A Texting Vegan?

I have a confession.

Just in case you didn't know, I recently wrote a book "Read Between the Lines: A Humorous Guide to Texting with Simplicity and Style" which came out last week. RBTL provides hundreds of reasons why you need to use text messaging as one of your modes of communication.

What you probably don't know is that my husband (one of my biggest supporters) doesn't text. In fact, he outwardly refuses to do so!

Granted, my hubby is an incredible and successful business man, a jet pilot, an amazing dad, and a lover of his "old school" Motorola flip phone. I did get him a new phone last February, which he returned because he "just couldn't do without his flip".

Something is going on around here!

Then, out of no where, he comes back from Borders on Saturday night with new book called "Skinny Bastard". He said he went to check out "Skinny Bitch" because both RBTL and SB have the the same talented illustrator, Margaret Gockel in common. When I complemented him on his new acquisition, he proclaimed "Next week I'm going to learn how to text, and become a vegan" which is the entire premise behind Skinny Bastard.

OMG... because now he wants me to come along on his vegan journey too! As much as I would love to join his new cause, I'm not 100% sure I can commit to eliminating dairy, chicken, fish and my Skinny Hazelnut Latte from Starbucks. I did read I could have TunO, which sounds completely and totally awful. HELP!

Last week, I did notice David eyeing my sons iPhone, all the way to the point of checking out how it felt to carry in his pocket... which was totally shocking because of his total and complete dedication to Mr. Flip, which I bought him four years ago!

A four year old cell phone is a lot like a 10 year old computer - it's out of date and totally obsolete!

As for his new way of eating, I'm thinking it won't last for long, especially since his daily snacks consist of Lays Potato Chips, lots of cookies, buttered popcorn and several cans of Coke. Maybe going vegan is just what the Dr. ordered, even if it's just for a short period of time?

As for learning how to text, I agree he'll need to dump Mr. Flip and find a new love. Maybe he was finally able to Read Between the Lines?

Stay tuned, because I'm not buying any of the texting vegan mania just yet.

Dream A Little Dream

Have you ever had an idea to do something that could turn out to be really amazing? You know, that perfect something that's just begging to be born and become a reality?

What about a new way of doing something, or a product that is really needed but not available? It doesn't even matter what the size of your dream is, because it belongs only to you.

I know that you've had ideas in the past, and they come to you at the strangest times! They come to you in the middle of the night or while you're taking a shower. Or maybe you're just stuck in traffic and POW it hits you like a ton of bricks!

Just today, I had two of my girlfriends tell me about an idea they have, but they're not exactly sure how to go about making the idea a reality.

I say "Don't let the lack of knowing something stop you from doing anything!" Who cares if you don't know how to do something... you can always figure it out! Your smart, savvy and know people who can help you, you just have to ask.

It's definitely not comfortable to try something you know nothing about. In fact, I think that's the main reason why we don't always try. Take it from me, I've had lots of ideas that I've never acted on. Why? For me... I can honestly say I didn't try hard enough, and gave up too soon.

When things become to hard for me, I always tell myself the same thing: "If it were easy, everybody would be doing it."

In the end, I think it's about the long, windy and often difficult road that makes the journey worth traveling. Learning something new is always a process. Sometimes it's easy, and sometimes it can be really hard. But, we have to at least try as hard as we can in order to make our dreams become a reality.

So go ahead, shoot for the stars and dream a little dream, then take the fabulous journey that will allow you to make your dream come true.

Sex + Texting = Sexting

Unfortunately, there are some very bad things that come along with texting, and it doesn't get much worse than sexting!

Sexting or Sextexting is a terrifying concept for any parent, and it's become prevalent within the teen community.

What is Sexting? Sexting involves inappropriate and/or nude photos of themselves or others that are texted to boyfriends, girlfriends and even strangers. Take this practice one step further to the brink of total devastation by adding the ability to forward and share these inappropriate photos with an unlimited number of people. Who knows where these photos could end up?

