• Best Thing Ever,  Childhood Memories,  Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Something That Could Change Your Life

    From Dress To Undress, and Back To Dress

    September 30, 2011

    When I was a kid, I wore skirts and dresses all the time. I’m guessing that even though the early 1970’s was at the tail end of the “girls should wear dresses, not pants” era, my mom probably also took great joy in dressing me up in those adorable frocks in earthtone color palattes as well as the ones made from vibrant, crazy prints and plaids. Being a girly-girl back then, I didn’t mind at all. As I grew up, it became more acceptable–and practical!–for little girls to wear pants. I eventually (by fourth grade) fell in love with the comfort of jeans, and there was rarely a turning back.…

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  • Amazing People,  Best Thing Ever,  Blessings,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  Writing

    Inspired To Action.

    September 27, 2011

    A funny thing happens sometimes, when you’re busy with life, going through your daily schedule and getting things done (or not): your mojo can start to slip away. It can slip when you’re tired, and it can slip when you aren’t organized. Mojo can fade away when you’re not paying attention. The silver lining in all of this is the fact that, it’s easy to get a jumpstart for your mojo, and I had not one but TWO jumpstarts today. First, after insanely aggravating traffic that, due to nothing in particular except for some rain, caused me to be in the car for a full two and a half hours…

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  • Food,  UGH.

    At Least I Didn’t Make Him Lick The Bowl.

    September 26, 2011

    Tonight I made my sixteen-year-old son J finish some chips and dip. He said he was finished, but I begged to differ. Normally I don’t police his meals, really. One of the benefits of having teenaged boys in the house is that they don’t need to be coerced to eat. I would even venture to say that the lack of need for Jim and me to be directly involved with making sure they eat their vegetables (they do) or try new things (they do) almost makes up for the fact that they eat us out of house and home, as the saying goes. Almost. The reason I stepped in to…

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  • Reflections on Parenting

    Are You Teaching Your Kid That Stealing Is Okay?

    September 22, 2011

    Before I begin this post, let me apologize in advance because I may end up sounding a little judgmental. I have very strong feelings about this issue and though I do believe that my opinion is the right one (of course I do!), I do encourage respectful conversation in the comment section, from both sides. I would guess that every parent in the world (except for Madonna, I’m sure) has had the experience of bringing their child(ren) along to the grocery store. It’s not always a fun time, especially when the child is very young. (I always found the toddler age to be most challenging because I had to focus…

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  • Best Thing Ever,  Family Fun,  Food,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  Jim Has Mad Skillz,  My Sister Has Mad Skillz

    Sometimes It’s Best If You Schedule These Things.

    September 20, 2011

    Confession time: over the past year or so (maybe even eighteen months: I’ve lost track!), Jim and I have been in a rut. I never thought it would happen to us, but it did. We used to have plenty of time, and plenty of desire. In fact, on the nights when I didn’t feel like it, he took charge, and vice versa. As of late, our busy schedules and pure exhaustion at the end of the day turned the tides. When we least expected it, something we used to do almost every single day became an afterthought, a rarity. Of course I’m talking about cooking dinner. We used to have…

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  • My Kids Have Mad Skillz

    Truth

    September 16, 2011

    My boys, three years apart, enjoyed the same second grade teacher. Actually, I enjoyed her very much myself. Mrs. J was a fantastic teacher who maintained a classroom balanced with fun and order. She was very creative when it came to assignments and projects, too. Each year, during the week before Curriculum Night (the evening during which the parents were invited to visit the classroom and hear an overview of that year’s curriculum from the teachers), Mrs. J asked each student in her class to choose a parent to draw and describe. She told the kids to refrain from writing any names on the front of the papers, and on…

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  • Reflections on Parenting

    The 21st Century College Search: Way Easier Than It Used To Be!

    September 14, 2011

    It has been more than two years since I first wrote about starting the search for the college that D would eventually attend. I am shocked to have to report that we are now beginning the same search, for J’s post-secondary home. (You feel old, right? Welcome to MY world!) When we began the college search the first time around, I had a rather elaborate filing system for all of the various fliers and brochures we were quickly collecting. I was dreading collecting all of the updated stuff: it’s too much paper, and not easy to compare schools. I was overjoyed to find out at an informational evening put on…

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  • Shameless Promotion,  Spreading the Bloggie Love

    Social RevUp: Join Us!

    September 13, 2011

    Back in July, I attended the 2011 Brands and Bloggers Summit here in Chicago. It was a fantastic day of learning, and I enjoyed being in the same hotel ballroom as so many of my midwestern blogger friends. Well, I’m going to get all up close and personal with next year’s Brands and Bloggers Summit (July 21, 2012 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago!), because of a new venture: I have partnered with Chicagonista’s MJ Tam and Healthier, Happier You Reviews‘ Dwana D. to launch Social RevUp! We’ll be producing custom-made events for the purpose of connecting bloggers with brands (and vice versa). The 2012 Brands and Bloggers Summit…

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  • UGH.

    In An Empire State of Mind

    September 11, 2011

    What I remember: ~Watching “The Today Show” and sharing Matt Lauer and Katie Couric’s horror as the second plane hit the towers, confirming that the first plane’s impact was no accident. Learning about the third plane crashing into the Pentagon and the fourth, United Flight 93, crashing into the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania was almost unbearable. ~Getting a frantic phone call from Jim and together debating whether we should pull our kids, then nine and six, from school (we didn’t). ~Staring at the news coverage for hours at a time as they played the video clips over and over again. ~Watching my sister (who had moved back to this area…

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