Stress and anxiety can keep you locked in your brain for weeks on end; break free with the help of the pros. — We’ve had a stressful few weeks in my little corner of the world. First, there was a post-covid cold that blew through our house, knocking each member down in quick and unfair succession. …

You don’t have to explain your sobriety to anyone if you don’t want to, and sometimes that’s easier if the question never comes up. — There was this amazing little martini bar my friends and I used to frequent, back when I spent my evenings half-cut and my mornings nursing an unfairly energetic hangover. When I say it was a “little martini bar,” I mean it was little. It was a tiny place in all…

A desperate plea for some humanity — and happiness — in an inhumane world — On July 11, 2016, a beautiful light was snuffed unceremoniously out. Three days later, 5-year-old Taliyah Marsmen of Calgary, Alberta was discovered in a stand of bushes east of the city she called home — a home in which her mother had been found dead days before. Little Taliyah was…

The simplest solutions are often the toughest to master. — Last month I thought I had a serious case of writer’s block. It made sense. I had a lot going on in my life at the time — our beloved family dog died unexpectedly, my toddler was sick three times in a row, we all got Covid, and we’ve been…

Some Texas officials seem to think so. — Video games are always taking the fall for crazy people and their evil-doings. I don’t often voice my opinion on political issues, mostly because it gets everyone on both sides all riled up and before you know it, the “discussion” turns into a bunch of magpies squawking over one another…

You couldn’t pay me enough to put myself through that metaphorical meat grinder — Behind the catchy theme songs, pretty (and heavily scripted) words, designer attire and bright lights of reality TV shows lurk some pretty dark secrets. Reality TV stars are exploited — usually knowingly — to entertain the masses, but what negative effects remain once the cameras stop rolling? Many reality TV…

By a writer who learned the hard way (so you don’t have to) — When I began writing seriously several years ago, I began the way most writers do: cold pitching. Cold pitching sounds about as warm and fuzzy as the experience itself, and if you’re a writer, you know all about this activity. Months and months of pitches went unanswered, which was entirely…

And it’s one we both take very seriously. — My husband and I have an agreement. Actually, we have several agreements, but that goes without saying after 10 years of marriage. …

#5— always make excuses for your child’s bad behaviour — Kids. Can’t live with ’em. Can’t legally live without ’em. I realized this morning that if I wasn’t careful, I would turn my considerate, sweet two-year-old gentleman into a spoiled, entitled brat. It would be so easy — all I would need to do would be to give in to…