You can visit my website at www.jodiet.com.

The sexual harassment part of the claim never made it to court; Hy-Vee won that part of the case on a motion for summary judgment wherein the court ruled no questions of material facts for a jury to evaluate existed. The basis of the court’s ruling? Sex was not a “contributing factor” in the treatment to which Ms. Smith alleged she was subjected or the alleged treatment did not occur because she was female.

You see, Ms. Smith’s co-worker not only behaved in the subject vulgar and offensive manner toward Ms. Smith or just women for that matter but she took the same or substantially similar actions toward the men with whom she worked. The lesson? If you make vulgar, offensive, sexually explicit statements or physical actions, do it equally toward both sexes.

Read the full opinion on Findlaw here: Smith v. Hy-Vee, 09-2631, U.S. 8th Circuit Court, October 12, 2010. If you are interested in my general writing and/or legal writing services, visit my website at www.jodiet.com.

HOLD STRONG

Fight even as tears drip and reduce you.
Bend but clutch your soul;
your lance against each air wave
attempting to steal your spark.
With perseverant dedication
even a single flame is enough
to guide and comfort the lost.

After a year plus owning this blog, I finally have a “subject”. My entries on Mondays — was going to say “or thereabouts” but I don’t want to give myself that option so — on Mondays I will post something related to the legal world; news about court decisions, interesting criminal happenings or just my personal opinion related to something related to the law. Fridays will feature my creative writing: simple little musings like this one, other creative nonfiction, fiction and probably a lot of poetry as I seem to have scads of poetry I’ve written over the years. All of this is to promote my business, Jodie Toohey Writing Innovations.

That’s right; my business no longer has a split personality. I’ve dropped the “Paralegal Innovations” leg to focus on the freelance writing part of my business. I still offer the same paralegal writing services but those services no longer have their own business identity. Please visit my website at www.jodiet.com to learn more. And stay tuned for another blog I am launching on Tuesday, October 5th, The Moms-On-Their-Way blog which will offer posts about my journey to create a fulfilling, integrated life and others’ journeys along with recipes, tips, advice and links to help moms on their way get there. Thanks for reading!

From then until 2009, I relied on the grocery store, farmers’ market or generous family and friends to quell my fresh vegetable cravings. Then in early 2009, my younger brother decided to put in a garden and like my brother usually tends to do, he jumped in head first. He brought in dirt, planned out a huge planting scheme, built a cucumber trellis and started all of his plants from seeds. He essentially had an entire farmers’ market growing in his back yard. Of course because he and his family could never eat all those vegetables, I, with others, got to enjoy his bounty. The tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and carrots were delicious; there really is nothing better than veggies right from the garden and this reminder inspired me to become a weekly patron at our local farmers market to supplement my supply (he lives ½ hour away). Plus he made THE BEST pickles I have ever eaten. I told people I think he finally found his calling.

Last winter, because I’d be working from home this summer and so I could have fresh vegetables even more available, I decided to put in my own garden. (I was inspired by my brother and did not decide to put in a garden because the first lady said so.) But I decided to start a little bit slower with herbs, radishes, green beans, carrots, tomatoes and peppers. I got a “Dummies” book, read up on vegetable gardening and started planning. My husband built a raised bed in a sunny spot next to our patio; we brought in at least three times more dirt than we needed; purchased seeds, tomato and pepper plants; and planted our first crops on April 11th. We were a little anxious and had to cover the plants up at night a couple of times but everything seems to be doing well. The green beans are thriving, carrots may be growing (or they could be grass), and we found a couple of cucumber plants to go in with those we started from seeds.

I’m a gadget-girl so I was excited to go out and buy the supplies I’d need to garden. I got a beautiful bright pink gardening kit with a bag, knee pads, hand rake, trowel and garden gloves. I also got a fancy telescoping watering wand with something like ten different settings I thought was a bargain on the clearance rack. Last week when water starting spraying out from the wand in all directions, I figured out why it was on clearance. So I bought a less fancy, hopefully better built wand from a well known garden tool manufacturer with just three settings. Last Wednesday morning after uncovering all of the plants we had tucked in the night before to protect them from the threatened frost, I decided to weed.

