Last week’s Newtown Tragedy has upset me more than almost anything I can think of in my life. I was happily doing some Christmas shopping on Friday when my mother texted me and asked if I had seen the news. She gave some brief statistics and I sat in my car in the parking lot, absolutely horrified. And…
Our Epic Vacation: Day 4 The view from our cute little cabin At the close of Day 3, we found ourselves in a cute little cabin in Custer State Park, South Dakota. I certainly appreciated the sort-of mattress I got to sleep on. It was so much better than rocks and dirt, despite my air mattress. Plus, we…
This is not technically a book review, but since the series is called “The BOOK of Jeremiah” I’m going to just call it that anyway. Besides, it’s extremely unlikely that I will ever review a DVD again, so why go to the trouble to create a new category? Just before we left on the Epic Vacation,…
Our Epic Vacation: Day 3 The end of Day 2 found us calmly setting up camp at Badlands National Park in South Dakota. The morning of Day 3 found us not wanting to get up quite as early as we needed to, but we couldn’t waste the day away on something so frivolous as sleep!…
A back-to-school feast and family theme is a great way to kick off the school year for your kids. This tradition is something they look forward to every year and helps them to be excited to go back to school. School starts tomorrow! And you know what that means…. …it means that we should have…
Our Epic Vacation: Day 2 (part 2) As a reminder, we spent the (very hot) morning touring the Ingalls Homestead in DeSmet, South Dakota, where my two younger daughters both got to try their hand at driving a covered wagon. Then we were on the road again. I like to take pictures of my feet…
I had my birthday a couple weeks ago. My gift to myself this year is simply the permission to say “no.” I am a yes-woman, through and through. When I am asked to do something, just the thought of saying no gives me the shakes. I am not sure where this anxiety comes from, but I can…
Our Epic Vacation: Day 2 (part 1) After spending the night camping in a thunderstorm, the first 3 or 4 hours of Day 2 were spent at the Laura Ingalls Wilder Homestead. Now, if you’re a Laura aficionado, you know that her family moved around a lot, but Pa finally settled down in South Dakota,…
Our Epic Vacation: Day 1 The day started bright and early. We had packed the car the night before (and believe me, packing for 26 days that include camping, cruising, and staying with family is no easy task), dropped off the puppy at a friend’s house (you’ve never seen sadder girls), and were ready to…
5,000 miles, 26 days, 13 states and a million memories later…we are home. We took an EPIC vacation for the last 26 days. That is nearly a month, people. We camped, we cruised, we swam, we ate, we national parked, we historical sited, and we drove and drove and drove. Most importantly, we spent a…
Book review of The Kindling by Braden Bell—First book in the Middle School Magic Trilogy. Full disclosure: I don’t normally think of fantasy as a genre I enjoy reading. Of course I loved Harry Potter, but in general, fantasy isn’t my first thought when I want to pick up something to read. So, when Braden asked…
I’m a wee bit late posting this book review. I have lots of reasons. I was out of town all weekend for the sitzprobe, piano tech, dress rehearsal, and opening night of the opera I am currently in. Oh, do you want to see a picture? Cosi Fan Tutte by Mozart. If it’s not already evident…