On the first Saturday of this month (March 7), I went to the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) Conference in Baltimore, Maryland. I had no idea that this was a thing, even though I write daily and am in several writing groups (all online). But when writer Susan Walter off-handedly stated on a Badass Sister Zoom call a couple of weeks ago that she was on her way to Baltimore in a couple of hours, I interrupted her (a big no-no on a Zoom call, or at least in my bo

Or a different way of saying the title of this blog post is March Madness ... It's daunting when the old saying "In like a lion and out like a lamb," for the month of March is nothing of the sort. Or worse yet, how about the middle of March? Basketball brackets aside, a 60-degree swing from 89 degrees to 30 degrees in less than 24 hours is doing a disservice to our plant kingdom and more. It's the lion roaring in mid-March. So, really, how does one dress (or pack) for these s

Is it only today, March 8, that we come together to celebrate and honor women? Every day could be more like it, and not just for the movers and shakers of our world, including Mother Teresa, Jackie Kennedy, Mary Cassette, Madame Curie, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, Cleopatra, and so many other unbelievable women through the centuries. International Women’s Day came about after female workers fought for higher wages, better working conditions outside the home, a

Kira Higgs is an exceptional writer! We met in 2020, when Hubby Bill and I joined Seth Godin's Writing in Community, along with Kristin Hatcher, from the Akimbo days. The daily writing, the people we met from around the country and the world, and the accountability to show up for each other for a few years running were truly life-changing, at least for me. The premise at that first session, from the vernal equinox to the winter solstice (six months), was to write and publish

When I woke up this morning, the last day of February (Feb-end), I felt lighter for some reason. Winter is still hanging around for a few more weeks, as the calendar says, but I didn’t feel so cold as I usually do. The second I swung the bedroom door open, the brilliant light cascading down the hallway shocked me a bit. I certainly wasn’t expecting how lit up it was, and for another second, thought someone had left the overhead light on overnight. Nope. Maybe here the Mid-Atl

Compared to the USA Men’s Hockey Olympic Final vs Canada, and the speed of play for that particular game, last night’s NHL game between the Washington Capitals vs Philadelphia Flyers was not at that pace. It may have to do with most players not playing (at their high level) for a couple of weeks due to the Olympics (three on the ice were in Milan as players for Team USA and were recognized during the game last night). I am a sucker for how I enjoy the fast-paced skating and a

The Milan - Cortina Olympic Games were fantastic. Over the last two weeks, I was happy when I had the chance to tune into some of my favorite sports, watch gold medal performances, and cheer on the pinnacle of this morning’s men’s hockey game: USA vs. Canada in a nail biting match with the lads of the USA beating their rivals up North. I truly loved the lighting pace of all the skaters, and the goalies that kept their teams alive in regulation play. Headed to overtime, we kne

It’s been 5 years and two days since I had a radical hysterectomy to remove the uterine/endometrial cancer in my body. I was diagnosed in January of 2021 and had two surgeries. It was a rough time for me as I was a few weeks from publishing my debut book, The Focused Fight (March 2021). What set me back a bit was that my surgeon nicked my bladder in two places which required a repair first, then the hysterectomy. Due to the extra trauma, I had to and sport a catheter for over

It's been several days since my last blog post, and it was about quilts. Today, I'm sharing a bit more about how fond I am of my sewing sisters and how women's groups can help with aging. Decades of research show that strong social connections are as important to longevity as diet and exercise, especially when it comes to women’s groups - like a quilt guild or sewing bee. Ladies who lunch often, and the garden clubs of communities around the globe, also come to mind. I’m one

It’s been a minute since I presented a newly finished quilt during our Show-n-Tell part of my quilt guild’s monthly in-person meeting. Since my time and projects are based on T-shirt quilts and other clothing-related memorabilia, it’s the nuts and bolts of my quilting for the past 25+ years, not so much the fancy-schmancy quilting, though I still love to create those one-of-a-kind quilts, too. While these paid projects (thank goodness) are on my plate and screaming for attent