On May 9, my first book, Don’t Lick the Minivan (DLM), is being released. I need help getting the word out and I can’t do it alone. I have a lot of ideas, want even more, and need help implementing them. If you ever plan on doing something like this yourself some day, the experience […]
Un-Ironic Moments
Finding Humor in Serious Books
As I age, my reading seems to become more eclectic. I’m not just talking about flipping through 101 Scariest Animals before chasing it down with a shot of Dooby Dooby Moo or Parker Picks. Somedays I read books that won literary prizes; other days I flip through fluff. I also read weird nonfiction, including books about […]
Sunday Night Angst and Seeing the Light
It is possible to love your job and to hate going to work on Monday morning. Often, on Sunday nights, a dread creeps in. Like it did a couple of days ago. I posted this on my Ironic Mom Facebook Page: You would think that would have been the end of my evening. But with […]
Book Deal!
In October, I signed with a fabulous agent, Jill Marr, at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. Now, in the time it takes to gestate a baby, we’ve sold it. Book. Deal. My manuscript, now entitled DON’T LICK THE MINIVAN: Things I Never Thought I’d Say As a Parent, has been acquired by Skyhorse Publishing, America’s […]
Moments With My 8-Year-Old Son
William, now 8, is still every bit the same boy he was at 7. On Tuesday, his birthday, he hopped on the bathroom scale to see if he was indeed bigger. He was. This weekend, he showed us more behaviour that revealed he is my same-but-bigger son. On Friday morning, he was angry because I […]
I Love You More Than…
Over a decade ago, when I first saw my not-yet-husband interact with his five-year-old nephew, they were playing “I love you more than.” The game pingponged back and forth, each analogy wilder and crazier than the last. When my husband said, “I love you more than a lake full of Pepsi,” the game was over. […]
A Letter To My 20-Year-Old Self: a guest post
I have the privilege of guest posting today over at New Life Cal U, the blog of my good friend, Kim Wilson. You might remember Kim posting here last year, What To Do with a Dead Chicken. Kim is launching a fabulous series, called Letters To My 20-Year-Old Self. I am honoured to be a […]
What makes someone sexy?
My face was red, sunburned red. I was breathing hard, a sign that my forty-year-old body was a couple of decades past being a competitive athlete, past being fit, past having a beautiful belly button on a stomach without stretch marks. I continued my workout on our driveway, passing the basketball to one of my […]
The Story of my Avatar: A Contest
In honour of my 300th post, I thought I’d share the story of my avatar. This photo was taken by Tim Reisdorf, a close family friend, on a cool November day in 2008. I had flown home to Winnipeg for two days – a rare weekend away by myself – to attend Lefse Bootcamp for […]
10 Years Ago Today
I stood in a New Zealand farm kitchen, stomach full of barbecued lamb, sobbing into my brother’s arms. I closed my eyes, shutting out the blinking Christmas lights surrounding his mother-in-law’s window. Our grandmother lay dying half a world away, near the end of a battle with Alzheimer’s that left her too exhausted to eat, […]