Welcome to my blog titled “Five Things” where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. In addition, at the end of the blog, I’ll keep a running itinerary of our travel plans. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things…

Our wine fridge holds TWO cases of wine and still has room for seltzers, beer, and other miscellaneous beverages. Who knew?
Being in the same time zone as our kids is really nice. RJ is studying abroad in London at the moment, so he’s difficult to reach with any regularity, but the other three are all in the Pacific Time Zone.
This is our last week in Santa Barbara, and I’m really going to miss it, but I’m excited to head north and spend time in Portland, Oregon where our daughter is a sophomore in college. If you’re keeping track of our travels, the list below has been updated significantly, so check it out.
Last post I mentioned I’d applied to graduate school. If any of you read my alter-ego’s blog, DEAR MAGGIE, you’ll have heard that my undergraduate college can’t find my transcripts. Apparently, when they digitized all the records years ago, mine never made it, and the paper copies are long gone. It’s like I never went to school. The registrars are sorting it out, but I feel like an accidental Mike Ross, minus the eidetic memory skills. It’s odd to think there’s no official record of all my work. I’m sure there is some lesson here on letting go, but I’m not sure exactly what it is. Anyway, an update… Boston University School of Medicine (yes, I attended medical school for a year back in 1998) has my basic record on file, which includes my final grades from both Holy Cross (my undergrad) and Providence College (where I did my pre-med work), so hopefully this will be enough to satisfy the grad school admissions board. Fingers crossed!
On Wednesday, October 18th I’ll be teaching a 90 minute webinar through the ARIA Writing Academy titled “Kick Your Scene into Action.” You can follow this LINK to learn more.

Our itinerary subject to change…

September 5 - October 1: Santa Barbara, CA
October 1 - 9: San Francisco, CA
October 9 - 30: Portland, OR
October 30 - November 12: Seattle, WA
November 12 - 19: Travel to Orange, CA
January 3, 2024: Orangeland Park, CA
January 3 - 14: Oceanside, CA
January 19 - February 2: San Diego, CA
February 2 - 16: Palm Springs, CA
February 16 - March 1: Las Vegas, NV
March 1 - March 5: Meteor Crater, AZ
March 5 - 15: Albuquerque, NM
March 15 - 17: Amarillo, TX
March 17 - 24: Oklahoma City, OK
March 24 - April 5: Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX
April 5 - 12: Fredericksburg, TX
April 12 - 19: Hot Springs, AK

“Not all those who wander are lost.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

So here are this week’s five things…

I missed last week’s post because it was WEDDING WEEKEND! Our oldest son legally married his beautiful wife last year as he was active duty in the Navy and it just made sense for them, but this was the big celebration with friends and family. It was absolutely magical, and I think we are all still basking in happiness.
We’ve landed in Santa Barbara for the month of September, and I love, love, love it here. It’s got a SoCal vibe without that frenetic LA energy. When I was younger, I desperately wanted to live in LA, but now I’m finding it just a little too fast-paced. Then I read that line and think, ugh, I sound old. Whatever. I’m soaking up the sun here in the mid-coast, recovering from the epic party that was our son and daughter-in-law’s wedding celebration, and trying to write a few decent words for my latest novel. Also, my sister and brother-in-law spend the month of September nearby in Carpinteria so I get to hang out with them pretty regularly. I’m definitely in my happy place!
It’s official – I’ve applied to graduate school. There’s an MFA program at Western Colorado University focused on genre fiction, screen-writing, and publishing that I’ve been circling for years, and I’ve finally decided to go for it. I needed a program that wouldn’t derail my writing and publishing career, but rather support it, and this one is perfect. Fingers crossed!
Our sweet Milo has the beginnings of cat dementia. After a thorough vet visit and lots of reading on the internet, her night howling and confused wanderings make more sense to us. I’ve just ordered a cat diffuser, night light, and found a ‘pet spa’ soothing station on Pandora. She’s also got some good drugs for those nights when she really can’t settle. It breaks my heart to see her so upset, but she’s still the sweetest girl and we’ll do our best to keep her feeling safe and secure.
“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn that life is short and there is no time for hate.” - Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 2002

Our itinerary, subject to change…

September 5 - October 1: Santa Barbara, CA
October 1 - 9: San Francisco, CA
October 9 - 30: Portland, OR
October 30 - November 12: Seattle, WA
November 12 - 19: Travel to Orange, CA
January 3, 2024: Orangeland Park, CA
January 3 - 14: Oceanside, CA
January 19 - February 2: Las Vegas, NV
February 2 - 9: Flagstaff, AZ
February 9 - 23: Phoenix, AZ
February 23 - March 8: Tuscon, AZ

“Not all those who wander are lost.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

Five Things - September 25, 2023

Five Things - September 11, 2023