Grammar by request!

Hello dears! I can't stay today as I am on my way to the over 70's kite-surfing workshop, but I stopped by to make you an offer.

Do you have a grammar question? Do you regularly find yourself in a tangle with a particular word, phrase or puncuation mark? Let Grammar sort it out for you next time she's on the porch here at The Letterbug.


Post a comment (including your question for Grammar) at the end of this post and I will most certainly answer it. You could even win a world famous Letterbug bookmark for your trouble!

I must dash now. Just one jam fancy and I'll be on my way...

Post your question for Grammar on the Porch now!

Are you a Mumpreneur?

I wrote the following post back in August 2009, and given my recent nomination for the 2010 Ausmumpreneur Awards (Best Blog category) I thought it was worth reposting - just in case you missed it the first time. If you are a fan of The Letterbug maybe you'd like to vote for me too! I mean, if you're not busy or anything - you know, it might be cool. I never won that many prizes as a wee thing... Now is my chance to make up for that. It's no big deal. Really. Okay? But just vote so I can pretend not to care for a bit longer!! UPDATE: No need to vote!! An encouraging message is always welcome by way of a blog comment though (hint hint).

I love working with mumpreneurs - love it! Why? Because I get it, I know where mumpreneurs are at. I am right there with them, juggling two pre-school boys, a husband, job, laundry pile and so on.

I cannot overstate the importance of connecting with the people we choose to work with in business. As a copywriter, this connection enables me to truly collaborate with my clients on their copy projects. Our connection means I can't help but keep working until we are both deliriously happy with the final product.

Being a mum of two little people it seems that the connection with other mums in business is almost automatic, instinctive perhaps.

It takes effort, stamina, commitment and vision to be a mumpreneur, and if that is you right now I salute you. You go girl!

Now please excuse me while I go and extract the lego blocks I just watched Hatchling No.2 post into our sub-woofer speaker!

Jen x

Grammar on the Porch #8

Is it just me or do high school English classes slide further and further away with every year? Thank goodness we have "Grammar on the Porch". Good old Grammar loves to visit The Letterbug from time to time for a nice cup of tea and a natter about the English language. She knows you know - really she does. But just in case...

Image kindly supplied by Toni Grote - visit http://www.artisttonigrote.blogspot.com/ to see more of her beautiful artwork.

Good afternoon dears! Forgive any stuttering and stumbling over my words this afternoon, good gracious it is COLD here on the porch today! Grammar was even forced to pop on her thermal underwear, ha ha ha...

Now then, Grammar has just a wee bit more to add from her last visit, when we talked about 'Me' vs. 'I'. If you haven't read Grammar on the Porch #7, it might be worth skipping off to read it now. Just be sure you skip straight back here and continue on once you're done!

'Myself' and 'Yourself'

It may be tempting to avoid the whole puzzle of when to use 'I' and when to use 'me' by simply using 'myself' instead.

E.G. "Please send a menu of your finest cakes and pastries to Grandpa and myself."

Be strong - don't give in to this particular temptation! Grammar's advice is to save your "giving-in-to-temptations" for chocolate, fine wine and custard creams. The sentence written above is grammatically incorrect and can be as bad (if not worse) than getting your 'I's and 'Me's mixed up.

Incorrect: I'll send a menu of our finest cakes and pastries to Grammar and yourself.

Correct: I'll send a menu of our finest cakes and pastries to you and Grammar.

You can use 'myself' and 'yourself' correctly in only two situations:

1. To create emphasis or contrast.

"Grandpa likes lardy cakes for afternoon tea, but I myself prefer a cream bun."

2. When you are doing something to yourself

"I ask myself, why stop at one cream bun when you can eat three?"

"You're making it hard for yourself by using that wobbly old cup and saucer."

So there you have it, another piece in the never-ending puzzle that is "Grammar on the Porch". And it is so brisk out here this afternoon that I think I'll have a piece of warm apple strudel with my cup of tea - mmmmmm.

See you next time!

BUG BITS - Chic Party Boutique

I love birthday parties, I can't help it. For my 26th birthday I had a fairy party simply because I never had one as a child. And I believe every girl should have a fairy party in her lifetime!


You can imagine then, how excited I was when the delightful Nicky from Chic Party Boutique contacted me in search of help with her web copy.


Nicky had come to the fairly common realisation that while we often know what we're trying to say, sometimes it can be really difficult to get the message across clearly. This is especially true when trying to write about our own business - our 'baby' - the thing that we live and breathe every single day. It really shouldn't be so hard, but gee, often it is the HARDEST thing to write about!


