Can I Ask You a Question?

I love to be involved in interviews. I have friends who hate to be subjected to the “dreaded” author interview. Not me: no question is too weird, too off topic or bizarre. It’s most likely because I’m Irish: we have an opinion about everything, will discuss anything, and we never meet a stranger who we …

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Can I Quote You On That?

What happens when 350 people, predominantly women, truck in from all across the U.S. to spend three full days laughing (and a little crying), eating (mostly desserts), and baring their souls to each other? Magic. In a place called Dayton. That’s not a punchline. Last week, the tribe of Erma gathered once again for the …

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Have You Seen the Signs of Spring?

Spring 2016 has started to arrive and I believe I speak for many of us when I give a big ‘ol “Halleluiah!” shout out. This Florida Girl is not a fan of Old Man Winter here in VA. I become downright morose each February when I begin to feel as though I haven’t been warm …

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What Do You Know About the Irish?

Come next week, for at least one day, EVERYONE will be Irish. Thanks to the festivities of St. Patrick’s Day, we’ll be awash in green beer, bad leprechaun costumes, corned beef sandwich specials, and the sweet lyrical sound of “Oh Danny Boy” drifting out of every over-packed bar on Main Street. I’m not complaining: few …

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Do You Like to Watch?

It’s become a time honored tradition, up here in the Middle-Aged Cheap Seats, to kick up our feet toward the end of every February, cocktail in one hand and popcorn in the other, and tune in for a favorite annual event: the Academy Awards, or as they are also known as, The Oscars. I host …

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The Big Girl Panties Society: Rules for Membership

Today we have a guest that’s come to hang out with us a bit in the “The Middle-Aged Cheap Seats” – so mind your manners yall! We’re joined by Vikki Claflin who writes the award-winning blog, Laugh Lines: http://laugh-lines.net, where she doles out irreverent advice on marriage, offers humorous how-to lists galore, and shares her most embarrassing …

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How to Survive a Blizzard Vacation

It will come as a surprise to few that I’m not a big fan of winter. This Florida gal just doesn’t have the chops to hang out in the snow. I moved to Virginia in 1995 and 8 months out of the year I love being a Virginian. But from December through March, Mother Nature …

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Do You Know Why You Write?

Why someone puts pen to paper or fingertips to keyboard is an extraordinarily personal matter. If you ask ten people why do you write?, you’re likely to get ten very different answers. Because I write mostly creative nonfiction, my writing is particularly personal. I’ve often been asked: why do you share such intimate details of …

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To All the Days Here and After

Oh, we Irish do love our toasts. We never miss an opportunity to wax poetic about the past, the here and now, and the future. Especially this week, as we welcome 2016, I’m reviewing my repertoire of go-to ditties. I thought I’d share a few of my favorites, just in case you find yourself in …

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2016: The Year of the Great Shed

Do New Year’s resolutions work for you? Nope? Me neither. My ever-present dedication to lose ten lbs, eat less junk food, exercise more, floss daily, and stay out of the sunshine unless I’m wearing SPF1000 sunscreen, somehow always seems to go by the wayside by no later than February 1st. Therefore, for 2016, I’m trying a …

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