The bear is a symbol of strength and courage in Romania, and through out the country, Bears are at the heart of an unusual New Year festival designed to chase away evil spirits. Children and adolescents are dressed from head to foot in bear-skin pelts. It's an old tradition for people to wear brightly colored costumes or bear pelts & travel to different houses dancing to ward off evil. The children sing children sing …

I remember last Christmas as if it happened yesterday.  The absence of my brother was so surreal, it was hard for me to handle.  For centuries, even back when we were both human, we had always spent Christmas together.  We used to be inseparable until he had departed from the castle and went on his "search for himself."  Last Christmas is one that I will never forget because for once in my life, I felt true loss.  When my mother and father died, I felt no loss.  They deserved what they got…

Like most children growing up, I would sit down before christmas and write my "Dear Santa" letter, outlining how I had been on my best behaviour that year and because I had been such a good girl, "Santa could I possibly have the following....". And now this year with Christmas day fast approaching and my own children well past their own "Dear Santa" letter days, I find myself writing not a letter to Santa but a Christmas wish in my journal.

"My Christmas Wish....

That each of…

Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen,

Voices whisper in the trees, "Tonight is Halloween!"

~Dexter Kozen

With the rising of the moon and the setting of the sun,

Best be on your guard now... as Halloween's just begun.

With the snap of a twig and the hoot of an owl,

Is that a child playing trick-or-treat..... or something more foul.

Everyone knows that it's just for a laugh,

but just to be safe.... better stick to the…

Thirty two days ago, I killed my husbands baby... when it comes down to it...there is really no other way to say it. His immaculate silver Audi R8 Spyder was forced from the road one typical wet Forks morning. Granted... there was an oncoming logging truck, in an out of control sideways slide that was taking every available inch of road. The likelihood of Katie & I walking away without raising serious suspicion was extremely low.... and therefore I made the only decision I could at the…

We always tend to take for granted the things the little things in life that we constantly have around. There’s a lot to be thankful for in life but none of us really ever take the time to appreciate it fully until it’s too late. Our friends, our family, even the simple things like being alive and healthy among our loved ones.

Growing up without a father around has never truly been easy and I used to resent life a bit because of this, asking myself why it happened to me. What happened…

The year is drawing to a close and with it comes cold days and rainy nights. Soon all the windows of houses and shops are filled with bright colors and flickering lights. Harvest time is celebrated and for a while we get to think about all that we are thankful for. The people and things that make us smile and say, I am happy to be alive.

As I was helping the ladies in La Push get ready for the Harvest Festival, I would listen to them and all the things they felt so thankful for. That…

Wednesday 7th, December 1941

I remember it well. The news hit us fast and we were all in a state of disbelief. Was this a joke? A mistake? Surely we weren’t so vulnerable that they could just sneak in, destroy the entire fleet and get out before we knew what hit us. 



It was no joke. The Japanese had launched a full out attack on our…