Meg Matenaer

I love back-to-school season, but it didn’t go as smoothly as planned. Ironically, our return to routines caused a lot of chaos in late August and September as we scrambled to acquire supplies, uniforms, and an array of sports messaging apps for our kids’ teams. Layered onto that was so many appointments, school volunteer commitments,…

Happy August! I hope your summer has been bright, relaxing, and fun too. Between getting big kids to work and practice, ours has been a little hectic. BUT, I’m happy to report that my rough draft is done. It’s ruffff, but it’s done. Now the work of filling in plot holes and better developing side…

Happy July! If your summer has been anything like mine, I bet it’s been a happily chaotic time full of friends, family, and sunburns. And hopefully a little reading. Stumbled Through June I can’t say I aced June. Writing deadlines, house tasks, and sunscreen application were some of the casualties in the wake of the…

She Graduated My oldest graduated from high school this past weekend. I didn’t finish my rough draft this month because I was effectively a wreck. I concede defeat for the month. Twenty Scenes Left to Go However, I’m still in the home stretch for finishing my rough draft. If I dust myself off and recommit…

Hi! It’s been on my mind to send out a monthly newsletter with my writing (mis)adventures, the serious food research in downtown restaurants that I’ve been doing for my next book, as well my monthly column, Still Practicing, in our diocesan paper. So if you’re looking to feel better about not reaching your goals as…

Have you ever played High, Low, Buffalo? The game is played by going around in a circle and sharing a high point, low point, and surprising moment in your day. It’s a favorite around here at dinnertime. Highs I’ll start. Spring’s highest high for me was probably–finally–after a long, tortuous journey–deciding on some of the…

Hi there! If you’re a parent, I hope back-to-school time has been going well. My crew will all be back at their desks on Tuesday, so we’re soaking up the last few days of summer…mostly by scrambling to order the school supplies I should’ve gotten by now! On the story front, I have the bones…

Man, there is just something about getting out of the daily grind, even if it’s just for a day, that can really help put a new perspective on things. For me, that reset came in the form of my husband’s work trip to Lake Geneva. I was delighted that I could tag along. I hadn’t…

Last weekend’s dessert was a disaster. We had had family over for lunch, which meant almost a dozen kiddos expecting dessert, as they should. After all, what cookout doesn’t have something sweet at the end? Hardly one worth attending. The day before, I’d been pressed for time, so I’d purchased an 80-count box of freezy…

Can we talk about cookie dough for a minute? Is there anything more delightful, more unnecessary, than cookie dough as a dessert enhancer? As if that hot fudge sundae wasn’t enough on its own and needed three huge hunks of cookie dough glommed to its side. But you know what? That cookie dough sundae from…