Author: Melyssa Williams (page 7 of 12)

What I Loved in 2018

I don’t know about you, but most of my social media newsfeeds and updates from friends were overwhelmingly about how awful 2018 was and how happy they were that 2019 is here.

I don’t know how many were exaggerating and how many really did have A No-Good Terrible Very Bad Year, but for me, as years go, meh, 2018 was hunky-dory.

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8 Reasons Why Moms Should Be Secret Agents

I have given something a lot of thought lately: mommies the world over would be excellent in espionage.

I think the C.I.A. should hire us, and I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve taken the liberty of submitting one large resume on behalf of moms everywhere.

Of course, we’ll have to have Spy Names, like Scully, or Agent 99, or Bond … James Bond – something like that. Give it some thought. Seeing as how once upon a time, approximately three hundred years ago, I was a ballerina, I’ve decided to be Tutu. I’ll have a pointe shoe phone.

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9 Secret Perks of Homeschooling

Growing up, back in the day, I was homeschooled.

It was uphill to class, both ways, in the snow, and we wrote on a slate. True story.

Now, throughout the years, I have homeschooled my own gremlins (no snow, no hills, computers…my pioneer mama scoffs) and the combination has given me a unique perspective. Everyone knows about the obvious perks to homeschooling (no drugs, pajamas, no school shootings, no mysterious school lunches, pajamas, lack of bullies, customized education, pajamas), but let me let you in on a few secret ones you may never have even considered. Read more

Should I Be a Ghostwriter? Pros & Cons

Ghostwriting for someone (or several someones) is legit gig, if you can get it. But do you even want it?

Some people are weirded out by the whole idea, and you may be one of them. Answering some basic questions about the whole process should help you decide which side of the fence you’re on. After that, we will look more closely things you can do to start landing ghostwriting jobs.

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Are You A Homeschool Bully?

My uncle ordered popovers
from the restaurant’s bill of fare.
And, when they were served,
he regarded them with a penetrating stare.
Then he spoke great words of wisdom
as he sat there on that chair:
“To eat these things,” said my uncle,
“You must exercise great care.
You may swallow down what’s solid,
but you must spit out the air!”
And as you partake of the world’s bill of fare,
that’s darned good advice to follow.
Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.
And be careful what you swallow.
~Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss), from a commencement address.

One of the most popular reasons homeschooling parents choose to keep their children home – especially in this day and age – is to avoid the bullying and the peer pressure that inevitably comes with public schools. We don’t want our children to experience that kind of abuse, especially on a daily basis. Maybe some of us remember it ourselves and we shudder to think of our small sons and daughters being put through that type of pain and torment. Read more

How Fancy Cheese and Crackers Saved My Marriage

They didn’t really, but don’t underestimate a hunk of Camembert, a wedge of Bleu, and some artfully arranged Cracked Pepper crackers. Why? Because to me sophisticated finger foods sounds a lot like Date Night.

Date Night in the olden days of my marriage (back in the 1800s, haha) meant a movie in a theater, an overpriced dinner out that left us praying the rosary for our checking account (and we aren’t even Catholic), mooshy cards written to each other, high heels, cologne, and a walk holding hands.

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Hunting the Rare North American Christmas Tree

What could possibly go wrong when hunting the rare North American Christmas Tree with your intrepid family?

Every year comes our annual Christmas tree hunting/stalking/butchering expedition to the North Pole. Because after all, it just isn’t Christmas until

  • near death experiences have been lived
  • tempers have flared
  • marriage vows have been stretched and re-thought
  • small children have cried
  • large adults have cried
  • and my Charlie Brown tree is safely kerplunked in my living room.

For those of you who enjoy killing the spirit of Christmas and making Baby Jesus cry by purchasing a plastic tree, I will pray for you. But oh sugar plum fairy, you are missing out!

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