History of Mail Carriers This post may be a stumper for you. Why in the world would I be sharing the history of mail carriers for my Christmas novella release week? Good question. Main character Amelia Hutchinson is a disgruntled mail carrier in A Canine Christmas. Not disgruntled about the job but that it’s not quite as adventurous as she’d …

Chrismon Trees I think it’s appropriate that most of the helpful information I found on Chrismon Trees was on the online Southern Living Magazine. It wasn’t until our first Christmas in Tennessee I’d ever heard of Chrismons. Apparently, it’s not a well-known word, because every time I type it into this article, auto-correct tries to change it to Christmas. Maybe …

Holiday Supper Southern-Style I am by no means a Foodie. In fact, if I didn’t need to eat to survive, I probably wouldn’t bother. Except when it comes to the holidays! We moved from Northern California to Tennessee almost seven years ago. A lot of people have asked if I suffered from culture shock—which I haven’t—except when it comes to …

Guest Post by Amelia Hutchinson of A Canine Christmas Authors are strange sort of people, don’t you think? I mean, they get it into their heads their fictional characters are real—my creator, Jennifer Sienes, even asked me if I’d tell y’all a little bit about myself, as if I truly exist. We’re going to give her a little grace and …

This is Day One of A Canine Christmas release. I’d like to start with a devotional since the heart of every one of my books is to draw people closer to the Lord. For a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and the ebook version of A Canine Christmas, share in the comments below how you combat today’s …

Here we are—the last day of A Canine Christmas Countdown. Tomorrow it officially releases, and for a limited time, you can still get the ebook version for only $2.99. If you’ve been following along all week, you know this has been a total dog-fest. In case you’re not sold on dog ownership (that’s where the dog owns you, not the …

We’re closing in on the end of A Canine Christmas Countdown. I intended to write a post about the importance of training our dogs, but that’s a no-brainer. No one wants a dog that behaves badly, and the only way to change that is through consistent training, positive reinforcement, and a close bond with its owner. A couple of years …

Have you ever made a spontaneous decision that you later regretted? It’s one thing if we buy a pair of jeans that don’t quite look as good at home as they did in the store. Or if we purchase a piece of exercise equipment that sits in the garage month after month collecting dust. When those spontaneous decisions affect a …

I thought I’d do something a little unique for Day Four! Instructions on making homemade dog food. If you scroll ahead to the video, you will miss some important instructions I received after I put it together. Some might think it’s a little neurotic to make my dog’s food, but it’s well worth the effort. First off, it’s better than any kibble …

Yesterday, I shared how my husband and I don’t fit into the Southern mold when it comes to our eating habits. The same could be said of our exercise habits. Our first date (almost twenty years ago) was a five-mile run. Two months later, Chris talked me into climbing Half Dome at Yosemite National Park—a steep, 18-mile round-trip hike. If …