• Beach alcove with rusty 'Destination Reached' wooden weathered sign.

    A Reminder for Anyone Who Feels Behind Right Now

    December 23, 2025

    One with a few words but giant vibes as we wrap up 2025. Here’s a snackable truth: the calendar may be running out, but you’re not. You’re still moving—sometimes with momentum, other times like you’re dragging a mountain in some dusty, worn-out flip-flops. Didn’t cross off all your finish lines? Shake it off, Luv. You’re exactly where you’re meant to be. Read this if you feel behind (though you’re not). You don’t need to rush this season I’m calling this an active change, and you’re allowed to keep going at this pace. You don’t need to justify your pace. It’s time for you to enjoy this, and all the seasons—tied…

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  • Magnified Alphabet Soup

    Need a Quick De-Stress From The Thanksgiving Crazy?

    November 20, 2025

    Pause the pre-Thanksgiving Day madness for a few minutes. Grab a pen and play: Jump right to the SincerelyIreneB Thanksgiving word search, if you need to! I get it! Squat, Diddly, Me For some years now, Thanksgiving has been a little (read: a lot) more nontraditional in my world. I went from doing the whole feast, to a few side dishes, to doing squat — as in diddly-squat, or squat-diddly, you choose. I don’t cook a single thing. Not a turkey leg, not a pie (because I don’t bake, but luckily my girls do), not even a wee pot of vegetables passes my hands. For me, Thanksgiving felt far too…

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  • Morning Kitchen Glow over window with lots of plants on window sil.

    When It’s Not Your Turn

    November 13, 2025

    (A short story by Irene B.) “Yes, yes, yes… okay, girl! I’m going to lock up as soon as you get off my line, crazy!” she said, half-laughing into the phone.Then she paused.“Mmm-hmm. Bedroom’s already locked.” Another pause, then a soft giggle. “You and your single-girl fortress routine.”Silence lingered on the other end, until more laughter broke through.“And you know I appreciate you, so thank you.”Her voice dropped just slightly, as if still listening.The call ended, and the room went still. Tisha liked to measure her mornings by sound. The hum of the refrigerator intermittently followed the grinding of the ice machine. And now, with it being summer, the rush…

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  • Woman sleeping in shirt with alarm clock

    Dear Wine: After The Happy Hour

    October 23, 2025

    (A short journal story by Irene B.)  📖 Accessible version: Read the full journal entry (PDF document) Practicing out loud Sharing some of my writing, these fiction bits as part of my creative reps, flaws and all. Keep going with your “thing,” too. Small consistent steps, even imperfect ones, make big moves forward.

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  • Shadowy sax artist in venue

    The Time I Lied About Loving Jazz

    August 21, 2025

    (A short story by Irene B.) The Trio House Presents: THE JAZZ SETFriday, April 25 – 7 PMFeaturing Lonnie BassettePerformances by Joel Hicks, Joy Bailey, and The PriseTicket: $125 – Limited VIP Seating AvailableMystery Guest: The One… The Only… Corinne had stared at the flyer, laptop, phone and now back to laptop, for the past three hours. She was half-dressed, hair and makeup done, in her bra and camisole, trying to figure out what to wear.  The flyer hadn’t miraculously changed and still advertised The Jazz Set at The Trio House, on Friday, April 25th: Lonnie Bassette, Joel Hicks, Amber Bailey, The Prise. The Prise, spelled with an S not Z. Special…

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  • Notepad with What's on your bucket list, but bucket list is crossed out and Thimble List! is added. Yellow question mark to the right of the pen.

    Is Your Bucket List Staring You Down? Try This Fun, Easy, and Realistic One Now

    August 14, 2025

    The Thimble List! Your Shortcut to Life’s Magical Moments. I recently scrolled past a Pinterest blog post, one of those surprisingly good ones, and it stuck with me. A woman in her mid-40s admitted she’d only completed maybe 10–15% of her bucket list. She didn’t share the whole thing, but most of it was travel-related. One entry really got me: Meet up with old Uni friends I haven’t seen in three decades. Well, mine hadn’t been that long, but still, it had been too long. And I meant to save the post, of course. Didn’t. Can’t find it now. Bloody annoying. But the funny thing is, by complete coincidence, I’d…

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  • How To Easily Get 100 Grams of Protein a Day

    August 12, 2025

    Without Those Chalky-Tasting Bars You Pretended to Like And all you really want to nosh on are more carbs. And by ‘you’, I definitely mean me. I’m just a grown, “Big Age” woman trying to do all the ‘things’ in my second chapter. I keep active regularly, but I’m not training for the 2032 Olympics, and yet somehow, I need a billion grams of protein a day to do this without my entire body breaking down like a rust-bucket banger. OK, maybe it’s 100 grams. What’s a few extra zeros between friends? An initial Google led me to the discovery of protein-rich ice cream, and me wondering how? Does the…

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  • Corkboard with blog post reminders pinned to it

    How to Make Sure Your Blog Post Is Really Ready to Publish

    August 5, 2025

    The Checklist, and Those Final Touches, When You’re Missing A Glamorous Content Team. You wrote the post. Chiseled your content. Verified your verbiage. And drizzled in your dazzle. Amazing. Now what? Well, before you hit publish and realize the scroll-stopping title you swore was it — “Bestest B’Day Swag Ever” — scores a shady 43 out of 100 (so low, not even your Grandma will see it, and she’s been waiting), run through this checklist to make sure it’s polished, connected, and ready to do what you need it to do. Aka, reach and work for your readers. We humans, while creative, colorful and clever, can be a little… umm, clunky at…

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