Thanksgiving Aftermath

We had one of the best Thanksgivings ever with my in-laws. In addition to their mostly-generous hosting, I must give thanks to my niece for playing with DuckyBoy for hours (and making him giggle, which we almost never hear), to one SIL for making our accidental Black-Friday shopping trip fun and painless, and to my other SIL for driving my phone back to the city!

One of the things that made it low-stress for Husband and I was that Husband declared (in a playful way) on Thursday morning, that DuckyBoy should not have to eat anything he did not want to.

So, the most Thanksgivingy-thing he ate was pumpkin muffins. And he was Happy.As.A.Clam.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I feel so bad for the man who got killed at a Long Island Wal-Mart.

All he did was open the doors!

Husband long ago forbade me to ever go to Green Acres Mall, the location of that Wal-Mart. It's known far and wide for violence and low-class clientele. But who would expect that?? It's just so sad.

I was AT a Wal-Mart on Friday. (Not that one and not at 5 a.m.) I am NEVER at Wal-Mart. So that was weird. As was the fact that SIL and I commented that the store was not as crowded as I expected. And then to hear about a trampling? As they say at DB's school, "That was very unexpected."

What Do YOU Have to Say?

Whoops, a week with no posts? How can that be. Oh, wait, it's only Wednesday. Feels like Friday, doesn't it?

Anyway, let's dish. Restaurant critic Gael Greene has been ousted from NY Magazine after almost 40 years.

I heard it on the radio the other day and just now had a chance to find out how she felt about it. This amusing link makes it clear that she was not ready to retire anyway (which was my suspicion).

Now, I could go on about the state of the publishing industry as a whole -- every day it's something, whether PC magazine going entirely online or Houghton Mifflin deciding not to acquire anything new. Just for right now, they say. Riiight.

Am I sad? Not really. For one thing, although I met some great people and learned a lot, I found publishing as an industry to be cliquish and closed and I never felt a full part of it. For another, I'm not part of it any more.

And last but not least, I've always felt I had something to say, and lots of other people have something to say, that don't fit in that box. My stint at ClubMom, now CafeMom.com, was a great eye-opener as to how many "ordinary" women out there have something unique, helpful, and heartwarming to say.

And now I've discovered article marketing, which can be as hard-core salesly or soft-sell informational as you want to be. Since I've been writing this blog, I've become more convinced that I do have something to say, and I've gotten back in touch with my love for helping others share their story and/or expertise. Helping people do that via article marketing is a perfect match for my skills and passions.

And that is what I have to say today! How about you?

Janny's Sense of Snow

Snow flurries this week!
Exciting for us to see
I wish it was more...

From back in childhood
growing up on the Great Lakes,
I have my own view:

If I'm wearing gloves,
And if it's going to be cold,
there ought to be snow.

Flopsicle

I'm tired of writing posts like this!

I tried, I really did. Tuesday is Ice Cream Day at DB's school and since he can't have dairy he can't sign up for ice cream. The PTA moms who run it soo nicely said I should bring something in he can have, stick it in the freezer for him, labeled, and they'd give it to him each week.

Well. Yesterday was the first chance to do so, and as it turned out I was helping with ice cream. Which I hate. I don't know the kids and it's just a scramble to get it to them before it melts but after they've eaten their lunch. Riiight.

Anyway. I took Popsicles. Turns out they meeeeeeeeeeeelt really quickly. I didn't know that and basically handed my already-anxiety-prone kid a bag of colored water.

Not a great day. I'm not that surprised he didn't want to go to school this morning! But it makes me want to cry when he says things like "I hate first grade, I want to go back to kindergarten" before he's out of bed.

Hopefully today will be better. Parents get to sit in the classroom for something this morning -- I think the kids will read their own writing, but DB claims to have no idea what's happening. He is interested in the fact that there will be bagels involved. Though even there, he seemed only to know when I told him.

Was I so wrong to mention that perhaps the other children's parents will not be cutting up bagels into bite-sized pieces for their offspring to consume? That made him go off on a tangent about how weird he is. ("No, you're not," I replied. "I've met the kids in your class. Z thinks he's Batman.")

Haiku About Article Marketing

Warning, shameless self-promotion ahead. I would have blogged about this anyway today, but I really enjoy thinking in haiku on Fridays!

Much better week this.
Despite an awful chest cold,
exercised my brain!

Turns out I'm good at
translating technology
for writers to use.

My latest venture --
on article marketing,
4-part telecourse.

A free call comes first
So everyone can hear more
on the class and me.

Me? An expert? Huh?
Taking some getting used to,
but the shoe does fit.

Ever notice how
you can struggle and toil
at something for weeks,

And when something works
everything falls into place
and it seems easy.

The sign-up page for my free call on how to Grow Your Following is here. Let me know what you think!

Ms Frizzle, Live and In Person

Me on Halloween, at DB's school. I read to his class and several other K and 1st grade classes. It was a blast, except DB couldn't decide whether he wanted his classmates to call me Ms Frizzle or DB's Mom!

Short and (Bitter)Sweet

Starting a business
stressful to work together
paid the bills Monday

Is it acceptable to end a haiku with, "Argh"?