The possibilities are frighteningly endless.

"Not my child" is what most parents think when the topic of sexting is brought up in conversation. A national organization called The National Campaign (www.nationalcampaign.org) seeks to improve the well being of our youth, estimates that at a minimum, 33% of teenagers have admitted to sexting. This number increases to 36% when it comes to young adult women.

The second someone hits the "send" button that includes a "hot pic" as an attachment to a text, serious consequences and severe harm are possible. Here are just a few ways sexting can change your child's life forever:

Potential to be arrested and charged for child pornography

Requirement to register as a sex offender

Complete humiliation among peers

Attractions of stalkers/sexual predators

Hazing/name calling Sexual harassment

Possible expulsion from school

Teens have been arrested and booked for sexting, which in the eyes of the law can be considered child pornography. Beyond that, sexting carriers the additional risks:

Text Bullying - When compromising photos are texted to others in order to embarrass, make miserable or destroy another person.

Teen Pressure - Feeling pressured to text revealing photos - or else...

Teen Suicide - Resulting from once private, inappropriate photos no longer remaining private, causing humiliation and devastation.

Blackmail - Being made to do something against your will, because if you don't, that naked picture you texted of yourself will be sent to all your friends, teachers, coaches, parents, and anyone you would never want to see it.

Breakups/Relationship Problems - Forced to stay in a relationship for fear of inappropriate photos surfacing somewhere unexpected.

We as parents need to Read Between the Lines and be aware that sexting is a reality, and it's becoming more common than we'd like to believe. We also need to understand the dangers of sexting, and then be able to explain the serious consequences that arise from texting sexy pictures to others, and how it can negatively change their lives forever!

A Magical Night Indeed

Downtown Pleasanton hosted it's "Magical Downtown Holiday Evening" tonight, which I was lucky to be a part of, thanks to Towne Center Books who invited me in for a book signing.

Towne Center Books reminds me of "The Shop Around the Corner", which was the name of the bookstore in "You've Got Mail". It's cute, clever and Judy the owner and her staff are very passionate about their books. Thanks Judy - I just love your store!

Book signings are a lot of fun, especially because of all the new people you get to meet and talk to. And yes, signing your very own book is really great too!

The real reason tonight was so magical was due to this lady who stood out on the sidewalk passing out Read Between the Lines bookmarks for me, encouraging all those "potential" customers to come into the store. BTW, that lady was my mom who surprised me by driving 7 hours last night with her hubby, just so they could attend my first RBTL book signing.

Thanks Mom! YTB mom a girl could ever have!!

Special thanks to my family, friends, neighbors and co-workers who showed up to say "hi", and join in on the holiday and book signing festivities. I couldn't do any of this without your support.

TTFN

Text Messages DON'T Replace Phone Calls

For all of you skeptics out there, let's get down to brass tacks.

A text messages will never replace the "personal" side of a phone conversation. It's best to think of communicating by text as a supplement to, not a replacement of person-to-person connections.

There are always times when a call can't be answered for one reason or another, which sends your call straight into voice mail, requiring you to leave a message. Maybe you'll get a call back, maybe you won't.

Think of a text as a Post-it note on steroids. With a text, you can send your note instantly to your recipient, and if they're next to their cell phone and can answer it, they will. Most of the time, you'll find your text "notes" returned within minutes.

There are tons of reasons why a text works better than a call. Here's just a few of them:

Texts are private and discreet

It's too late or too early to make your call

You're in a meeting and can't call or their in a meeting and can't answer

Texts are instant, and have global reach

In an emergency when a phone call won't go through, a TM usually will

If you're reaching out to a teen and want a response, you better send a text

Text messages will never replace the importance of a personal phone call. A text will allow you to connect more often, and stay in the communication loop.

By reading Read Between the Lines, you'll discover numerous ways to assimilate text messaging into your daily life, allowing you to reach triple platinum communication success!

WOO HOO to that!

