By the time you read this, I will be back home in Michigan!  I had a lovely time in New Mexico.   Unfortunately, my bestie has had a bit of a rough time lately. She had to put her cat down and lost both her uncle and one of her neighbors in the span of a week and a half or so. It was a tough one, but I was glad I could be there for her during it.    We made the best of it though and drove up to the top of the Sandia Mountains to view the city from the crest at 10,000 feet, me

Thank you to everyone who’s sent supportive messages about me closing my shop last Friday to stand in solidarity with Minneapolis. I suspect it’s something I will need to do again in the future, and I will keep you updated about when that happens.   In the meantime, I’m still in Albuquerque.   My bestie and I went for a snowy hike in the Sandia Mountains and drove up to Santa Fe to go thrift/consignment store shopping with a friend of ours. We also went for a hike in the Jeme

If you’re in the US, I hope you made it through the storm safely and I am sending big hugs to everyone who is trying to cope with what’s happening in Minnesota.  I’m still in Albuquerque and doing my best to find joy in the midst of the horrors.   We managed to miss the worst of the storm, but I did wake up on Sunday to two inches of snow. That’s pretty rare for this area so it made for a gorgeous walk around the neighborhood and then a beautiful hike in the foothills of the

Greetings from Albuquerque! I am having a great time hanging out with my friends. So far, I have gone on two hikes, to a museum, eaten some delicious food, written some words, and done some relaxing.   I am having a blast and it’s so good to spend some time with my favorite people. Looking forward to several more weeks of vacation in New Mexico!  Make sure you check out yesterday’s post because Beth Bolden stopped by to tell you about her latest release!  Want to know what e

This past week has been a whirlwind packing for my trip to Albuquerque. I always kinda forget how much work it is to pack for a trip where I’ll be gone for a MONTH. Thankfully, since I’m staying with friends that whole time, I can do laundry. But when I’ll be hiking, going to a goth ball, sightseeing, and working, I have to prepare for everything!   Wish me luck.   I use an airline miles credit card for pretty much everything, then pay it off every month, so I accumulate mil

It’s been quite a week! I went to not one, but TWO hockey games on Saturday. I took my parents to a noon game in Detroit to cheer on the Pittsburgh Penguins when they beat Detroit, then met up with a friend who had free tickets to a 7pm University of Michigan game where they beat the USNTDP (national development program) team. If you want to see my adventures, check out my pics on Instagram . I am also preparing for my annual trip to Albuquerque to visit my bestie and her fam

I hope you enjoyed your holidays! Mine were good.   I went to a game night with friends on New Year’s Eve and then hung out with another friend I haven’t seen in a while on New Year’s Day. Nothing too crazy but it was a really fun and relaxing way to ring in the new year.   If you want to read about how I wrapped up 2025 and how I am planning to start 2026, read yesterday’s post here . Want to know what else I’ve been up to?  Writing:   Cheap Shot is coming together nicely!

It’s difficult to wrap up a year like this one.   It was a struggle most of the way through for me in so many ways. Losing my friend Helena at the end of last year, losing my aunt, losing a friend … I carried a lot of grief with me.    The state of the world in general and of the United States in particular caused an enormous amount of stress.   And yet, there were bright spots.    Running the shop in addition to my writing was challenging but fun overall. I had a few misstep

If you celebrated one of the many winter holidays, I hope you had a wonderful, relaxing time! If you’re looking to escape the madness of the season with a book, keep reading for some great promos!   I went to see the Saginaw Spirit hockey game with a friend last weekend. We had a BLAST. As the friend I went with described it, it was a “fast, sloppy, and dirty” game. She wasn’t wrong. At one point, there were three players in each penalty box …   They also did a teddy bear tos