7 ways to make your spouse or partner HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!

1. Fry two chickens instead of one. If it’s Southern fried, leftovers are always welcome.

 

2. Offer up homemade soup for a side dish, even if you have to buy it from a neighbor.

3. Bake (or buy and pretend you baked) cookies once a week and tell him/her she looks great.

4. Make (or order) a true gourmet feast at least once a month.

5. Let him/her eat as you talk, and pretend you think he or she is really listening.

6. Have a dish of fudge, peanut butter cups, or anise candy in each room. Yes, the bathroom too.

7. Ask him or her what he or she would like for supper, then be sure to call the delivery service in time.

Now, which one of these have you already tried?

Have a good day and happy feeding!

Gender Issues?

Please help me out.

In anticipation of the coming season, and to prompt smiles from little grandchildren, I pulled out this placemat. (No signature on the actual art, but the back says this placemat was made in the USA, and it's copyrighted by Greenbrier/Scentex .)

At first glance, I saw both boy and girl snowmen in the picture. But then I had to ask myself how I came to that conclusion? I try not to grab onto stereotypes, but I guess we all do now and then.

So I'm asking you all. I assumed the snowman on the front of the sled was a guy. To his right and back on that hill, that one seemed to be a younger snowperson, but again a male. The one behind him, higher on the hill, that's a girl. And back to the couple on the sled – the one in the back must be the girl. And no, I did not come to this conclusion because I have any ridiculous notion that women should always follow the men.

Anyway, I had to study the picture to figure out why my assumptions were so gender specific. I hoped that I didn't assume the couple on the sled were female on the left and male on the right (front) just because the front snowman is bigger. A walk through town would prove to anyone that size doesn't matter. So I looked closer.

The snowgal on the back of the sled definitely looks more girly in the face than the one on the front. After letting my gaze ping-pong between the two snow people, I realized that the eyes are closer together on the one I assumed to be a female, and that smile is narrower. The whole head is smaller, so the face has to be smaller. But in this situation, it gives this snowperson a dainty look, whereas the wider face, and the arrogance in the upturned nose, of the front snowy being makes it look more masculine.

The same differences can't account for the snow people on the back hill, because these are far enough apart in space and placement (on this placemat--hee!) that the one I assumed to be the girl would have to be smaller just to be correct perspective-wise. So size truly doesn't make a difference or tell me an answer here.

Yet I still think the back one on the hill looks more feminine and the front one more masculine.
Before I drive myself crazy analyzing this matter, can anyone tell me why, or whether I'm right or wrong in my assumptions, and how you justify your answer?

I'm sorry, but weird little things like this tend to bother me until I come to at least an understanding, if not a solid answer.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Get More Than Inspiration--Get Shivers!

A good friend of mine suggested I use this song to inspire my next big project. So whenever I find my energy lagging during my WIP, I give this a listen. Thank you, Terri!

Shivers, yes. Motivation, heck yeah!
So get writing!
:-)

IF YOU WANT TO SKIP TO THE GOOD STUFF...

––start here.

The idea of writing a duper (I’ll tell you whose word that is later, much later) important blog post crossed my mind, you know the one, that meandering, stream-of-consciousness piece about:

(drum roll please …)

Why it’s important to break your anxious trigger finger and avoid hitting that “send” button too soon.

But then I found someone who could say it better.

It doesn’t matter if you are submitting promotional work as an ad rep, your best cartoon that surely deserves space in the New York Times, or a fictional story taking place on the planet Who Cares…
Don't submit too soon. Here’s Anna Sabino to tell you why.

I also considered doing a little public whining in behalf of the many artists not getting paid adequately, or at all, for their work. But then I found somebody who could say that better, too.

Introducing: Jon Westenberg

And then I considered a fine point about the correlation between these two articles. You should definitely read Anna’s first, because if you are lazily thinking of submitting that crappy first draft, you won’t really have the right to jump on the bandwagon of not-so-happy artists speaking out to get paid for what they do. Who’s going to pay for a practice piece?

On the flipside, once you have your artistic gift to the world truly ready for the taking, then read Jon’s article, because you certainly shouldn’t be working for free. Well, you know. Unless the whole world turns that way, and the electric company no longer sends you a bill, and your accountant goes over your expenses and sends you a note stating, “Thank you for letting me serve you. It’s been my honor,” with no invoice attached.

Until that day comes, don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself and attach your own invoice to all those favors of long hours of work many folks ask of you.

That’s all I’ve got to say for today.

Happy reading, and if you like this article, please share it.

A NEW DAY, A NEW GOAL? SERIOUSLY?

Excuse the confusion shown in my title. That's my confusion, not yours.

I do believe in having daily goals, but as of late my goals have changed. For the past week, I've had three darling grandchildren here, two-year-old twins and their four-year-old brother. That said, my daily goal is simply to survive.

I really commend myself when I get a paragraph written, revised, or even thought about during nap time. I give myself an extra pat on the back if I get through a single meal without a single spill. By anyone, including me. I mean, right now, that ranks as a miraculous feat.

Anyway, I thought I'd let you all know why I may be slow in visiting your blogs, updating mine, or even thinking bloggy thoughts. I plan to get back to a normal schedule next week. Or maybe the week after, because next week I might be busy recuperating. How young I don't feel – I don't want to count the ways.

Happy thoughts!