Three star review, originally posted here on February 2, 2024. I was so conflicted on this book. There is so much promise here. The story is so imaginative. At times the storytelling is very engaging (for example, when Dracula’s ship arrived in England and the captain has slashed himself to the wheel with a crucifix.) … More Goodreads Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker
Every year* I attempt (with varying degrees of success and effort) to watch as many of that year’s Oscar nominees as possible. For the past few years* I’ve posted reviews of these movies here on this blog. At some point before the awards ceremony, I usually write up some sort of over-analysis and maybe some … More 2024 Oscar Reviews: Saltburn
Four star review, originally posted here on February 2, 2024. I wanted this book to be a 5 star review. It started off so great. There was so much amazing history to learn here. I relished the pouring on of details about life in post-colonial New York City. I think most history I’ve learned about … More Goodreads Review: The Sewing Girl’s Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America by John Wood Sweet
I have tons of stories, thoughts and photos/videos from my tiny stint at summer camp, but here’s the #1 main takeaway, which is a MESSAGE TO CURRENT AND UPCOMING NOMETNES VECAKI: The camp directors are absolutely incredible people who are working suuuper hard to do everything in their power to make sure your kids have … More Facebook Post: July 12, 2023
In memory of one of the coolest guys I’ve ever know, I am sharing a brief bio I wrote (in both LV and ENG) 5 years ago, after I had the honor of interviewing Andrejs Jansons in preparation for Baltimore Dziesmu Svetki. AJ (as he was affectionately nicknamed by some of us kids he inspired … More Facebook Post: July 26, 2022
August 16, 2022 DONATION UPDATE!!! First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated, and to everyone who helped out! THE RECAP: We were supposed to go to Latvia in July, and hoped to fill our checked bags with diapers and feminine hygiene products that we were going to drop off directly to … More Facebook Post: August 16, 2022 and October 28, 2022
A lot of people have asked me this week, with varying degrees of seriousness, for a copy of “my plan.” So here it is: Eat Less, Move More: A Very Special Helga Without The H Weightloss Plan It’s right in the title, and it’s pretty simple: burn more calories than you consume. So the next … More Facebook Post: December 12, 2022
So I was working on my novel the other day (wahoo!), and I typed a sentence about a child born our of wedlock. A minute later I looked back and saw the blue bad-grammar squiggle mark under the word “bastard.” I didn’t see anything immediately wrong, so I clicked on it, and received a warning … More Facebook Post: June 25, 2021
Sit down and get comfy for a Very Long and Very Boring Saga! Earlier this year, I moved 5 blocks up the street. I went to the Virginia DMV website to update my address. The last time I used the Virginia DMV website was, apparently, several years ago. The Virginia DMV website forces you to … More Facebook Post: October 26, 2021
One of my new year’s resolutions this year is to visit museums. I live in the DC area, where I could probably go to a new museum every day of the year. But this past week I went on a ski trip to Pennsylvania, and something that’s been on my list since it opened roughly … More Museum Review: Flight 93 National Memorial
Helga without the H 