I feel like I write this blog post every year. I love my little family, and they love me every day, not just on Mother's Day. But every year for the past 6 years, Mother's Day means the Wednesday after Mother's Day is near. That is the day I watched my mom die in the … Continue reading When Mother’s Day is hard →

Slowly our world is opening back up. Well, for our pandemic puppies, it is actually opening up for the first time. They have been going to doggie school twice a week for a month now. Appa D has been content to sit by the playground gate and just watch the other dogs play. Apparently this … Continue reading Getting back out there →

Last weekend I was in a major funk. I just could not shake it. Normally I can exercise, do some self-talk, dig in the dirt, and I can reset. But not this time. I was bored, sad, anxious all rolled into one. And last week a friend's dad died from COVID. An extra F--k you … Continue reading A tiny bit hopeful →

Last night I used our salad greens from one of our hydroponic gardens to make a taco salad. I usually make it vegetarian style like I used to get at Elmo's, but the husband asked me to kick it up a notch, so I added some ground turkey, rice, salsa, jalapenos and whole grain chips. … Continue reading Memories from Elmo’s →

My running buddy and I stopped our Sunday run/walks that we termed our church last March. This was especially hard because we had attended our church since our 17 yr olds were in Kindergarten. We now connect once or twice a week over the phone for virtual happy hour and/or teletherapy. I shared this week … Continue reading The Groundhog Year →

It has been a cold, rainy winter. We had a stretch of 5 consecutive days of rain last week, and if I am being honest, I was not doing well without my daily dose of vitamin D. We have had 2 days of sunny weather, and I took full advantage of these days. Why you … Continue reading Needing outside time →

This morning a memory from 3 years ago showed up on my Facebook page. It was a t-shirt that reads "in wine there is wisdom, in beer there is strength, in water there is bacteria." It was from one of our favorite restaurants in Carrboro. Sadly, they closed early in the pandemic. The t-shirt brought … Continue reading Missing Tyler’s →

Our pandemic puppies have developed some not so desirable behaviors, and they are related. Bailey the Bernedoodle jumps on people she has not seen for more than 15 mins (read anyone in the family other than me). When Bailey jumps on people, Appa Duke the Bernese Mtn Dog charges at the poor target and barks … Continue reading Barx buddy training day 1 →

I decided to make a list of the big and small things that got me through 2020 (and will also be important for most of 2021 as well). So, here it is folks. If you have other things you are thankful for, please share. And don't ask why 23 and not top 20 or top … Continue reading My top 23 reasons to be thankful →

I have had a lot of time to think about my relationships in 2020. One that I have always struggled with is my relationship with my dad. I actually broke off all contact with him almost a decade ago. My thinking was that being around him made me angry, and it was not a positive … Continue reading Forgive and let go →