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Well, with all of the other housekeeping things for both Christmas and my bog(s), it looks like I’m just NOT going to get to the {W}rite of Passage Challenge this week. Guess I’ll just have to pass this week unless I have some time over the weekend – after Christmas.

I do want to tell you about two things, though.

Way back in 2006, I started a blog about the writing life over on wordpress. At the time, I also owned another domain name but I really had no idea how to install wordpress on my own domain so the blog remained on wp’s own hosting. After I started blogging here, I only blogged over there for about a year or so and eventually stopped altogether. Which is pretty sad, really.

Anyway, I’ve decided to revive that blog so I’ve spent the past few days moving everything from over there to a new subdomain here on AA|Blog. Now that I’ve got some of the tweaks accomplished, I’m going to give you all that link so you can check it out if you’d like.

Visit Margin of Error here.

If you decide to take a peek, let me know what you think.

In the meantime, I hope you have a fantastic Christmas and that you’ve got all of your shopping done. I am – admittedly – a little behind on mine and have a few more things to go finish up. Hopefully I can do that tomorrow during the day.

If it doesn’t snow. Which it better not . . .

And the other thing I wanted to tell you is – well, to ask you, actually. One of my former sister-in-laws, Helen, is having some health issues. She’s had a couple of small strokes in the past week and I’d appreciate it if you could send her and her family (husband, 2 children, their spouses and 2 grandchildren) some healing thoughts and energies. If you could do that for me, it would make my Christmas! Thank you! Helen is a great person and her family needs her.

Be blessed,

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

I’ll have the entry for this weeks {W}rite of Passage Challenge up Tuesday. Oops!

Got busy with other stuff and totally ran out of time.

See you tomorrow.

Be blessed,

My brain is so full of stuff to write the past few days that I haven’t written anything. And then when I sat down here today to write something, I had no idea what to write because of all of the clatter inside my head. If you’re a writer, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about.

I have ideas for blog posts, ideas for short stories and the ever-present – and increasingly persistent – ideas for novels. Maybe 2010 will be the year I finally get all of them sorted out and put down on paper. Maybe even finish ones I’ve started . . .

And it’s also the kids’ first day of winter break and of course, it’s the Solstice too. As is typical in Washington, it’s pouring rain today. Truly pouring. We’d gotten spoiled these first few weeks of December which were un-typically cold and DRY. Looks like Mother Nature is going to make up for that in short order!

Hopefully we don’t have another snow storm like last year. Once every 20 years or so, is fine but let’s not make it a regular thing, okay, Mother Nature? 2 feet of snow that stuck around for 2 weeks in an area that usually gets 2 inches or less that’s gone by morning was not too fun. Seattle and the surrounding areas were not meant for that much snow.

Anyway, later today I’ll be posting my entry for Week 3 of the Write of Passage challenge so look out for that. And if I don’t post anything else before Friday, I hope you all have a Wonderful, Merry Christmas!

May your holiday be bright and joyful!

Be blessed,

It’s time for more Christmas music! What are you favorites?

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

There has been a bit of upheaval recently around the blogosphere about pseudonyms and their impact on the trust factor. While I can understand and empathize with some of the trepidation, I don’t get the bashing and obnoxiously self-righteous attitudes.

There are certainly times when a pseudonym is beneficial and one must always take great care to ensure the use of one doesn’t hinder their integrity and trustworthiness. I think there’s a pretty fine line between being trustworthy and not; perhaps a line that for some, is too easy to cross.

Of course, sometimes one gets pushed across the line, perhaps by necessity (possibly in extreme situations) or perhaps by another with less than honest intentions. Either way, it’s going to cause some backfire. Those on the outside shouldn’t be so quick to judge, though.

It’s that whole “walk a mile in their shoes” thing. Put yourself in their situation and truly examine your heart – would you react that way then? Possibly. And possibly not. But until you’re actually faced with the same set of circumstances, you can’t say for sure.

A teacher I had several years ago in a college course I took said, “All of us are only one thought, one action, one reaction from being in that place.” She was talking about the state prison. She went on to describe everyday, nice, upstanding people that were faced with a choice and ended up on the other side for whatever reason. Often, to protect themselves or someone they love.

And I think that pertains to the use of pseudonyms – especially for single moms. As someone who was once a single mom (with an ex-husband who was stalking her and had/has a restraining order), I totally can relate to that. In fact, “Annie” is not my real first name. (I guarantee you, though, I am most certainly a woman!) Annie is a nickname my family has always called me, ever since I can remember. If you know me, you know my real first name (though Anderson really is my last name) although I have not completely hidden my true name – you can find it.