I got out my three pronged beautiful pink hand rake and carefully dragged it through the narrow space between the rows of radishes, green beans and carrots. Since the rake was of the hand variety and about six inches long, I had to lean over the chicken/rabbit wire fence to reach and then had to get into the garden, all while trying not to fall down and smash my tomatoes and peppers or rip my clothes on the sharp tomato cages. There is a lot more room between the last row of carrots, tomato and pepper plants so I got out my husband’s childhood hoe from the garage. Since it has a flat blade, the weeds cannot sneak between the tines and remain, though stripped of soil, still alive and well. But since the hoe was so wide, I could not use it between my radishes, green beans and carrots without tearing up the plants I wanted to be there. I wondered, “do they make a skinny hoe?”

I asked my husband if he ever had a skinny hoe or knew if there was such a thing as a skinny hoe. He claimed he didn’t know so the next day, I went to my local big-box store with a gardening center to look for a skinny hoe. Not finding one, I asked an employee for help:

“Excuse me. I’m looking for a skinny hoe.”

Employee: “Our hoes are all lined up over there, ma’am.”

Me: “Yes, I know. But those are too fat. I already have a fat hoe. I need a skinny hoe.”

Employee: “How skinny do you need your hoe to be?”

Me: I picked up a fat hoe to demonstrate. “You see, I have a fat hoe like this. But it doesn’t work for all situations so I need a skinny hoe about half this size to squeeze in. I need my skinny hoe to be tall because the short ones make my back hurt”

Employee: “I’m sorry ma’am; these are all the hoes we have. No one’s ever requested a tall skinny hoe before; the tall fat hoes seem to work just fine for them.”

Me: “Well, I can’t be the only person who can’t bend with their hoe without back pain. Maybe I should invent a skinny hoe.”

I thanked the employee, continued my shopping and brainstormed marketing ideas for my skinny hoe invention:

“A skinny hoe to go where no other hoe has gone before.”

“Don’t settle for a fat hoe when only a skinny hoe will do.”

“Hoe, Hoe, Hoe. Get a skinny hoe for everyone in your family.”

“Complete your hoe collection with the new skinny hoe.”

“The tall skinny hoe—because size DOES matter.”

“Don’t let your fat hoe chew up all of your vegetables; use the skinny hoe instead.”

“A skinny hoe is better for your back.”

“A fat hoe is better in some situations but when you’ve got a hard small space, you need a skinny hoe to get the job done.”

Then I went to the local home improvement store and found my tall skinny hoe right away. It was less than $10 and has the best of both worlds with a skinny hoe blade on one side and a two prong rake on the other side. Guess I’ll have to abandon my skinny hoe gold mine…

I do a lot of thinking. And I give myself numerous internal pep talks. I tell myself I have not inadvertently become a stay at home mother; I just haven’t hit the correct vein yet. My main goal every day is to keep myself from sinking into depression by dwelling on the concept I left a pretty good paying job to do what I love, potentially thrusting my family into poverty. Other than that concern over the all-mighty dollar, I love what I am doing. I have several projects in the air and numerous others floating around my brain so every week I sit down with a weekly calendar printed from Outlook to schedule my time. It usually goes something like this:

Sunday is the only day of the week I allow myself to sleep in really late then I get up and read the Sunday newspaper. I usually try to spend about an hour on my bills and budget sometime on Sunday because my income more closely matches my outgo so I want to ensure I don’t bounce my checks. After that I don’t do much: spend time with the family, clean the house a little, play computer games, go for a walk, etc. As the weather warms I look forward to hiking with my family on Sunday afternoons.

