After a few days of flirting via phone calls and texts, he was working late one Friday night when he told me he really wished I would have come to visit him at work. I told him I was big on formal invites—I never wanted to show up any place that I wasn’t absolutely sure […]
MoreI saved D in my phone as “D” for two reasons: 1. I have a wild imagination, and 2. I had just finished reading Julie Powell’s second memoir, “Cleaving,” about her sexy affair with a man she called “D.” A girl can dream. The day following our first date was a Tuesday, which meant I […]
MoreI wasn’t even half-finished with my glass of wine when D appeared, plopping down in the bar stool beside me. “I didn’t think you’d come,” he said. He looked more handsome than I recalled the night before. He was dressed in a collared, button down shirt, jeans, and Chucks…I love Chucks. “I thought about not […]
MoreBoy, this is the start of a series of posts I have been dreading to revisit—the story of a relationship that ended just a month ago. While it was just 4 months in time, it was a love that shook me. I hope you’ll stick around for the entire story. Here goes… * * * […]
MoreA few weeks ago, The Frisky posted a story about 2 friends (a guy and a girl) who found themselves single at the same time and decided to date each other for 40 days…and blog about it. This was/is right up my ally. I kept seeing the link to the blog all over my Facebook […]
MoreLast week, I was flipping through the radio stations on my morning drive to work. I stopped on the local country station (101.5 WYNK) as the two male DJs were talking. One of them, Patrick (if I remember correctly) said he was guilty of doing something sappy. It was a Thursday morning and he’d gotten […]
MoreHello out there! I realize I’ve been MIA for months; and when that happens, I really hate doing these “apology posts” regarding my absence. Truth be told, I don’t think there is one specific reason why I was silent on the blog these last few months—I suppose life just got in the way. Most of […]
MoreWhere are the Nicholas Sparks fans? I jumped on the Sparks bandwagon a few years ago when The Last Song hit movie theatres. I loved the movie and did the backward thing by reading the book afterward. Ever since, I got my best girlfriend hooked on his books and I love reading them and then […]
MoreI sometimes get a thrill out of 3am ice cream standing alone in my kitchen just because I can What thrills those around me often chills me terrifies me into sleepless nights sending me into a chain of unpleasant days I sometimes find myself living in the past romanticizing what has hurt me I don’t […]
MoreThis is an editorial I wrote for Dig magazine in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. * * * I’m thinking about getting a landline. It’s not about time travel or saving money. It’s for the sake of dating. I’ve had a cell phone since I was 16, when I had my first boyfriend […]
MoreI can still remember my first Valentine. I was in first grade, and a boy in my class, named Dustin, gave me a small, white teddy bear with a red bow tied around his neck. At 6 years old, this was a lavish gift among the ritual of passing out store-bought cards with flat suckers. […]
MoreBirthday #25 2am visit to your house High heels Trench coat Confetti cake November cold Kitchen table sex Front yard cigarettes A late night connection Or confused confections I fell for you Fast Mistook Lust for love Empty Shot glasses Cashed Mansion in College park Stability In Secrets A paved Path I Wish I Could […]
MoreOne of the best parts of my job as a journalist is meeting so many different, and interesting, people. With each interview I conduct, I’m reminded of the motto I live by: Everyone has a story to tell. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with a local gentleman who was […]
MoreDraft saved Monday, September 26, 2011 Matthew: that kinda sounds like a perfect weekend. what movie Sent at 2:27 PM on Monday me: lion king friday…and saturday…the one with sarah jessica parker “I dont know how she does it” Sent at 2:30 PM on Monday me: i had actually sent you a text just before you messaged […]
MoreI saw this story on the news the other morning, “A love story in 22 photos”—a story that had gone viral. I had to see it for myself. The story, told in only 22 pictures and no words, is a love story of a naval officer and his girlfriend-turned-fiance-turned-wife. The pictures say it all; go […]
MoreAs a sophomore in college, I was at school just an hour away from New Orleans, the home of Hurricane Katrina. At that time, I was living in a sorority house. The house, they told us, was safe and would remain open, but I was lucky enough to have one of my Greek sisters offer […]
MoreI’ve never claimed to be psychic, and sometimes I’m not certain I believe in the ability to predict the future. However, during the summer before my junior year of high school, a girlfriend of mine, Julie, wanted to have her palm read. As I’m usually up for anything, I went along with her. The psychic […]
MoreI’ve mentioned here before that I’m working on a book with a fellow writer, Gina. Slowly, but surely, we are working through our draft. While I won’t bog you down with all of the details, I thought my part of the “introduction” would be worth sharing, just to give you a taste of my story. […]
MoreIn honor of Justin Bieber’s new album, “Believe” release today, I found it only necessary to share with you things The Biebs has taught me, in love and in life —of course. Good hair matters. It’s no surprise that The Biebs’ locks have been their own form of celebrity. Next time you’re skipping out on […]
