The hawk, my dad and me
July 28, 2016 would have been my dad’s 87th birthday. He has been gone for five years. He was my mentor and friend and of course I miss him like crazy. Grief is a...
Category: Inspire
Why the darkest Christmas was my brightest
Ketchum / Sun Valley Idaho (Image Source) It was Christmas 2009 and as in years previous, I traveled to the mountains to spend the holidays with my parents at their home in Ketchum, Idaho,  a small...
Time, the most precious gift of all
As Mother’s Day approaches I am reminded how blessed I am to still have my vibrant, wise and beautiful mom with me. There are enough things in life that I may, or may not,...
Do we need laws to fight discrimination? Yes we do
A friend posted a lovely statement on her Facebook page last week which said, “Instead of making more government laws, let’s raise a generation that doesn’t discriminate.” It’s a nice idea, one that perhaps every generation has hoped...
8 woofs of wisdom for the New Year
I am not really one to make New Year’s resolutions, because I think anytime is a good time to make changes, improvements and adjustments. But, during the holidays I spent a lot of free time...
Bullying: The hurt that keeps on giving
I was bullied in school. Back then, I don’t think we called it bullying. In fact, I think most people in the 1960s and 70s tended to look at it as “Kids will be kids.” The...
Waiting for my inspiration to show up
“Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy.” ~ Pyotr Tchaikovsky I think most writers looking for inspiration have thought, at one time or another, that there is a mysterious power, a sixth...
If you want to be a freelance writer, read this and learn
Most people, at some point, fantasize about being a freelancer, working on their own and coming and going as they please. Usually the conversation goes something like this: “Boy, I wish I could work...
Patience, grasshopper…*
I used to work with a woman who’s favorite saying was,“Never pray for patience because you’re just asking to be tested.” The older I got, the more I understood what she meant, which was, the...
“Success is outliving your failures” – Erma Bombeck
  (Erma Bombeck, February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) When I think of someone like Erma Bombeck, who was so naturally funny and seemed to just slide into the world of writing and fame,...
Remembering Erma Bombeck
(Erma Bombeck, February 21, 1927 – April 22, 1996) Hiking into the hills with my dog Buddy gives me a chance to empty my mind of worries and focus more on things like who...
Rejecting rejection
I recently entered a writing competition in which I thought I might have a fair chance of at least getting a small recognition.  I didn’t actually think I would win the whole enchilada, but I hoped that...
Our lives as a highlight reel
Have you ever sat at lunch and listened to a friend go on and on about all the wonderful things that are happening in her life? She just got back from a glorious trip...
Navigating the Road To Success
 “The road to success is always under construction.” ~ Lily Tomlin Not too long ago I was invited to give a talk to the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) at Boise...
Finding your own voice
(Martha Graham)  “There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression...
Monday Musings and Motivation
 (Fantastic whimsical artwork and greeting cards by Pamela J. Zagarenski – www.sacredbee.com) “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’ ~...
The journey IS the destination
(photo credit) “Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.” ~ Greg Anderson The other day I was standing in a store line semi-eavesdropping...
Taking time to listen to the wind
When I was a little girl, my family lived across the street from a large wooded lot where hundreds, maybe thousands, of old pine trees grew wild. The lot was a stone’s throw from...
Forget the Regret!
 (source) “Nobody gets to live life backward. Look ahead, that is where your future lies. “ ~ Ann Landers This past year I read a very touching news story about the biggest life...
Just be who you are!
Back in 2007, the New York Times hired me as a freelance writer to cover the resignation of staunch Republican Idaho senator Larry Craig, who had been arrested in a Minnesota men’s...
