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…
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Lessons Learned As A Hotel Manager’s Daughter
Jim and I stayed in a hotel over the weekend and each time we left the room I followed my usual “tidying up for the housekeeper” protocol. Starting in the bathroom, I toss my cosmetics into my makeup bag and scoot that into the corner. I make sure our toothbrushes and toothpaste are off to the side, and put Jim’s stuff in a pile. Then I make sure that any towels we want to continue using are hung on the hook and any towels we no longer need are in a neat pile on the floor. I go back into the bedroom area and make sure all of our clothes…
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Happy Retirement Birthday, Dad!
My Dad, as I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure out from my post title, is celebrating his birthday AND retirement today. This is a huge milestone for him, and he’s been counting the days until his retirement for months now. (Although he’s “retiring” from his job as a full-time hotel manager, he will still be working, exact job TBD. He has a couple of irons in the fire!) He has been in the hotel business for more than thirty-five years, but did lots of things before that, from serving in the U.S. Army (Vietnam) to delivering mail for the U.S. Post Office to making balloon animals (pretty sure that…
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Retirement Party Surprise!
Next month, my Dad turns seventy and retires from a long (37 years-ish?) and storied* career in the hospitality industry, hotel management to be more specific. He is looking forward to Retirement Day so much that he has been counting the days for months now. (His enjoyment of the countdown has been greatly aided because of what he’s had to deal with at work lately: pimps, hookers, and drug dealers. Yes, really.) We wanted to throw a party in honor of his retirement, and it just so happened that he and my Mom were coming to town last weekend for her 50th high school reunion. Perfect. My sister designed some…
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Parenting Secrets From Behind the Tiara
I wrote this post a couple of years ago, for a friend who needed a guest post on her blog. She has since shut down her site, so I thought I’d post it here! My husband Jim and I are successful parents. Really. If we were in Oprah’s magazine, our mad parenting skillz would be featured on her “What I Know For Sure” page. Of course we are not the only successful parents in the world, but we’re the only ones that matter…to our kids. I am happy to report that our boys are fine, upstanding young men–and it’s not only because we think so: that’s the general consensus from…