Read Between the Lines - Comments From Book Buyers

This week, I've made several deliveries of Read Between the Lines for corporate orders that were placed over the last few months. I've also dropped off books to the wonderful women in my life who have helped me through the process of getting RBTL published. TY 2 my BFF's!

Also this week, Read Between the Lines made it's first appearance to complete strangers, which means people I've never met had a chance to look at the book, pick it up, flip through the pages and comment how they really felt about it.

Kind of scary - yet exciting all at the same time!

The amazing news is I had nothing but VERY positive feedback, lots of purchases, and several large quantity orders.

Here are the two negatives I heard:

An elderly lady said she couldn't text because she had arthritis in her thumbs. Unfortunately, that was a challenge I was unable to overcome. I also I had a 17-year old and her mom stop by to take a look (the teen had already previewed the book for about 3 minutes before her mom). The teenager definitely didn't want her mom to have all the info that RBTL had to offer, but after her mom had a chance to thumb through, making squeals, giggles and comments about the content, the "too cool" teen finally gave her mom the green light to buy the book.

Here's what I've noticed so far:

The reason why people are first attracted to RBTL is the cover, the amazing illustrations, the color pallet and the polka dot theme that's continued throughout the book. They also love the idea that there's a fun book about texting that includes a text lingo dictionary that they can use to trick their kids. I also noticed that all of my book buyers knew how to text or were just learning, but still want the book because of the variety of RBTL's content.

I have to thank my lucky stars that my publisher was able to secure Margarete Gockel to illustrate my cover, as well as the 11 additional illustrations throughout Read Between the Lines.

For those of you who don't recognize Margarete's name, in the United States she's best known for her illustrations that are on the covers of the "Skinny Bitch" book series.

Margarete had the incredible ability to draw exactly what I had in mind for each illustration. She nailed the cover on her first attempt, she knew what I wanted, and was easily able to capture all the little details I asked her for. I know women (and men) easily identify with her fun and entertaining illustrations, and men just love every single detail about her work.

My thanks for helping me make my dream become a reality goes out to Margarete Gockel.

One women I met tonight said "Don't you just want to jump a plane to Germany to give her a big hug and thank her personally?" The thought had never crossed my mind until tonight...watch out Margarete! JK

Text Your Tweets to Stardom!

Twitter will ask you only one question: "What are you doing?" As long as your answer is 140 characters or less, it's possible for thousands, possibly millions of people (If you're a Twitter Rock Star) to see your answer the moment you hit "enter".

In short, Twitter is a trendy communication tool that's part micro-blog, part social network, part instant message, and part text message that allows you to share information by sending quick updates (AKA tweets) in 140-character snippets or less.

For most of us, it's NOT our goal to tweet "What we are really doing" for the entire Twitter Nation to see, every moment of the day.

There's nothing worse than having to read that someones going to the dentist or getting their tires rotated. Who cares? TMI!

One great thing Twitter offers is many benefits to businesses that shouldn't be ignored. Twitter can be an incredible tool to provide important information about your company, while at the same time showing the "real" side of your business.

With Twitter, you can build relationships with those whom you might otherwise miss out on getting to know. Here are a few things your company can do with Twitter:

Network

Provide customer support

Expand PR and marketing opportunities

Share tips, promotions and sales

Provide important industry related info

Add value to your service offerings

Make important announcements

and much more

Whether you're interested in using Twitter to further your professional career, your company's presence in the Twitter world, or just looking to spread your wings and have some fun, Twitter can be the perfect information skyway for you.

Most people I talk to know nothing (or very little) about Twitter. That's why I decided to dedicate an entire chapter within Read Between the Lines to Twitter.

The good news is You decide if it's for something you want try, or not. It's free, so even if you try it and you don't like it - you definitely don't have much to loose except for your time.

Stardom, here you come!

Text To Connect With the Under 25'sters!

Most teens keep their phones on vibrate or silent, which means they don't hear their cell phone ring when you call. If you're relying on e-mail to be the window into your favorite teen's world, or if your thinking when you call they'll pick up, you haven't been given the 411 on teen communication.

