Years ago, as my daughter and I were getting settled into our "new" living life daring lives, we started something. We both knew that we had done something gutsy and courageous moving to Oregon without a clear plan other than certainty that this was the right thing to do. We began, "I Dare You's". With I Dare You's, if you were the recipient, you would answer, "Dare accepted" when given a dare. Mind you, the dares were all innocent dares. They didn't contain danger but courage and excitement. Here is one I dare you that sticks out for me. We were at the grocery store when my daughter and I saw a guy in a wheelchair. My daughter J looked at me and mouthed, "He's hot!" So, I whispered to her, "I dare you to tell him that he is." She said, "Dare accepted." She went off to find him as he had wheeled over to another aisle. She came back beaming. "I did it!" she said. "I told him, 'I know this may ...

This is the first of four books that are being launched next year! When I discovered my love for writing, I was about 4 or 5. In school, my first essay was, "I like corn!" I think it was the teacher that had us write about something we liked or disliked.  I have always had books in my head that just need to be written. Neecy and Nay Nay book series came from my very own life as an identical twin. I was called Neecy as a child and my twin sister was Nay Nay so it was a given that the books would be called Neecy and Nay Nay. I won't put out any spoilers of the books but I can attest to the hilarious adventures, so so true of our lives growing up as twins. Neecy, is a doctor wanna be and loves big words. That is me to a T. I love learning about surgical techniques and I will even test on some techniques online because I'm so fascinated. I also love, love big words so the books will always have a glossary of big words at the end of each book. The twins are adventurous, he...

When my twin sister and I were little, we used to play what we called, "Girl". It was mainly us imitating our mom and her friends as they went shopping together, cooked together, had coffee together. We would get our teddy bears and hold them in our arms, while planning our pretend vacation, shopping and figuring out what to fix for dinner. "Girl, what are you making for dinner? I'm making spaghetti. The kids will eat that and so will my honey." In our world of make believe, life was simple without complications. We could travel to the Grand Canyon in our self-powered motorhome which read maps and got us there. (Who knew that we were actually inventing GPS and self-driven cars? Sometimes, I reflect on those times and wish life was simple once again. Laughter would come easily. Fun could be found in hopscotch or watch The Little Rascals or the Partridge Family or the Brady Bunch. Coloring in color books, chewing a flavorful piece of bubble gum and riding in the c...

As a pastor's wife, I have a front row view. What does that mean? I get the privilege of seeing my husband and pastor, live out his calling. But even beyond the front row, I get a backstage view too. I see the times he is wide awake, praying for the church, the church family, the community and our family. I see the days where he wants to sleep in a bit but instead, gets up to head to the church. I see him as his trusts God to meet the financial needs of the church even when giving is low. Being a pastor's wife is filled with love,joy, concern, enthusiasm, weariness, surprises, laughter. Oh there is laughter. Like the one Sunday, Pastor J was doing communion and totally forgot that he hadn't distributed the wafers and grape juice. He was getting ready to put the wafer in his mouth after praying. I locked eyes and said loudly, "Ppppssst! Psst!" I waved my hand to catch his gaze and said, "Babe!" His response was, "What!?!" I laughed because he...

I’m quite fascinated by different cultures. To learn more of the traditions, the language, the people is intriguing. I have Korean friends that encouraged me to not only learn to make Korean food but to also learn the language. Learning Hangul kicked me a bit. I can read a bit, speak some but not enough to carry on a conversation. But I’m determined to get better at it. Recently, I hung out with my daughter and we decided to try a little bit of this and that at the local Korean market. I think we were there for 2 hours as we oohed and aahed over different foods and produce. We decided to try whatever sparked our curiosities. We tried pajeon (a pancake like delight) which I really liked. It definitely was nothing like the traditional American pancakes. Much more savory. We also tried jjinppang which is a fluffy steamed bun with red bean paste, seaweed salad, sausage norim which was sausage, rice and seaweed – tasty. We also had lychee and rambutan – a cute fruit with spikes on the outsi...

If barking were an Olympic sport...Bo would win the gold medal! If singing random and made up songs were an Olympic sport, I would win a gold medal. If lifting Bo into the car when we have to go somewhere was an Olympic sport, Pastor J would get a gold medal. If going to bed right at 8:00 pm was an Olympic sport, Zoie would get a gold medal. If doing laundry were an Olympic sport, Pastor J would get a gold medal. How about you? What would your gold medal be in?