It's like this...

That is all.

I've been hired to write with a team of highly talented writers for the Conservative powerhouse that is Kevin Jackson , radio host, best selling author and sought after speaker. One of my pieces is up at the moment---well, actually four or five are up here at the Black Sphere. That link will take you to one of my pieces, and if you are so inclined, you may click on some of my other pieces. It's nice to be writing again, and being able to let my voice be heard. I hope you bookmark that link and come back often to see what else I've got to say. In other, more personal news, Lance had to have a third surgery this morning at Harborview Hospital. The third time is the charm, right? We sure hope so. The surgeon came out and told me that they think they found the source of the infection, a suture from the first surgery. I'm a bit confused about all of this, but intend to get to the bottom of it. And in WONDERFULLY thrilling and happy news---I saw Ashley Rose...

As I cleaned up the kitchen this morning, I discovered two large halves of half a watermelon sitting on the tile counter. My youngest had scooped out all the delicious red fruit and left the rest. No attempt to put it into the food waste container, sitting a few feet away. No attempt to toss it in the garbage. As I picked up the discarded shells, I thought, “No sugar ants swarming all over. Sure would have been covered in ants if I was still in Venezuela. All that sugary sweet watermelon juice...” Mentally shaking myself, I offered up a grateful prayer that I was no longer living in the muggy tropical country where ant infestations were common. You could not leave food out on the counters for any length of time. Not unless you wanted ants—or worse. Unattended food was fair game for roaches, ants, bugs of all kinds. When humans with the power left the area, the vacuum was filled with opportunistic creatures taking advantage of the good stuff. If you've been watch...

I won't go into a lot of detail here, mostly because at the moment it is very painful for me to even think about. On Thursday afternoon we had to put our dear sweet dog Cassie to sleep. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make---until she began having seizures one after another and I knew it was the right choice. She was in pain. She was suffering. It was the humane choice for my baby girl. Even having said that, it tore at my soul. Happy Trails, sweet doggie. Until we meet up to play Gimme Dat Bone once again...

“Tears are words that need to be written.” - Paul Coehlo Smart man. Excellent writer. A friend of mine on FB shared his picture and this quote, and it resonated with me. I often find I write best when I am in distress. It's as though my muse needs my pain to be called forth. Ah, what a sadist, my muse. Christmas this year made me feel a bit off kilter---but not in a bad way. Ok, I did have a horrible case of vertigo which began Thursday night while hubby and I were out on a date. :::gasp::: Yes, we took our annual date. I thought I was managing quite nicely, he told me he thought I'd taken drugs. I guess what I hear about people drinking and trying desperately to act sober must be true. You don't fool anyone. So I've been on some drugs to help me defeat the vertigo, which make me sleepy. Apparently I passed out and missed most of Christmas Eve at my sister's house . Yay me! On Christmas day we had the sister missionaries over for dinner so they c...

"You're ridiculous!!!!", my 14 year old daughter sneered at me. "Why are you SO over protective??" We'd just spent a chilly five minutes on the porch arguing. She had refused to hand over her precious cell phone, and I wasn't allowing her to open the door and go into the warmth until she had done so. She asked me how long I was going to keep her phone. I told her two days. "NO!" "Hand it to me." "NO! I don't see why I have to!!" She is fourteen years old, she probably didn't see the reasoning behind my demand she turn over her cell phone. But it's my job to teach her. "If you don't hand it to me, you're going to lose it for longer than two days." "NO!!" "Trust me, I mean it. Give it to me." " NO!!!!!!! "Fine, you've lost it for a week now." "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" "Yes." "FINE!", she bellowed at me as she t...

I was sitting in a dark room Friday morning when my phone buzzed. I looked at the alert and CNN informed me that there had been a shooter at a school in Connecticut. Closing my phone, I looked up to heaven and said a prayer in my heart for those in harms way. I had no idea of the scale of this tragedy at that moment. I was at Seattle Children's Hospital watching the brain waves of my youngest child as they moved across the monitor during her EEG. She was sleeping peacefully, all wrapped up in white gauze with wires protruding out of bandages. I gave a sigh and silently thanked my Father in Heaven that I knew where my child was and that she was safe. As the day progressed, more of the tragedy came to light. I wept for the families, the children, the first responders who would have to process this unimaginable horror. Openly crying in front of my children and hugging them each time they came near me. I work in our school district. This hits close to home. What happened a...