So, the brief from Nicky was to write some fun, relaxed and informative copy that was inviting, concise and easy to follow. We worked on copy for her home page, product descriptions, category descriptions and 'About Us' page.


Simply because writing 'About Us' pages is one of my favourite things, here is a snip of what I put together for Chic Party Boutique's 'About Us':

To find out more about the gorgeous stationery available from Chic party Boutique, click here.

Have you looked at your web copy with fresh eyes lately? Is it fresh, up to date and full of life? Would a new visitor to your site feel like they're visiting a vibrant hub or a ghost town?


If it's time to give your web copy a boost but you're not sure how, send me an email - I can help!

Jen x

The Letterbug in the Press

If there's one thing I love doing, it is helping other women succeed in business. Hooray for the Mumpreneurs of the world!!

As you can imagine, I was thrilled to be interviewed by our local newspaper (The Manningham Leader) last week about the Manningham Women's Business Network. As a member of this network I get to meet a wonderful group of local businesswomen every month. We take a couple of hours to network over coffee, share our insights and expertise, and learn from a variety of guest speakers.

I have to admit, the offer of a couple of kid-free hours at the start of every month is a pretty big draw card too!

I've agonised for a couple of days over whether to draw attention to The Letterbug's first appearance in The Leader. Dot and I are not ones to brag - really. This morning I put on my brave trousers and decided to go for it - so here's the article (and photo) in all its glory:



To find the full newspaper, click here.

FYI, my hair didn't look nearly so messy when I left home that morning, and the coffee on the table in front of me was SPECTACULAR!!

Jen x

Grammar on the Porch #7

Is it just me or do high school English classes slide further and further away with every year? Thank goodness we have "Grammar on the Porch". Good old Grammar loves to visit The Letterbug from time to time for a nice cup of tea and a natter about the English language. She knows you know - really she does. But just in case...

Image kindly supplied by Toni Grote - visit http://www.artisttonigrote.blogspot.com/ to see more of her beautiful artwork.

'Me' vs. 'I'?

Good afternoon dears, it's lovely to see you again. Today I'm going to tell you about me...

I...

Me...

Here is the point: Do you ever stumble when it comes to writing (or talking) about yourself in a way that is grammatically correct? Let's set the record straight on the use of "me" versus "I" once and for all.

As a child I was often scolded for referring to "Me and Mummy", or "Me and Billy". My mother would remind me, "It is 'Mummy and I', not 'Me and Mummy' dear." So successful was my mother at teaching me this, that I came to believe that "I" was almost always a better option than "me" if ever I was unsure.

The truth is that each of these delightful little pronouns has their rightful place in the English language. Let Grammar show you...

INCORRECT: Please deliver an extra large jar of strawberry conserve to Grandpa and I.

CORRECT: Please deliver an extra large jar of strawberry conserve to Grandpa and me.

How do you check whether your sentence is correct? EASY!

Simply remove the other person or people in the sentence and read it again. The answer should be clear.

Please deliver an extra large jar of strawberry conserve to [remove "Grandpa and"] I.

INCORRECT: Please deliver an extra large jar of strawberry conserve to I.

CORRECT: Please deliver an extra large jar of strawberry conserve to me.

And there you have it dears, another of life's grammatical stumbling blocks cleared up in a matter of minutes. Now speaking of strawberry conserve, does anyone else have a hankering for a lovely Devonshire tea.

Scones anyone?

The Letterbug and The Butterfly Ball

Yesterday I fulfilled a childhood dream. It sounds like a grand statement, but as grand as it sounds, it is absolutely true!

Nothing filled my preschool heart with joy more than catching the following clip every now and then in between Sesame Street and Playschool on ABC television. For anyone who was a young whipper snapper back in the late 70's and early 80's, I hope you enjoy reliving the magic of The Butterfly Ball!!

There are so many parts of this clip that I loved as a child (and still love now). The frogs shiny black eyes, the badger (dressed as a stork) marching with dead-straight stilt legs, and the fireflies dancing at the very end are just a few highlights for me.

I know it's drawing a long bow, but I figured I could get away with posting The Butterfly Ball here - me being The Letterbug and all. I think I've just found my Letterbug theme song...

Did you love The Butterfly Ball too? What is your favourite part? Leave a comment below and tell me all about it. Excuse me, I've got to go and watch it again - man that frog could sing!!

Jen x

PS: All you need is love and understanding, ring the bell and let the people know!