• Snoopy thinking he has a pretty good life.
    Essays,  General Thoughts

    A Lesson in Gratitude

    There’s always something to be grateful for, even in the darkest of times. One of my goals for 2024 (and beyond) is to maintain an attitude of gratitude no matter what life throws at me. Life’s thrown a lot at me lately, especially with property insurance woes, which I will write about as soon as the situation is resolved. What’s kept me sane is my therapist’s advice to focus on gratitude to drown out the bad thoughts. Sometimes it feels easier to complain In the daily grind, it’s easy to focus on the negative. Maybe you overslept, the kids are cranky, or your dog puked on the rug. There’s always…

  • Snoopy's Night Idea
    General Thoughts,  Novels (my writing updates),  Poetry

    Finding Inspiration

    A question writers (and other types of artists) often get is “Where do you find your inspiration?” I honestly get mine from everywhere. My family. My friends. My coworkers. My surroundings. My travels. My experiences. My fears. My doubts. My successes. You get the picture? As far as inspiration goes, everything you consume is material. Movies you watch, novels you read, music you hear, conversations you overhear, the human emotions and actions you witness. You can create a story for the situations you encounter. Why is the man screaming at the store clerk? Well, maybe his father just died, and he’s having trouble dealing with it. Why is the woman…

  • Artwork,  Essays,  General Thoughts

    Under Pressure

    Being a mother is stressful. So is being a wife. And being a woman in general. I try so hard to be good at my many jobs and wear many hats, but most of the time I feel like I’m juggling and the joke’s on me because I can’t juggle. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I’ve wanted to be married and be a mom for as long as I can remember. When I was in high school, I dreamed of falling in love, getting married, and having children right away. I couldn’t imagine not having children soon after getting married because I didn’t think I would be…