What will actually happen when you give them a ringy-dingy? You'll probably get voice mail. What about the 37 e-mails you've sent over the last 6 months to your grandson in college? They're probably still sitting in his in-box, or maybe they went into a spam folder. Bottom line: expect your voice messages NOT to be heard and e-mails not to be read.

As of Q1 2009:

Teens average 2900 text messages a month and only 231 calls a month. Some teens send as many as 15,000 texts a month, and make under ten calls during the same time frame.

If this information is brand new to you, it's time to Read Between the Lines and opt for a new communication solution.

Would you prefer to get an instant response to your nagging parental questions - or just a single response from your grandkid?

If this is sounding like a dream come true, then you need to send him or her a text. You should get a response within seconds. The unwritten code of conduct for the under 25'sters is to answer every text within seconds of receiving it.

One of the main reasons I wrote Read Between the Lines was to get more people connecting more often. I know, having a personal conversation is so much better than a text, but often a call isn't possible or isn't convenient. These are perfect examples of when you can take advantage of how easy a text message is to send, and how quickly you'll get the answer to your question - just like that!

Just text it!

Back Up the Truck - Warehouse Receives Books & RBTL Goes to Uganda

After seven days on the road all the way from the plant in Brainerd Minnesota, both shipments of Read Between the Lines finally arrived safe and sound!!

Most of the books went to the distribution warehouse in Texas. From there, they'll go to Ingram, a major book distributor used by Borders, Barnes and Nobles and other book stores around the country. JR, the driver who delivered a few cases of Read Between the Lines to my office in Pleasanton was pretty overwhelmed by my excitement, but really sweet about it. He even asked for my autograph before he left.

So, what does this really mean? It means that orders will be filled in the next few weeks, and soon books will be available in stores, ready for their new homes.

I'm in San Diego right now with my daughter Nicole, visiting USD as one of the potential colleges of her dreams. We had a great day at USD's Fall Open House, then went out to dinner at Currant, in downtown San Diego. I'm mentioning this because we met an interesting man that's here from Uganda for a National Real Estate Conference. Vincent Agaba from Uganda was sitting alone at the table next to us, so Nicole and I started chatting it up with him.

Instantly, Vincent from Uganda, Nicole and I all hit it off for a lot of reasons. Nicole has a huge passion for an organization called Invisible Children, which helps support children in Uganda who need help. Vincent helped Nicole understand the differences between the West and the North, and how the most important thing the United States can do for the children in Northern Uganda is to help educate them any way we can.

Like myself, Vincent is in the insurance business (he works in the field of insurance, real estate and mortgages) and he also publishes a real estate magazine, which is distributed throughout Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya. Additionally, Vincent has a dream to write the first real estate book in his country.

That's when Read Between the Lines came up, and after some more conversation between the three of us, he asked if he could purchase a book.

Let's just say that one of the first copies of RBTL has a new home, soon to be all the way in Africa.

As I'm writing this, Vincent is learning to Read Between the Lines, and how to text American style.

WOO HOO Vincent - and thanks for taking RBTL home with you to Africa!

Thanks Vincent Agaba from Uganda for educating us about your country, and allowing RBTL to educate you... and thanks JR, for delivering my first book into the right hands in Texas and in California.

You guys both rock!

A Magical Holiday Evening in Downtown Pleasanton November 20th 2009

Come celebrate the season by attending Pleasanton's annual "Magical Holiday Evening" where all of Pleasanton's downtown businesses will hold their annual open house on Friday Night, November the 20th between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m.

You'll be able to shop, dine, enjoy wonderful music and last but not least, stop by Towne Center Books and witness my first official book signing event.

If you've never been to Towne Center Books, you're in for a real treat. Located on Main Street, right in the heart of downtown Pleasanton, it's in the perfect spot to stop by right after you've had your dinner at your favorite restaurant, and grabbed your frosty from the drive-through dairy.

