Blog

People pleasing if it were a countertop appliance Along with this past season being the summer of sanding, priming and painting anything that stood still, it’s been part of sifting and sorting through what’s important in my life. It’s a season of change. My son graduated with his associate’s degree and promptly joined the U.S. […]

When we leave this world for the next, what do we take with us? Be sure to travel, light I am a self-taught canner. One year I grew a bumper crop of tomatoes, and 20-ish years later, here we are. My grandmother, Betty, used to can everything from her garden – plums, berry jam, apple […]

The only thing stronger than hate is L❤️VE...Is that really true? I am a Seahawks fan! Yep! GO HAWKS! And, yep. ALL CAPS!!! As my dear departed dad used to say, "There are two times of the year, Jacks, Football, and Waitin-for-Football." Good Lord, that man was right. He had no sons, so I became […]

When you move toward what is right for you, it raises your vibe. Just say it, out loud. Write it down. The other day, I kept finding Chinese fortunes all over my house. You know, the kind you get when you crack open a fortune cookie? You get the cookies on top of your bill […]

... Because something funny ALWAYS happens, and it helps. A LOT of people say, “laughter is the best medicine.” And OMG, they are right. Kids know this – body sounds, body odors, funny faces, physical goofs, like falling down, whether on our keister or just tripping over something. Kids know how to laugh at all […]

Fairies are real. I know that I’m a total crackpot, but I also know this to be true. Let me explain. It starts with Christmas. Actually, it goes way-back, before the Christmas season but that’s quibbling over dates on the calendar. I was an eager college student and working my way toward my undergraduate degree […]

Now, who are the Bad Guys, again? The "Why" of the Late Prohibition Era in Puget Sound, WA Oh, bad guys. Villains. They make a story so interesting, especially when those doing the dirty deeds are supposed to be the good guys. My story, Welcome to Cottage Bay, begins along the shores of a mythical […]

My mother passed away a few years ago. I’ve marked a few Mothers’ Days without her. Or not, really.  I was without her for so many years, before she died. But I get ahead of myself. Let me rewind. As we draw closer to Mother’s Day, everyone likes to deify mamas. Hell, I’m a mama, […]

Like many other students, my son finished high school and attended college through the COVID pandemic. Earlier this year, he neared graduation from our local community college and was about to earn top honors for his achievements. He was poised to matriculate to a four-year university this past fall – and was planning to earn […]

I’ve told a LOT of stories that start with loss. That’s the point. Loss is both an ending and a beginning. That concept is so important to remember, let’s say it again:  Loss is both an ending and a beginning. As you adjust to grieving about the loss – typically one of life’s Big Three […]

Dementia Home Care: How to Prepare Before, During, and After Caregiving a loved one who's dying...with No Regrets I was an early entrant into the Sandwich Generation. When my dad was wheeled off an airplane to me, he was very ill. At that moment, I was unceremoniously dropped smack-dab between caring for my sick and […]

So, in a former life, I spent a month in Central America spanning the Y2K New Year. Honduras, to be exact. When I first arrived, I traveled from the airport in a Chevy passenger van driven by a crazy Honduran driver who passed other crazy drivers on blind curves at over 60 miles per hour. […]

The positive energy of questions help us evolve into our authentic selves. As a recovering pleaser, I’ve spent a LOT of time figuring out what really matters to me. And, also what doesn’t. There was a time I twisted myself into an emotional pretzel just to get approval, love, some imaginary measure of success. Yeah, […]

The origin of Zero Fuck Fridays I am a recovering pleaser. I swear, to actual G-O-D, I should wear a “HELLO, my name is…” sticker that says “Jacquie Goodwill, Recovering Pleaser” on it. Oh, the road to here was a long and messy one. I mark ‘then’ and ‘now’ and how far I’ve come in […]

*omg This is a recipe that was inspired by eating a Dutch apple pie that I didn’t like so much and immediately thereafter eating an apple crisp that I enjoyed very, very much. Oh YUM. So, I challenged myself. Try topping that! And, I did, with the apple crisp topping subbed for the one called […]

aka, The Importance of Giving Zero F@cks* *absolutely NONE Hello, my name is [INSERT NAME HERE, typically mine] and I am a recovering pleaseaholic. Oh yeah. The reasons why come from a long history of being taught love gets doled out based on what one does, rather than just being – and while I’ve worked […]

It’s that easy. It’s my choice. I choose to LOVE myself and feel GOOD. One morning, my guides came to visit as I slept. They reminded me to trust. I had been carrying a burden not meant for me. Caring for everyone else. Careworn and worried about the past, present, and future. My own spirit […]

Not your typical ghost story... Cue the ethereal moaning and roiling fog. Yeah. No. You can have your headless horseman and gnarled-handed specter. Tis the season, yet this ghost story is the stuff of legend. No disembodied voices from my disarming visitor. It starts at an old hotel in the days leading up to Halloween. […]

A Goodwill Story about one’s just desserts So, when I was in college, I learned early on that a hallowed sorority sister tradition is to attend Fraternity dances. One of my friends from my pledge class was dating a Sigma Alpha Super God and I was kinda dating another, so those guys all got together […]

A good book is one that we enjoy. Every rare, magical, once-in-a-while, a story grabs us with its talons, and flies us away to distant places, discovering endless possibilities. We emerge with a specific insight that shifts our way of thinking about ourselves and our daily lives. Wow! That is supremely true with EJ Frost’s […]

This is a group of women who have seen some shit and done some shit and have worked their shit out (for the most part). Our pledge is "I promise to each and every sister that I will base our friendship on love, joy, and shenanigans. Alcohol may or may not be involved." Coffee and/or […]

