Category: In the News

  • I rarely watch videos (who has time?) but made an exception for this one. By the end of it, I was in tears. His words spoke straight to me as much as to those kids just stepping into their lives. I'm starting my day with a renewed vow not to waste another minute. Thanks, Steve,…

  • I have an unexpected day off tomorrow. I'm getting dizzy trying to decide what to do with it! Do I focus on "getting stuff done" or just relax and have fun? I imagine it will fall somewhere in between. I think I'll just start somewhere and see where it leads me. Who knows what I'll…

  • Monday morning I knew autumn had arrived, riding the tail of a brisk breeze from the north that dropped temperatures nearly twenty degrees. Robe wrapped tight and relishing the chill, I sipped coffee in my pajamas rocking on the deck of a log cabin nestled in the woods above a dry creek bed. We were at…

  •   1. Rain on my windshield! Before heading to Houston yesterday, I swung downtown to drop some things off for TG on campus, and I heard an unusual sound… raindrops on my car! And then it actually rained on me all the way to Smithville or LaGrange. It wasn't enough to wash the dust from…

  • A call that wakes you in the morning rarely bears good news. The call that woke me yesterday let me know a dear friend's husband had died. He had some health issues (who doesn't by the time you hit your 50's?) but nothing that warned her that a day we all dread and hope never…

  • Fall colors surround us, temperatures have dropped, but there's no touch of autumn in the air; daily highs still top 100 with nary a drop of rain. (Clouds congregrate at times, but even when tinged gray, I know they're just playing games with us.) We've had hot, dry summers before, though. One in particular stands…

  • This has been one crazy, zig-zagging, bouncing, stretching-myself-across-so-many-things-I-think-I'm-going-to-pop kind of week. One of those weeks where everything is high priority and you just can't procrastinate any longer. So you just do it all, period, and try your best to get some sleep. Things like a writing deadline, a book review deadline, a contact list to…

  • Thank you to everyone who said a prayer, crossed their fingers or in some way tried to steer Tropical Storm Don more to the north, providing us with a better chance of rain to ease this drought. However, I just saw this post by my weatherman on Facebook… Dear Don,Thanks for nothing.Sincerely,Central Texas.p.s. Emily…we're counting…

  • Normally, there's no way I'd be praying for a tropical storm to head our way, especially on a weekend, but extreme circumstances call for extreme prayer! (Forty-plus days of 100+ degree temps and the driest 7-month span on record qualifies as extreme circumstances, doesn't it? Thought so.) I believe in the power of teamwork, so…

  • Tom's email read "I saw this and thought of you," with a hyperlink under the message. My heart fluttered – he thought of me while he was at work? How sweet! Tom never emails me unless it's a two-word response to something I've sent him. I clicked the link and laughed when the page popped…