I’m thrilled to share that my children’s book, Have You Seen Frenchie?, is officially self-published and out in the world! This project has been a true labor of love, filled with fun adventures, lovable characters, and meaningful lessons for young readers.
What happens when a family of potatoes embarks on a daring adventure to find their missing relative? In “HAVE YOU SEEN FRENCHIE?,” Mama Potato, Papa Potato, and their youngest son Tater set off on a road trip to search for Frenchie. Along the way, they encounter quirky potato relatives like Cousin Chip and Uncle Mash with the stash. This vibrant story is filled with unforgettable characters and vivid settings, complemented by captivating illustrations, conveying valuable themes of family and perseverance.
I hope this story sparks imagination, joy, and a little wonder in the hearts of kids (and grown-ups too)!
I couldn’t have done this without the amazing support of friends and family—thank you all! If you know any young readers (or young at heart!), I’d be so grateful if you’d spread the word. The book is available on Amazon in most countries. Here is the USA link if you click HERE FOR – HAVE YOU SEEN FRENCHIE?
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2023. Let’s make it a good one.
I don’t make resolutions anymore. I feel they just set you up for disappointment. And you have every day of your life to set goals and make your life how you dream it. It doesn’t have to be on January 1st. So wishing you a great progression of dreams and goals and prosperity and happiness and love.
What a week it has been! Am I right or am I right? But it has turned out to be all worth the wait. Biden beat Trump and we have our first female vice president! Kamala Harris has made history and I love her words – “While I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last.”
BIDEN HARRIS you did it! WE did it! Time to celebrate and feel the relief and happiness that this news brings to us and our country.
Sometimes I treat my blog as my diary and this is one entry I don’t ever want to forget. Get your party on America! Things are looking up. XO -k
It’s that most WONDERFUL time of the year again! Or is it? The Christmas spirit is in the air but you just feel like you want to curl up in a ball and slip into your bed until the new year is here. I totally get it. There is a lot of pressure to have this amazing time with family and friends, not to mention buying gifts, maybe attend a Christmas party or two and then what about the decorations, the perfect dinner. It can stress out even the best of us who handle stress like a charm.
Here are a few of my tips, how I decompress from all the Christmas madness.
Let’s Remember The Reason For The Season And it’s not about the present. It’s about love and celebration. I’m trying to minimize the amount of presents everyone gets. One big present for my brother’s family – a game or a picture of them or blanket, something that they can all use and enjoy. And that’s it! My parents get one gift each, same with the other family members. And if you have a big family, maybe suggest a Secret Santa – everyone draws a name and that’s their person to give a present to. And they don’t even have to be store bought. The best gifts, in my opinion come from the heart and are handmade. And don’t forget that online buying is your friend. A few clicks and DONE.
Homemade Potpourri is so easy and smells SO good!
When It’s Just Too Much, Get Out! Keep up your exercise routine, go for a walk around the neighborhood or if you’re lucky enough to live by nature, go there. Breathe in the fresh air from the sea or the woods. Look around and find the beauty that is everywhere. A hike in the forest or mountains or walk on the beach gets anyone’s mood lightened.
Make A TO DO List It’s good to see what you need to do on paper and when you can do them. These past two weeks I’ve made a daily list. It really helps on managing your time and helps you feel more grounded and not spinning out of control. Add days with the times you are going to do these things.
Be Easy On Yourself You didn’t get Christmas cards out on time? Let it GOOOOOO. I never mind getting a Christmas card from a friend in January, heck sometimes it’s the better time to get it. But if you didn’t get it out at all, guess what – It’s OK! Try to schedule yourself some me time in that TO DO list as well. A massage or facial or pedicure will give you some pampering time to relax. And last but not least, it is okay to say no. Don’t feel like you need to accept every Christmas get together. You don’t even need to accept the family get together. You want a Christmas with just you or just you and your husband, boyfriend, girlfriend – enter significant person here – then that is what you do. Be easy on YOU.
Be One With The Moment When the time is upon you, your friends have gathered or your family is around, take the time to be in that moment. Embrace the happiness and the love that you are surrounded by. Don’t stress about getting to the kitchen to start that turkey or if the house isn’t clean enough or if everyone is happy. Everyone is with you because they love you. Sit down and take it in. Look around and smile, rejoice and remember. Grab a loved one to give them a kiss, give them a hug, say thank you for being there. Time passes so quickly and before you know it, we will be back at our regular day life. So enjoy this moment that is finally here. Look at those lights, sip that eggnog, and feel all that love.
Long live the land of tequila, tacos and sombreros!
