For the Criminally Inane

I remember nearing the end of my mission in Europe and I was trying to decide what to study when I got home. I decided to go to the University of Arizona because they had a creative writing degree, but I wasn't sure I wanted to major in creative writing. I was single, no marriage prospects, and I worried I might have to support myself with my degree. Creative writing wouldn't get me very far and it was a limited scope of study. Both of my mission presidents worked in communication. So I thought, okay, that sounds interesting. I like people. I like to talk. Let's do it. I walked into my Comm 300 class and the professor said, "This is a class where we talk about relationships, how and why people get in them and how and why people stay. If that doesn't interest you, you'd better join another class." I couldn't tell you how much his words thrilled me! (Yes, I still have my text book from that class and many other classes.) Fiction is all about relati...

 When my husband served a mission in Hiroshima Japan Mission, he went to a place where they served this delicious food. We noticed when we went to Japanese festivals that they served it but differently. All the ingredients were mixed into the batter and then cooked, Osaka style, instead of the layered version he learned in the south. He wanted to recreate the southern version with it's layers at home. So this is our version of Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. What you need: Okonomiyaki flour (I found some at a Japanese import store or you can buy some here on Amazon ) Pork belly, thin sliced (But we used bacon, you can use thick cut, just don't use maple flavored, it's kind of weird.) Eggs Shredded cabbage (I ran a few wedges through the food processor) Yakisoba noodles (Also found at Japanese import store) For condiments: Okonomiyaki sauce , and Kewpie mayonnaise also found at import store. Then mix the flour with water until ...

A few people have asked me about my writing journey, what it was like starting out as a writer and what did I do to start, well, I thought I should write about this on my blog and tell the whole world! So, here as briefly as I can, I'll share my story. When I was in fourth grade, I decided I wanted to be a writer. I stapled some papers together and covered it with blue construction paper. I even drew a quill on the front with the auspicious title "Young Author."  I didn't know what I was going to write in it, but it was going to be great. I was reading a lot of Nancy Drew at the time. So I decided to write a mystery. I recruited my friend to draw pictures of the cute boy. The plot was some kind of fantasy of mine: a girl's parents left for out of town and she had to go to a neighbor's house to stay the week and the neighbors had a cute boy. My friend could draw cute boys, I couldn't. The clues didn't make sense, but there was a cute boy. Aft...

Hello! I decided to get my ugly mug off the first page of my blog. Haha!  Just wanted to catch you up on a few things. First, I have second edits for The Swiss Mishap! Yay! If you are excited about chocolate and Switzerland, this book is for you. It's a story about a girl who needs to overcome her fear of dogs while searching for an internship at Alpine Foods SA in Vevey. Of course there's a love interest. Her boss. And of course, there's a rule no inter-office relationships. Set in a setting I love, in a country I love, with people I love, this story has so much of my heart. I hope you are all looking forward to it as much as I am.