I was at Target the other day, and for some reason my ears honed in on all the kids that were there. I heard so many statements, questions, and stories straight from the mouths of babes that I wondered if I were in some kind of Twilight Zone. It’s unusual for me to pay attention, for sure: after all, my own “kids” are 21 and 24 and the days of taking care of every single need they have are long gone. These days I’m terribly good at ignoring children (not to be mean, mind you: I just tune them out because I focus on other things). On the occasions when…
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Nearly Wordless Wednesday: Yay! Gratitude!
Mine today: Yay! Gorgeous Fall Weather! Your turn. Leave a comment with “Yay! Something you’re thankful for right now!”
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On What’s Important in Life
Warning: Ramble ahead. There has been a lot of loss in the world in 2016. That in itself is a massive understatement so let me try again. 2016 has been a monumental year for loss. In fact, 9 out of 10 of my friends will tell you that they’re thrilled it’s almost over, and if given a choice, would end the year immediately because of the fresh start 2017 promises. Let me start with some of the celebrity losses that cut us deeply in 2016, not that any one life is better than another but the deaths of some icons hit many of us in the gut, collectively. Prince. David…
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Actively Remembering on the National Day of Remembrance
In 2012, I started a new personal tradition for the National Day of Remembrance. I had visited the National September 11 Memorial when I was in Manhattan for BlogHer ’12, and was extremely moved by the experience (massive understatement). It occurred to me that, rather than passively watch the televised tributes and read what the rest of the internet had to say about 9/11, each year I would involve myself by actively remembering and learning about a couple of the victims of that terrible day. First Responder Officer Paul Talty had been a member of the New York City Police Department for nine years. He had worked as an electrician…
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#StreamTeam Summer Catch-Up
I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and will be happily sharing monthly tips and stories about how my family uses Netflix on a regular basis. (Okay, that’s an understatement. I should say CONSTANTLY. We use Netflix CONSTANTLY.) This post is sponsored by Netflix, of course! While you might think that my level of activity would ease up after the curtain comes down on LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER CHICAGO right before Mother’s Day, the season of summer is also conference season, and work actually ramps up in a direction that approaches complete insanity. It’s for that reason that I have to make really good viewing choices, because the time…
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Garage Sales. Don’t Get Me Started.
Garage sales. Sigh. I’m not a fan of attending them, and I’m not a fan of hosting them. When I was a kid, my mom hosted multiple garage sales every year, and I wasn’t enamored with the process at all, to put it lightly. Sure, my sister and I got to be the creative geniuses behind the signs, which took hours thanks to my mom being an evil genius (story here), but we also had to do the work of going through our stuff, helping to price it, and sitting outside watching strangers pick through it all. Of course I completely get that many people LOVE garage sales as a…
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Picture Perfect Memory
Recently I saw a meme floating around Facebook that said something along the lines of “I’m so old, I remember days when I didn’t take one picture”. I laughed, because I am that old, and then I stopped laughing and thought, “Huh, wow.” That meme was a think piece. There really was a time when we didn’t take pictures of everything, every day. When we weren’t all that concerned with remembering each moment. When only professional photographers knew anything about filters. When we–ack!–didn’t even have cell phones. Developing photos taken with traditional cameras, the ones that don’t allow you to talk or text with others or surf the web, is…
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Donna Day 2016
Today is the 5th annual Donna Day! Once again I am joining a huge group of bloggers and other supporters in promoting a special event meant to raise money for pediatric cancer research. Donna Day is named for the daughter of my friend (and 2013 LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER CHICAGO cast member) Sheila Quirke. Sheila blogs under the name Mary Tyler Mom and you can find her blog HERE. Sheila and her husband Jeremy lost Donna to pediatric cancer in 2009. Donna’s Cancer Story is documented in a series of thirty-two posts that Sheila wrote. How is childhood cancer different from cancer in adults? Read THIS. Pediatric cancer research is…
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Chelsea Does…Netflix #StreamTeam
I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and will be happily sharing monthly tips and stories about how my family uses Netflix on a regular basis. (Okay, that’s an understatement. I should say CONSTANTLY. We use Netflix CONSTANTLY.) This post is sponsored by Netflix, of course! I have been a fan of Chelsea Handler’s for years. She’s known for being a “shock jock”-style comedian, host of “Chelsea Lately”, E! network’s late night talk show (2007-2014) and author of several books including Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea. She’s sarcastic, inappropriate, and completely hilarious. When I read that Chelsea was going to do a Netflix Original Documentary Series, I…
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Taylor Swift, Get Out of My Brain!
I’ll get to Taylor Swift in a minute. One of my favorite tasks in my job at BlogHer is growing and maintaining the Instagram account. I’ve worked really hard over the past couple of years to find good content that inspires people to become engaged. I always get pretty good results when I share an interesting quote, and so I try to post one almost every weekday. That’s where Miss Swift comes in. Today I searched for quotes about “preparation” because everyone I know is in full-on holiday prep. I found this one by Taylor Swift: The funny thing is, I had to read that quote to myself multiple times…