One of my first core classes as a college freshman was Critical and Analytical Thinking. On the first day, our assigned homework included watching television (I could not believe my good luck) – specifically, to pay close attention to commercials. Our class discussion centered around what I later understood as “marketing,” and how we are …
Business of Freelance Writing
Home Office
Over the twelve years that we have lived in our house, my home office has at one time or another occupied three out of four bedrooms. For years I had one front bedroom to myself for books, computer, and casual writing. Then my husband and I decided to share a home office and shuffle the …
The Future is Today
I love time travel stories. Back to the Future, Quantum Leap, HG Wells’ The Time Machine, Time After Time, Somewhere in Time, Slaughterhouse-Five, even the Terminator movies franchise. Whether by self-hypnosis, worm-hole, steampunk contraption, or DeLorean, the idea of moving forward or backward on a timeline is tantalizing. Why? It is the simple idea of …
Wish you were here…
If you’re lucky, you recently got this post card from me. I thought the view of a crystal clear bay from a Caribbean beach would hit the spot right about now. I took that photo of secluded Brewer’s Bay, Tortola, BVI, from a chaise lounge. Another version shows my red-nail polished toes and a cold …
3 Things NOT to skimp on…
It might be wear and tear. That’s the answer to a question I’ll ask later. To get there, I’m going to share what I think is the most important advice I can give: There are certain things that you should absolutely not skimp on if you want to improve overall quality of life. 1. Buy …
Christmas Crafts
One Christmas my mother made candy wreaths for our elementary school teachers. She bent a metal coat hanger into a perfect circle then painstakingly tied red and green curling ribbon around the hoop, adding peppermint candies along the way. She was very good at making ringlets with a quick zip of the ribbon between thumb …
Gifts
Raise your hand if you’re done Christmas shopping. Are you still looking for the perfect gift? Do you have something for everyone, or do you keep it simple? Is it a grab-bag kind of event in your family? Actually, I really don’t mean those kinds of gifts. To get to what kinds of gifts I …
Identity
We are brand-loyal in our household. With each item, it isn’t so much about the label itself. It’s about the experience. All the marketing in the world won’t compel me to buy again if the first experience sucked. For example: Hellmann’s Mayonnaise. Honestly, I can’t speak about this one personally, except to note the extreme …