Stuff ‘n Nonsense - Daughter O’ Mine

I've never given my mother enough credit for raising four children, three of those being strong, willful and independent daughters.

Mommy Musings – One Just Like You

As parents we love our children … unconditionally. Yet, as my stepfather has pointed out - we always love our children, but we do not always have to like them.

Dawn’s Column - I Remember When…

The other day my coworker made a phone call from work and got a busy signal on the other end of the line. She gave the receiver a strange look and then hung up.

Marg-Ins - Turning The Page

So the calendar has turned, 2010 has given way to 2011 and time marches inexorably onward. But what a fantastic finish to the year.

Ramblings - Memories Of Christmas

Light streaming from an open church door across the snow, a priest in full vestments standing at the door to shake hands with his parishioners as they muffled their faces against the winter cold and headed for their cars, their breath steaming in the frigid air and snow crunching underfoot.

Mommy Musings - The Magic

So, I have a confession. I have honestly spent the better part of the last week trying to find a topic to write about other than my children and the holidays. The date of this issue is, after all, December 22, so it would only seem natural and obvious to address the season. But I do that every year. This is the argument playing out in my head - again and again and again. As ...

Stuff N' Nonsense - Holiday Hustle Bustle

Right about now if you haven't finished your Christmas shopping you're a card-carrying member of the Last Minute Club - of which I'm the president.

Dawn’s Column - I Didn’t Do It

Everywhere I turn lately, I realize that many people around me are sick. I'm talking about the germ-laden kind. This is, in part, due to me.

Marg-Ins - Counting Down The Year

Stop me if you have heard this before. I love my job.

Stuff ‘n Nonsense - The Measure Of Success

My ninth book is hitting the shelves in December. I was recently nominated for best Silhouette Romantic Suspense for 2010 by Romantic Times magazine for my first romantic suspense, To Catch A Killer, and I've just finished writing my 13th book (which will come out in 2011). My publisher seems to really like my work and in a difficult business, I'm doing a good job of carving a ...

Rich In Thought – The Joy Of A Man Cave

As I look over the last 50-plus years of my life, I am grateful I was born into the male gender of the human race. I'll gladly accept the daily chore of shaving or grooming facial hair over the responsibility of childbirth, I can take my shirt off at the beach without worry of arrest or gawking, and there are rarely, if ever, lines for the bathroom in ...

Dawn’s Column - Married And Adjusting

I'm still settling in and adapting to this new aspect of my life called marriage. People frequently ask me, "So how's married life?" My answer usually includes the words, "It's an adjustment."

Marg-Ins - Seasons Change

Winter arrived the other day, just in case you weren't paying attention. It really seems like we went straight from our 90-degree weather to pouring rain and wind from one day to the next, with no time to prepare.

Stuff ‘N Nonsense - A Slice In Time

Like many people, I'm fascinated by the idea of time travel. I'm the furthest thing you can get from a science geek but I get giddy at the theory that time travel is possible because it sets in motion all sorts of cool scenarios in my head, like where I would go and what I would do if it were possible.

Dawn’s Column - Fun Fall

Even though the weather has radically swayed from cold and rainy to hot and sunny - all within a few days' time - the cooler weather is definitely the signal that fall has finally arrived. Although I think there's something great about every season, to me, this is the best time of year.

Still Matters - Love Matters

May always makes me think of Mother's Day and flowers. And this year we added a graduation, planning for a wedding in June, and everything else in between.

EDITORIAL – Attention Oakdale – All Units: 11-99

Attention Oakdale – All Units: 11-99

Marg-Ins – In With The New

Stuff ‘N Nonsense - Adjusting To The Dream Job

Who knew there would be an adjustment period to living the dream? I certainly didn't. Many of you know I published my first book in December 2006 and it's been a dream of mine for longer than I can remember to support myself solely on my fiction writing income. After many years of incredibly hard work, I managed to make that dream a reality and I left my post at The Leader to live the dream.

RICH IN THOUGHT -Toes In The Water, You Know The Rest

As I write this column, I am planning to be off work for an ROTC assignment.

Reporter’s Notebook – A Tainted Finish

Monday, April 15 did not start for me as it did my friend and running teammate Cathy McClelland or Oakdaleans Vanessa Walton and Tom Burchell, or Jesse Santana of Riverbank. I did not board a motor coach in my sneakers with a race bib pinned to the front of my shirt in anticipation of running the 117th Boston Marathon.

Marg-ins - No Fooling Around

No need to check the calendar and this isn't an April Fool's Day joke – I am just trying to get my column schedule back 'on track' after having been haphazard about it the last couple of months. I know one ran just last week, so forgive me for the back-to-backs.

Marg-Ins - Two Decades And Counting

Marg-Ins - Love Lost … And Found

More than a week past deadline, I finally have taken a few deep breaths and will try to get this column written. Typically, the 'Marg-Ins' column appears the first Wednesday of the month, which means it is running a week later than normal this time. Being the editor comes with certain privileges, one of which was giving myself a break on writing this last week. It's because the subject ...

Rich In Thought – All The X’s, L’s, V’s And I’s

The Super Bowl Season is upon us as many of us gather for what is as close to an American holiday as it can get.

Still Matters – The New Girl

Hello, Escalon, Oakdale, and Riverbank. I am the new girl at the Oakdale Leader office. You may have seen my name on a few different articles, pictures, or both in various issues. Or by now, you may have even met me in person.

Community Corner – What’s Growin’ On …

Happy New Year! We all survived the Mayan calendar apocalypse and the "Fiscal Cliff" – kind of started to remind me of the Y2K phenomenon 13 years ago.

Stuff ‘N Nonsense - A Graceful Exit

I have an issue with finality. At the end of every year, as everyone is celebrating the ball drop on a New Year, I'm lamenting the fact that I'll never be in that moment again - another year lost to time, never to experience again. In that second before the big calendar change, I panic just a little knowing that it's over. I'm happy to report that the panic doesn't last but ...

RICH IN THOUGHT - Be Prepared, Do Something, Denial Kills