this disease. And […]

Soul sisters

I just got back from Target with the jokers and we sang along to “Hey, Soul Sister” in the car. (Guilty pleasure.) We bought some more Halloween decorations because I like to hemorrhage money. It was a great moment in the middle of a crappy week. Here are some more pics from the week. Looking at […]