Who was Ching Shih? Mogu?

Have you ever considered what it would have been like to be a woman in the 1800’s? Especially in a world mostly dominated by men. Life’s primal challenges, food, shelter, etc would have been hard enough without the patriarchal societies most women lived (and often times still live) in. I’d like to think I...

Rant from a Privileged White Girl

Dear White Privileged Friends and Family, BLACK LIVES MATTER! The Fourth of July weekend left me feeling flat; not really finding anything in the U.S.A to celebrate. Besides the obvious ramifications COVID-19 will have on all of us long-term (whether we get sick or not) I’m disappointed in our current administration. It has been...

Humbled

I was humbled by a 12-year old boy today. We have a housekeeper from Juarez that comes once a month to deep clean our house. Occasionally, she will bring a family member from Mexico to help and hang out. This week she brought her sister’s youngest son. A darling 12-year-old boy named Julio. He’s...

The Pitfalls of Self-Publishing

For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a published author. When I was in fourth grade I came up with my pen name. I’ve written something almost every day since I can remember… from journals and letters to short stories and novels. The idea of self-publishing didn’t really come until...

My Trip to Vietnam

I recently spent around 3 weeks in Vietnam. We explored from far north, to down south. It seemed the north was more traditional, the south more touristy and modern. Let’s start where we started, up north, just south of the China border. Bac Son Valley was the way I pictured all of Vietnam. Quaint....