I have a little rant to share with you this evening, so please indulge me for just a few minutes of your time. This afternoon, Jim and I went to see “The Hangover: Part II” with my sister and my mom. The movie is rated R, and yet there were still two couples there who brought their small children. How small? One of them was four or five, and one of them was a baby, drinking a bottle. The “R” rating given by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) doesn’t prohibit children from attending a movie with an adult, though: the definition of the rating is R-Restricted Under 17…
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Working For A Living
The events surrounding the release of my book weren’t the only big happenings around the Wells house last week. In fact, we had a couple more reasons to celebrate: both D and J found summer jobs! This development could’ve been some kind of miracle: I’ve read that this summer is supposed to be one of the worst summers ever for teenaged job-seekers. Thankfully, the rate of employment for teens in my house is booming. D got a full-time job at Jim’s company. The company has a program specifically for the student-aged offspring of employees. The program has been on hiatus for the past couple of years, so we hear (Jim…
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My Official Book Launch: An Epic Celebration of All Things Chicago
I don’t even know where to start when it comes to summarizing my book launch event that occurred in the city on Tuesday night. I would love to tell you about everything, but I don’t want this post to be a novel and so I have to skip the fine points on: ~ all of the ideas I tossed around in my head starting about two months ago as this event was conceptualized ~ the great conversations (and epiphanies) I had with the ladies of my “Event Advisory Board” (I made up that name but it’s perfect), made up of friends who have experience with the ins and outs of…
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Move Along, Nothing To See Here…
I know. It’s been a few days. Well, only four, but in the blogosphere, four days can seem like an eternity. In fact, I have lots to share but no time to share it at the moment. I met my publisher in person over the weekend when we drove down south (in a loaner Chevy Tahoe Hybrid from General Motors, thank you very much!) for my niece’s graduation: my publisher’s office is only about twenty minutes from my sister-in-law’s house. I got a great package from the United Kingdom, full of goodies that made me totally giddy. I got a great package from Cape Cod, containing something that made me…
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He Never Made THAT Mistake Again…
When you’re a parent and dealing with a little person who’s getting older every day and whose brain isn’t as malleable as he was when he was a baby, it can be very difficult to find ways to teach right and wrong. What works for one of your offspring may not work for the other, and that’s definitely been the case in this house. D has always had a sense of not wanting to make mistakes, ever. Of course, nobody is perfect, and it was only natural that he made some poor choices on his path to becoming the fine young man he is today. For example, there was the…
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The Icing On The Cake
Late last week, J–who, until recently, was considering a Culinary Arts major in college (he decided that he’d rather go towards music/business, and be an excellent hobby cook instead!)–came to me and said, “Hey mom, would you be interested in helping me make a cake for H (his girlfriend) this weekend?” The question shocked me a little bit, because it’s been ages since we’ve had the time around here to even consider spending time in the kitchen, let alone together. I was thrilled that he asked me, and I vowed to make the time. I asked him what kind of cake he wanted to make, and he said he had…
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Blogger Love For Brandie
Sometimes, when we least expect it, life can throw a curveball. Most of them are things that can be dealt with quickly and easily. Some can completely blindside us, leaving us in shock for a while. When those happen, being supported by our loved ones, even though they may not be able to fix the problem, can help our spirit heal. The Chicago-based bloggers are a tight bunch, and we are rallying for one of our own today. Brandie from A Journey of 1000 Stitches Begins With Just One, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 31 (she turned 32 yesterday). The speed with which something wrong…
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Phoolin’ Around
One of the videos in my Cruzing Chicagoland series (click here for all of the videos!) spotlighted the Bristol Renaissance Faire. The star of the video was Jane the Phoole, who had Michelle and I (and her co-workers) laughing hysterically during the shoot. At one point I asked her, “I think a blooper reel would be really funny. Are you okay with that?” She said, “I would LOVE if you made a blooper reel!” And so, without further ado, here’s Jane the Phoole, engaging in something at which she’s very, very good: making people laugh.
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Cruzing Chicagoland: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwestern Indiana
One of the great things about General Motors (major sponsor of my Chicago book launch event) is their involvement with various charities. It was inspiring to me, and when I started planning my event I decided to “hook up” with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwestern Indiana. They do beyond-wonderful things by providing a “home away from home” for families with hospitalized children, and I’ve been involved with them in the past (not to mention my close ties with the McDonald’s brand), so it was a great match. My friend Margaret and I took a Cruze (literally) to the Lincoln Park neighborhood to check out the House…
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Cruzing Chicagoland: Threadless Headquarters
I had heard that the Chicago headquarters of the Threadless T-shirt company is one of those epic, must-see places. I’ve seen a couple of pictures in magazine features about it, and was thrilled to take a ride over there in the 2011 Chevy Cruze that General Motors loaned me for a week (Disclosure: GM is the major sponsor of my Chicago book launch event), to record a tour for your enjoyment. What struck me about the headquarters is how extremely laid-back the place was, even way more than I expected. The place exudes a vibe of “Fun” rather than “Work”, and had I not actually witnessed employees busily doing their…