Heptadecagon

It's finally happened. I'm ready to take a Facebook hiatus. (If you're reading this, it's probably not because of anything that you did. I rarely write a post relating to something that my faithful followers did unless that something is positive.) Knowing that I don't have a Smartphone or texting capability, this hiatus should come as no surprise to a few of you. I'm the sort that doesn't like to be accessible at all times, nor do I need to know everything. And sadly, I'm just done with knowing everything . I don't need to know how unbelievably talented you and your family are. I don't need to know that you're at the bar and grill with your bestie. I don't need to know that the entire school year, which hasn't gone well for you, has nothing to do with any shortcomings you and your kids have and everything to do with the shortcomings that everyone else has. I don't even need to know what song you are listening to right now. Becau...

My bones just dissolved...I'm a whoopee cushion. ~ Melina I love to roller skate in the summer. But I like to roller skate at Skate World, too. Did they have roller skates when you were a kid, mom? ~Melina Life is good in the summer. ~Aaron Summer is my most important reminder of why I don't homeschool. ~Chris

I love Writer's Digest . Truly, I do. And no, I wasn't paid to say that, although if the magazine wanted to pay me to say it, I would. But seriously, into my inbox each day comes something from Writer's Digest, and most of the time, it's useful. What arrived today? A post on 5 Tips for Hitting Bestseller Lists . Now, as you know, I just want to publish my damn books -- I don't really care about hitting the bestseller lists. But I thought I'd read the article anyway, as maybe it was written by my buddy, Brian Klems . So I clicked on the link, but then realized that alas, the article was not written by him. I read the article anyway, that's how enamored I am with Writer's Digest. According to the author, Gretchen Crary, here's what you can do . I don't plan on posting the article here because, of course, you can just click on the link (duh!). Plus, there are only four things to consider, as listed by Gretchen. Not five. I'm guessing that ...

Yesterday was it -- the kids' last day of school for the 2013-2014 school year. It's hard to believe the year is over already, but on the other hand, I'm ready. Sort of. We'll see what the summer brings. Wish me luck! All four kids (obviously) The rising seventh graders!

Is it stealing? Is it not? I sit here, scratching my head at the name. Something that seems so similar to the one put together by my pal, my friend, my sister, so to speak. What constitutes intellectual property? Does anyone know? Can anyone explain? Of course, I know what the definition is, and really we never had anything copyrighted. But by golly, it's not right. You don't walk up to someone and say, Hey, I like what you said. And I think we'll take that and run with it and come up with something quite like yours, so much that you can't help but notice thankyouverymuch. At least I wouldn't do that. Because you don't want to bite the hand that feeds you now, do you? Well this hand and the hands of my sisters, might not be feeding you any longer.

Third night in a row that I'm carting beer cans and bottles to a recycling bin. Tara, I'm sure, would say this weekend has been a success. With good friends like these, I think I'd agree with her.

The thing I like least about summer vacation is the role I have to play: short order cook. I've talked about this before, and I'm not here to lament the situation. But as I gathered the ingredients for Melina's lunch today, I was reminded that as of next Wednesday, I'll be making lunch for four, not one. Such is life. I was also reminded of a short story I wrote. The one that got the ball rolling way back in 2012. (It seems like so much longer than just two short years.) The one that I never shared with most people. The story didn't win a prize (nor was it written well enough to do so), and since I haven't done anything to make it any better, it will never win a prize. So I thought, why not share it here? Feel free to read it, laugh at it, correct it's errors, or print it out and use it as toilet paper. You get the gist. Short Order Cook The Danube Diner is the place to be on Friday nights. That’s when I’m there, cookin’ up my specialties. Who am ...