hello lovely child

It's the stuff about you that you may consider undesirable that makes you interesting to read. I'm not just referring to self-deprecation or memoir writing. I've learned it's okay to go ahead and embrace and exploit my weaknesses. For me, sometimes this means exposing neurotic tendencies, and keep in mind: “EVERYTHING GREAT IN THE WORLD HAS COME FROM NEUROTICS. THEY ALONE HAVE FOUNDED OUR RELIGIONS AND COMPOSED OUR...

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My recipe for Luke's Christmas Love cookieswon a contestin 2008 for Country Home Magazine.Try it! ...

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Science confirms kids need more free-play by Michele Ranard, M.Ed. 770 words With school in full swing, homework, studying, and a steady diet of rigidly-structured activities are standard fare for many kids. Soccer, ballet, piano, and extracurriculars broaden the horizon and set the stage for personal growth. But over-scheduling our children to beef up their competitiveness or resumes for college has a downside....

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Cut, cut, cut. But don't waste the Jesus bandaids. And read everything by Kurt Vonnegut. Don't use up all the fancy bandages in a day. I know. It's hard. They're pretty and bring more comfort than Hello Kitty ones. I love Vonnegut's voice, don't you? Here's what he once said about writing: 1. Find a subject you care about. 2. Do not ramble, though. 3. Keep...

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Quiet your thoughts by picturing mice or don't.Anne Lamott references a great tip in Bird by Bird (the most helpful book I've read about writing).Many writers experience chatter in their brains even away from the notebook or laptop, and she says in order to bid goodbye to it (and SLEEP!), she imagines the thoughts are little mice. She picks each one up by its tail and...

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Help Empathy Bloom in Your Children by Michele Ranard, M.Ed. 920 words *image, mightytosave.tumblr.com Cyber-bullying and “mean schoolgirl” scenarios are frequently publicized in the news. More than a few kids have hogged the spotlight lately for ugly displays of aggression and lack of kindness. Are we living through an empathy crisis? I don’t have the answer. Despite headlines, we all witness empathetic acts...

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Hold on loosely.  WRITE EVERYDAY WHETHER YOU'RE INSPIRED OR NOT It is tempting to rush the words when inspiration comes - to grab immediately and squeeze thoughts aggressively from consciousness in order to own them. But handling them gently for a little while is often preferable. Time allows ideas to deepen. Of course, this is never good advice to follow when you have a deadline. This...

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An Untidy Space Probably Spells Normal Development. by Michele Ranard, M.Ed. 465 wds It’s more than a tad embarrassing when I recall how I used to brag about my neatnick son’s spotless room. He was the shipshape child. The kid finger-pressing wrinkles out of little polo shirts and cargo pants. In fact, he lived for color-coding perfectly hanging apparel in his closet. His...

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10 Ways to Consciously Choose Happiness For You. For Your Kidsby Michele Ranard, M.Ed. 800 words “Cultivating greater happiness not only benefits oneself, but also one’s family, community, and society at large.” (Dalai Lama) Cultivating happiness drives us. We seek it, lose it, recover it and constantly monitor ourselves for it. Happiness is abstract but way beyond warm and fuzzy. Remember when parents...

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You can definitely get published! Try regional markets or parenting pubs before you pitch that million dollar screenplay. A cool editor asked me these questions. 1. Why approach a parenting publication?  I HAVE A HEART FOR CHILDREN AND A PASSION FOR HELPING FAMILIES AND WANT TO BRING QUALITY CONTENT TO THIS MARKET. IF I'M BRUTALLY HONEST, I HAVE TO ADMIT A WEAKNESS FOR MAGAZINES! I'VE ALWAYS...

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Just notice.Sage advice dating back to my counselor training days. Just notice doesn't sound heavy. But it is.What is REALLY being said in the conversation? What is left out? Why is your stomach upset when you do that? Why is your energy zapped around her? Did you see the way the robin just chased the butterfly around that Maple?Noticing may come naturally for you. It can annoy others....

