Originally written as a tongue-in-cheek story about leftovers, the land of misfit food, I’ve updated this post to include a scary story of how certain leftover food can actually cause more than a stomach ache. Have you heard of fried rice syndrome? I had not until recently. Look at this story about a boy who died from eating pasta which was left out for days. Yes, this is extreme, yet it proves we need to use caution with our food. I always refrigerate leftovers and consume within one to three days – that’s been a preference simply because of taste and space in my refrigerator. This story remi ..read more

Every other year, hundreds of people from all over the world normally convene in the Spring to learn and expand upon the craft of humor writing – and writing in general – at the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop held at the alma mater of the humorist, the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. Except these are not normal times. Like I have to tell you THAT. The last workshop was rescheduled for late Fall because of the COVID19 pandemic. That conference still happened, but it was virtual and I was not in attendance. It’s the first time I was sad about this funny people conference for more than ..read more

Our oven stopped working a month ago. Great, right? As home appliances go, and seasons of the year, it could be worse, I suppose. So I’ll focus on the positive. It’s SUMMER. We don’t love hot kitchens this time of year and using our ovens might be last on the list of cooking options.  So while we work on our mini-crisis at home, I’ve been searching for ideas for making meals without an oven.  Thanks to a few friends and some of my tried and true summer recipes, we’ll be fine for the summer, if we choose to wait to invest in a new oven in the fall.  We still have a working outdoo ..read more

Every other year, hundreds of people from all over the world normally convene in the Spring to learn and expand upon the craft of humor writing – and writing in general – at the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop held at the alma mater of the humorist, the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio. Except these are not normal times. Like I have to tell you THAT. The last workshop was rescheduled for late Fall because of the COVID19 pandemic. That conference still happened, but it was virtual and I was not in attendance. It’s the first time I was sad about this funny people conference for more than ..read more

A funny thing happened the other day.  With more thought, it kinda made me sad. Then I realized what made me a bit sad might actually be intentional. Like it might be the shtick Starbucks is stirring the drinks with and they are wise. Because it makes us talk about the brand. Like I’m doing now. In written form.  I’ve heard about how employees of Starbucks are notorious for misspelling names on the plastic cups which hold the drinks we order. People walk away sipping their liquid concoction and display a name written with a bold Sharpie that in fact, is not their name.  Some are ..read more

Remember the flu? With this year being dominated by talk of COVID19, I’ve rarely heard people discussing the old-fashioned influenza. This viral infection is shared often during the holiday season like the ‘gift that keeps on giving.’ As many as 3 million Americans are affected by the flu each year. And just like COVID19, the flu can be deadly.  I consulted Dr. Facebook – my friends on the social platform – for their best tried and true home remedies. I’m sharing, not because I want you to need them, but in case you do get sick with the tell-tale fever and muscle aches and a head full of ..read more

While many of our children are attending school at home because of the pandemic, horror stories from teachers are surfacing about the online communication happening back and forth from parents and students.  When I first learned of this phenomenon I thought it seemed a bit far-fetched. You send an email. How hard is THAT? Apparently it is more difficult for some than you might think. Not everyone is a writer and that’s okay. This is not about grammar. What I’ve heard is people are forgetting about tone, clarity, and simple kindness and appreciation. A teacher I chatted with also requeste ..read more

Our oven stopped working a month ago. Great, right? As home appliances go, and seasons of the year, it could be worse, I suppose. So I’ll focus on the positive. It’s SUMMER. We don’t love hot kitchens this time of year and using our ovens might be last on the list of cooking options.  So while we work on our mini-crisis at home, I’ve been searching for ideas for making meals without an oven.  Thanks to a few friends and some of my tried and true summer recipes, we’ll be fine for the summer, if we choose to wait to invest in a new oven in the fall.  We still have a working outdoo ..read more

I’ve spent a lot of years in the health care industry working in public relations. My mom is a nurse. I have heard doctors and nurses tell patients to follow their instincts – no one knows your body better than yourself. If something ‘seems off’ and you’re just not feeling right – and the feeling repeats itself or persists – seek answers via a health care provider.  A good friend lost her brother earlier this year at the far-too-young age of 58. John Parsons was a fun-loving and caring son, brother, father, uncle, nephew, fiancé, and friend to so so many. I count myself lucky to have been ..read more

Does your content make you yawn? I know it’s happened to you too. You read a sentence or two or maybe a paragraph and what you’ve read doesn’t grab you. It simply doesn’t make you want to keep reading. In fact, it might make you feel like yawning. Does your content make you yawn? If what you’ve written makes you want to yawn, you should start over.  This applies to business and personal communication. When you write something to share – not something you are writing simply for yourself like a journal or notes to refer back to later -do you read it aloud before you push send, put a stamp ..read more