Writing

I love snow.  I love it slightly less since I became a home owner 15 years ago, since it involves some logistical hassle. But it still captivates the dreamer in me. I grew up in New Jersey, so I [...]

Last night I had dinner in Manhattan with friends from my old job.  It was a great time, but, more than that, it was a great moment to reflect on how much life can change in a few short months. [...]

Howdy, sugar plums. Here’s one of my wishes: I hope 2015 is the year I finally go to Cuba. Here’s why: I am not Cuban or even descended from Cubans. But I did grow up in Hudson [...]

I’ve been neglecting you, lovies. My apologies! I’ve been soooo busy. But it’s all been fun busy, I promise. First, I’ve scheduled a bunch of events this spring, so go [...]

I have a serious love affair with leather-bound journals.  I love paper in general and can geek out for an hour even in the stationary aisle of a CVS.  It’s a lifelong thing.  Take me to [...]

I rarely get to see anything anew anymore.  I remember the feeling from childhood, the absolute wonder of seeing something for the first time.  I have memories of staring at ant hills for what [...]

We’ve all heard the statistic that women earn 70 cents for every dollar that men earn.  Many arguments are made to try and explain it away, saying that women opt out of the work-force [...]

My first completed manuscript was a memoir I have since (temporarily, I hope) shelved.  It didn’t sell for a variety of reasons, chief among them that it was pretty poorly written. If the [...]

I am awash in words. Words I write. Words I read. I’m on a writing retreat with nothing to do but think about language, lush, rich, flinty, cruel, imprecise and taunting. It’s [...]

Just when you think the world can’t surprise you, it does.  Today it surprised me in a way so simple and so moving it brought tears to my eyes. Over the weekend I was running some errands [...]

2015 has proven interesting so far. I rang it in with my favorite people.  They went ahead and facilitated the biggest drunken stupor I’ve been in since Clinton was in office.  I rarely [...]

Sweet ‘ums, I’ve neglected you.  I’ve been off from work/life/writing, lounging and eating and even going for long, aimless hikes in the damp winter air.  I’ve considered [...]

How did I make fully grown humans?  I’m not even sure.  But here they are during our fabulous Christmas Eve celebration.  In keeping with Latino tradition, our big party happens on the [...]

To top off my highest travel year to date, last week I headed to San Francisco for a whirlwind three-day trip full of fun, eating, more eating and one fabulous party.  I had drinks in the Castro [...]

I am what is known as an introvert.  A lot of people think that means I’m shy.  If you’ve ever seen me holding court at a gathering, reveling in making a group laugh, you know I am [...]

It was a small thing.  It was on one of those groups where newly published authors cluster together, shaking, kind of like those people on Naked and Afraid.  Except the thing scaring us is [...]

The other day, after dropping off my kids at school, I stopped at the local CVS.  It’s become something of a habit of late, now that I don’t have to scurry off with the rest of the [...]

In a little over 1,700 days, I will stop being the me I currently am and start being a new me.  What she will look like or how she will fill her days, I have no idea.  But the countdown has [...]

I try to skip lightly through the dark parking lot.  I have at least had enough common sense to give in to the elements and not wear party shoes, instead opting for a sensible pair of boots.  I [...]

My mission was to find Thanksgiving vegetables. But there I stood, holding the kohlrabi, something I’d never willingly consume. I’d put the Swiss chard in the cart, along with the [...]

My editor wrote to congratulate me yesterday that THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY has been nominated for a YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers.  Yay!  As they say in “the biz,” it’s [...]

Are you getting sick of me writing about divorce?  Apologies. I can’t help it.  It’s not like I’m a fan or anything.  But never before in my life have I learned so powerful a [...]

Until this year, I’ve been telling myself that I have more life ahead of me than behind me.  But – midlife crisis alert! – at 44 years old it’s getting harder to make that [...]

Yesterday I wrote about some icky feelings I’d been having.  After doing that, I felt much better.  It always works that way for me. Today, a Facebook friend pasted a link to an article [...]

Hello, darlings.  Here it is, one of my absolute favorite days to be an American… Thanksgiving. I didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving when I was little.  As recent immigrants, my parents [...]

I waited for the announcement about the grand jury’s decision on the shooting of Michael Brown as the minutes dragged on.  I didn’t understand -still can’t understand – [...]

A recent study showed that men are more helpful to women in high heels.  The study, published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, measured how people responded to the same woman either [...]

Today I saw this text in an article.  It was sent by a student in the library at FSU when the gunman burst in. The first thing that happened when I saw it is that my eyes filled up with tears.  I [...]

I cheated today.  I’m not proud to admit it, but confession is good for the soul, so here goes. It was getting late in the afternoon and I hadn’t written yet.  I was at risk of not [...]

Hello, sugar cubes! Happy Saturday!  I just wanted to check in at the start of my day.  Without kids (they’re about to both go spend the day with friends), I have a fun day ahead and I [...]