Welcome to my blog titled “Five Things” where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can also follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things…

1. First off, wishing a happy thirtieth birthday to our beautiful daughter-in-law, Leslie! We couldn’t have chosen a better partner for our son, or a kinder, lovelier person to join our family. Two days after her birthday, our third son, R.J. turns twenty-two. A while back I wrote a birthday post for him which you can read HERE, and all those sentiments still apply. He’s an amazing kid who is turning into an amazing adult, and we are so proud.

2. A few reflections from Dallas Fan Expo… I’ve been signing books at these sorts of events for about seven years now, and I definitely feel all those seven years, mostly in my lower back! The weekend was exhausting, but it was also invigorating and inspiring to meet people who share a love of science fiction, fantasy, and pop culture. It was also fantastic to hang out with my bestie writer pals for an entire weekend. We filled the room for our panel, met dozens of aspiring writers and gamers, ate incredible bbq, and laughed until our faces hurt. All in all, it was another successful adventure, and we look forward to Chicago Fan Expo next year.

3. Ray and I just spent a fun couple of weeks in Ohio. Yes, that’s correct, Ohio. Ray has cousins there we love to see, and we both used the convenient and easy John Glenn Columbus International Airport for travel. Even if this weren’t the case, this is one of those times when, because we are in our RV and we can’t always stay in the big, metropolitan areas, we have to find these cute little towns to drop anchor. Delaware, Ohio was just adorable, and the surrounding towns of Westerville and Dublin equally as charming. A good time was had by all!

4. Yesterday, we visited Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. It was pretty cool to be standing in a place we all read about in our history books. With both feet in West Virginia, and while overlooking the exact spot where the Shenandoah River meets the Potomac, you can throw a stone and hit Maryland on one side of the water and Virginia on the other. It’s a truly magical spot.

5. Today we arrived in South Jersey, so we’re officially back on the East Coast! We’ll be darting up through New England later this week and then hanging out in little Rhody from mid-July until after Labor Day. We’re really looking forward to spending time with family and friends in the next few weeks! Happy almost summer everyone!