My point, though, is that in the end, it’s just a name.

As we have found out, however, it’s what’s behind the name that matters. And while I think there are certainly other ways the whole thing could have been handled, I don’t fault anyone for it. We all make our choices based on the facts and feelings we have at the time. The problem is that over time, those facts and feelings can change.

The lesson here, is that having a professional pseudonym gives you a certain responsibility to your clients and those you work with to ensure that your actions are held to the highest integrity. You must always come clean with those you work with, otherwise it can (and most assuredly – will) be taken as dishonesty when the truth is revealed. I think this is especially true where gender difference is concerned.

And if you know anything at all about karma, you know that the truth always comes out eventually!

Now, having said all of that, let me just say – I think it took a tremendous amount of balls to do what James Chartrand did.

(By the way, the truth coming out doesn’t always have anything to do with dishonesty, either.) (Just some food for thought there.)

Be blessed,

This whole thing raises some other interesting questions and I may discuss my thoughts further in the future. For now, though, I think the whole uproar is rather silly.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Out of all of life’s little pleasures, the one I had hoped most to impart to my own children was a love of reading. But it seems with the digital age, reverence for the library and a good book have gone by the wayside. That makes me sad a little.

When I was growing up, if I wasn’t outside riding bikes and what-not, I was inside curled up with a book. And a cat. Especially during this time of year when the weather turns wet and cold here in Western Washington. Nowadays, the kids have their noses stuffed in a computer screen or video game or a cell phone all the time. I suppose you could – maybe – loosely define some part of that as “reading.”

When they were little, I read to them every day and we went to the public library at least once a week. And of course, they saw (and still see) me reading often. You know, the whole “be the example” kind of thing.

I’ll admit – I do, do a fair amount of reading on the computer these days but I also still read regular, hold ‘em in your hand, bound, paper books as well. (Although, if the reading gods are listening, I’d really, *really* like a Kindle for Christmas.) (Hey, at least it’s still a book!)

Still, it makes me a little sad and I wonder if any of my children will ever be bitten by the reading bug . . .

Be blessed,

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book. ~Author Unknown

Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. ~Charles W. Eliot

If you resist reading what you disagree with, how will you ever acquire deeper insights into what you believe? The things most worth reading are precisely those that challenge our convictions. ~Author Unknown

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

Last week I was having a conversation on another blog with someone who kept trying to disprove my viewpoint. Instead, everything he said just proved my point even more. One of his “points” was that organic food was no better than the highly processed crap most manufacturers and the FDA try to pass off as “healthy” foods.

He asked me for resources which I didn’t name because, frankly, like I told him – go to google and do your own research. It’s not hard to find a variety of studies and other reliable data to support my opinion. (Additionally, I told him I wasn’t going to post any of them because I read SO many things, it’s nearly impossible to keep track of what I read and where I read it.)

So, today, I came across this one and I thought I’d share it. I think I will make a habit of listing these resources and what-not here so that next time some argumentative clown without a clue wants to nit-pick with me, I’ll know exactly where to send them – here!

The 7 Foods Experts Won’t Eat written by Liz Vaccariello, Editor-in-Chief of PREVENTION Magazine.

Liz’s article also has several links to other articles and resources with great info. If you’re at all interested in healthier eating (and living), I encourage you to check it out. Also, always do your due diligence when it comes to food and health. You owe it to yourself (and your family!) to understand the impact of your choices.

And like I tell my kids – make GOOD choices!

Be blessed,

You know, I really feel sorry for people like that poor moron. He’s been so brainwashed by the system, he can’t think for himself. He’s become a “sheeple.” While it’s okay to be a follower, don’t be a blind follower and make sure the source you’re following is an accurate one.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.

A few months ago, I tried to install the disqus comment system. I have a disqus account and really like being able to post comments on other blogs and be able to track them. But I didn’t like how it worked on my site so after a few weeks, I uninstalled it.

And now I’m going to try re-installing it. So, if things seem broken or other-wise borked, blame it on disqus!

Please bear with me while I sort any kinks and do let me know if you have any trouble. (You can send me an email from the contact page.)

Also, I may be playing around with a few other things – possibly the header and maybe even the site design.

Thanks!

In the arena,

Want to work with an award-winning writer? Now is your chance! Hurry and book for the first half of 2010 before the calendar is full. I still have some space available. Check out the Hire Me tab above for info on how to contact me and your reserve your spot now.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business – just as if it were her own.