This is all to say that I am enjoying this test and learn approach to growing things, and equally enjoyable is celebrating small victories, even as small as a single flower blooming. I’ll close with a mention of writing, which is something I enjoy doing outside by the way, with the scent of jasmine and roses wafting over from the planters.

I hope all women helping to influence and shape the coming generations (so, all women) feel valued, loved, and honored, on this Mother’s Day and always. Keep that shit up.

It’s funny how even with something as regular and inevitable as seasons that there is still variation. Living so close to the Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch, I am very familiar with how they come together each year. And when. There is, in fact, a particular weekend each year when I make my paid visit and take some pictures. It’s the weekend that tends to be, in my opinion, the most peak. The weekend where the most number of flowers look their best and fullest.

I recently renovated my master bathroom. My first attempt at such a thing, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I’d never been involved in this type of project before. Never had various contractors give me estimates, never had a room completely gutted down to the studs, never had people in my house working every day for a couple of months. And I’d certainly never picked out tile.

See, never once has this tournament actually seen all four #1-seeded teams ending up in the Final Four. It’s literally never happened. So if that’s what you pick, you’ll be wrong. You have to pick some upsets. Of course, there are so many potential upsets to pick, that this becomes the trick. Picking the right upsets.

I recently participated (for the second time) in the annual Author’s Night that the Oceanside Sunset Market puts on.

One thing I do have my sights set on is running, as one of my 2022 goals had been to run a race. I ended up running 3 of them in 2022, all 5Ks, and when I’d set out as a new runner early in the pandemic, being able to run a 5K was really my only eventual goal. Having met it, and really having enjoyed the process, I found myself gradually increasing the distance of my runs. To the point that I knew I wanted to tackle a 10K in 2023.

As a writer, and, more specifically, as a writer who writes pretty much exclusively about stories from my life, I’ve long been a fan of The Moth. There are few things I enjoy more than hearing real people tell real stories from their real lives. It’s so much more satisfying than fiction could ever be. It’s why I love reading memoirs, and it’s why I’ve read all The Moth’s story collection books and listen religiously to their weekly podcast. I, quite simply, love stories.

Fat pants. It’s beginning to look a lot like fat pants. I’m kidding (not really), but we have officially entered the season of treats. Not only have I started baking my annual holiday loaves (this year’s flavor is Gingerbread), which naturally means I have to taste each batch, but I’m also receiving extra treats from others (this weekend I’ve been gifted a pack of Levain Bakery cookies…one of my NYC favorites). And then there’s the holiday events. Between holiday brunches and dinners and luncheons and parties and cookie exchanges, the calendar is as full as my belly will likely be ALL MONTH LONG.

I think I heard it as a U2 album title before I heard it as a National Park, but it’s hard to avoid Joshua when you live in California. People go there. People camp there. People talk about the times they camped there. And it makes you want to go yourself. Which is why this was on my list for 2022.

I enjoy cooking. I do. I like having a reason to cook, making a list of the ingredients I’ll need, going to the store and buying those ingredients, seeing which of those ingredients have any coupons I can apply, and so on. It has to be said, however, that the cooking doesn’t always go the way it’s supposed to. Usually it’s not a problem because I’m either cooking for just me, or for me and one other person who cares about me and really doesn’t care what I cook or how it turns out. Where I have absolutely no confidence is in my ability to cook food that actually looks good. Good enough to serve to others, perhaps in a dinner party type of setting. I just don’t know how to present the food, how to serve it, what to serve it in, and ultimately how to make it look like more than a sad green salad and a pot of soup, for instance.

It’s been a while! Because you’re reading this on a brand new website! The format will look familiar (read: the same), but all the content has been moved to a new website host. And there was a LOT of content. So here’s a quick rundown on some highlights of the last 3 months:

I grew up in a small town, and Dairy Queen was really the only food establishment we had. This explains why I continue to have more affection for Dairy Queen, even in my adult life, than the average person. Dilly Bars, dipped cones, Peanut Buster Parfaits, and, of course, Blizzards. One of my favorite lines (yes, authors have favorite lines) in my most recent book is when I say that employees will work harder if companies install a Dairy Queen Blizzard machine in the break room. I was kidding, but only kind of.

Last time I talked about reading, which I confessed I didn't devote as much time to as I wish I did. I have to split this time with writing, see, but that means I don't devote as much time to writing as I wish I did either. Especially in the early months after one of my books comes out, I become a bit lax. (Although Yuppie came out in October, soooooo I'm not sure I can keep using this as an excuse.)

They say what a person reads says a lot about them. I've certainly learned a great deal since becoming an author about reading preferences and how unique they truly are. I'll be at an author event right next to the person selling what seems like the weirdest, most uber niche-based book there, and yet I'll watch people walk past my booth and buy the weird, uber niche-based book. It takes all kinds of readers. And all kinds of books.

I was traveling for work this past week, and one of the event speakers did this (super uncomfortable) thing where he would ask members of the audience to stand up and share very personal things...in front of hundreds of their business colleagues. Now, I don't recommend this. And even though some of the insights that were ultimately shared did border near truth and forward-propelling insight, I'm not sure it's worth putting a person through such public personal scrutiny.

This is one of those times that I quiet the inner voices of frustration and panic over how ridiculously expensive it is to live in San Diego County and consider that the financial premium is sometimes worth it. Because it's just so damn beautiful here. The ocean, the weather, and, more specifically, the Flower Fields in Carlsbad that bloom each spring.

Remember that book, Make the Bread, Buy the Butter? Yeah, I never read it either. Supposedly it walks you through those things you're better off making yourself (nutrition-wise?, cost-wise?, complexity-wise?) and those you should just get at the store. Since I didn't read it, the only piece of advice I took away from it was what I gleaned from the title. Even that has taken years for me to implement, but among my list of culinary items to tackle in 2022 (including lasagna, bread pudding, homemade pasta, and a bakery-worthy layer cake) is to make bread.