MoreOver the weekend, I rented a movie I’ve been wanting to see for months: My Week With Marilyn. It was only released in theatres in certain cities, and Baton Rouge was not one of the lucky ones. My Week With Marilyn, starring Michelle Williams as Marilyn and Eddie Redmayne as Collin, is the true story […]
MoreI saw this commercial for Kraft “Anything” Dressing last night. Can you count how many dating cliches are in it? “Kraft has rebranded its salad dressing as ‘Anything Dressing’—a smart change that allows it to justify pouring its fattening Ranch over anything from asparagus to pizza. To promote the new branding, ad agency Being created […]
MoreLast night, I ventured out around 11:30 (in my pajamas) to catch the midnight showing of The Lucky One…this is when living on top of a movie theatre really comes in handy. I had been counting down the days until the premiere, for many reasons. 1., it was the first time I’d actually read a […]
MoreAbout a year ago, a former coworker of mine said he was coming in town for a weekend and thought we should see a movie together. I agreed, and was looking forward to catching up with an old friend. When the weekend neared, he asked me if I wanted to grab dinner before the flick. […]
MoreDuring a drive this weekend, I popped in a random CD and came across one of my favorite country songs, “These Days” by Rascal Flatts. The song, which is the story about a man running into a girl he’s loved for years although she’s married, is a little cheesy (and so is the music video), […]
MoreLast September, I read “The Lucky One,” by Nicholas Sparks. It’s a romantic love story about a soldier in Iraq, who is on a mission to find his lucky charm: a girl in a photo. After crossing the country to find her, she’s got serious emotional baggage tying her down. Like many other Sparks fans, […]
MoreLast night, I joined a girlfriend for dinner before an event we had tickets for. The event, an MMA fight, was in an area of town that doesn’t have much going on. The best we could find was an Outback Steakhouse. Outback Steakhouse was the first job I ever had. I was 16, had just […]
MoreI just finished reading “A Place of Yes” by Bethenny Frankel. I was taking my time with this one, because it has so many great takeaway lessons and I often took lots of notes while reading it. If you are a Bethenny fan already, I don’t need to explain to you how amazing she is […]
MoreUntil recently, it had been more than a year since I’d been on a proper date. I know, right? Truthfully, I don’t often meet men that are worth my time, and even more so, I don’t have much time to spare for others. Between maintaining FIVE (!) blogs, a full-time job, three freelance gigs, a […]
MoreThe best qualities in you have always been there, but when you get stuck in the past and make your pain your identity, then that’s what you become. —Bethenny Frankel, “A Place of Yes”
MoreI just finished reading Julie Powell’s second memoir, Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession. You might recognize Powell’s name from her first book, Julie and Julia, which I read and loved. Because of that, I was looking forward to reading the sequel, and I wasn’t disappointed. While Powell’s first book was much about […]
MoreAfter weeks of prepping, I had an interview yesterday to determine whether I could teach a class I created all on my own: Blogging for Beginners. I got the class! I will say, right from the start, I never ever thought I would teach. However, over the 10 years of my writing career, I have […]
MoreAs a reader of this blog, I have to assume you have some experience, or at least interest, in romantic relationships. I have joined thoughts with fellow writer and blogger Gina Gennari of “Just Married” to write a book about dating and relationships. Although we have several stories between us, we need your input. Please […]
MoreTo my one true love, Holly. Lonely was the song I sang, ’till the day you came. Showing me another way, and all that your love can bring. Happy Valentine’s Day! See you tonight Baby! Love always & forever, John Mayer
MoreI was excited this morning when I heard a sweet story on the news: the story of Mrs. Bieber. Mrs. Bieber, or Avalanna, is a 6-year-old who is diagnosed with a rare type of cancer. She is a huge Justin Bieber fan, so much so, she had a fake wedding to him. When the Biebs […]
MoreI talk a lot about losing relationships—the romantic ones—and how difficult they are to move past. This weekend, I lost three friendships faster than I could ever imagine. Losing friendships, I am learning, is part of life. You meet people, they spend time in your life, and perhaps they stay, or maybe they go. These […]
MoreRemember when I told you I had been thinking of Valentine’s Days gone by? Well, as I’ve mentioned, they aren’t all ribbons and pearls, or chocolate and roses, perhaps. But, they aren’t all about me sitting and moping, either. If I think back further, years ago, there was a Valentine’s Day when I actually stood […]
MoreAnna Sofia Martin’s latest article on The Frisky really caught my attention: “8 Tips For Landing a Job or a Man This Valentine’s Day.” While I’m not looking for either of those things, I’ve never thought about just how similar these two things are: job hunting vs. on the prowl. Martin finds herself in a […]
MoreI’ve been thinking a lot about Valentine’s Days from years behind me…and it doesn’t look pretty. One in particular, two years ago, hurts me the most. But as I continue to move on as a single woman, learning from these moments is what it’s all about. So, I want to share with you a piece […]
MoreChoc-o-hol-ic adjective Containing or relating to chocolate: Dove is the favorite chocoholic brand. Caused by the excessive consumption of chocolate: chocoholic headache. Suffering from chocoholism: her chocoholism tendencies were ruining her diet. Noun Person suffering from chocoholism.
