A Shovel Full

Published on: February 26, 2013February 27, 2013 by Missy O'Brien 3 Comments

Sunday was adrift in flowing snow — particularly pleasant since none of us had to go anywhere. Five strong able-bodied adults spent the day in my cozy little house watching the sidewalks fill up frostily with snow. The sidewalks across the street filled up, too. We take care of that yard for its absentee owners, […]

Transparency, My Ass

Published on: February 23, 2013March 1, 2013 by Missy O'Brien

My ass is, of course, one reason I don’t buy into the whole trendy Transparency thing. A sheer thing on a lovely young thing can be a lovely thing. On me? Let’s add some layers. Opaque layers. Flowing, flattering, non-form-fitting ones. If one more blog expert or self-help success guru assures me that he is […]

Jaw Narrative

Published on: February 21, 2013 by Missy O'Brien 1 Comment

The petite perky receptionist at the orthodontist’s office smiled up at me through her braces (Will Work for Orthodontia) and said, “OK, now, I’m going to give you a little homework assignment, but don’t you worry! We don’t want you to stress over it at all – we won’t grade you on it!” I looked […]

Night Fever

Published on: February 18, 2013 by Missy O'Brien 4 Comments

So I’ve written about reaching into my desk drawer for a Chapstick and applying a glue stick to my lips instead. This morning, I very nearly swallowed an earplug instead of my multivitamin, which is similar in size and shape. I caught myself at the last moment only because the ear plug is florescent orange […]

Crotchety About Mine

Published on: February 17, 2013 by Missy O'Brien 3 Comments

“Oh, honestly,” said the woman on the trail, grabbing her frothing Rottweiler by the collar and pulling him away from me so I could continue unmolested on my hike. As we passed, she squatted down and nuzzled the drooling dog like a lover, whispering endearments that ended with, “She doesn’t like Baby Wuggums, does she?” […]