Looking back: recounting the past to inform the future
As we approach the final days of 2021 and look toward the new year, it’s the perfect time to recount the milestone moments that paved our way to present, so that we can better inform our future. Looking back on my own journey, I celebrated the publication of my first two fiction stories — five-minute…
Happy birthday to me: one magical life to live
Today marks another trip around the sun—more than halfway into my Club 50 membership. As I reflect on the past half-dozen years, with all honesty I can say: What a ride! Cue in this past summer’s getaway of a lifetime. While it resulted in an inner prompting to create movement, it also reignited my struggle…
The reason for the season: from holiday favorites to managing the hubbub
Holiday favorites—we all have at least one. A new favorite of mine: my second annual Advent Activities Calendar. (I imagine a few of the activities will also end up featured in my Christmas romance in progress.) Other holiday favorites include baking, especially my mini chocolate chip pumpkin bread; classic movies and music like A Charlie…
Freebie giveaway: adding sparkle to your holidays
Need ideas to add more sparkle to your holidays? As a thank you, download your free Advent Activities Calendar by signing up to receive my once-monthly emails. With 2020 marking my family’s “inaugural” year to incorporate these activities into our holiday celebration, it proved a “learn as you go”-type venture that helped to inform this…
The most wonderful time of year: giving thanks
‘Tis the season to be grateful. Yet, why wait for Thanksgiving? It’s always the write time to give thanks! In fact, as I write this post, I count my blessings: greater than three hours of sleep in one night, a day job I love, an incredible husband and daughter, wonderful family and friends and good…
Testing the boundaries: back to basics
Several weeks ago, I began physical therapy to strengthen my wrist post-surgery. Each session builds on the one prior, in conjunction with several at-home exercises. While many days seem like the proverbial “one step forward and two steps back,” the numbers tell the truth. From my range of motion to strength, I see improvement. Although…
Biting off more than you can chew: when enough is enough
How do you know when enough is enough? I wrestled with that question recently as I realized I’d bitten off more than I could chew (again). Let me back up a second. This past summer, an urgency to create movement inspired me to begin making small life changes. I neglected one important consideration, however. No…
Daily wins: cheering for the can do’s
Two weeks ago, I started physical therapy to recover the use my left arm following surgery. It’s amazing how much I had taken for granted the use of two hands. Even more remarkable to me, however, was the discovery that the daily “wins” — however small — embolden me to do the hard work required…
Spicing up the change of seasons: Chris’ top 5 reads
As my website bio states: I write romance. Sweet, contemporary stories infused with inspiration and #allthings hope, humor & heart. And I’m a voracious reader too which, in my experience, goes hand-in-hand with persons who write. As you might guess: I love real-life fairytales wrapped up with an HEA bow — the bigger the better.…
Goodbye grouchy: hello gratitude
One day last week, I awakened with a grouchy attitude, my furrowed brow attesting to a less-than sparkly persona. Upon brewing my first cup of dark roast, I wrapped a blanket around myself and settled at our kitchen table to begin my morning pages — a practice taught by author Julia Cameron. Typically, I start…
When your life preserver appears: a blessing in disguise
The mini-meltdown occurred a week after surgery to repair my broken wrist. Who knew broken bones require so much energy to heal? Yet as much as I advocate extending grace to ourselves, I struggle. Slowing down feels like punishment; asking for help unnatural. But my shoes need tying before daily walks; and when they come…
Life as a training ground: learning lessons the hard way
About an hour into a weekly trek in the mountains that can take me anywhere from 77-90 minutes, my ankle buckled and I broke my fall — and my wrist — with a large rock near the trail’s edge. Although my injury involved surgery, complete with the “premium steel plate and pins package,” the experience…