5 BEs from a grandma on composing meaningful gift cards and inscriptions

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The gift-giving season is upon us, and many grandparents like to include a meaningful, memorable message with the gifts they give their loved ones.

Whether you plan on crafting quips for gift cards or unforgettable inscriptions in gift books, here are my top five tips for meaningful and memorable — as well as short and sweet — sentiments for your sweeties.

tips for writing to grandchildren 

ONE

Be yourself. Use words and phrases you...

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2016 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop: 13 things I loved plus a few me-loved-nots

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Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop 2016 recap

I've long dreamed of attending the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop presented by the University of Dayton every two years. The revered place writers of various formats — books, blogs, screenplays and more — gather to glean insider tips and load up on laughter and love from folks in their field. Attendance is capped at 200 each year, and I've never made the cut at registration... nor, to be honest, had the money for travel and hotel if I had.

This year, though, I clicked the Register button in time to obtain a coveted Golden Ticket for the event that sold out in six hours, and I eeked out the funds to make attendance at my dream conference a reality.

Unlike many dreams that eventually come true yet pale in comparison to one's expectations, the Erma...

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What made me smile, er, cry this week

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Happy Friday!things that make me smile

Other than seeing via FaceTime Bubby's pride and joy at losing his first tooth and learning from the editor (in another phone call with her!) that my picture book manuscript is still under serious consideration for publication at a fabulous publishing house, the video below is what most made me smile this week. After those first two things, of course.

More accurately, the following video made me...

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Precisely perfect: Grandma's 5 awesome moments from the past week

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In the midst of the aggravating there's always some awesome. Following are the exact awesome moments that negated any of my aggravations during the past week:

loving brothers 

Saturday, March 29
10 a.m.-11:18 a.m.

I was invited to screen Disney's THE PIRATE FAIRY last Saturday in the theater before...

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Mosh-pit Mom, or, How Grandma's career got its start

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Mosh-pit Mom, or, How Grandma's career got its start

My writing career and where it's headed have been on my mind a lot lately.

So, too, has been where my writing career began.

mosh-pit mom

I've written and fantasized about being a writer for as long as I can remember. It wasn't until nearly 20 years ago, though, that I became...

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