Talented Friends, Former Colleagues Hurt by Dallas Morning News Layoffs

Tuesday started off with uncertainty and ended with confusion and loss. In yet another round of layoffs, The Dallas Morning News lost several talented reporters, photographers, copy editors and more.
Though I was only in the newsroom for three months last summer, I met countless journalists who befriended and coached me during my internship. Many of [...]

How Facebook, TotSpot and Other Social Networking Sites Help Transform Traditions

I wrote two stories recently for The Dallas Morning News about the ways that people are using social networking sites to transform traditions and connect with the world around them. One of the articles is about brides using Facebook to plan for their weddings. I got the idea for this story after my colleague’s fiance [...]

A Visit to the Book Doctor Turned Into a Story

I stumbled across the Book Doctor’s shop while walking around Dallas’ Bishop Arts District one day. It’s a tiny shop, nestled in the corner of a strip of stores.

I went into the store and started talking with the shop’s owner, Julie, a.k.a. the Book Doctor. She told me fascinating anecdotes about her customers, many [...]

Seniors Dance Their Way to Health, Companionship

I wrote an article for Tuesday’s Dallas Morning News about senior citizens who ballroom dance as a way to stay fit. While working on the story, I went to the Plano Senior Center and danced with several seniors who came to know me “as the girl with the notebook,” aka “the young reporter.”
Dance by dance, [...]

A Lesson in Shooting Video

The thought of shooting and editing video used to intimidate me. It seemed overly complicated, so I hid in the comfort of words. But one day, toward the end of my internship at The Dallas Morning News, I decided to stop hiding.
I’m so glad I did. While in Dallas, I paired up with photographer Ron [...]

FlyLady Flies to Dallas to Share Housekeeping Tips

I had fun writing this story about Marla Cilley, also known as the FlyLady. Haven’t heard of her? I hadn’t either.
She’s a woman who started a Yahoo! group that has nearly 500,000 members. The FlyLady sends up to 15 e-mails a day to help encourage her “FlyBabies” to keep a clean house and love themselves. [...]

Interviewing Giada De Laurentiis about Cooking, Motherhood

My family and friends know that I’m not one to cook. I have an envelope full of recipes my grandma hand-wrote sitting in my desk drawer, and I have plenty of cookbooks that once belonged to my mom, but I hardly ever open them.
Given my extensive background in cooking, one of my editors asked if [...]

Recent Dallas Morning News Stories

Here is a round-up of some recent stories and blog posts I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News:
“Nelly Plugs Away During House of Blues Show” and related blog post.
“Flogging Molly Brings Punk O’ the Irish to House of Blues” and related blog post.
“Another Chance to ‘Walk from Obesity’ on Saturday”
“The Color Purple at Fair Park [...]

Walking Barefoot with Hanson

I’ll admit — I was a huge Hanson fan back in the day (when I was 13 or 14), but the group fell off my radar years ago.
In just the last week, though, I’ve interviewed the eldest brother, Isaac, written stories and blog posts about the brothers, walked barefoot with them, and gone to their [...]

Writing the Story Behind ‘The Late Homecoming’

Earlier this week I interviewed Kao Kalia Yang, author of The Late Homecoming: A Hmong Family Memoir. While talking with her, I was struck by how beautifully she spoke. It was as though her writing and speaking voice were synonymous. Having read her book, I grew to appreciate her poetic style of writing, and I [...]