I stand with so many other people around this time of year who are annoyed with the stores, malls, and restaurants that begin their Christmas decorating (and sales) way too early. In fact, this year I saw so much red and green before Halloween I had to look at a calendar to check the date more than once. I don’t enjoy the barrage of Christmas music, in elevators, on the radio, in stores, everywhere. It’s partly because I’m Jewish, I suppose. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy a good Christmas tune–Mariah Carey’s recent take on “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is my modern favorite–it’s just that…
-
-
The Mystery Of The Missing Socks
We have a little sock problem in this house: they don’t always make it through the wash in pairs. I have a small, decorative basket in our family room, creatively referred to as “The Sock Basket”, which holds all the single socks waiting for a mate. Once a week or so, I bring the basket, which looks decidedly less decorative when it’s overflowing with socks, to the couch and I sort the socks while I watch something on television. That little sock problem recently compounded into a mystery: I personally have been experiencing a sock shortage for the past couple of months, which is weird because my socks aren’t difficult…
-
With Apologies To My Future Daughters-In-Law And Grandchildren
It’s no secret that I am not a fan of the pomp and circumstance that comes with holidays. I have never much enjoyed decorating for holidays–I even wrote my fourth post on Suburban Scrawl EVER, about it–because it makes my house seem too cluttered. (I have enough problems being okay with our everyday clutter!) I don’t like holiday stress. I adore my family, but I don’t like the pressures of family togetherness and making “picture-perfect” memories just because it’s a certain day. With the exception of birthdays, which we love around here, I’d rather enjoy fun times being together on any old, “normal” day. Yes, I *do* realize this is…
-
Question of the Day: Got Gas?
I’m borrowing the “Question of the Day” format that my buddy Momo Fali uses on occasion, not only because it works in this case but because Momo often feels like bad/odd/embarrassing/uncomfortable situations seek her out somehow, and, well, just read this. You know how you go out of town for Parent Weekend at your kid’s college, and you have an awesome time taking him out to Target, and to eat, and to the football game, and to Casino Night, and then when you get up the next day you take him to breakfast and hug him goodbye and then go to fill up the gas tank before you get back…
-
Missing A Sensitivity Chip
Back in the 80’s, I was a very typical teenaged girl, music-wise: I was completely over-the-moon about the (Second) British Invasion, especially the music groups involved, and especially Duran Duran. In fact, two years ago I wrote a whole post about my love for “D-squared”, and it covered the white-hot intensity of my obsession pretty well. (Click here to check it out; you won’t regret it.) Unfortunately, I never got to see them perform live. Fast forward to October of 2011. Duran Duran is touring, and yesterday I had to turn down free tickets to see them. I know. I KNOW! The tragic nature of that statement alone is beyond…
- 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
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.…
- Confessions, Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?, I've Got Mad Skillz, My Kid Has Mad Skillz, Reflections on Parenting
The Ability To Procrastinate Doesn’t Happen Overnight, You Know…
Everyone who knows me well can vouch for the fact that one of my greatest skills is the ability to procrastinate. (Case in point: I wanted to write this post about six months ago.) I’m terrible at time management when it comes to projects. That said, don’t believe for a second that I miss deadlines, because I don’t. I might finish what’s due at the very last possible moment before my deadline is up, but I do finish on time. In spite of my chronic procrastination tendencies (I prefer to say that “I work well under pressure”), I am, surprisingly, more organized than the average person. Okay, part of it…
-
I Should Really Learn To Keep My Mouth Shut.
Over the last couple of months, we have been having problems with our DVR, which is fairly new after getting our old one replaced due to similar problems. Our satellite provider has been less than helpful for the most part because each time I call, I am on the phone for twenty to thirty minutes, only to be walked through tech support steps that are clearly band-aids rather than a complete fix to the problem. The perkiness of each person I have spoken with is overdone, I imagine for the purpose of balancing out the irritation of the customers on the other end of the line. I have worked in…
-
The Long Walk Back To Me
When I turned forty-two (ouch) last November, I made four simple but clear goals for myself for the year (click here to read that entire post): 1. Lose thirty pounds 2. Move/exercise more often 3. Get my book published 4. Get organized At that time, I had no idea that number three would not only become a reality sooner than expected, but also that it would completely paralyze my progress on numbers one and two. (Number four? Piece of cake; did that in December.) The fact that not only have I made absolutely no progress on those first two goals since November, but that I’ve even GONE BACKWARDS is more…
-
The Madness Continues…
When I showed you my secret obsession back in November, I got some great responses. And lost only a few readers, I think… When I live-blogged the Royal Wedding on April 29, I really did it more for my own amusement than anything else, but it happened to entertain a few other people too, which was nice. (It quickly became one of my most popular posts in my nearly-four years of blogging.) What I’ve learned is that you people may not all like the British royals as much as I do, but you seem to like that I like them as much as I do. It’s high time for another…