P Squared Books

friends

Jesus Take The Wheel

Recently my husband and I visited some friends. Said friends have a three-year-old who likes hockey. The three-year-old is also learning to ice skate. At least we were told the three-year-old was learning to skate, and we were invited to go skating together. Not thinking through anything, I agreed to

family

Cosmetology School

One day, I was driving through town, and my husband was in the passenger seat. We drove past the cosmetology school. "You think we should quit our jobs and go to cosmetology school?" my husband asked. It is common for my husband to ask if I think we

desert

PINERS

One summer, my friends and I were camping, and we decided to go swim at a little desert pond. To get there, you had to drive a criss cross of dirt roads across the high desert. You knew you were close to it when a group of towering cottonwoods and

cats

The YOLO Approach

Some of you probably remember, back in another life, I had a baking blog. I was going through a difficult time and decided that I would deal with it by learning to bake. The plan was that I would bake a thing a week, and then give it away (in

horror

I'm No Mathematician but...

In my early thirties, I developed these cool things called allergies. I had no idea what they were for about six months. I actually thought I was dying. I had brain fog, migraines; I just always felt ill. Then I realized my symptoms were related to air quality (thanks random

friends

Stress Managment

One icy winter's night, I was at work. It was probably close to nine pm, and I parked at the office, got out of my car and took a step toward the office. A moment later, my feet were above my head and I was on my back,

friends

Busted

I grew up in a state that has a lot of skiing. And, back in the day, the more famous ski resorts actually gave out free season passes to kids. I loved skiing, and pretty much only wanted to ski moguls, the double diamonds, jump off stuff, or be in

desert

This Is Art...

Years ago, I was living fairly far away from my brother, and he made the trek to come see me. We spent the weekend doing a variety of things, and one of those things was going to a pretty-famous, nearby town to which he had never been. It was early

food

Dirtbags Never Die

My husband, back in the day, used to be a dirtbag. He lived in his truck and went climbing, and did that game. And while now he has an adult job with actual health insurance and he does things like re-screens our windows with pet-proof material, parts of his dirtbag

cats

The Future is Feline...

Apparently there's a threat going around. That women aren't having kids but instead are just living with cats and reading books. The joke is this is a strange threat as literally my favorite thing in the world is to be at home with my cats reading

summer

Opium for Watermelons

In college, I knew this girl who was a super cool, punk rocker, hippie. And while I've lost touch with her, I know she's now either a high-powered lawyer, or she's living in an Earthship in the desert. There were only ever two paths

food

Food...

Today I'm writing about food that changed my life. I'm talking about when you eat something that causes your brain to hard stop and wonder, how did I never know this was a thing? How often do we, as adults, get to taste something that is

desert

Sensory Deprivation

I was asked to participate in a team relay run. The run was something like one hundred and twenty miles total, through the desert, in March. I was put on a team with some people I knew, some I didn't, and I was given an eight mile leg

cats

Maybe?

I have two felines who are vocal about the the car. This has been a thing since I got them as kittens. You put them in the car and the calico begins to scream, so the grey cat, participates, and then the grey cat gets bored and stops, so the

art

Did It Work?

According to the internet, the original HALO computer game was released in 2001. According to my distant high school memories, this checks out. I know it came out when I was living at my parents house because my brother pre-ordered it and was counting the moments until it was delivered.

relationships

Let the Spice Flow

Recently, my husband had to get a gift for someone he knew. This person was a guy who took pride in his appearance. My husband, a self described present hater, did his normal deal when faced with the life event of having to give a gift. He panicked for a

art

Never Meet Your Teenaged Self

Recently I fell ill, like, I was so sick I didn't go to work, which means I was real sick. In my dazed state I browsed Prime and saw they were streaming A Knight's Tale which I hadn't seen since, well, probably since it

books

Ode to Libby

I've always been competitive. As a kid I played sports and that was a good outlet. But it became clear pretty quickly, at least to me, that I was too intrinsically motivated to have the competitive edge that would really set me apart from the other athletes. I

food

When You Turn Into Your Mother

I have a distinct memory from childhood. We were in the car, the entire family, in a notoriously windy canyon. I was too young to drive and was in the backseat. We came up to a yellow road sign. You know the kind, the yellow diamond. On it was an

horror

I Don't Really Want to Be Here

Recently I found myself at an airport and in need of a ride to my hotel. The last time I’d been traveling, I’d looked into the taxi vs. ride share prices and found, in the area in which I was, taxis were cheaper. So this time, upon having

beach

The Magic Of Swimming

One of the books I really liked in 2024 was Whalefall by Daniel Kraus. A friend of mine read it because I recommended it. While reading it, she texted me. WTH is with this book? And, thinking this meant she loved it, I messaged, Isn’t it great? Her response

cats

Why are you like this?

As mentioned, my two felines are what they were made to be, furry masses of chaos which do not give two shits about what you would prefer they were doing. One night, my husband went to bed, and the calico cat ran upstairs. Moments later, I heard the telltale sound

beach

A Burger Bucket Christmas

One year my husband was in an extended training in the south. It happened to extend through the month of December, and I figured we should make the most of it. I flew out there, and we went to St. Augustine, Florida for Christmas. For those of you who don’

Public Land

One day, my husband decided we should go check out some of the cliffs by our house to see if there were chukar in them. A chukar is a bird that sorta, kinda looks like a quail, without a top knot, but is a bit bigger. It's a

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