Here for your perusal are 14 books I intend to read in 2014, just for fun [alpha by author surname] …
PS – Geez, I like girly stuff:

1. The Second Journey: The Road Back to Yourself by Joan Anderson

2. Girls in Pants by Ann Brashares

3. The Lost Husband by Katherine Center

4. The Runaway Quilt by Jennifer Chiavernini

5. Glitter & Glue by Kelly Corrigan

6. The Book of Qualities by J. Ruth Gendler

7. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

8. The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language by Natalie Goldberg

9. Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm by Jon Katz

10. Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope & Repair by Anne Lamott

11. Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist’s Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer by Jen Lancaster

12. Shoot the Moon by Billie Letts

13. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith

14. Lethally Blond by Kate White

image via 8fact.

I expected the holidays to be intense. They just are, especially when you’re the mom of the holiday-hosting household, which I am.

But January? I expected it to be full, but fresh. The calm beyond the storm of The Season. The reset button called A New Year.

Not so much for me this time around.

My January was two trips to Dallas, my mom’s 80th birthday, two science fair projects, three bouts of stomach virus, one car accident, one big goat show [with one blue ribbon!], & one Mother of All Migraines [surprising? um, no].

Plus, you know, Daily Life. Seriously, y’all, we just returned our Christmas tree to the garage yesterday.

All of which is to say, for me, in 2014, February is the new January.

So … Happy New Year [it is the New Lunar Year, after all]!!

Since 2008, I’ve adopted a new year’s tradition [begun by artist & designer Ali Edwards] called One Little Word.

I choose one word for myself for the year – a word I can focus, meditate & reflect upon as I go about my Daily Life. I invite it in, live with it, let it speak to me & follow where it leads.

My past words have included embrace, hello, full, clear, light & shine.

For 2014, I’ve decided my One Little Word is [drumroll, please] … UP [applause, please].

Up | ready, eager, open, awake, into a happy mood

Last year, I moved forward from several spots where I had been stuck for years.
This year, I intend to keep moving forward, but upward, too.

I’m moving on up, turning it up a notch, taking it to a whole. ‘nother. level.
Just call me Ms. 45-Degrees 2014.

It’s a New Year, everyone. What’s your One Little Word going to be?

Image available as poster from Poster Inspired @ etsy.com.

As a writer-girl, I’m all about the words [contrary to the impression you might have gotten from my recent blog-posting dearth – ahem]. As A.D. Williams once said, and I believe, “Words have special powers,” so it’s not unusual [cue Tom Jones] for me to give gifts that are word-oriented – books, journals, personalized items, etc.

But the real beauty of a word-gift is the more personal it is, the greater impact it makes. And the most impactful word-gifts are the ones you make yourself.

DIY word-gifts are simple:
1. Write down something meaningful.
2. Give it to someone you care about.

OK, I hear you. Easy for a professional writer, sure. But writing something meaningful is hard.
It can be. But it doesn’t have to be. Let me get you going with some ideas intended to spark the writerly fire within you:

1. Write a letter. A letter of gratitude, a letter of forgiveness, a letter of encouragement, a letter of admiration. Say what has been left unsaid. Say what you’ve said a thousand times, but this time, put it in writing. Use nice paper, dark ink and your own handwriting. The letter you pen in an hour may be treasured for a lifetime. Truly.

2. Give wall-worthy words. Frame it: a favorite quotation, poem or lyrics; a wedding invitation, tender love letter or child’s wish list; an important telegram, news item or other memento. If it’s worth keeping, then it’s worth framing – and with Michaels‘ almost-perpetual framing specials, it can’t fail.

3. Give words in a jar. Slips of paper – a dozen, 52, 365. One thought per slip – things to be thankful for, wishes for a new home/couple/baby, qualities you love about her/him. Fold ’em up and stuff ’em into a pretty, cute or clever container – jar, bowl, fortune-cookie-shaped coin purse. Done!

4. Go back & forth. Begin an exchange journal with a far-off friend, an ailing aunt or your teenage daughter. Make sure you let the other person know it’s a no-stress, no-rules, no-deadlines gift, meant simply to help keep you closer. You can provide them with a question to answer or a prompt to respond to, to help alleviate any perceived pressure.

5. Whip up a word cloud. Go to Wordle or Tagxedo to enter a list of words [inside jokes, your wedding vows, places you’ve traveled to together] and shape them into a wonderful word cloud, also suitable for framing.

6. Create a collection. Write down three favorite somethings – holiday memories, words of wisdom, lightbulb jokes – and put them into a binder with an attractive cover page and dedication. Add to it annually. Or how about your top 25 Christmas stories and poems for folks with young children, so they can read one each December evening leading up to the big day?

7. Give The Gift of a Letter. OK, this is an actual book by elegance expert Alexandra Stoddard. But it’s among my favorite writer-girl books, and it’s about a kind of writing everyone can do. Full of anecdotes and prompts, it’s a pretty and practical guide, and with your own handwritten note added, it’s a grand gift.

8. Create a quote calendar. I’ve been making my own calendar of inspirational quotations for several years for my dearest friends [and myself, of course]. I created it in Word, and I just follow the same template each year, adjusting the dates and refreshing the quotes, then I print it out on white cardstock, trim the pages and bind them with a colorful clip at the top.

If you’re not interested in DIY-ing a quote calendar, then I’m happy to offer a PDF of my 2014 edition for you to trim, bind and give – just send me a request!

Whatever word-gift you choose, the most important thing about writing it is to make it your own. Use your own voice and your own handwriting. The purpose of a word-gift is, after all, to create a personal connection with the person you’re writing it for. So don’t try to write something perfect – just write something perfectly you.

I’ve been asked the question – and have answered it – myriad times, yet I never grow weary of educating others on this mystery of my field.

“Why is this ‘high-school’ hyphenated, but that ‘high school’ isn’t?”

Of course, we’re not talking about actual high schools [or whatever]; we’re talking copy, people.
And the issue is compound-modifier hyphenation.
WAKE. UP. It’s just proper punctuation. Try to stay with me, folks.

Here’s how to know when you need a hyphen and when you can go hyphen-free:

Use a hyphen between two words when they’re being used as a single term modifying [describing] another noun.

EXAMPLE 1: We’re going to bust the high-school students for truancy.

Without the hyphen, it’s as if there’s a comma between the two modifying words, and they both modify the noun separately. So without the hyphen in Example 1, it would mean the students were high students and school students – which may or may not be accurate, but isn’t what we’re trying to communicate here and now.

EXAMPLE 2: We’re going to bust the high school students for drug use.

This is technically correct, but I’d suggest deleting the word “school,” since it seems a little redundant with “students.”

EXAMPLE 3: We’re going to bust the truant senior students for skipping school today.

This needs no hyphen because “truant” and “senior” both describe the noun “students” separately – the students are seniors, and the students are truant.

EXAMPLE 4: We’re going to the high school today to bust students for truancy.

This needs no hyphen between “high” and “school” because “high” is the only modifier, describing the noun “school.”

So …
:: When there are two describing words working together to describe the noun, use a hyphen.
:: When two describing words are working separately to describe a noun, no hyphen.
:: And no hyphen when there’s just one adjective and one noun.

The best example ever of this rule is extra | marital | sex:
Extra marital sex is something most wedded couples wouldn’t complain about.
Extra-marital sex is something most would.

Now, go forth and be the hyphenation hero in your work environment!
Or give me a ring with your latest compound-modifier hyphenation quandry – I’m happy to help.