P Squared Books

family

It's 2025...

Recently, I went to breakfast with a work colleague. It was a social/work meal, and when we got to the work stuff, it got really depressing. Let's just say that 2025 has not been a good year for my line of work, and it only continues to

desert

Heavy Metal Is Forever

Recently, I was with my parents and we drove by Hole N" The Rock on our way out of Moab. It's hard to miss, painted white letters, feet high, bright against the orange sandstone. My mom asked what it was, and I told, I had never been

beach

Tourist Traps

Recently, I found myself wandering down the Santa Monica Pier. I had never been there before, and while I knew it was a tourist trap, I wanted to see it. It was, classic Southern California beautiful, the green palm trees striking against the white sand and deep blue ocean, the

music

But I Never Win Anything

Years ago, I read the Wheel of Time series. One of the characters in it, Mat, is lucky. Like that's his thing. He either gets really good luck or really bad luck, and he just roles with it. It's kind of an interesting thought, that luck

desert

Beauty You Don't Deserve

When I was a teenager, I was lucky enough to go to Spain on a language immersion. I went in the late winter/early spring and while I was there, Semana Santa happened. Coming from an area where churches were buildings that I passed, and every now and then was

horror

No, Thank You

It was day two of writing the first book I've ever been paid to write. And like every new project, it was slow going. I was finding a lot of ways to procrastinate. Walking around the house. Greeting the cats repeatedly. Looking at my stupid phone. So, I

family

#Cottagecore

Recently, I was hanging out with my cousin and she told me she loved cottagecore. I asked her what cottagecore was, and she told me it was doing things like canning peaches or squeezing lemons to make the air in the kitchen smell good. Looking it up, Wikipedia told me

family

Goth Girl Diner

I've always liked breakfast food, and because of this, I love diners. But they are a little risky. There is a fine line between a dive diner that is amazing, and a dive diner that will give you the shits. And if you don't have local

family

It's Crazy in Here

Recently, I was in the Deep South, and one of the things about the Deep South is that there are Publix grocery stores. And in said Publix stores, you can buy Publix subs. These were made famous in my friend group by a friend from Florida who loves Publix subs

family

Check Your Fuel

One weekend my brother came to town. We were considering things to do and saw a monster truck rally was happening at a nearby fair ground. And for the low price of $23, we could go see it. We did not hesitate to buy tickets. Neither of us had been

art

A Two Book Deal

As many of you know, I like to write. In fact, I've been writing my entire life. When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a writer and publish books. Throughout the years, I've had varying levels of success in that, but I'

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