Video Games Can Be a Positive Thing!

Video games have gotten a bad rap lately and for good reason. Kids sit around staring at a computer screen like a bunch of overweight business executives who are under exercised and going blind. The overweight business executives are making money destroying their bodies but the kids aren’t. We - the parents - object! So we should start banning computer games for anyone under the age of 18. Right? Wrong!!! That would be throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Computer games have a truly redeeming quality for our children. ...

Graduating from College Doesn’t Guarantee Success

Q: What is the best way for a recent creative writing grad to get an agent?

A: I am hardly the most qualified person to answer this question. There are literally hundreds of published authors out there who will give you significantly better advice. I strongly recommend that you spend some time researching this information on the internet and checking out some books from your local library. As a creative writing grad, you may have encountered agents in some of your classes who could give you ...

Spam Drives Everyone Crazy!

Q: Hi there, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and i was just wondering if you get a lot of spam remarks? If so how do you reduce it, any plugin or anything you can suggest? I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any support is very much appreciated.

A: Spam drives everyone crazy! My husband has this female voice that announces: “you have new junk mail. Yippee!” every time a new email comes in. He insists ...

Let’s Keep on Swimming!

Take a look at the adults in this world.  Does it seem as if we have become a generation of quitters?  Granted, most of us don’t go to the extremes that have been in the news lately. There was the woman who turned in a fake death certificate to get a longer vacation and the notorious 72 day Hollywood marriage but other signs indicate that we are a nation of adults who quit with little or no provocation. I’m not saying there is never a time that we shouldn’t quit. I’m just ...

My Canvas of Life is a Little Messy

You know that saying “life is like a canvas. Every day is a brush stroke”? Yesterday my brush stroke was a big blob of paint buried under a black blanket headache. Today it’s shades of gray interspersed with lightning flashes of blue in a dark sky of headache. Dancing around the edges of this sky of headache is a little butterfly who occasionally morphs into a gnat buzzing around my headache and then suddenly, without warning, turns into a mosquito that bites me causing red flashes of anger that I ...

Caring for Your Husky Dog

Q: I am planning to get a sometime and was wonder how can I keep them cool during the summer, I do understand the responsibility and the amount of the exercise required. How could I keep them cool while I am not at home Can I put ice cubes in there water Can I put a kiddie pool on my patio and just leave them outside with water Please and Thank you

A: I have never owned a Husky and have never known anyone who did so I did ...

Our Website Disclaimer

I received a comment from one of my readers which made me realize that some of you may not be aware of the information in the ‘disclaimer’ portion of our website. I decided it would be a good idea to post the information you will find there and include a little clarification in case you need it. So, here’s the disclaimer and it’s clarification.

Mom’s not a counselor: Although she’s spent a lot of time listening to the problems of those she loves. Clarification: I’ve also spent ...

Everyone Has Nicer Things Than Me!

The little one had a meltdown today. Her friend down the street got a new bike for Christmas. She doesn’t have a new bike. The neighbor boy got a new bike for Christmas, too. Why didn’t she have a new bike? Everyone has nicer things than she does. Just ask her. She was sobbing and telling us how terrible her life was because she didn’t get a new bike for Christmas. The doll that talks, the roller blades, the doll highchair, the ...

Life Will Begin Shortly

The year 2012 has begun. For just a moment, let me challenge you to suspend reality temporarily and pretend that you are standing on a threshold. On this threshold is a guide who is explaining to you that life will begin shortly. Your life will begin at the age you are now. This guide offers you 10 minutes to make a list of anything that is currently in your life that you would like to take with you to start your new life. Anything left off ...

Grandma’s Can Be So Disorganized!

How on earth do the Duggar parents keep up on the family birthdays? I only have 6 kids and 12 grandkids and I can’t keep up. My total is 18. They win. But how do they keep track?

The other day I received an email from my daughter who lives out of state. She told me how happy her son - my grandson - was with the present he got for his birthday. Dang! How did that one slide past me again. Admittedly, ...