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Last night was the my oldest daughter’s NJROTC Annual Military Inspection and Parade (AMI) and her younger siblings and I were there to support her. She invited a handful of other friends and family but
none of them were able to make it. I think she was rather bummed about that even though she didn’t say so directly. Her body language showed her disappointment, though.

Even though the little kids thought it was boring and my youngest son had some trouble sitting still – and being quiet in otherwise silent gymnasium – I enjoyed it. The kids did a wonderful job marching and showing their expertise to the higher-ups. And **24** of them got perfect scores during the inspection!

I did get several pictures . . . none of the Teenager – she wouldn’t let me take one. Even though I begged. Pleaded. Bribed. Still, she just wouldn’t let me. The shots I took of her platoon didn’t turn out as clear as I would have liked but there is one where you can mostly see her peeking out from behind the others.

I haven’t uploaded the pictures from my camera yet but I will do that later today and add them to this post. Plan to check back tonight or tomorrow if you’re interested in seeing them.

Until then . . .

Be blessed,

It’s so frosty outside this morning! At first glance, I thought it had snowed! And it was only 23º f outside when I took the kids out to the school bus. It had BETTER NOT be another winter like last year . . . GRRRR

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 thought I was going to write about something else this morning but frosty mornings have a way changing ones mind. Well, that and the fact that I am participating in a challenge – Write of Passage – this month and today, the challenge is writing something embarrassing.

I really hate embarrassing situations and I try to exclude myself from them when at all possible but I do remember this one time when I was in my early teens, probably around 7th or 8th grade . . .

My grandma worked at the local YMCA as their receptionist, I guess you’d call it, and so she was generally the one who answered the phones. I used to call her when I got home from school to just let her know I’d arrived home safe and sound. Since my parents were usually still at work also (they delivered newspapers at the time because dad was “retired”) and as there were no cell phones back then, I couldn’t just call them. So, grandma it was.

Well, this one day I called the YMCA on my usual after school mission and someone ELSE answered the phone. Now, I knew my grandma’s name. Really, I did. But on this day, for the life of me, I just could not remember it. After I stammered around a bit, the person on the other end of the line – who was not my grandma – asked me who I was looking for . . .

“Well, I’m looking for my grandma, is she there?” I say.

“Honey, there are a lot of grandma’s here. What’s her name?”

“See, that’s the problem, I can’t remember it. You know, I just call her grandma usually.”

“So, is she a patron? Is she here for one of the senior programs this afternoon?”

“No, she works there. She usually answers the phone so I don’t have to worry about it.”

And she begins laughing at me! Not just a little chuckle, either.

“Oh, you want Clarice!” She finally says, still laughing.

“Yes, that’s her.”

“Ok, let me go find her for you, dear.”

I sat there waiting for a few minutes and could hear things going on in the background. Finally, I hear the phone being picked up.

“Hello, this is Clarice,” my grandma says, lightly chuckling.

“Hi, grandma,” I reply.

And she asks me what’s up. So, I told her my little story of not remembering her name and so I just asked for my grandma. She laughs a little more.

“I couldn’t remember your name for the life of me.”

“Well, it’s grandma, of course!”

“That’s what I told them and they didn’t believe me,” I say before hanging up.

My grandma – and my mom – told that story to anyone who would listen, I swear. Of course, it was the first thing my parents heard about when they got home from delivering newspapers later that afternoon, too.

I don’t know why I remember the story so vividly but I do and although there have been other embarrassing moments in my life, this one seems to be the one that stands out in my mind no matter what else happens.

But, you know, even though it is embarrassing, I’m grateful for the memory since my grandma is no longer here to share things with.

And when I get to heaven, I will say . . .

I’m sure they’ll know exactly who she is.

Be blessed,

The song currently stuck in my head . . . Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. There’s really no place to go, so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. (By the way, I hate snow. I hope we do NOT have the snow like last year. We were snowed in with well over 2 feet of snow for 2 weeks. Highly unusual in the Puget Sound area. It better stay in the mountains this time!)

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.

Other folks participating in this challenge . . .

You know, I think I say this nearly every year and I’m going to say it again – this season isn’t really only about Christmas. To me, it’s so much more.

I think it’s a time to reflect, to reconnect, to breathe slowly and deeply. It’s a time to share, to relax, enjoy and slow down. So many people get way too caught up in the hype and the stuff, though. And instead of a joyous time, filled with laughter and love, it becomes rushed. It becomes stressful and obscene.

So, here’s my goal once again for the holiday season – take it easy, enjoy the company of family and friends, old and new and just BE in the moment.

I’m blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life including many friends of times gone by that I’ve been fortunate enough to reconnect with in the past few months and I’m so thankful for that. And I’m thankful for my family and friends who’ve stuck by me all these years too. You all mean the world to me. Thanks for being here and for being YOU!

The other thing I’m going to do this season, is blog every day. Or at least, give it my best shot! Because we all know that every time I try to plan exactly what happens here, it all goes to hell.

Nonetheless, that’s my plan – to blog every day in December. There are just so many things rattling around my brain that need OUT and, as the saying goes, now is as good a time as any.

Until tomorrow, then . . .

Be blessed,

Oh, let’s see – I’m going to get some new desktop wallpapers up soon, too, so be on the lookout for that. You can also check out the ones from last year here or on my flickr stream

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.

Not only was this past Thursday Thanksgiving, it was also my youngest daughters birthday. She turned 9! The last year in single digits! That means, next year, I will have THREE kids in the double digits. I *AM* getting old – don’t try to tell me otherwise.

