first image

Hi.

Welcome to This Awful/Awesome Life! My name is Frances Joyce. I am the publisher and editor of this magazine. We'll be exploring different topics each month to inform, entertain and inspire you. Meet new authors, sharpen your brain and pick up a few tips on life, love, entertaining and business. Enjoy and please share!

March 2020 in This Awful Awesome Life

daffodils.jpeg

We hope you enjoyed our February 2020 issue of This Awful Awesome Life – many thanks to our writing team and guest contributors for sharing their talents.

March is Women’s History Month. Celebrate with us as we profile the legendary Shirley Chisholm and shine a spotlight on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League which inspired the movie, A League of Their Own.

Our reading recommendations for kids and adults are all by women authors this month and I’m reviewing Wifey, the first novel for adults written by Judy Blume and teen activist Greta Thunberg’s book, No One is Too Small to Make a Difference.

In addition to our usual tips for spring cleaning, we’re getting a little serious and talking about the best ways to prevent the spread of germs. We have included a link to the CDC website which covers hand washing basics and the proper use of hand sanitizers. I’ve also listed a few often neglected areas around the house and in your car that probably need a quick wipe down.

This month Orlando Bartro discusses short story writing and the difficulty of creating vivid settings and characters with an economy of words.  Linda Cahill is back rested and relaxed after her vacation and ready to help you plan for a St. Patrick’s day feast or a the opening day of baseball with delicious and easy recipes from Pampered Chef.

Have you accepted our pie of the Month Challenge? If so, you should have made a delicious cherry pie for February. You should be preheating your oven for a luscious lemon meringue pie. Share your recipe and photos with us by sending them to my attention at fran.thisawfulawesomelife@gmail.com. Remember, I will be sending one lucky pie maker a gift from Pampered Chef in December.

I have photos of my morello cherry pie this month and I’m sharing the links for the crust and pie filling recipes.

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we’re featuring ten outstanding Irish poets and this month’s quiz tests your knowledge of women who have stepped behind the camera and directed popular and award winning films. Also, don’t miss March 2020 in Pictures.

IMG_1326.jpg

Samantha Sayers is still missing. She disappeared on August 1, 2018 after a day of solo hiking at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam was raised in the Erie, Pennsylvania area where her parents Ron and Lisa still live. Her family is exploring all avenues of inquiry to find and bring her home. In the face of such an enormous challenge, they have chosen hope. Please keep sending positive thoughts to Sam and her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home.

If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we are able to update this article with any news. We will also post information on our Facebook page. Thank you!

IMG_1503.JPG

For Sam :

Until you are home

Please share our link, thisawfulawesomelife.com with your friends and family.

misc4.JPG

Be sure to subscribe to our free mailing list and each new issue of This Awful Awesome Life will be delivered directly to your inbox with a personal note from me. We won’t share your name or email address.

Happy Reading,

Fran

Next Month in This Awful Awesome Life -May 2020

Remembering the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League by Fran Joyce