"Hold fast to your dreams, for without them life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly." - Langston Hughes

In the current economic situation we all find our selves in, there are so many people transitioning into new careers. A good friend of mine told me today he's going to go back to school for his masters in teaching. He had more enthusiasm than I've heard in his voice in a long time.

Life is short... go for it.

Real Estate Agents: post closing idea

As an added value to buyers after closing on their new home, offer to send out a change of address announcement card to the buyers' close friends and relatives.

To make it more fun (and personal), use a photo of the buyers in front of their home. On the inside, announce that they have moved and provide their new address and phone number. Also include a digital business card with a note saying you were proud to have represented them on their purchase and call if you (the recipient) have any real estate questions.

Happy Independence Day

Here's to the greatest country on the planet!

It's 108-degrees today in Phoenix, so the only way to handle the heat is to be in the air conditioning or in the pool. I prefer the pool.

I hope your celebration includes all the traditional fare - barbecue, pool time, and fireworks. So where ever you are, enjoy your holiday. And if you are in the armed forces, a retired Veteran or family member of someone serving in the military, I solute you.

Happy 4th.

How many spaces after a period?

I posed the question to my Facebook pals and the answers were split. So which is it... one or two?

Realizing this will date me, I learned to type (wait for it) on a typewriter. In fact, it was Mrs. Wessman's typing class my freshman year in High School where I learned definitively that two spaces are required after a period. I have been happily spacing like this ever since. By the time I hit college in 1988, we had moved on to computers, WordPerfect, and 5 inch floppy disks, but no mention that the spacing after periods had changed.

Apparently, people knew. American books have not included that second space since the 1930's. A friend of mine from High School, recalls the reason for the double space was the typewriter itself, because the strikes were so close the extra space made it easier to tell where sentences end and begin. I don't recall hearing that, but maybe I was busy typing.

Here's what a little Googling revealed:

The Chicago Manual of Style declares there is "no reason for the second space" and that adding it causes numerous problems: "(1) it is inefficient, requiring an extra keystroke for every sentence; (2) even if a program is set to automatically put an extra space after a period, such automation is never foolproof; (3) there is no proof that an extra space actually improves readability—as your comment suggests, it’s probably just a matter of familiarity (4) two spaces are harder to control for than one in electronic documents and (5) two spaces can cause problems with line breaks in certain programs."

The Modern Language Association says, "Publications in the United States today usually have the same spacing after a punctuation mark as between words on the same line. Since word processors make available the same fonts used by typesetters for printed works, many writers, influenced by the look of typeset publications, now leave only one space after a concluding punctuation mark. In addition, most publishers' guidelines for preparing electronic manuscripts ask authors to type only the spaces that are to appear in print." Although they add that there is nothing wrong with using two spaces.

So, I guess you only need one space after a period, but if you can't break the habit of typing two, it's all good. Period.

New Job means new possibilities!

Congratulations on your new job! I was delighted to hear that one of my girlfriends landed a new job today. She had been a victim of the increasing "reductions in force" taking place recently. Worried because she couldn't find temp work, things looked bleak for a few weeks. But she stayed strong, kept a positive attitude and made it through. Congrats, K!! I'm so proud of you.

Time to think about Dad

It's time to think about the important men in your life. Father's Day is June 21, 2009. I know a few young men who have become fathers this past year. Perhaps I'll send them personalized cards using digital photos of their little bundles of joy and a cool Father's Day "background." Hmmm... my creative juices are flowing.

Welcome Summer

Summer is officially around the corner, but the temps have been exceeding 100-degrees here in the desert, which makes the pool perfectly refreshing. Summer is my favorite season and I enjoy having girlfriends over for swimming, sunning, cocktails and gossip.

This is one of my favorite cards to use to send Congratulations. But it's also a great invite to pool parties to welcome Summer.

Petsitter Love

Nothing gives me more anxiety when planning a vacation than "what will I do about poochie?" I have a dog that hates, and I mean hates, other dogs, so staying at one of my dog-lovin' friends' house is out of the question. And, my heart just can't handle boarding her. She was rescued from the pound one day before scheduled to be euthanized. I can't do it.

So to my friends who come to my rescue and go out of your way to see to it that Miss Sarah Jessica Barker is doing okay, I... strike that... WE solute you!

Thank you for the bottoms of our hearts. <3

Ever feel like this...?

Poor kid. I think we all know how that feels. Seems an odd time of year for the flu to be going around, but it is. In the last week I've heard of no less than 5 people who were home sick with influenza.

With SendOutCards, it's easy to send a quick note to let them know you're thinking of them. Depending on the person and the severity of the illness, humor can go along way. (Disclaimer: You should know your friend and err on the side of caution when using humor!)

Flu Season

Flu season is hitting Americans hard this year.

When you hear of someone who's under the weather, you can send some cheer their way with a card in less than a minute.

It's a good idea to make certain you know how serious the illness is before sending a humorous card.