Mistaken Identity It happens every time I let my hair grow past my shoulders. Strangers will stop me in a store or parking lot and strike up a conversation thinking I am someone else. Last week, I was in a big box store and I heard someone say as she passed by, “Hi Monica”. I Read More

I have asked my husband more than once to shoot our ceiling fan thinking it was an intruder in the middle of the night. With a flick of the light switch, he shows me everything is well and I am safe. I’m not afraid of the dark, but it does cause me to see things Read More

I am so happy to announce Out of Control is now available on Amazon! It is free until 4/24/24 with Kindle Unlimited. The book project was born out of necessity and convenience. Often, after speaking at a conference someone will ask me for the slides or if I have a resource they can share with Read More

When you want queso, nothing else will do. We took our three-year-old grandson to a restaurant and ordered a large bowl of queso because we know how much he loves it. Imagine our surprise when the queso arrived and the sweet kiddo threw a huge fit and would not eat it. He kept trying to Read More

Kevin works in the garage where people from my office park their cars every day. I see him early in the morning when I arrive and late afternoon when I leave for the day. He is a pleasant constant in my day. In the morning, he cleans out trash cans and sends the homeless out Read More

Honoring those who have served in the military, especially those who have lost their lives in service, comes naturally at our house. We are grateful for the sacrifices our families and so many others have made for our country. We cherish our freedom. Each time I am in Washington DC I visit Arlington National Cemetery Read More

One of the most frightening things you can hear in the American mid-west is a tornado siren. In my state, that happened 57 times last year. We have had 62 siren warnings so far in 2023. To live here and hope to survive extreme weather is to be prepared. A few weeks ago, the sirens Read More

My performance as Little Bo Peep in the high school play was less than memorable. The costume itched and the sheep didn’t show up. There was no standing ovation. I didn’t want to take drama, but I loved debate class and it was only offered in the fall semester. All debate students had to take Read More

Mom’s Pyrex dish was beautiful, but it didn’t make green beans look any more appetizing to me. As a child, I liked most things in our garden, but I always took a pass on the green beans. There wasn’t enough cream of anything soup to disguise them. The worst part was knowing I would see Read More

A Joyful Noise Free parenting tip: When my sons were little guys, I kept in my car a cd (old school, I know) of Elvis Presley singing Christmas songs and I highly recommend all parents do something similar. Anytime they would start fighting in the car because one of them breathed on the other or Read More