The time I get up in the morning is an area in which I’ve really slipped. I was doing good getting up at 6:30 every morning but since there has been no rush on work needing to get done and I’ve had some stomach issues restricting me from coffee drinking the past several weeks, I’ve allowed myself to sleep in a little. I set my alarm for @7 a.m. and am in front of my computer by 7:30 a.m. First things first so I tend to my Farmtown and Farmville farms. Then I peruse freelance writing job posting boards to find projects for which I may be qualified and send e-mails to apply. This usually takes about an hour. After that my day varies but I try to work an hour, two or more on each of several projects. I identify publishers and agents to pitch my young adult novel, “Melody Madson – May It Please the Court”, and send out a handful of submissions. I work on my in-progress historical young adult fiction novel centered around early 1990s Croatia. I’m also working on a book proposal for a nonfiction organization book for girls and I try to post to my blog every week or every other week.

I have spent a significant portion of time identifying clients. I compiled a list of hundreds of attorneys; local advertising, marketing, printing and publishing companies; magazines; publishers and agents who I hope may benefit from my services or to whom I can pitch ideas. I’ve also compiled a list of companies who likely do not use freelance writers but who do have web-sites with writing which could be improved. I just completed entering this data into a spreadsheet and am drafting letters to introduce my business and offer my services. Where applicable, I am including a sample of how the writing on their web-site could be improved. I am about ready to mail out my first batch of letters then will continue sending batches each week until I exhaust my list. Because the information on my list was obtained via the yellow pages and one of the local chambers of commerce, I can start all over when that is completed with other information sources. My marketing philosophy is akin to hurling hundreds of darts at a dartboard hoping at least some of them will stick.

I submit article ideas or filler material to outlets I’ve identified. Currently I am concentrating on non-paying bits in order to amass some published clips. Freelance writing is like any other job: you need experience to get the job and you need the job to get experience. I submitted an article response piece in Writer’s Digest’s “Reader Mail”; I did get a response asking my permission to print it because they were considering using it in the next issue so I’m crossing my fingers hoping it will be in my next issue. My other “professional” tasks involve browsing magazines at the book stores and library to identify potential markets and generate ideas. I also try to read, free write and attempt to brainstorm or develop other ideas. I sold a couple of items on eBay and submitted a couple of articles and photographs to pay-per-view web-sites to try to generate some cash with no success yet. Oh, and I spend a ton of time chewing my fingernails.

My kids and I go to the library on Wednesdays, I do my grocery shopping Thursday mornings when the stores are less busy (which didn’t hold true today), and since I figure I should contribute something to my household, I do laundry on Fridays and try to empty and refill the dishwasher daily. I go for walks when the weather cooperates and try to swim laps at the YMCA during the adult only noon hour or attend aquatics classes at least once weekly. Then there is making dinner and all those other tedious, every day grown-up duties which need to be done but offer very little personal satisfaction. So I work hard and for many things but money is not one of them…yet!!

OLD FRIENDS:

It’s like when you’re making conversation and you’re trying not to scream and you’re trying not to tell them that you don’t care what they mean. And you’re really feeling fragile and you really can’t get home and you really feel abandoned but you want to be alone. Old friends, they shine like diamonds. Old friends, you can always call. Old friends, Lord, you can’t buy ‘em. It’s old friends after all; old friends after all.

When the house is empty and the light begins to fade and there’s nothing to protect you except the window shade. And it’s hard to put your finger on the thing that scares you most and you can’t tell the difference between an angel and a ghost. Old friends, they shine like diamonds. Old friends, you can always call. Old friends, Lord, you can’t buy ‘em. It’s old friends after all; old friends after all. Yeah.

