I believe life's crossroads are opportunities. And sometimes, in order to have the things we truly want, we have to let go. We have to let go of old ideas about who we thought we were and how life was supposed to be. Letting go isn't easy. Believe me, I know. But each time I've allowed myself to loosen my grip, amazing things have happened. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I'm definitely not afraid to ask the questions. This blog is dedicated to telling my stories, and yours, too. I hope you'll wander around and stay a while. Subscribe, leave comments... make yourself at home.
I sat on my bed around 8:00 last night, staring at the screen on my laptop. I had proofed the pages a zillion times. I attached the document to the email, took a breath and hit Send. The first 10 pages of my book are off the South Carolina Writer’s Workshop.
Exhale.
Another exciting thing happening this week: I’m a guest blogger for the Center for Women’s Lowcountry Women blog. They asked me to write about work-life balance.
I’m not sure if I have balance, but let’s just say, I’m an advocate for the cause. My best friend once told me I have changed careers like I change Halloween costumes. Her assessment of my resume was funny, and true. Click here to read the rest at the Center for Women blog.
Attention Writers and Wanna Be Writers:
My friend and fellow writer, Abigail Green, is teaching a 6-week online writing class: Personal Essays that Get Published. It starts next week (September 8). To register and to learn more about the class (and the wonderful Abby Green) click here.
Again, it’s an online class, and for those of us struggling with balance, that’s about as convenient as it gets.
For the past month, I’ve been polishing the first ten pages of my book manuscript, to submit to the South Carolina Writer’s Workshop. The organization’s yearly conference is coming up in October, and the pages are due this Wednesday. Those pages will land in the hands of a literary agent, who will critique my work and offer feedback at the conference. The conference will provide an opportunity to network and learn from some of the industry’s best agents, editors and authors.
This is my first conference, and signing up for faculty critiques made it real for me. I’m really doing this. I am writing a book. And now, I’m opening myself up to feedback. This is just one of those things I have to do, regardless of the outcome. I’m open to what the experience will teach me.
Today is Women’s Equality Day, marking the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that granted all women the right to vote.
In Charleston, we’re lucky to have an organization that continues to be an advocate for women. That organization is The Center for Women, a non-profit offering resources, educational programs and networking opportunities to help all women succeed every day.
So, I’m honored that they picked this day to feature me on their blog. Click here to read what the Center for Women has meant to me, my thoughts on working in today’s economy… plus a well-deserved shout out to my mom.
The other night, my 4-year-old son ran into our bedroom.
“Dillon has a question for you,” said my husband, who was following close behind and giving me a look that said, “This is a good one.”
“Mommy, where was I before I was here?” He flashed a smile that shows he knows exactly how cute he is and how proud he was to think of the question all by himself.
I glanced and my husband and nodded. Yes, this was a good one, indeed. My son wanted to know where he was before he was in the world. “Well, I had that very same question when I was your age. And I think before we are born, we are with God. And the angels.” I looked at my husband, for backup.
“I told him he was like a ghost battery. Like on Scooby Doo.” Read more »
This past weekend, I saw the very hyped Eat Pray Love and wrote about it over at my blog on Hybrid Mom. You can read my review here. And here’s what HM readers had to say about the book-turned-movie:
[Reading] the book was the beginning of my mindset shift, to say to myself , “What do you want, and what is important to you?”
Funny, what I got from it is “be selfish at all costs.” Instead of throwing away marriages to embark on an epic adventure to find yourself, we need to learn to be content with what we have.
I’m not sharing this to criticize or defend… our points of view are often shaped by our experiences. I think these comments simply illustrate the various filters through which we view our lives and the world. Both comments are valid and glean bits of truth, in the proper context.
When we share our personal stories, we open ourselves up to the circus of public perception. People shake poms poms (go girl!) and throw tomatoes. Read more »
I met Nicole at a writing workshop in California. On the second day of the retreat she came up to me and said, “Angie, I had a dream last night that your book was turned into a movie! It was the scene where you and your mom were driving across the country. And your mom was Diane Keaton.”
Pretty good casting, I think. In Nicole’s dream, I played myself. Read more »
“It’s the last day of school. Woo hoo!” my son exclaimed as he dashed past the teachers and out the door toward the car. He’s 4. His preschool routine had consisted of a few mornings a week, yet he was already excited about summer vacation. His whole life is like summer, I thought, but he’s too young to realize that.
But he is old enough to understand the clearly marked end of one thing and the beginning of something new.
You can read the rest of this story in August issue of Lowcountry Parent magazine, or by clicking here.
Today’s post was inspired by Jennie B. Fiechtl, fellow writer and creator of The Sassy Steel Magnolia.I met Jennie for coffee last weekend, and we discovered we have something very important in common. We both want to dance on Ellen.
I mean, don’t you?
This video caused my kids (and me) to break into a spontaneous booty shake over Fruit Loops this morning. If you don’t see the player, click here.
I want to thank Jennie for featuring me on her blog today and for awarding me with The Mah- velous Magnolia badge. I received the honor in part, because according to Jennie, I bare a slight resemblance to Yoda. Click here to read the rest.
Many times our dreams are trumped by more practical things. A lot of what I aspire to in life, and the ways I go about achieving them, don’t always make sense on paper.
Dreams aren’t practical. Or convenient. Nothing worth having in life is. Read more »
I can’t think of a better way to round out the week than with this video by my friend and local musician, Frank Royster.
Once upon a time, Frank and I worked together at a Charleston television station, and we quickly bonded over Beatles music and round-the-clock hurricane coverage. We rang in the new millennium together– a small group of friends gathered at my apartment and listened to Frank play guitar.
I also have a few funny memories of Frank, like the time he almost wrecked the news truck when he saw a buzzard dining on road kill. And the time he thought I didn’t have toes. I apparently put all my nervous energy into my feet. That day, I was doing a live shot, and I was curling my toes up into my sandals. When the live shot was over, Frank stepped from behind the camera and a wave of relief washed over him, at the point he realized I did, in fact, have toes. “The whole time I was thinking, Angie, you poor girl!” Frank said. He was about to cry, so happy to be wrong.
Frank has a huge heart and an undeniable passion for music. ”Ever since I was a small child, I wanted to be a musician. Now I have released two CD’s and have surrounded myself with people who enable me to live that dream 4-5 nights a week. I have been blessed!”
In the video for Mr. Wonderful, you’ll definitely hear a bit of The Beatles and Elvis Costello– two of his greatest musical influences. But Mr. Wonderful has a unique hook that will stay with you all day and just make you smile. And the video may induce a sudden onset of happiness. Consider yourself warned.
I believe life's crossroads are opportunities. And sometimes, in order to have the things we truly want, we have to let go. We have to let go of old ideas about who we thought we were and how life was supposed to be. Letting go isn't easy. Believe me, I know. But each time I've allowed myself to loosen my grip, amazing things have happened. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I'm definitely not afraid to ask the questions. This blog is dedicated to telling my stories, and yours, too. I hope you'll wander around and stay a while. Subscribe, leave comments... make yourself at home.