The second you walk into TCB, you'll be amazed at the large assortment of books kept in inventory, the way the books are displayed, and the overall book knowledge that Judy and her wonderful staff have to offer. If they don't have that perfect book, don't worry, they'll order it for you lickety split! It's personal at Towne Center Books - which is what makes this store so special.

I'm really excited to celebrate my first official book signing event for Read Between the Liness with my family, friends, and neighbors right in my very own hometown!

If you have just a few minutes, stop by Town Center Books on November 20th between 7:00 and 8:00 pm and help me celebrate the coming out of Read Between the Lines. I'd love to see you there!

After all, RBTL's been waiting to be exposed for months, and is definitely ready for the big event, just like I am!

It's Going to be A Magical Evening for Everyone - See You Then!!

Sex in the City of Walnut Creek with Candace Bushnell

First, I have to say that I feel naked without my book. I gave my very first copy of Read Between the Lines to Candace Bushnell tonight, the author of "Sex in the City" and "Lipstick Jungle" just to name a few.

I received my advanced copy of Read Between the Lines just last week. That one single copy that I've slept next to for the last few nights has a new home. But, I'm really excited to say that even though RBTL will be missing from my hands for just a short time (I receive several cases on Wednesday) it's worth it because Candace is looking forward to reading the book, as well as providing me her personal feedback!

WOO HOO! Feedback from Candace Bushnell... I just hope she loves it!

I met the beautiful Candace tonight at a pre-party hosted by Junior League at this amazing shoe store called Foot Candy in Walnut Creek. BTW Candace was amazing too! After I had the pleasure of spending a few minutes with her, we all moved on to The Lesher Speaker Series event to hear her speak about her career, and how she got to where she is today.

In case you were wondering, the answer is yes! Yes the shoes at Food Candy are so incredible, you'll never go anywhere else for that super special pair you HAVE to have. Manolo, Jimmy, and Christian Louboutin where all in the house!

Back to Candace. As I'm sitting in the auditorium listening to her speak, I noticed she spoke a lot about women, and how they feel they want it all, and still have to do it all, which causes us to often come up short. And when she was younger, living in NYC that her dating rituals would always come to an end (until she met her husband at age 43), but that her girl friends would always be there for her, no matter what.

Girl Power! There's absolutely no substitute for friends... But do we really want it all? And what really defines "It all"?

I also need to mention that the theater was packed with both men and women. The audience was mostly couples 50 and up, which surprised me. For some reason I thought there would be bunches of 30ish groups of women, dressed to the nines. At the pre-party, this was the case, but at the main event, not so much.

The lady sitting to my right had her eyes closed most of the time...could she really be sleeping?

When Candace first moved to NYC at the age of 19, she made $1000.00 to write a children's story for Simon and Schuster which she was thrilled with. After years of dating, she realized that not ONE guy in New York wanted to get married, and she continued to move in and out of her "guy of the moments" place, with her friends always there for her "packing up her stuff in those giant leaf bags". Those moments are what eventually inspired her to write Sex and the City.

Yes, the women next to me was definitely sleeping. All I know is if the discussion we were listening to wasn't going to keep her awake, I'm not sure what will!

Money, power, career, independence, sex, success and Manolo's - the theme of tonight, are all important things us women need to strive for and keep a hold of.

There was a Mr. Big too, and as for the character Carrie Bradshaw, that was really her pen name that she used so her mom didn't know too much about all of her "personal details" she exposed in her column.

Yep, Candace definitely brought the discussion of Sex into Walnut Creek tonight, and Read Between the Lines found a new home.

OMG - RBTL Has Arrived!!!!!

Joe the Fed Ex guy did NOT let me down today.

I was out of the office most of the day, but when I returned, Read Between the Lines was waiting for me on my desk, along with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers delivered by my husband David. And, get this... by design, the flowers perfectly matched all of the colors of my book!

I'm going to have to say it again a few more times... OMG, OMG, OMG!