Mexico will always have a special place in my heart because of my grandparents. They had two trailer homes. One in Wisconsin and one in Texas and they would spend the summers in Wisconsin and the winters in Texas. Not a bad idea I always thought. Their home in Texas was in Brownsville, which is smack dab on the Mexico – US border. Many times we visited them we would go to Mexico. We would park and walk over a bridge to Matamoros, Mexico, the bridge was of course over the Rio Grande which separates the countries. There were always adorable, laughing and VERY tan children below on the bank yelling at us to throw money. I believe sometimes my grandpa would give me some coins to throw down to them. My grandpa knew where to go and we’d usually stop for lunch at one of his favorite haunts, where huevos rancheros, enchiladas and tacos were always part of our orders. And this was TRUE mexican food. No Taco Bell here, no siree. Much better than Chi-Chi’s, Taco Bueno, “insert mexican restaurant here”. I do miss my BoBo’s Cantina though – do you hear me Stillwater folks?! And then we’d wander around the marketplace. I bought too many maracas to count but my parents scored a fancy marble chessboard with marble chess pieces that has been well loved.
So I was really looking forward to the beautiful and sweet Amy marrying the talented chef Kary in ….. MEXICO! Flying into Cancun from Miami was a breeze (no pun intended). I ordered a Dos Equis from the steward and settled in my window seat glued to the scene below.
I booked Cancun Cheap Transfers to pick me up from the airport to take me to the hotel. They had already sent me a message they would be waiting for me by the Margaritaville stand just exiting the airport. And they were! I booked a private van so there were no other stops to get to the hotel as quickly as possible. It was $55 for a one-way private trip. And they were great! I used them on the way back too and the driver even carried my bags into the airport and helped me check in. I can highly recommend!
Hotel Occidental Xcaret Riviera Maya was where we all stayed. Upon arrival I was offered an ice cold beer while waiting to check in. It’s a very big resort and after check in someone walked me to my room where I had chocolate covered strawberries and a stocked mini bar waiting for me. The luggage guy arrived quickly so I could get settled in. I gulped down all of those strawberries in a matter of minutes and popped open a cold beer while unpacking and sending “where are you” messages to all my friends that were already there. One thing, you must pay for Wi-Fi. The price was about $45 for four days if I remember correctly, it is not included with the room.
Soon I met the fabulous Bess in the lobby and we grabbed a margarita before finding the others. The resort is all-inclusive so grabbing a drink or two or three is easy and you don’t need to worry about keeping track of how much you’ve spent! Or even how much you drink! 😉 We met most of the gang at the seafood restaurant – there are eleven restaurants to choose from and I enjoyed the Paco’s Tacos the best (pizza AND tacos), because you really can’t go wrong with either of those. But there is also a huge buffet restaurant with so many options of salads, fruit, breads, pasta, main courses, desserts …. more more more. And there you can wear what you want because some restaurants have a dress code. And breakfast every morning for me was the buffet by the lagoon. My morning view was this. Gorgeous, right?!
There are so many different and fun things to do at the resort and around the resort. At the resort itself are many swimming pools, a beach lagoon, a private adults only area with ocean access, many ruins around the grounds that you can even go into and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to mention this but ANIMALS!!!! Iguanas are EVERYWHERE but there are monkeys (!!!!) which most people saw every morning on their balconies but my area didn’t have monkeys – because I was told there are snakes (!) there and monkeys don’t like snakes (well, me neither). I also saw this weird small pig animal, a deer(!), a huge ass scorpion, birds and of course fish fish fish. I apologize for all the exclamation marks but animals y’all!
And part of the resort is their Eco-archeological Xcaret Park. I didn’t do this because it was a bit expensive but everyone who had kids did go and enjoyed it. There is a lazy river (which I heard is not that lazy), swim with the dolphins, cultural attractions and more. Besides the park, people went to Cozumel, went snorkeling with whale sharks (they are huge!) and a day trip to visit Tulum. Of course, you can always just be really lazy and relax with a rum runner on the beach.
Then it was wedding day!!! Yippee!!! It was pretty chill to start with and we hung out around the lagoon. Some of us got up early to save the big beach lounge beds and some lounge chairs down by the water. We soaked up the sun and worked on the song list and had a Rum Runner or two and then it was time for the nuptials. It was perfect, between the ocean and one of the bigger ruins on the grounds. The ceremony was simple and beautiful – that must make it simply beautiful. Then off for an hour reception to have a snack, a cocktail, take some photos, sign the wedding book and watch the bride seriously think about shoving a handful of cake in her husband’s mouth. A very lovely evening with many people I have known for most of my life and getting to see and meet their children. A time never to be forgotten with many lovely and funny memories made. Let the tears commence!
There was even a full moon that night.
Congratulations you love birds! So happy for you. xxoo -k
This project has been a true labor of love, filled with fun adventures, lovable characters, and meaningful lessons for young readers.
If you know any young readers (or young at heart!), I’d be so grateful if you’d spread the word. The book is available on Amazon in most countries. Here is the USA link if you click HERE FOR – HAVE YOU SEEN FRENCHIE?
GOING NINETY MILES 