MoreA week from today, couples will celebrate the oh-so-fun holiday, Valentine’s Day. Jesus. For the 26th year in a row, I’m single on Hearts Day, and once again, I’m searching for ways to survive this couples’ holiday. Luckily, The Frisky came to my rescue with the article, “15 Ways to Avoid Valentine’s Day This Year.” […]
MoreLast week, I was driving home late from a meeting and was blaring my usual 90’s music station. I squealed with delight as the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” came on the radio. Is the song a work of art? Hardly. But listening to it brought me back—way back—to the days when songs from boy […]
MoreEarlier this week, The Frisky posted an interesting article, “Thoughts From Guys On Our IM: Do You Worry About Being a ‘Toxic Bachelor’?” The article stemmed from a friend of the author’s who’d said he wanted to settle down in fear of becoming a “Toxic Bachelor,” explained as a moment in time when it’s “no […]
MoreLil Wayne is one of my favorite artists—not to mention a fun person to see in concert—but I love how clever his songs are. Months ago, on a date, his song “How to love,” came on, which sparked a good conversation about Weezy himself. Things didn’t work out with that date, but it’s a fond […]
MoreYesterday, I started the oh-so-fun task of cleaning out my work email account, as we are going through a program migration tomorrow. So that left me to sort through a solid 7,000 emails in attempts to start fresh. Sigh. Things were going as great as they could be considering the circumstances when I started clicking […]
MoreYesterday, The Frisky posted an article on “the list.” You know the list I’m talking about…that list of everything you want in a significant other. Perhaps some of the things on the list are dreamy—his stunning eyes, his golden locks—some of them might be fun—hobbies he’ll have, or those he won’t—and of course, there are […]
MoreAs I venture out more and more in the dating scene, I’ve gotten more annoyed with the amount of text-messaging that happens there. Yeah, I know I sound like a huge loser, that I’m not with it. Believe me, I do my fair share of texting and have even had entire relationships (or so it […]
MoreEarlier this week, a local magazine published an editorial I wrote about my neighbor. You can read it here. Long story short, I went to his apartment for what I assumed was an innocent evening and ended up having to run out of there after he was trying to force me to cuddle with him. […]
MoreIn last Sunday’s issue of The New York Times there was an “Education Life” insert full of articles on the modern college student. As a blogger, I was super excited to check out “Term Paper Blogging,” an article written by Matt Richtel on the idea of the age-old term paper being replaced with a blog. […]
MoreOne thing about writing a memoir is the difference between what happened then and what is happening now. The things I’m writing about, or rather, thinking about writing about when really they need to be edited and rewritten, happened years ago. Many. Years. Ago. Not only do I have to remember several things about those […]
MoreJust before the new year, I read a book I just couldn’t wait to get my hands on: “If It Was Easy They’d Call the Whole Damn Thing a HoneyMoon,” by Jenna McCarthy. The reviews for this book promised a hilarious read, and they were right on point. McCarthy tells the story of life as […]
MoreLast week, one of my favorite website, The Frisky, posted an article about dating habits: “10 Unhealthy Dating Patterns And How to Break Them.” I am a sucker for any article relating to dating, but I’m usually shocked at just how true they are. This article was no different. While yes, I know there are […]
MoreWell, I succumbed to the peer pressure and joined Pinterest. If you haven’t heard yet, Pinterest is basically a collection of virtual bulletin boards where you can post pictures, clippings, ideas, etc onto them just as you would a real bulletin board. I have several friends who’ve been on this for months and have told […]
MoreIn last Sunday’s issue of The New York Times, there was a great Modern Love article by Aimee Lee Ball, “Exit Left, Wordlessly.” Read it here. In it, Ball explains a relationship she had with a Civil War re-enactor. Although she was attracted to him, she questioned some of the stories he told her about his […]
MoreBefore I left work yesterday, I was rummaging around in my desk and came across an old stack of CDs. Near the top was one very dear to my heart: The Spirit Room by Michelle Branch. This album came out in 2001, when I was a junior in high school. This was the same year […]