When I picked RBTL up and held it in my hands for the first time, I was really surprised how it felt. It's heavier than I ever imagined, and it feels like one of those big high quality coffee table books, just on a smaller scale.

Then, when I ran my hand across the cover, I could feel all the incredible embossing that was done by the printer. I knew there would be embossing, but not to the degree that I was feeling. (Thank you Kathryn @ my publishers office, she made all of the paper and embossing decisions) After I got past the details on the front cover, I opened it up.

WOW is all I could say. And all I could think was "Is this really my book?"

To be totally honest, it's too amazing to be MY book... The book that my mom, my publisher and I have been working on to decide all of the smallest little tiny content details for months and months and months. I never imagined Read Between the Lines could be what it is today.

I always had it planned out and designed in my mind, and I knew the information I wanted to include, and the way I wanted the words to speak to my readers. As for the packaging, I wanted it to be one of "those" books that you have to pick up the second you see it.

You could say that irresistibility inside and out was my goal.

And when my mom, my daughter and I flew to Dallas in July to meet with Jessica (the key designer at my publishers office) I knew that she was fully capable of helping me achieve my goal of irresistibility! That day, the four of us together worked for hours choosing the perfect color palette, the perfect fonts, and the perfect placement of the design elements. And just like that, RBTL came together like magic.

Read Between the Lines is irresistible to me. And since I can't put it down, I think I'm going to have to sleep with it under my pillow tonight. :)

Mission accomplished gals!

A Dark Day in Sunny California

Today was not such a amazing day after all. In fact, today was a dark disappointment for me. Read Between the Lines didn't arrive in the warehouse or in my office today as originally scheduled.

My publisher called me this morning and said "I might have mislead you when I told you we had received the books yesterday. The warehouse did NOT receive the books, and your scheduled delivery is also delayed."

Here comes the rain.

What happened was Read Between the Lines was never put on the truck for delivery last Friday, as originally scheduled AND I was never told this until today. What the publisher received yesterday was just a few advanced copies that were shipped from the plant last week.

That's it.

The rest of the books were still sitting at the plant, waiting to be shipped. When all of this came to light this morning, my publisher did do what they needed to do to get the books sent safely on their way today.

Unfortunately, what this means is that both the warehouse and myself will have to wait until next week to receive them. More importantly, what it means is my books will still have to make that long dangerous journey across the country.

Since risk is one thing I know a little bit about (insurance is my profession) I'm not too worried about RBTL's potential transportation risk. I just want them to get where they need to go... sooner rather than later.

I guess this is one of those examples of how things can't always go perfectly, and that stuff happens that I have absolutely no control over. A reality I don't like to face, but must.

The small glimmer of sun behind my dark cloud is that I'll be getting one copy of RBTL tomorrow. My publisher overnighted one of the copies they received, so I will get to see the actual book just as soon as Joe, our Fed Ex guy, makes his appearance.

I have to admit, it's very nerve racking waiting to see the first copy of my finished book. I think I've asked myself at least 200 times "What if it's terrible, and I hate it?" Then I keep telling myself "Think positive, your thoughts must be what every author goes through when their about to get that first copy of their "baby" they've worked so hard on delivered into their hands for the first time."

Tonight will be a very long night for me. I'm hoping and praying for that bright and beautiful sun to shine in sunny California. I'm also hoping that Joe shows up at 8 tomorrow morning because one things for sure, I'll be watching the door for both him and my newest labor of love, Read Between the Lines to make their appearance.

RBTL Has Arrived!

Today is a very big day, because Read Between the Lines arrived in the warehouse which is where the distribution process originates for all orders across the entire county.

This is exciting, because now any pending orders that have been on hold, waiting for the books to arrive, can now be filled.

It's also exciting because my publisher warned me of all the dangers that could happen during the delivery process, making the actual delivery questionable and definitely impossible to guarantee. Apparently, there have been "delivery obstacles" that have actually occurred in the past, that required complete disclosure.

