Alexis Hartz, Author

I'm really struggling with my writing, like I never have before.        I'm terrified of talking about my faith ----  and yet it's everything to me.          How do you get people to understand how big  and how un-be-lieve-able-ly  it changes everything in life?       How do you get people to understand how,  if they just pay a little  attention they will quickly see that every moment in each of our lives is uniquely designed in a most wonder-filled way?         How do you write about that without sounding trite?          I know it's possible.  I'm just facing a wall of fear right now.         Mostly about what people will think about  my faith.           My God is real, and he is present in every moment.         I have no doubt.   ...

I shaved my cat yesterday.        Cat grooming is as common as dog grooming in Arizona where she and I have lived for most of our life together. It's been an annual ritual between us for about 8 years now.        Both of us appreciate the perks of her spring shave.  She absolutely, clearly, communicates how proud she is of her new naked self, and I don't have to deal with gooey hairballs and other assorted remnants of the shedding process.       This year, with our move to Colorado for the summer,  I put it off, thinking that she might need that a winter coat for some chilly -- or even snowy, April nights.       We've had a few cool nights since we arrived, but not cold enough for Cat to hold on to her fur.  oh my!  Every day, and every night, she's pulling at her belly hair, you know, the really soft stuff, that comes out in tuffs?  Yes, that's it, all gooed up with cat saliva and tos...

I can see how people become alcoholics. This is my 6th day in my new location. New home. New job. New environment. Barely a town to around worth exploring. No friends.  No tv. No shopping. No new fiction to read. No lover. Just a cat. Yep.  I can see how someone could turn to drinking.  However, that’s not an option for me. My body just doesn’t tolerate alcohol. Never has. So, I have to find some other way to bridge this gap.  The gap?  You know, that time between endings and new beginnings. We all have them. The end of a relationship. The end of a job. The end of life for a loved one. So many times I haven’t noticed the gap because it’s been so full of drama, or cleaning up from the end, or the distractions created from the freedoms of the end that I’m into the new beginning before I’ve had a chance to even recognize what existed past the end. But this time I put myself in the gap on purpose.  Away from anything familiar so I could feel the ends and choose...

F or the past several weeks I have been receiving emails from Verizon regarding the addition of the iPhone to their product line. As soon as I replied with an affirmative interest, they re-replied with instructions on how to prepare for my new gadget --- download this, backup that, open a new account with Apple – and of course, be sure to have my credit card ready.  Jeez, you’d think that I was considering taking on an entire new identity. My computer is nearly 7 years old, a dinosaur by today’s standards. My phone is over 3 years old, and I still am only in the preliminary stages of learning and using the new texting language threatening the literacy of our future generations.   So, knowing that it’s essential to keep up with this new technology in order to function in today’s business world, I have been considering my upgrading options. I saw a bright, shinny new Apple store in the Scottsdale Mall at Christmas time.   I knew that that would be a good place to res...

Upon arrival in Phoenix -- Ice  still on the Coach roof! I'm back!  Just re-read my last post. Yikes!!  Some days just don't go well, and that was one of them.  Sorry to leave you hanging in such a awkward part of the story. But now, "for the rest of the story" . . . . . First of all, on that day, I woke up to the reality of my coach life -- that there are some things that are just not comfortable about it. Sleeping in it in temperatures that are lower than I prepared for or expected is one of them.  Another is preparing to spend the winter in it in a cold climate -- definitely not comfortable to even consider . . . but consider it I did!  And then there was the whole, "Ok, I got the RV, and I was actually able to drive it somewhere, and load a car on a car caddy, and pull that behind it." ------ Now what??? With Thanksgiving fast approaching, and relatives to visit up and down the front range of Colorado, and visitors coming...

Are you still there?  Sorry for skipping out on you.  Sometimes I just don't know where to begin. First of all, status of the coach.  Well, winter is upon us so it's time to move to the south or to storage for awhile.  My vote is storage.  Yes, it is possible to live through the winter in a coach, but it's not the kind of adventure that I was looking for. So, I've been researching options for the next several months of the year. Next, status of "career change".  I haven't been talking much about how I will support myself in this life, but it has been heavy on my mind.  Opportunities arise daily, and I am evaluating how they fit into the second half of my life. Reviewing the options, and picking up odd jobs when they arise has also cut into this blogging time of mine. Finally, I've been letting go of my obsession to build a relationship with a man that never had any intention or desire to do so with me.  I'm struggling with the emot...

I just glanced at my profile picture and find it hard to believe that Phoenix is really as warm as it is ---- all the time! We had our first snow showers last night, and the lightest of snowflakes fell out of a sunny sky this morning.  I have been toying with winterizing the coach since Sunday, and still am considering options for keeping the water pipes from freezing and deciding between heating options for the winter.  I had a long conversation with my friend in the Park office, and afterwards concluded that I'll be heading south or in permanent quarters for the winter months. It was never part of the plan to live through a cold winter in this cozy place, and considering it has put me face to face with how far my adventurous spirit will take me.  Even I have limits. There are already options on the drawing board.  What others should I consider? -- Any suggestions?