I can’t believe I’m about to say this. It’s about as uncharacteristic as me chugging a Diet Pepsi (ugh – Diet Coke all the baby, people). But say it, I will: I’m ready for cooler weather. Fellow Iowans and long-time friends, you can raise your eyebrows high as you want, drop your jaw, smirk, pick your “Did Melissa really just …

*You can now find Tag(g)lines at www.melissatagg.com. Yes, it took just about every speck of technology-inclined brainpower in me (which, uh, isn’t much) to go through the process of buying a domain name and pointing it to this blog, but I did it. Thank you, Blogger, for posting step-by-step instructions online. And thank you, Uncle Ben, for making it seem …

Okay. So he didn’t look me in the eye and say “Melissa Tagg, you’re freak.” No, more like he looked at a room of 300 people and called us all freaks. But only after applying the title to himself first…a few dozen times. And if the guy’s going to lump me into the same category as him…I’ll so totally take …

Good, ’cause I got an amazing night’s sleep. Guilty, ’cause this is my very first blog of 2010 and it just isn’t going to be an exciting one, my friends. But also, liberated. ‘Cause I’ve decided to give myself the rest of January off from blogging…or at least from doing anything crazy exciting with the blog. It’s what I’ve got …

Buddy: First we’ll make snow angels for two hours, then we’ll go ice skating, then we’ll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookie-dough as fast as we can, and then we’ll snuggle. He tugged on his mom’s coat until he got her attention. And then, in complete sincerity, asked, “Mom, are these people elves?” It was all I could do …

“Why, Melissa, I didn’t know December 19 was a significant milestone for you,” you’re thinking, yeah? Well, okay. It’s not. But December 1 was! December 1 was the six-month anniversary for Tag(g)lines. Yay! “Why didn’t you celebrate the anniversary on the actual date?” you’re now asking, correct? (I know, I’m being rather presumptive with your reactions, aren’t I?) Answer: Uh, …

As noted last week, we have a special guest for today’s blog! Thanks so much to Jolene Philo, author of A Different Dream for My Child, for answering questions about her book (released earlier this month) and on writing! Enjoy the Q&A below…but first, check out the video trailer for Jolene’s book: On Different Dream…1. What initially prompted you to …

This evening I’m excited to introduce Jolene Philo, writer, speaker…and fellow Iowa native. Jolene’s book A Different Dream for My Child was released just this month from Discovery House. Jolene will be joining Tag(g)lines next week for a Q&A session in which she’ll tell us about her book and also give a bit of a sneak peek into her life …

I plotted out a whole new book this weekend! And I’m excited. So, so excited! And I could talk, oh I could talk…talk your ears off about these wonderful, lovable characters who’ve worked their way into existence. About a plot I’m convinced will keep a reader turning the page. About a climax that – I’m not exaggerating – had me …

I had no idea. It’s a phrase we’re constantly hearing where I work – Hope Ministries, a Christ-centered organization providing programs and services for the homeless, hungry and hurting. We hear it from donors, volunteers, those who take tours of our facilities…the scope of Hope Ministries’ outreach in central Iowa really is surprising to many. But this past Saturday, I …