Culture | Fiction Writing | Writing

Dear Days of the Week, especially Monday – you sneaky little…

The days of the week invoke certain feelings for me. If I wake up realizing Sunday is actually Monday, my mood changes drastically. This is how I talk to each day of the week, like I know each one personally: Dear Monday, You sneaky little b*tch! You just slipped right out from under me. Why …

Personal Growth | Writing

Reflection on Twenty Years of Gutsy Moments

Celebrate Get Gutsy Week January 19-23! Getting gutsy is all about stepping outside your comfort zone to reach your goals and live a life that makes you truly happy. This post is my entry for Jessica Lawlor’s Get Gutsy Essay Contest. To get involved and share your own gutsy story, check out this post for contest …

Personal Growth

Be Awesome in 2015!

Here is some good advice for 2015 (with a little help from Barney Stinson / aka Neil Patrick Harris’ character from “How I Met Your Mother”): Be awesome! I came across this photo and quote this morning.  I loved it.  And I love the show too.  From a writer’s stand point, it’s such a unique, …

Culture

Stop the Hand-on-your Hip Picture Pose – Check out These Five Alternatives Instead!

Maybe it’s just me. I’m often an exception to the general trendy rule but I’m so sick of seeing people in society put one hand on a hip in every photo they take and share. This goes especially for women and even more specifically for little girls who are the same age as my oldest …

Home Life | Parenting

Smudge-Free Fingernails and Peaceful Pottying

I don’t mean to sound crude but all I really want these days is to “potty” in peace. Yes, potty. There I said it. I know, it’s such a juvenile word for an adult to say but that is my wish. I want to be able to sit on a toilet alone and quietly. I’d …

Business | Services | Writing

Small Jobs Make A Big Difference!

Over the weekend, I was watching “Bee Movie” with my oldest daughter. This animated film is about an ordinary bee who is trying to determine his long-term career choice. Barry B. Benson, the star bee (voiced by Jerry Seinfeld), struggles with being a follower among his hive. He cannot fathom doing the same job for …

Personal Growth | Writing

A Short but Wonderfully Sweet Note

I received the nicest note in the mail about two weeks ago.  It was a total, wonderful surprise from a dear person in my writer’s group.   This is what it said: It was a very short note but those three bullet point statements were so touching.  A wonderful woman, Joetta told me that that I …

Writing

Academic and Business Writing

About two months ago, I pushed myself to try academic and business writing.  Why not try it, I thought to myself?  I work in higher education.  I work for a business outreach center.  It makes sense.  Still I was nervous. Luckily I found three successful leaders to interview and gain insights from – they helped …

Home Life

Pumpkin Love

Many people think December is the craziest time of the year.  For us, it seems to be the month of October.  Our family absolutely loves the Fall season – cooler weather, various shades of leaves (red, gold, brown, etc.), lots of festivals, fairs, pumpkin recipes, pumpkin patches and the birth of my first pumpkin daughter …

Books

Little Quote Book

I keep this small quote book in my bathroom.  This particular one is “Positive Quotations” and it has a page for all 365 days in the year. I don’t read it every day, just whenever I remember to glance at it or whenever I feel like I need a little bit of a spiritual boost.  …