Going along with my family’s method of sticking to “new old traditions“, we did Thanksgiving our way. Perhaps you might want to change it up sometime, too? Here’s how. 1. The very first thing you do is make reservations at your favorite Brazilian steakhouse, which is also known as a churrascaria. 2. Start talking excitedly about “Meatsgiving” and make comments about the stretchy pants you’ll need to wear after it’s all over. Also, debate whether it’s best to starve yourself during the hours leading up to dinner or if it’s best to continue normal eating practices, thus keeping your stomach in practice. 3. Spend Thanksgiving Day completely relaxed and smiling.…
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New Old Holiday Traditions
If there is anything for which I am well-known, it’s that I’m not a huge fan of the holidays and holiday traditions. Wait, it’s that I have a Type A personality. Wait, it’s that I love tea. Wait, it’s that I’m a very cheerful, optimistic person. Wait, let’s go back to that holiday thing. I’ve explained it many times before; it’s not that I don’t like the holidays in general. It’s more about not fully enjoying the pomp and circumstance that comes with the holidays: the decorations, the fuss, the clutter, the stress, the “we have to do THIS and THIS”…I’m a creature of habit and it all gives me…
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The Very Best Sundays.
Sometimes the very best Sundays involve skipping your workout, jumping in the car with your husband, driving ninety minutes to pick up your older son, continuing to drive for another forty-five minutes to pick up your younger son, making your way over to a pizza place that your younger son recommends but finding it closed for lunch and instead eating at a place called People’s Park which isn’t a park at all but serves really yummy burgers on brioche buns, and while you eat you’re all ribbing each other but in the most laughter-filled, fun way, and then after you eat you go check out some vinyl at the record…
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We Made It Out Alive!
As I mentioned last week, D and I had plans to go to Six Flags Fright Fest on Sunday, and we had a great time. It was wonderful to go there with no pressure to get on as many rides as we possibly could so we could feel like we got our money’s worth, since the tickets were a lovely gift. It was completely relaxing—well, except for seeing things like the blood red pool in front of the carousel at the park entry, the ghostly, creepy park decorations, and the regular people walking around with various deep wounds (and ninja stars) on their faces, applied by Six Flags employees at…
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Stay Hydrated, You. (And You, Too.)
I am going to Six Flags this weekend (with D) for the first time in years and years. Yikes. I used to love Six Flags until it played a role in one of the scariest experiences I’ve ever had as a parent. Long story short, when the boys were seven and ten we had an exciting day planned at the park. We were having one of those summer weeks during which it’s even sweltering hot in the morning, and literally the minute we handed over our tickets and entered the park, D passed out from heat stroke. It was a scary couple of days (understatement) and truly affected all of…
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Playing Horse
Jim and I have been streaming the show “Welcome To Sweden”, which is an NBC sitcom produced by Amy Poehler (among others) and starring her younger brother Greg. It’s about a guy and his Swedish fiancee and the hijinks that ensue when they move from New York back to her home in Sweden. I find it hilarious, sweet, and extremely unique (subtitles!!), by the way, and Jim…does not. Anyway, while watching the show I have noticed Swedish Dala horses in the background. Seeing them on television made me remember the three-inch, red Dala horse that my mom used to have hanging on the living room wall above the couch. When…
- Childhood Memories, Confessions, Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?, Family Fun, Pretty Pictures, Too Funny To Ignore
My Dad’s 40th Birthday, In Pictures
I know what you’re thinking. “How can her DAD be forty, when she is in her late forties??” First of all, he isn’t forty anymore, and second of all I am forty-five which is SOLIDLY in the mid-forties, so shhhh. To celebrate his birthday TODAY I am going to tell you about the celebration that is most memorable in my mind, which was in 1982, his fortieth. Of course, that was a long time ago for all of us and because I only remember certain major points of the story, I’m adding drawings for your added entertainment. We lived in Knoxville, Tennessee at the time and my mom had decided…
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Take A Hike.
When D was a Cub Scout and going on his first group hikes, he used to stay at the front with the other little boys. They would inevitably increase the distance between us parents and them by speeding up from excitement and not paying attention. “Slow down,” we’d yell. “We need to be able to keep an eye on you.” As one would expect, the boys learned very well as they grew older to pace themselves according to the rest of the group, and hikes became a little less stressful for the parents. A couple of years in, he and his same-aged friends hiked in the middle of the pack…
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Spelling Bee.
It’s very, very rare that I will repurpose or republish a post I’ve already written but in this case, a post I wrote back in 2009 couldn’t be a more perfect lead-in to tell you about the Drury Lane production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”, which I was invited to check out, on the house, on opening night. I’ll tell you just a little bit about the show after you read (or reread!) the story of my very own spelling bee nightmare. I’ve always been a great speller. As a kid, being able to spell what I thought was a difficult word made me walk with my…
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You Can’t Argue With My St. Patrick’s Day Logic.
It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and I forgot to ask Jim to pick up cabbage to go with the corned beef (which I bought last week) when he did the grocery shopping on Saturday. I also forgot to ask J to pick up cabbage when he stopped on the way home from his girlfriend’s house to pick up the vanilla ice cream that I also forgot to ask Jim to pick up. I also forgot to pick up cabbage when I went out to pick up the egg rolls that Jim forgot (to go along with that night’s dinner of green curry chicken) AND that I forgot to ask J to…