Live life ✔, Write ✔

  Dear readers, In order to devote more of my writing time to working on the 3 different books I’m neglecting badly, I’m going to reduce “Live Life, Write” to a twice monthly newsletter that will be released on the first and third Thursdays of each month.  At some point in the future it may go back to a weekly schedule, but in the meantime I have some books to get out (namely, the third installment of the Stanton Sisters Story and the unnamed “spy story” I’ve been picking away at for 2 years now).  Thanks for your support! ~ Lydia ____________________________________________________________________________ When I sat down to write the newsletter for today I promptly had to clear a pile of library books from my desk, and it inspired me to dedicate this week to one of my favorite local haunts. For the last 17 years I have lived - and raised my family - in central Ohio.  Over those years we have found several “favorite” places that we enjoy visiting on repeat.  I’...

When we left off last, I had just filled our previously-goldfish-inhabited aquarium with a colorful assortment of small tropical fish that were supposed to be low-maintenance and easy for “beginners” to keep. I imagine, at this point, that you have at least some idea of what happened next.  However, in order for you to be able to experience the full effect of it, let me remind you that I was already badly juggling four kids and housework, and had switched from goldfish to tropical fish in order to save myself time and effort in the long run.  The goal was less cleaning and scrubbing; just regular water changes and monitoring the temp and the pH of the tank.  After all, reducing the time spent tending my fish meant that I might actually be able to bake cookies and host sleepovers more often, and my kids would feel less skeptical (maybe) about my parenting.  Or, at the very least, I would be able to complete a to-do list for once, or maybe adopt a more reasonable b...

It really is time that I finally tell this story.  I’ve alluded to it before (in the post found her e ), but at that moment I was trying hard not to get side-tracked (trailing off-topic is a real problem for me, and sometimes I get so far down the rabbit-trail that I have trouble making my way back to the point, if I ever even do, and that makes the story confusingly hard to follow…) and in that newsletter the spotlight was on another of our aquarium friends, Phelps, who needed her chance in the spotlight.  Alas, this is a tale that deserves its own feature; it needs to be told in full.  So without further ado: Don’t be like Molly~ It’s no secret that I’ve had a lot of pets in my life.  Or that I take pet-parenting seriously.  (see post linked above)  I think it’s also common knowledge that, save maybe cats, fish are one of the easier pets to care for.  Right? WRONG!  IT’S A LIE!  A TRAP!  DON’T FALL FOR IT!!! I grew up with goldfish (al...

It was a cold Saturday afternoon in November when a pair of terrified new parents checked out of the hospital with their two-day-old baby girl and headed - nervous, but with a solid plan - into the dangerous world.  Every precaution was taken; there was an infant sized snow suit zipped to her nose, extra padding around her head, and the rear-facing car seat was covered with a breathable blanket.  In addition to the overnight bags, the diaper bag was crammed with every imaginable baby care item.  Despite the hope to avoid using them, there were multiple sterilized, dental-approved pacifiers packaged in sealed plastic containers, in case one should fall on the floor.  Before departure everything was double-checked.  If she sneezed there were sensitive skin tissues at the ready.  If she squinted, the sun-shade was hung to come to the rescue.  A well balanced and healthy menu was planned for the upcoming nights, to assure that both mom and baby were gettin...