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Whenever a paycheck with my name on it arrives in the mail, I wave it in the faces of my sons, who are now 14 and 18. Sometimes I smack the 14-year-old J. over the head with the envelope because of all the members of the family, he is the most unsupportive of my freelance writing career. He is famous for asking me, "Oh, is it another imaginary check?" It seems...

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Artist Aaron Romo's depiction of one of my sons or teen Jesus (hard to distinguish). Few things bring more joy (when you're me) than refreshingly clean crisp rooms. Getting high on Windex is in my nature. I grew up with neatnick parents who did all the housework while I dreamed, read, or played an instrument. I got lucky and got someone to marry me who speaks the same language of...

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There's no place like the mall. A lot of us shop online now. Or we're broke so we don't shop. It's a shame to miss out on live, meaningful chitchat in the marketplace. After all, malls are more than overpriced meccas for teenagers to waste their lives. They also sell enormous cinnamon rolls. Last night at a department store, a gorgeous cosmetics rep...

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Parents of tweens and teens frequently sound insane. In search of your daily dose of parental optimism? Uh-oh. Positivity is good; I feel you. But this rant is for parents who utter the most INSANE drivel to adolescents who have not yet escaped over the penitentiary barbed wire. (By “insane” I mean two things. There are the mostly sensible responses made by parents which penetrate...

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When I began freelancing almost two years ago, it was excruciating to wait for an editor to get back to me about a submission. Is my idea at all interesting? Am I entertaining? Does this make good copy? Waiting to hear truly sucked. There are still times I feel impatient upon pitching NON-autobiographical material. However, no one is happier than me about the fact it takes months...

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A few days ago I wore a white skort with a swoosh like this to WalMart to buy a birthday card. I own several similar skorts and have no clue whether it's vogue to wear them off the tennis court. The truth is, I have a checkered past with skorts. I love their femininity and ease, but they create drama I don't need. Skorts make me stupid, get me...

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Hello puberty? It's me, menopause. It’s a phrase turned as often in this house as “there’s nothing to eat” and “I need ten bucks.” Whether Megan Fox is on the screen or there’s a new girl in class to dish about, “she’s so hot” inevitably crops up in daily conversation with me and my teen sons. My hotness is an issue as well....

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Can digital technology become any more entwined with the way we live than it already is? Yesterday, on a walk with my sister, she expressed bewilderment about her husband Facebook-ing their teen son from the other room. “I mean, what happened to the phone and texting?” my sister lamented. “Wait a sec. They were in the same house, and you are questioning why...

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A rant as old as the Bible about messy teens. Do you think Mary had to nag teen Jesus to the point of psychotic break just to get him to hang his wet towel on the bathroom hook installed by Joseph? We know the Savior at age twelve was feisty and independent-minded (remember the disappearing act for three days in the Temple…can you even...

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As writers often we need to get out of our own way and have a little faith in our ability to communicate what only we can.It's advice I must continually remind myself of. I'm a professional, yet most days I am certain I should leave good writing to THOSE COOLER FOLKS who have it mastered. I'm a perfectionist, and the inner editor tends to...

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Facing what it means to parent a teen. by Michele Ranard, M.Ed. 800 wds Raising teens while navigating the uncharted territory of midlife can be challenging for any parent. It’s confusing. Experts warn of the dangers of too permissive parenting or being their friend (“You’re an authority, not their bud!”). Yet there are plenty of moments it feels perfectly natural to be friendly—to...

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It is incredibly hard not to suck.Tonight I've been editing essay stuff written in the last few weeks (some of it was even posted), and it's all crap. All.I am disgustedand overwhelmedand thinking I may need a break, a change of scenery, a new career, or stronger prescriptions. ...

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All I really need to know, I learned away from a mosh pit. Lilacs are blooming. School's out for the summer. The teen-natives in our house are restless. You know what that means. Arts and crafts! Slip 'n Slide! Library central! Maybe. But not really. Actually, it’s moshing season for our highschoolers who like to thrash. Do you speak mosh? Before I translate, you should be briefed...

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