A memory and lesson from one of my southern girlfriends. So, as a much younger ‘me’ I lived in the south. Of the YOU-nited States of ‘Merica. Hahaha. Good Law-hoard, I learned a lot from my neighbors and true bluest girlfriends. From my dear sister-from-another-mister, my next door neighbor, Teresa, I learned the truth that […]

Swept into the Rules of Darkness and the Rules of Fire Okay, let’s get one thing straight, right now!  Author Tia Fanning is a magnificent storyteller! Her break-out two-part series includes strict rules for each character’s survival – and evolution. These were such captivating and engaging reads, from the first moment when we are introduced […]

Along with all the others, there’s also a birthday season! It’s probably due to the people we are drawn toward. For me, birthday season is typically in late June and early July, as well as from late August through all of September. Feels like every day I’m checking my calendar to remind myself who to […]

Mermaids, angels, and music -- the magic of life Through the Woods and My Ship has Sails Author Margie Mack is a gifted mentor, family leader, and social media influencer who has inspired and guided people throughout her life. Her two autobiographies detail an idyllic childhood in McHenry, Illinois and also her formidable but important […]

A Racing Fable There once was a race car driver who tore up the track and won every race he entered. He left dust in his trail, along with every other car that challenged him. He was quite the champion. He was all fire and strength and speed with a touch of magic behind the […]

A fable for grown-ups and kids, alike. Once upon a time there lived a magnificent magical king. He came from a long line of them and no one could quite remember when this royal line had acquired their magic. But it was there, nonetheless, after several generations. This magnificent, magical king ruled his happy kingdom […]

Those of you who know me, know how much I take note of my dreams. They are a specific source of encouragement and inspiration. I love dreaming, whether while I sleep at night or during my sacred nap time. I let my mind and my imagination take flight in ways that the laws of physics […]

The importance of creating connection and common ground to inspire, encourage, and comfort others I’ve been writing stories just about my whole life. When I can’t sleep, I’ll work out dialogue or a chapter in my head and it busies that part of my brain enough so I can drift off. Every once in a […]

A fable...about our inner critic. I once knew a girl, not thin and not tall. How she’ll be remembered—not that way, at all. Janet McJudgerson, with her lemony face. All pinched up and pious and with nary a trace of love or compassion but I’ll never tell since all of my life I knew her […]

A truism about the foundation for a lasting partnership in love and life. When I was a much younger “me,” I was blessed by a wise woman; a mentor and friend, named “Becky.”* We met on a summer evening at one of our community concerts and I think we just recognized a kindred spirit in […]

Recovering after the sudden death of your soulmate. In my travels and my career, I’ve been blessed to be alongside a strange fraternity of souls.  Membership is by initiation, only, and that is by losing a beloved, in a shocking, sudden, and catastrophic event.  The wisest among them, a parent who lost a child in […]

Confidence -- Courage -- Compassion. One woman's journey:  A cancer diagnosis during the COVID pandemic Rhiannon* is a beaut’ from New Jersey; she’s another friend I was blessed to meet via social media during the COVID pandemic.  It’s true that birds of a feather flock together, even virtually.  One of our twin interests brought us […]

Several years ago, author and pastor, Gary Chapman, released his book and teaching series, The Five Love Languages.  It was all the rage. I took the quiz, read the book, and tried like crazy to fit myself into one or another category. The closest I came was to finally throw my hands up and decide […]

The more I thought of Rose Nicovich and her hundreds of whisky barrels, the more I wondered what life in Puget Sound was like during the waning days of Prohibition just as the Great Depression got underway. I’d never written a historical fiction and romance before, so I figured I better figure it out.  Historical […]

Speaking from personal experience, caring for someone you love who is living with a devastating injury or illness is both personally fulfilling and exhausting. At no other time in your life is it more important to figure out what honors yourself and your important role as a caregiver. For me, my caregiver role at the […]

Once upon a time, a man woke to find himself in a dark and squalid place. It was a dreadful prison. How he got there and what happened before, the man did not know. When sorrowful wailing from the other prisoners quelled, sometimes he dreamt of blue skies and fair, salty sea breezes on his […]

While I was growing up, my father was completely at a loss of how to handle my more-than-a-little crazy mother.  So, when I was five years old, he dropped us at mom’s childhood home along the shore of Dyes Inlet in Puget Sound.  Then he became a super commuter. To-and-from Chicago, Illinois.  In the 1970’s. […]

Samuel's Excursions... ...were what the words said in the sign reading "Pilut 4 hyr." "I'll show you adventure, I'll show you the world. You see, I'm a top-rated flyer. First, we'll see jungles, the Congo and more, We'll have tea with Gorillas I know. Then, next the savannah, a safari and tour. On the necks […]

Chelsea... I was once blessed to be loved completely and totally by a brown-eyed, bear-faced, honey-headed dog named Chelsea. She was a husky mix of dubious parentage and our unlikely love story began before I actually became her dog mom. When she died, I was so broken-hearted that I wrote a tribute to her that […]

The Hunt... A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead. He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them. After a while, they […]

The gravel made a companionable, earthy crunch as Rose walked from Cottage Bay’s library in the early spring twilight. Just before a secluded forest area along her homeward route, she passed the row of small rental cottages. For the past two weeks, there stood the big man from Chicago. What was his name?  Tommy, Toby, […]

The Second Black Tuesday of the Year “Set it down wherever Rose says it should go,” Sanja Nicovich called down the stairs. Sanja deemed the red velvet sofa too out of place for their front room.  Her husband, Sebastijan, usually called “Seb”, and her brother-in-law, Tomo, were pressed into service to stow it in the […]