This week, in the mind of Amanda Hill . . (1) I’m always left scratching my head when advertising slogans are in quotes. They jump out at me on billboards or on the backs of the trucks. “Real country cookin,” one reads. “We’ll be there when you need us,” says another. Who is saying these […]
[Continue reading...]Wedging in the practice
July 6, 2012 By
Write, write, write, they say. They meaning writers, and agents who represent writers, and anyone who likes to sound important. Steven King says that writers must be readers, always absorbing words. At a bus station or waiting for a train, we must all be carrying books and appreciating the written voice. He’s right, of course. They […]
[Continue reading...]Here’s to no-good, boring birthdays
July 2, 2012 By
Some Mondays aren’t the best. This particular one was teeth-grindingly bad. It just so happened that this Monday was also my birthday, which added to my abounding self-pity. Birthdays really shouldn’t matter so much to grown-ups. Just because you wake up on your official DOB doesn’t mean you carry a special florescent glow that […]
[Continue reading...]Top Ten Ways to Laugh More at Work
June 29, 2012 By
I have had my share of crappy, miserable, insanely-awful Tuesdays. My mornings usually consisted of lukewarm coffee, screaming children, re-heated muffins, and boring NPR stories. I was stuck in traffic, with bad hair and pants that are an inch too short, and when I got to work I noticed half-done reports and a computer keyboard […]
[Continue reading...]sparkling pink unicorns
June 27, 2012 By
I sometimes wonder what religion must sound like to non-believers. This whole “I live for Jesus” business a big fat excuse so that bonnet-clad women won’t feel so bad about their lot in life, selling rosemary soap and black currant jelly, sitting on rickety wooden seats next to their overbearing husbands. To those who haven’t […]
[Continue reading...]Goliad
June 24, 2012 By
A second novel popped into my head today. We were driving back from the beach, a hair north of Goliad and a million miles away from our vacation. My husband was tired, sipping on Whataburger coffee and rubbing his eyes. I was thinking of the week ahead. Of laundry and swim lessons. Of sunscreen and […]
[Continue reading...]Odd and Curious Thoughts of the Week
June 21, 2012 By
I’m about to head to the coast for a family vacay, so I thought I’d leave you with these thought-provoking things. Welcome to a week in my life. . . (1) Stop it already with the swim coaches referring to the freestyle stroke as some sort of exaggerated ice-cream-scooping maneuver. This is the third swim […]
[Continue reading...]big apple of ambition
June 18, 2012 By
Recently, I friended an old high school acquaintance on facebook who turns out to be a creative director in an amazing ad agency in New York City. Like Don Draper status with Emmy-winning commercials and fancy ties. I looked down at myself, sloppy and tired, brushing the cookie crumbs off my pants. Is this really […]
[Continue reading...]Eggs are excellent
June 14, 2012 By
For dinner, I made a lovely quiche. I took my time rolling out the fresh piecrust dough. I was teaching my daughter how to drape it over the pan, press it down, and trim it with a sharp knife. Crimp and press, crimp and press. All the way around. She nodded in agreement. We were […]
[Continue reading...]keepsake boxes
June 12, 2012 By
I’m a keepsake packrat. Like the outfit my sweet baby wore home from the hospital or that brown plaid shirt my husband wore on our very first date. It still has a little tiny hole in it from where his pledge pin went. How cute is that? These things mean nothing to anyone else, but […]
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