My Life With Joe
By Maureen Gil
issues
My Life With Joe - Mudders Day
We decided to break our tradition of going out for breakfast on Mother's Day. We came up with a plan to serve breakfast ... and chocolate fondue ... at the house. Because, tbh, I wasn't sure if we could afford to go out to eat anymore. All the prices! I have …
My Life With Joe - 'Twas the Night Before Easter
It's springtime, which meant that we need to clean up the yard in preparation for warm weather. The trees love to shed their branches in the winter, the grass needs to be fertilized and weeded, and my flower and garden beds need special compost that has been …
My Life With Joe - Ramen Noodles Are a Poor Girl's Best Friend
In an attempt to get my allergies under control, I decided to go gluten-free in the off chance that it would help. It has not. It has, however, made me want to eat Chinese food, pizza, and Keebler cookies in large quantities. I have continued to torture mysel…
My Life With Joe - I'm Allergic To New Jersey
Recently, I visited my friend in New Jersey. I was acutely reminded of when I moved to Pennsylvania. That's because I am allergic to the state. Literally.
My Life With Joe - #NationalPuppyDay
Today is #NationalPuppyDay so I thought I would do a newsletter about Joe as a puppy.
My Life With Joe - Stormy Seas
The last few days, I have been reading Sea Storm by Andrew Mayne. Mr. Mayne writes a ton of books. In fact, I read all about it in his writing book titled How to Write a Novella in 24 Hours. I'm fairly certain that this insane man actually wrote a novella in …
My Life With Joe - How To Escape From Your Life
For the last few days, I have looked up beach properties on Zillow. Not because I want to move, but I've seriously been considering hiding away for, like, a year. (Maybe longer.) All in an attempt to avoid my life.
My Life With Joe - Passage of Life
I meant to send this newsletter on Monday, but life ... is life. Sometimes it gets in the way. My good friend is in the hospital fighting for her life. I've been taking care of her for the past year and a half, and she asked me to be with her.
My Life With Joe - Hibernating Alligators Are The Best Kind
So I went to the Sunshine State to meet up with some of my good writer friends. These three other people have encouraged me these past few years as I go through my Master's degree in writing. We've read each other's stuff, we talked shop, and we've written. L…
My Life With Joe - You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Sleepy
I got sent a present from Twitter. That's right, the social media company. That's because this newsletter platform (Revue) is owned by Twitter, and I write a newsletter on Revue. I don't think they gave every newsletter author a present (although, I wouldn't …
My Life With Joe - The Adventures of Chris Mouse
'Twas the night before Christmas, When all through the house,Not a creature was stirring, Not even a mouse.
My Life With Joe - The Taylor Swift Teeny Bopper Club
I was going to write about my car accident over the weekend. (And yes, you read that correctly. We were in another car accident.) But OMG WTF SMH LOL GTFO LMAO #HappyBirthdayTaylorSwift!!!!! *cue the sound of millions of young women screaming in the pure ecst…
My Life With Joe - Thanksgiving Smells
For the Thanksgiving holiday, my daughter went to her grandparents' house with her father. The Kid asked her father to stop at Burger King and buy her some French fries. She was in "the mood" for them. At any rate, her father refused to stop, which made The K…
My Life With Joe - Surviving Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year where people sit around their dining room tables that never get used except on Thanksgiving. We talk, we laugh, we not-so-subtly yell political slurs at each other, and then it becomes a huge mess because inevitably, s…
My Life With Joe - Mrs. Scrooge 's Solution To The National Supply Shortage
I do not like Christmas, mostly because I think the holiday has gotten over-the-top. Everyone seems to want to keep up with the Joneses,* comparing the latest things they received. Or listening to Christmas music two months early, or seeing your neighbors dec…
My Life With Joe - Important House Guests
The last few weeks since my daughter had her car accident has been a whirlwind of activity, such as doctor's appointments, house guests, and various delivery people dropping off flowers.* These house guests, other than the contractor who is putting a small ad…
My Life With Joe - Changing My Perspective
Last Wednesday started like any other day: I woke up. I normally wake up at 6:30 in the morning, and my husband and I have coffee together. On this day, though, he didn't wake me up because I had surgery* the previous day. And surgeries kind of hurt because t…
My Life With Joe - What Were You Doing?
I had another email written for today because today is my 10th wedding anniversary, but then I realized that tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of 9/11. And, well, everything else kinda pales in comparison. It's the day that we lost almost 3,000 people at groun…
My Life With Joe - Important Vacation Plans
A few weeks ago, my husband and I had a very important conversation that all older couples should have once their children reach a certain age. Yes, you guessed it. The topic was whether we should take a vacation without our children.** And more importantly, …
My Life With Joe - The War on Poison Ivy
Today, I want to talk about the evil little bastards known as poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) and, by extension, its evil cousin, poison sumac (Toxicodendron vernix). Not everyone in the world is susceptible to these plants, but I can say with all scienti…