There was the possibility of the delivery truck being stolen, a fire burning all the books, the truck over-turning, and even the possibility of a strike occurring somewhere during the delivery process.

Needless to say, I've been on pins and needles ever since the books left the plant, bound for the warehouse in that delivery truck that I had too many concerns about.

Lucky me, because none of these things happened, and Read Between the Lines is safe and sound tucked away in nice cardboard boxes waiting for their new homes.

Today is definitely a WOO HOO day for me, especially since I know that tomorrow I'm going to get a small delivery of books. Tomorrow will also be the first time that I get to lay eyes on my actual book. I've seen a draft of the Read Between the Lines, (referred to as a Galley in the book business), but I've never seen the actual hardcover book with the dust jacket that I spent so long making sure was perfect.

Tomorrow, one of the first things I'll do is Fed Ex a few copies down to my mom. She's been helping me with every single little detail of RBTL, every single step of the way. I'm positive she can't wait to see the real deal either!

It's been a long, curvy road with lots of ups and downs from when I first committed to writing RBTL! Some people might say "Wow, you've accomplished your dream of writing a book" but I have to disagree. I know that my goal won't be accomplished until I hear that Read Between The Lines has made a difference in peoples lives by helping them communicate in a new way, or taught them something useful and new that they weren't already aware of.

Aging Up but NOT Out!

If you're a parent or a grandparent, you may be thinking "Why in the heck do I need to learn how to text? Texting is just for kids" or "I'm definitely not going to learn something new at my age!"

You may also be wondering what happened to your darling little innocent children or grandchildren who used to love to stay the night and hear you read out loud to them as they helped you turn the pages. In fact, they used to love doing just about anything with you, as long as you were together. When you called them, they would talk, giggle, and laugh with you and tell you about their day.

Where did they go??

If your children or grandchildren have morphed into teenagers, you're probably finding that your phone calls don't get returned, and your emails you send or calls you make go unanswered.

If ANY of this sounds remotely familiar to you, I'd like you to please
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO WHAT I'M ABOUT TO TELL YOU.

For the most part, teens don't e-mail like their parents and grandparents do. If your calls are going unanswered, it's because most kids don't let their cell phone ring (it's on vibrate), and they hardly ever check voice mail for messages. The only way you're going to get their attention, or get a response is to text them.

Yep, you heard me correctly... you're going to need to learn how to text, so you can stay in touch with your favorite teenager!

When you make the decision to not let a new super-simple technology like texting hinder you or keep you out of your families "communication loop", go ahead and send your first text to your favorite youngster with a cell phone (which BTW I've heard of children as young as 8 years old now have cell phones).

If you're a texting newbie, it's a great excuse to either ask for help (and gain some new respect for wanting to learn) or refer to the Quick Start Guide that is in the very beginning of Read Between the Lines. Also, be sure to add a texting plan with your wireless provider (which there are tons of options, and are now very cost effective), so you're not over-charged. If you want to text for free, you can do so directly on your wireless providers Internet site.

Texting is a fabulous way for parents and grandparents to stay connected to Generation Text; it allows you to easily communicate across generations easily and more often. It's certainly not the same as hearing their voices on the phone, but something is better than nothing, and with texting, you'll be able to reach out more often, giving you the ability to be involved in their lives on a daily basis.

You can say a lot in 160 characters, and you can do it as often as you'd like - and you'll get a response within seconds every single time! What could be better than that? Teens almost always respond to every text within seconds of receiving them. Even if you have an older, low tech, "old school" cell phone, you can send simple texts just to let them know you're thinking about them.

Hi, how was school? or Just thinking of you...xoxoxo, or How was your game today? Even if you just send your note with just a few words, you'll get an instant response! WOO HOO to that!

Yes, we're all aging up, but that doesn't mean we have to age out of the day-to-day activities of our families! And please, don't bother with the "I'm too old, or I don't wanna learn" because there are no excuses to NOT learning how to text. It's too simple, and too important to ignore anymore.

I recommend that we all... Get With It or Get Deleted!