Caca Sausage and the Traffic Jam

Last weekend, we took the kids to the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Francisco. Since I grew up closer to the city, I forget how rough the drive can be when you’re coming from Sacramento. And especially with godawful traffic. It was raining off and on this weekend, which seems to scare the living crap out California drivers. […]

Limerick Poetry Challenge: Whisper

Today marks my first entry in the Limerick Poetry Challenge at Mind and Life Matters! I’m hoping I follow her rules correctly. We’re supposed to write limericks containing a weekly theme word, and this week’s is “whisper.” So without further ado: She spoke to her Love in a whisper Of her pain at the ways he […]

Another Reason I’m Not a Real Grownup

Bridget just turned two a few days ago. Yay! My kids made it past infancy, which I consider a big win given how much they want to jump from great heights and jam forks into light sockets. This long, unbroken procreation line from the first evolving amoebas to our present-day offspring remains intact. Score two more […]

I’m Never Going to Ghostwrite Again

For the last couple of years, I’ve been trying to break into freelance writing, in whatever pauses I can find between newborn wailing and toddler shenanigans. Thing is, I’ve actually gotten some traction. Looking across the web, I can find many of my published articles. They cover everything from comedy to the Aurora Borealis and real estate. And none […]

Six Word Story Challenge: Suspicion

“She smiled warmly with frozen eyes.” That was my entry for this week’s Six Word Story Challenge at Sometimes Stellar Storyteller. Entries are now restricted to one per cycle, so I used this one instead of my other idea, which was: “Winding his watch throughout the explosions.” Though now I’m wondering if my alternative wasn’t […]

I Wish My Great Grandparents Could’ve Met My Children

My great grandparents could’ve made soap out of a dog. Not that they would’ve wanted to, but they could do it in a pinch. They were earthy midwesterners who had those kinds of self-sufficient skills, who could glance at your backyard garden and tell you how you’d gotten it all wrong. Grandma was a round woman […]

Don’t Tell Me What to Do, Pizza Box

So I’ve been at this parenting thing for four years now (five if you count pregnancy) and have to tell you: it’s a demanding gig. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids to pieces, but it’s like doing a job you love while being on call 24/7, without weekends, vacations or sick leave. The fact […]