MoreHello all! I know I am constantly apologizing for not posting enough on this site. I also know that excuses don’t get anyone anywhere—only action can do that. But here I am, posting. I’m not huge on New Year’s resolutions, but it’s always good to have goals. In 2012, I am most definitely staying on […]
MoreI came across this article on Twitter (follow me @OrangeJulius7) last month from Writer’s Relief: “Online Writing Submissions: Mistakes Writers Make Submitting to Literary Agents and Editors” Here’s a few tips I learned: Don’t rush. Take your time, follow ALL of the guidelines. Don’t forget to actually SUBMIT the work. Proofread (no typos or slang). […]
MoreIt seems really silly and stupid of me to post two entries in a row that are apologies about not writing. I have, yet again, put all the fun stuff on hold for what? Work, I suppose. This book is really important to me, so I don’t know why I keep letting it slip to […]
MoreHello all! I want to offer my sincere apologies for not writing in well over a month. I know, I’m a slacker…and I’m kicking myself in the ass for it. Truth be told, I’ve made the mistake of letting other things get in the way of making progress on my book…things like work, freelance, and […]
MoreI’ve been researching agents and the publishing world for just a few days now, and I will admit {as much as I hate to} that it is an intimidating world out there. I’m starting to second guess all of the work I’ve done, and wonder if I need to work harder, longer, be more clever…in […]
MoreHello everyone! I’m spending a Sunday inside {it’s rather dreary outside}, but I’m attempting to be productive and do some research on this whole book publishing thing. I’m reading some of the articles in my 2011 Guide to Literary Agents, and have found some helpful links for all of us! The Association of Author’s Representatives […]
MoreThat last post (below) was one a wrote WHILE giving a presentation on why blogging is great for business. I logged into my Dashboard and showed the audience just how easy it is to post using WordPress (I know, I should be paid for this stuff). But anyway, last night I finally finished editing the […]
MoreOn my way home from work this evening, I used a gift card I got for Christmas to purchase the latest edition of Writer’s Market (the gospel for us folk). In years prior, I buy the general Writer’s Market, but since all I am focused on this year is publishing my book, I was happily […]
MoreHello all, and Happy New Year! Ugh, my sincere apologies for not writing lately. I have been totally drained, and really haven’t done a good job of keeping up with ANY of my many writing projects…I’m completely blaming the holidays and my long break from work that’s got me completely lazy! Anyway, I hope the […]
MoreI literally JUST finished editing my first rough draft. Man, it feels great! Many of you have offered to help me edit and I’m so thankful for that. I made all of my edits with pen and paper, so it will probably take me a few days to make them electronically (I know I probably […]
MoreHello all! I promise I’m still around. I just unpacked the rough draft to do an hour or so of editing. I am currently on page 21. I’m hoping to be finished tomorrow, so I can make all of my changes electronically and then send out the latest copies of the text. Wish me luck!
MoreHello readers! My chapter, “Checking Out” was the final chapter of my book—that’s right, I’ve completed writing the rough draft of How To Make Lemonade! It feels really weird saying that…but at the same time, it feels great. I wrote it months before the deadline I assigned myself, which is beyond me, really. Now that […]
MoreIn late October, Austin and I got into a pretty heated fight (big shocker, I know). He was coming into town for Thanksgiving the following month and I told him it would be a good time for us to meet each other’s parents—my mom was coming in town to cook with me and he was […]
MoreAJ, Hey you! Just wanted to say thanks for another great weekend. I have fun with you whether we’re out or just at home…because you’re that cool. I’m looking forward to another visit soon. I know things might suck now but I am certain time will help in a decision that will be the best […]
MoreToward the end of July, I had a bit of a meltdown. I hadn’t really talked to Austin much since I got home from Dallas. So I assumed he would never talk to me again. Everything he was doing I was applying it to my fear and I finally broke down. I thought about what […]
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