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Now I Need Another 49 Goals

Now I Need Another 49 Goals

Around my 48th birthday, I got the idea to compete in a triathlon before I turned 50. I talked to a couple friends who regularly compete in them, and we agreed we’d start training together. Then time slipped away, I lost my nerve, and I hoped they didn’t remember that conversation. Cut to the beginning of 2024, aka the beginning of the end of my first half of the century, I got the bug again. But this time the friend I talked to about competing was in my weekly ice skating class (oh yeah, I did that for six months!) so there was no escaping my declaration to attempt a triathlon before my 50th birthday.

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Embracing Fall, aka Farewell Summer of Upheaval

Embracing Fall, aka Farewell Summer of Upheaval

The past few years have felt like a roller coaster that keeps going faster and faster until there’s no way to climb off, I just have to hold on tight and hope I’m not flung into the ether, never to be seen again. (Although some days, that seemed like a nice alternative.) Some things were within my control, others were not, but all of them culminated this summer and I’m really really glad to have it all behind me. I’ve alternated between feeling like I’m failing at everything, to not caring that I’m failing at everything, to wishing I could just press pause on life and catch my breath.

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Looking Back at Being in the Moment

Looking Back at Being in the Moment

In January 2020, I declared this to be The Year of Being in the Moment. Today that feels almost prophetic, but at the time it was nothing more than a reminder to myself to focus on what’s truly important. My friends and family, my health, the little things that bring me joy. I started the year by training for and then performing in my community’s Dancing With the Local Stars, then in early March we vacationed in Key West with our best friends. We traveled home (BY PLANE!! ON MARCH 12!!) as the country slowly came to grips with what we were facing.

Like the rest of the world, our world suddenly shrank to within the walls of our house.

We were very much living in the moment.

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Finding Inspiration in Nature

Finding Inspiration in Nature

Nature and water have always inspired me. There’s something about being outside that wakes me up and makes me feel alive. And if I can be near a large body of water, even better. The sound of the waves crashing calms me like nothing else—even in the midst of a raging storm. I was born …

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Kitchen Renovation, 2017

When we bought our house in November 2014, the first thing on our “this has gotta go” list was the upstairs bathroom. That was renovated within seven months, and after that our focus turned to the kitchen. We timed projects around tax returns, and we knew we’d have to do it in stages. The floors went in last summer, we painted in the fall, then this past March and April we added French doors, replaced the counters and backsplash, refinished the existing cabinets, and completely rewired the entire kitchen.

It sounds so easy when I say it like that…

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Goodreads Giveaway & a New Interview

It’s been a while since I’ve given away print copies of Flicker, so I decided to host a Goodreads giveaway — and it starts today! You need to have a Goodreads account, but then you just have to click to enter. Easy peasy! And, you know, add Flicker to your Want to Read shelf if …

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A Cohesive and Necessary Story

I finally received the editorial feedback from the Writer’s Digest Self-Published eBook Awards! Here’s what my judge had to say: In Flicker by Melanie Hooyenga we are presented with a story that is heavy on the romance and teen drama while mixing in some supernatural thrills and interesting historical ideas as well. It mines this …

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