Oh, French Fries! I ventured to an actual store last week. And while I was sitting in the customer service line, I noticed a kid standing to my side rambling about something. He was all of 3 years old and was pulling umbrellas out of the impulse buy rack. I noticed it wasn’t sturdy so … Read more
Almost as much as espresso I use ellipses like vanilla syrup in my lattes. Sprinkled here… And there… And sometimes just dumped haphazardly… Because what’s life without a sweet treat? (Nothing but sour-grape-sad coffee. Trust me.) I love ellipses so much I dedicated a whole chapter in my book to those punctuation marks. But ellipses … Read more
Rituals are cool I love rituals. (Not the animal-sacrifice kind.) They soothe my anxiety and boost my confidence much like my pitbulls reduce my nail biting and Pitbull’s songs increase my energy. I have a lot of rituals… My morning routine is a ritual. My bedtime routine is a ritual. Even my writing routine is … Read more
Schoolhouse Rock is strong with me today If you’ve read my book (The Grumpy Grammarian’s Guide To Copy Editing For Copywriters), you know I’m not a fan of Valley Girl words in your writing. Totally. Whatever. As if. They make my skin crawl like I have prickly spiders running up and down my tattooed arms. … Read more
A copy edit tip inspired by a 9 year old Last week, I lamented over taking the perfect picture of my penny tree art. I was so bummed about not getting a great shot that I lost sleep and even considered hiring a professional photographer. Oh, silly Autumn — pictures are for kids. That’s right, … Read more
But not on copy editing You know what’s difficult? Creating imaginative penny art AND not capturing the perfect picture. After I was done playing Mother Nature and using hot water to bend apple tree branches, I haphazardly added pennies and other embellishments to create my whimsical art. I was happy with the way it turned … Read more
A transparent post with TMI This weekend was rough on me. I was sick. And not in the usual sinusitis way that I’m used to. The way that some Benadryl and hot tea help me power through. Oh, no. This was a full-blown pajamas, puke bucket, and feminine products (because I might shit myself) situation. … Read more
Guess what I’m making?!?! It snowed today. Wicked bad. And my internet signal wasn’t compatible with work life. So I decided to get a head start on a new penny project while trying to respond to emails and copy edit. It’s a tree of life complete with real branches from my apple tree. But these … Read more
Let me give you Macklemore-like confidence Last week, I was on a crafting mission to find a wooden frame for a new penny art project. So I went to the thrift shop — sans Macklemore. When I rolled through the door, I spotted the framed pictures immediately to my right. And spent about 20 minutes … Read more
Once upon a time, a fabulous lady lived in absolute fear of grammatical errors. She knew she was unique from her bold print outfits to her fancy teacups, and she wanted to share her style with everyone. But the British educational system filled her so full of terror that it paralyzed her writing. A lifetime … Read more