Written by Guy Clark & Richard Dobson, Performed by Lacy J. Dalton

SHE’S OUT THERE DANCIN’ ALONE:

The lights are turned low, she stands all alone on the floor. She’s had too much beer and her mind’s not too clear anymore. She throws back her head; she’s sure she heard, “I’ll take you home.” But while the band starts in playing, she’s out there dancin’ alone. She comes in on weekends and sits in a booth by the band. She’s got a favorite; she wonders will they play it again. Some whisper she’s crazy but tonight, she’s sure that he’ll come. But when the band starts in playing, she’s out there dancing alone. She smiles and holds out her arms like there’s somebody there. She closes her eyes when they laugh and when they stare; she doesn’t care. Now the band’s packin’ up and the bartender’s sweepin’ the floor. He says, “It’s past two” and soon he’ll be lockin’ the door. But she’s still smilin’ waitin’ in a world of her own. They all watch for a moment; she’s out there dancin’ alone. Yes, she’s out there dancin’ alone.

Written by Geoffrey Morgan, Performed by Barbara Mandrell

Here is what I have to carry with me at all times in addition to the identification, credit cards, and cash (I don’t even take up space with any photographs): reward/club cards, YMCA cards, library cards, notepads and pens for when you need to write a note, band aids for when you cut your finger, ibuprofen for when you have a headache, nail clippers, coupons, hand sanitizer, toothpicks, lotion, and a cell phone (because unless it is essential due to the nature of your job or job uniform, cell phones just don’t look right clipped to a girl’s waistband). So we need something a little more substantial to carry our things. Because we have never found the purse which meets all of our needs we are always on the lookout trying to find it. Somettimes we think we have then we get it home, we try to load it and find out it is too small. Or we use it awhile and find out the straps are too short or too long or too wide, etc. We know what we need in a purse but nobody can get it quite right.

I have yet to find the perfect purse. It can’t be too big or too small. It has to fit what I need but not allow too much extra space to allow for lazily throwing in unnecessary items because then it gets too heavy and makes my back ache. If the straps are not just the right length and width, it will constantly slip off my shoulders which is just annoying. And I’ve yet to find the correct combination for alleviating that problem. If it is not slipping off of my shoulder it is yanking my hair out by its roots. There are either too many pockets are not enough – or they are not the right sizes or in the right locations. It is too wide, too tall, not wide enough or not tall enough. If it gets close to being the right size with the right pockets and compartments, it is ugly – it is a hideous color, made out of plastic looking material or has odd ornaments hanging from it.

I think maybe I should go into the purse designing business. Whenever I have had enough with my current purse and decided the dozen or so purses in my closet just will not work and I browse the purse sections of my local stores, I always see women just like me. They search through the racks of purses, sometimes more than once in hopes their super-purse is hiding in the back somewhere. They pick them up, open them, run their hands through the insides and into the pockets to see if their cell phones fit, and sling it over their shoulders to check out the straps. Then they usually put them back looking rightfully annoyed and disgusted. Even if they do keep the bag they’ve inspected, they still do not look happy. The disappointment is transparent in their faces; you can tell this is not really their dream purse but it is the closest they can find so they are going to make the most of it, settle and try to make it work.

The funny thing about purses is price doesn’t seem to matter. There have been a few times I’ve decided money is no object, if I’ve got to sacrifice two weeks of groceries for a purse, it will be worth it to have the purse I’ve always wanted. However, I’ve not even been able to find an expensive purse with everything I need. As a matter of fact, it seems the more expensive the purse, the more impractical it is. It’s just a big hole in fancy material.

I need organization. I need to be able to keep my purse neat and tidy without looking like I’m ninety years old. I want it stylish but I don’t want to have to switch everything out every day because my purse doesn’t match my clothes. I need pockets on the outside and on the inside. They need to be big enough to hold my PDA. I need two or three purses which have almost hit the target to be combined into one super purse. My current purse is short but long with two side pockets and one flat zip pocket on the front. It has three interior compartments and the strap is medium length. My last purse was taller but shorter with two good sized pouch pockets on the front and a zip pocket on the back with three interior compartments. The strap was a little bit long for me. So if I could get a purse about as wide as my current one and as tall as my previous one with two side pockets, two front pouch pockets, a back zip pocket, three interior compartments and a medium length strap, I’d be set. Or would I?