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Aren't they pretty?  I love mushrooms. I think they are cute, and pretty, and fascinating. Before all this rain, I even bought a couple ceramic mushrooms to put in the flower bed because they make me think of the forest floor in a fairytale. Now that we’ve gotten so much moisture, though, we have tons of living mushrooms all over the garden! The main garden. Carrots in front. Speaking of the garden itself, it is nice and green, but having a little trouble actually growing because all the weather has kept temperatures cooler than they normally are this time of year. We haven’t gotten nearly as many spring blooms as we normally do, and all the tropical plants, like our passion flower vine and hibiscus and bird of paradise are enjoying the rain but not the cooler temps. Yellow squash!  Nevertheless, here is what is happening in the garden this year so far: carrots, onions, garlic, tomatoes, purple bell peppers, sweet jalapenos, zuchinni, land yellow sq...

I am giving you some valuable information here. Snakes are my biggest fear. My second biggest fear is that upon discovering my biggest fear, people will pounce on it and send me snakes in the mail, or put them in my bed, or my car, or throw them in my face like David Bowie did to Jennifer Connelly in Labyrinth . So, the other day, when Norris was getting ready to go on a short trip, we were talking about all the critters in our yard. Normally I like all these critters. We have a bunch of toads (like, seriously, we have like 20 toads in our back yard—and that’s just the ones we can find. Toads freaking love us.) and a couple tree frogs, and some praying mantises, and snails, and a family of birds (dusky flycatchers—the babies all just flew away and I was very sad) that nested in our patio light fixture, and for a few days we had a raccoon living in one of our trees. We also have a couple of hawks (I mean two hawks that are in a committed relationship. We know they care about each...

*** This contains mildly graphic (but mostly just frank) descriptions of miscarriage. You have been warned. *** I am going to say something that might make a lot of you uncomfortable. I recently miscarried. My second miscarriage in the last year. And I am talking about it because it seems like people generally feel very uncomfortable discussing this topic, and women often feel kind of ashamed to mention it, probably because it so obviously makes people uncomfortable. But I am going to repeat what the doctors told me: there is nothing that can be done to prevent it. It has nothing to do with anything you did or didn’t do. These things just happen—it’s part of the biological process. You wouldn’t want to keep an unviable fetus in your belly anyway. The point being, miscarriage is something that is natural. It happens when for whatever reason, the cells that make up the beginning of what could be a baby are genetically imperfect, or mismatched, deformed, whatever. And it just...

A Short Story Companion to the Flawed Series Today is the release for Constricted , a brand new short story related to Becca J. Campbell ’s Flawed series. This story coincides with the events in Empath (Flawed #1), and takes place in Logan's point of view. You'll need to read Empath first to thoroughly enjoy this story. If you haven't already, download a free copy of Empath (links below). Read on to find out more about Constricted . Constricted (A Flawed Short Story) Logan’s secret has been exposed. When Jade—a beautiful student at the college where he teaches—discovered the truth, he spilled the whole repulsive story. Jade’s empathetic kindness flooded him with emotions he didn’t know he had and isn’t sure he wants to deal with. It would be the easiest thing in the world to leave and let Jade be a whisper in his past. He can exit now and regain his anonymity, or he can risk everything to stay and face her again. It’s not an easy choice, and when he’s about to de...

Guys, this is a really big deal. I am so excited I have already peed my pants.* I am going to be the steward for Edmond's first Little Free Library! Squeeeee! If you aren't familiar with Little Free Library , it's an organization that promotes reading and literacy, as well as community togetherness. It's an awesome project and there are a lot of the little libraries all over the country. You can see a map of them on the website! If you still don't know what I'm talking about, they are those little birdhouse looking things that you have probably seen on the street or the internet that are full of books. So, I am going to be installing and running the one in Edmond! It's still fairly early days. But, thanks to my amazing dad, I have my structure! It does look just like a birdhouse, but it is going to be a book house instead. The library will be going in at Whispering Heights Park in Edmond, and I am hoping that the opening day will be April 25....

Quinoa bowls have been my jam lately. And by that I mean that I have become totally obsessed with them, not least because one-skillet meals are so damn easy to make, and the clean up is minimal. They are like crack. For real. I want to eat them all the time. I want to eat one now. And again, I really can't stress enough how little mess this meal makes.  It's okay, because I hate them back. I was originally turned on to this by my friend, Sheridan, who sent me this recipe . But of course, since I only had like three of the ingredients on the list, I just made things up as I went along, and while the original recipe was meant to be a breakfast item, I love it for dinner. It’s hearty and filling, and it feels like comfort food but is still pretty freaking good for you. And it is very easy to customize. Like, so easy. Like, you could make it every day and always be eating something different.   So, first, start with a very large pan. I use my 12” nonstick...