Six Things My Father Taught Me

Six Years . . . And I Still Miss My Dad.


March 31 will always be a day that is consumed by thoughts of my dad. He died six years ago.

Today was a wonderful day of family fun for Easter. We gathered with our Guam and Navy families and the children bonded and the adults reminisced.

Every celebration is tinged with sadness, today especially since it’s my father’s 6th Death Anniversary.

I wanted to match the six years without him with six lessons I cherish from him….

1. Family First. This was sometimes a monkey on my back, especially when I was a teenager and only wanted to be with my friends. But, as a wife and parent, I know that family should be first.

2. If Family Fails, Let It Go. My dad was very rigid if he was wronged, especially by family. He’s given me permission to avoid toxic relatives. I’ve given myself that permission too.

3. Fight For Your Right, If You’re Right. My father instilled a little fighter in me…unknowingly perhaps, when I witnessed him stand up for himself. He wasn’t a saint, and from his rumbling days in the 60s, some relatives can attest that my dad was a bruiser—he switched from using his fists to using his words.

4. Laugh, A lot. My dad was known as a joker, and in many ways I am too. My jokes are sometimes from my favorite source, the gutter, but my sarcasm is also in my arsenal.

5. Loyalty. My dad was loyal to his wife, his children, and the sanctity of his home. I am too, fiercely so.

6. Celebrate. When I asked my father if I could have a Power Puff Girl themed party for my 29th birthday, he didn’t hesitate to rent the bouncy house the same day. So, I celebrate hard too. You never know if it will be your last big hurrah.

Love you, daddy. Miss you, daddy. Hope you’re celebrating hard and laughing up above.

Grace Potter's song, STARS is the perfect song for me when I think of my dad. I ♥ the beginning lyrcis...

I lit a fire with the love you left behind,
And it burned wild and crept up the mountainside.
I followed your ashes into outer space
I can't look out the window,
I can't look at this place,

I can't look at the stars,
They make me wonder where you are

Congratulations CHE'LU! Biba Chamorro Culture!

Just mourning the fact that I could not attend this past weekend's 4th Annual Chamorro Cultural Fest in San Diego, hosted by the non-profit organization, CHE'LU. I hope to attend next year with old and new books in hand under my banner, Guam Books and Beads. Moving to Washington State had a lot to do with it.

I've been scouring Facebook for photos of the event to enjoy and thank you to CHE'LU Board Member, David Atalig (Betelnut Radio) for posting this video recap. Made me feel like I was there, minus the warmth and smells of Chamorro food.

Bestie Out!

"A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often - just to save it from drying out completely."--Pam Brown

Rainmaid By Tanya

My bestie is moving to Ohio, which is clear across the nation. I will miss her and her family. So, she spent this weekend with us and we did our traditional family things... bonding, chatting, eating and art! Well, art was new. We had our kids paint first then, with some fruity alcoholic drinks for ourselves, she and I painted at sunset. She didn't want her art public (She said yes, I can display her floral art)... it's gorgeous, but here are the kids and my creations...a great memory for the last weekend we'll have together for a long time.


Easter Flower Doodle By Kim


Volcano Machine By Gus


The Rainbow of Colors By Elijah


The Mix-Up by Samantha

Bon Voyage to my bestie and her family!

I ♥ Young Chamorro Talent. Who are these Amazing girls!?

"I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music."--Billy Joel

The lovely voices of these Chamorritas have grabbed me via Facebook and a friend from Guam who shared (Thanks, Bea!). These talented girls go by taotaotanu on Youtube and it looks like they are from Tinian. I listened to their first song for their dad and connected instantly, having lost my father almost six years ago. I love their harmonies, lyrics and the fact that they sing in Chamorro in the end.


I wish these lovely ladies the best of luck. "Jo and Jana" (I had to fish the comments for their names). I would totally buy their album!

Biba Chamorro talent!



Esta Later!

Music, Mraz, Muse for Moving My Writing

Many writers will tell you that music fuels the writing process. That is no different for me. As I put the finishing touches on my romantic comedy novel, Secret Shopper, I find that setting the musical mood is very important, even if I’m merely editing.

When I did my first draft, I was so engrossed with Jason Mraz. Two of his beautiful ballads drove the love story I was creating. Beautiful Mess and If It Kills Me. His gorgeous lyrics seemed custom fitted for my main characters, Phoenix and Thomas. That was 2010.

BEAUTIFUL MESS-Jason Mraz


IF IT KILLS ME-Jason Mraz-Lyric Video

Three years later, as these characters evolved and the redrafting of their story occurs, I find myself editing to many songs, but I am once again pulled to lovely Jason Mraz. His new song with Christina Perri, Distance perfectly describes my character, Phoenix. She puts up walls, creates distance even if LOVE is staring her right in the face. Why do we do this?

DISTANCE-Christina Perri & Jason Mraz

Also love ARMS by Perri.



*So, thank you Mr. Mraz for being a constant in my book’s evolution.

100 and 2,000 Make Me Smile

My Guam Goddess in Training Blog Facebook page reached 100 LIKES today and Guam Books and Beads reached 2,000. Nice milestones for this Chamorrita.






As a thank you to my 100 (101) supporters, I'm giving you a tidbit from Chapter 1 of my upcoming romantic comedy novel, *Secret Shopper* (out March 2013). The main character is Phoenix Lizama Farmer.

"I never wanted to move to California from Guam. I didn’t like shifts in my universe. I didn’t want to change my Facebook status from married to single. I had convinced myself that I could take Bradley back even after he cheated on me. Jem, short for Jemima, was an agent in his real estate office who doubled as his part-time lover. Nix, short for Phoenix, was the gullible wife who thought that dropping thirty pounds was the way to save the marriage. Phoenix is my name."

Celebrating Valentine's....

Hoping your Valentine's is wonderful. Celebrating with my family in our own little way that doesn't require roses or chocolates, just some quality time, food made with love and special thoughts for those we miss.

*Garlic, egg fried rice, Sriracha heart and bacon.

Ed Sheeran's song, Give Me Love.

Esta Later!