Dear Maggie.... (Maggie Shayne)

*Mandatory disclaimer: I'm writing this blog while hopped up on Vicadin, after a minor surgery yesterday. All is well, no worries, but if I meander a little, that would be why.*

Hi, everyone. I used the above photo of me today because it's closer to what I'm looking like at the moment than any of the others on my computer. See, my daughter Stacie has been staying with me for two weeks now, and she's made it her mission in life to see to it that I have fun. She's been doing a great job of it, too. Our latest adventure, Tuesday night, was to make sure I would look great for my Wednesday morning surgery. So we headed to Regis Hair Design, at the Oakdale Mall, where stylist Corrie worked her magic on me. She said my hair was dried out and damaged, and she needed to take a lot off. She also darkened the color, and gave me a deep conditioning treatment, saying it would do my hair a world of good. By the time she finished, I looked fabulous. Shoulder length, perfectly straight, sleek, smooth hair, parted on one side with a sexy lock trying to hang in my eyes. The color is a deep auburn. I looked so good I didn't want to come home, but since I had to get up at 5 a.m. to make it to the hospital on time, I did. =)

Of course, today, the day after my little hospital visit, I'm not so sure anymore. A bright colored mane with lots of curls was kind of my trademark. Today what looked so good at the salon, seems more like an ordinary brown, shoulder length, boring do. But only because I really can't be bothered to spend 45 minutes with a brush, hair dryer, and iron to make it all sleek like Corrie did. I think I'm going to try a handful of mousse and a swipe with the dryer, to get my curls back. Time will tell. I'll try to get a pic of my new look and post it here asap.

And none of that is the subject of today's blog anyway. I digressed. (Vicodin will do that.) Today's blog is about an idea I have, and I want your help with it, so please jump in for me! I've decided I want to create an advice column for the local paper, and they're interested, so I want to come up with a sample column or two to show them what I have in mind. I think it should focus on relationship advice, since that's what a romance writer would know about, and while my own love life has been rather dismal lately, I totally understand what went wrong. And anyway, I'm way better at giving other people advice than I am at taking it when it's offered to me. But again, I digress. The column will be sassy, funny, but also truly helpful, I hope.

And it should be fun, fun, fun. Cause life is supposed to be fun. Otherwise, why bother? Honestly, I'm so finished with weeping over what isn't. I'm totally tuned in to what is, the good stuff only, thankyouverymuch, and I'm completely excited about what's yet to come. (Yeah, it took me awhile, but I'm there. The fact that there are a dozen, really terrific looking men lining up at the gate to take me out is quite helpful too. And there are surely some dating blogs in my future. But again, I digress.)

So here's where you all come in. I'd love some sample "Dear Maggie" letters that I could answer for my sample column. So if you have a relationship issue and want my take on it, please email me or post here. My email addy is maggieshayne@frontiernet.net. You can withhold your real name, and you have to give me permission to use your letter in my column.

I also need a name for the column. I have three suggestions so far:
Maggie Says
Maggie's Musings
Maggie's Morsel(s)

I like them all, but I want one that I LOVE. So if you have suggestions, please post them here or vote for your favorite.

Now, I need to get back to resting & recovering. I'm very lucky to have my own soon to be RN living with me right now! She's been taking great care of me.

I promise next week's Maggie-blog will be longer and possibly even more coherent.

Until then, have fun, and dash me off some Dear Maggies! I need them by this weekend, so I can put something together by next week. Thanks in advance, everyone!
Maggie