She worried all week that it was going to snow and we wouldn’t get to celebrate. See, the last 3 years we’ve tried to have a party for her on her birthday, it HAS snowed and nobody showed up. So she was really worried that since it was Thanksgiving AND her birthday, not only would it snow and nobody would show up but she’d be stuck without presents and cake and turkey and all that good stuff! LOL

It turned out well, though, and for that I’m thankful.

And since it’s a long weekend, we decided to put up the Christmas tree yesterday. So it’s up! But it’s not decorated. LOL Well, except for lights and that’s only because it’s one of those fake, pre-lit things. I love real trees but they make me sneeze mercilessly and my allergies just can’t handle it.

Of course, the Christmas music is in full play. I have 9.7 hours of Christmas music loaded in iTunes and it’s streaming through my stereo. It makes the gray days seem a little brighter.

You know, the holiday season is often stressful and painful for a lot of people. I think this year, it’s especially hard for folks all around the US due to the recession. Maybe even more so than usual. The past few years have been depressing for me, though I’ve not really figured out why because I’m not one prone to depression and I don’t get what is termed “seasonal depression” or whatever. But anyway, I’m trying to leave that behind this year and keep things simple.

This year especially with so many out of work and other hard situations we going on, we need to remember to be mindful of others, be courteous, share. We need to have empathy and compassion for our fellow man. For no other reason than the fact that we are ALL one race – the human race. And each of us deserves love and acceptance.

As I mentioned earlier on a friends blog, sometimes just that one smile or friendly wave can turn the world around for someone is who lost and hurting.

This holiday season, I encourage you to be the light in the darkness. You never know what impact it may have on someone else.

In the arena,

I’ll leave you with this today – lyrics to one of my favorite Christmas songs by Casting Crowns -

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on earth good will to men

And the bells are ringing
Like a choir they’re singing
In my heart I hear them
Peace on earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men

But the bells are ringing
Like a choir singing
Does anybody hear them?
Peace on earth, good will to men

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.

My posts over the past few months have been few and far between. I’m not going to rehash the why’s now (you can read my previous post for a glimpse at that) but again I’d like to apologize for leaving you hanging! And also thank you for sticking with me. I appreciate that you’re still here reading along.

So, every once in a while, I flip-flop around, wondering exactly what this blog is all about. What should I write here? Anything? Everything? Should it only be about personal things? Or business? Maybe both? Or even something else entirely?

And I always come back to the answer that it should include everything. It just feels right. Several years ago a well-meaning friend said I should separate the business from the personal and not have it all on one blog and while I appreciated her input, it just doesn’t work for me. Everything in my “real” life overlaps – why I should it not overlap here? For me, it’s part of being authentic.

Over the next few weeks you may see a some changes going on around here. I am planning to incorporate more business related things including current designs and projects I’m working on as well as some thoughts on more work-type topics. What exactly that entails at this point, I’m not entirely sure. We’ll see what happens as things go along.

And I say this because every time I try to make some sort of schedule or plan for what I want here, it always goes by the wayside at some point and I rarely stick to it. So I apologize for being so vague but I do hope you’ll enjoy what happens and I hope you come along for the ride!

Stay tuned! I’m going to talk about Thanksgiving next and also something I read on another blog this morning.

Have a beautiful Sunday!

In the arena,

I’ve been listening to Christmas music all weekend! The last few years I’ve been rather “blah” about this holiday but this year, I’m pushing all that muck aside and allowing the light to shine. Are you ready for the most special season of the year?

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.

Hey! I’m writing this to you from the Wordpress app on my mobile. It’s pretty cool so far and I’m hoping it will allow me to update things much more often.

I hope you had a great Veteran’s Day Wednesday if you’re here in the US. And if you are a Vet, please accept my deepest gratitude for your service to our nation. We are free because of you. Thank you!

Have a fabulous weekend, all!

~Annie Anderson

Goodness! I bet by now, some of you think perhaps I’ve fallen off the planet, huh?

And I’ve been gone so long, I don’t even know where to begin. So many things have happened – summer ended, school started, teenage issues, friends, family, birthdays, school problems, other problems, and of course in between all of that there’s been design projects, writing projects, fixing broken computers, sick kids, and a lost cat who still hasn’t come home. And yet, that’s not all!

I probably won’t really share too much of what’s happened lately. There are many things I’ve just decided will stay in the recesses of my mind at this point.

But, I think it all started with our poor lost kitty. Something just broke inside and since then, the words just don’t come. Sure, I can write for other people, I can write emails and letters and daily stuff like that, but writing here . . .

not so easy.

So I just haven’t.

It’s not really *because* of the cat, though. It’s just like the will to write anything outside of necessity stopped being important. And coming from someone who has wanted nothing more her entire life than to be a writer . . . well, it made me feel like a hypocrite, actually.

This week, though, my fingers are itching! So here I am. I’ll take it easy getting back into the swing of things but I should be around at least a few times a week. I’ve got a list of stuff I do want to post and a few changes I want to make to things.

Later this weekend, I plan to write a bit about a few my projects as well as write a bit about why I *don’t* discuss my projects much here. I know most designers who have blogs talk often about their work and post pictures and details and the whole nine yards and lately it seems everyone wants to know why I don’t do it too. So, I’ll tell you! But not right now.

I just wanted to drop in and say hi and let you know I’m here and I haven’t forgotten you.

Anyway, I hope you’ve been well and happy and things are going good for you!

In the arena,

My thoughts and condolences to the victims and families of the horrific acts of cowardice that took place in Texas and Florida this week.

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.