I love journals. I request them for birthdays and other gift-giving opportunities where I can actually tell people what they can buy for me. They're going to buy me something, so it may as well be what I want, right? Journals are beautiful inside and out, and I must have them. Plus, I have never found a reason to re-gift a journal. Ever. Because that would be wrong. But here's the problem. You knew there would be one, right? Yes, there's a problem. It's the girdle of perfecti

When I began my blog, Fragrant Liar, in 2009, I wanted to be part of an online community that might have things in common with me. Though I kept it well under wraps, my entry into midlife was rather traumatic, like a temblor that never stopped, a daily reminder that my life was changing before my eyes, despite my objections. I knew mine were not like the experiences of any of the women in my family before me, because every generation is different. As a writer, my first and be