This past week was Spirit Week at the school where I run an after school program. Friday was “Character Day.” I was going to throw on a ball gown and tiara and be a princess. But the ball gown didn’t fit, so I ran around for 30 minutes trying to figure out Plan B. Finally, [...]

“Good evening, The Melting Pot. How may I help you?” said the voice on the other end of the phone.
“Yes, I’d like to make a reservation for two for tomorrow evening,” my boyfriend Aaron responded.
“Of course. What time?”
“6:00 p.m., please.”
“The closest we have available is 4:45 p.m. Would that work for your party?”
“Hey, Val? 4:45? [...]

I’ve always been a sucker for a good romantic comedy, full of angst and ending with happily-ever-after. It’s just in my genes. Sometimes I wonder if my love of fairy tales and happily-ever-afters are part of my search for hope for myself–or maybe it’s the storytelling. Like many things, it’s probably a combination.
This past semester, [...]

I‘m worried. Actually, I’m scared.
I am taking a break from my usual fluffy yet thoughtful posts this week to talk about something on my mind. It is important to me that my blog not become a place of political ranting; there are enough political blogs out there! Unfortunately, though, I cannot discuss all of the [...]

I love meeting new people. Suddenly, all of my stories are new again. And I do love telling stories. Not too long ago, I had a blind date with a new boy, and he seems to enjoy the stories. On that first blind date, we were talking about people who talk in stories, and I [...]

I just looked back at my last couple of blog posts, and I have been swamped, stressed, and overwhelmed for a couple of weeks now. I was thinking about bowing out of doing a blog entry this week, but decided instead that I needed to shift my focus a bit. Yes, things are still stressful [...]

While in the Caribbean I took a little side trip over to Puerto Rico for the middle weekend because I have friends there. It was a fantastic weekend–especially considering that before my friends picked me up at the airport on Friday, we’d never actually met. I knew we’d get along just fine, but there’s always [...]

I love the holidays–all the hustle and bustle, good food, and family and friends. Mostly, though? I love the memories. This Christmas was no different–in fact, thanks to my friend Vera, who joined my family for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I got to think a bit about specific memories from past Christmases.
Mom and Dad [...]

How many times in life do we wish we could just say, “I call a do-over!”? Poof! Time goes back, and we can do whatever we messed up all over again, and get it right this time. I wish this at least once a day. I think it is one of the reasons I love [...]