This past Saturday my grandmother and I helped my mom celebrate her birthday at the Red Wings game in downtown Detroit. This is the inaugural year for the Winnipeg Jets, formerly the Atlanta Thrashers. The original Winnipeg Jets moved Phoenix and became the Coyotes in 1996, but the new Jets team has been welcomed with …
friends & family
Being Thankful
I should have done this post last week and saved the NaNo update for the final day of the competition, but since when do I do things in the proper order? Over the past week I’ve thought a lot about the things for which I’m thankful. Pretty much every aspect of my life has changed …
Stay Tuned…
Hello! It’s been a crazy few days and I have lots of news to share with you, but I’m going to wait until next week. Sorry. I went to Washington DC this past weekend, where I saw friends, monuments, and made more than my share of children and animals squeal. The best part? Having two …
Leading by Example
In early spring of 2009, my friend Stacey Graham mentioned an idea she had for a new humor blog. Our group of friends continuously amused each other, so why not spread that joy throughout the internet via essays written in the spirit of Erma Bombeck? Thus was born An Army of Ermas. Our ranks have …
A Lesson in Positivity
Hi, I’m Melanie, a person with normal problems like everyone else. Things piss me off, drive me batty, and infuriate me so badly I find myself looking for the closest idiot to punch (I don’t actually punch people). When I need to vent I call or text a friend to get it off my chest, …
Justice
In the US, when a person is murdered, a variety of things can happen to the killer. He gets away. He’s caught, stands trial, and is found not-guilty. He’s found guilty and gets a light sentence. He spends his life in jail. Or he’s put to death. The media tells us that justice for the …
It’s Been Eleven Months and I’m Already Thinking About Month Twelve
I have several things I’d like to talk about, so today’s post will be a hodge-podge of things. First, I’m glad Friday’s post resounded with so many of you. I kind of figured it would, but what I didn’t expect was the people I consider friends worrying that they’ve somehow offended me. I’m by no …
A Little Respect, Please
Or at the very least, a little courtesy. I’ve gone back and forth about whether or not to write this post because it’s a bit of a rant. My frustration lies in the way I see people treating each other online. I’ll use myself as an example, but I’ve witnessed this behavior on blogs, on …
Three Days Into the New Year…
… and I’m still on vacation! I’m happy to report that the hiatus was successful because I finished the first draft of Flicker! Woohoo! I really upped my daily word count the final week of the year (as those of you who are friends with me on Facebook can attest to) (although really I could …
Unplugging
I’ve had several conversations in recent weeks where the other person laments how plugged in everyone has become. I, of course, am happily plugged in, but I do understand the point. We get so caught up in tweeting and posting and sharing that we don’t always take a moment to just enjoy the… moment. I …