• Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Family Fun,  Food,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz,  Too Funny To Ignore

    It Runs In The Family

    The big birthday celebration on Sunday was pretty awesome: J had a really great day overall, which makes me happy. The one thing that didn’t go as planned was that Jim didn’t join us for lunch due to the fact that he was really sick. It was not only a bummer because it was J’s eighteenth, but also because we had reservations at our favorite, only-eat-there-on-special-occasions Brazilian steakhouse. For those of you who aren’t familiar, what makes this kind of restaurant unique is that there is no menu; rather everyone gets to enjoy the “salad bar” first, which is huge and actually has very little salad on it. It’s got…

  • Best Thing Ever,  Friends,  Too Funny To Ignore

    It’s Amazing We Ever Get Anything Done

    Back in November I showed you a little bit of the behind-the-scenes process that Tracey and I go through for the Listen To Your Mother show. Being silly is a part of our partnership and I wouldn’t want it any other way. (Err, mostly. I wouldn’t want to commit to that statement 100% because I might lose my “Taskmaster Card”.) We are indeed, more often than not, silly. Today’s evidence is a conversation that resulted from this Facebook status I posted after I had been trying to finish up a huge article for deadline and then, well, it’s self-explanatory: The status: OH MY GOSH, Tracey’s cell phone is calling me…

  • Friends,  Too Funny To Ignore

    On Crossed Wires

    It’s super funny when you and your sister make a date to go to a friend’s house for lunch and cotton candy on a dreary, rainy Saturday, and this phone conversation happens: *ring ring* Jen: Hello? Me: Hi! So…is 11:30 okay? My sister asked me what time we were doing lunch and when I told her 11:00, she thought that meant we were leaving at 11:00 but *I* meant that we had to be there by 11:00, and due to that misunderstanding we’re running a little late this morning. So is 11:30 okay? Jen: Uh… Me: No? Is 11:30 a problem? Jen: Uh…*I* had 12:30. Me: OH! 12:30? Okay, that’s…

  • Family Fun,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz,  Too Funny To Ignore,  Working On My Fitness

    As Good As It Was, The Conversation Ended Pretty Much How It Started.

    The enjoyment of weight training workouts is something seventeen-year-old J and I have in common. When he was playing midfield in lacrosse a couple of years ago he discovered that adding resistance training on top of his practices made him stronger, of course, and his game improved. For the last two years he has chosen a weight training unit in gym class as much as is allowed, skipping over other units like basketball, soccer, and other sports, and on school breaks he’ll use the Bowflex we have in the basement. I have always (well, since I started working out twenty years ago) enjoyed feeling strong and having some tone in…

  • Amazing People,  Best Thing Ever,  Blessings,  Friends,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  Too Funny To Ignore

    My Friends + Laughter = Me + Thankful

    I had a couple of ideas for this, the penultimate NaBloPoMo post for 2012. I thought I might write about how I used to sew clothing (easy patterns, but still) for the boys when they were little and how a matching pair of shorts led to one of my favorite pictures of them from way back when. Then I thought that I would post a couple of black and white pictures I took of the boys over Thanksgiving weekend. (I love black and white pictures, don’t you?) I also considered sharing (finally) one of the buildings I toured during Open House Chicago, since I never got past talking about Marina…

  • Friends,  Too Funny To Ignore

    Let’s Work! (Or Not.)

    As things start to fall into place for the 2013 season of Listen To Your Mother, the frequency of phone calls and emails between Tracey and me picks up, too. Two weeks ago we scheduled a Google+ Hangout (we like to video conference) and things got silly enough that it was clear we weren’t going to get anything done. So we invited a couple of friends to chat with us. One of them couldn’t make it, but the other joined in. Laughter ensued, and I got this evidence of our fun. Tracey and I are meeting via Google+ Hangout again tonight and I’ve already told her that we HAVE TO…

  • Childhood Memories,  Confessions,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  Jew Stuff,  Too Funny To Ignore

    How Overnight Camp Is Two Degrees From Bacon

    Back in the spring of 1979, I was a fifth grader seeking redemption. The temple to which my family belonged was holding its annual contest through which three lucky Sunday School students would win a two-week scholarship to Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute (OSRUI), the Oconomowoc, Wisconsin overnight camp for Reform Jewish youngsters. The contest consisted of an essay written during religious school from a pre-selected prompt and then, if advanced to the final round, an interview with members of the temple Board of Directors to determine the winners. The prior year I was a much less mature fourth grader who wrote in freeflow. That’s why, when given the prompt…

  • Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Too Funny To Ignore

    Accidental Hoarder

    You may recall that in July, Jim and I started our master bathroom renovation (in thirty easy steps!). Since we replaced the tub, not a lot has happened in there. And now it’s October. Time to get back to work! Jim took the day off yesterday so we could take out my half of our double vanity, among other tasks. Before Jim was able to use his jig-saw to cut the thing out, I had to clean out the cabinets and drawers. The cabinet on the right side was no problem: it was full of things like bubble bath, Roxie’s shampoo, and other containers of stuff. The cabinet on the…

  • My Kid Has Mad Skillz,  Too Funny To Ignore

    No Self Esteem Issues Here…

    I’m happy to report that after this exchange in the car with J yesterday, it has been confirmed that there are no self esteem issues in this house. None. Nada. Zilch. Me: “Oh, the leaves are changing. We need to see what Julesie’s availability is in the next couple of weeks so she can take your senior pictures. Do you have a nice sweater you can wear?” J: “Boy, DO I. I have a sweater so ugly it’s going to be great.” Me: “Wait, I don’t want you to wear an ugly sweater in your senior pictures.” J: “It’s ugly, but in a good way.” Me: “What does it look…

  • I've Got Mad Skillz,  Too Funny To Ignore

    It’s The Most Wonderful Night Of The Year…

    Maybe it’s not the MOST wonderful, really, but it’s pretty high on my list. Tonight is Curriculum Night at J’s high school. I adore Curriculum Night. In our school district, Curriculum Night in the high schools means that you follow your kid’s schedule (with each period shortened so the whole schedule fits into a two-hour time block) for the evening, taking in presentations from each teacher about what’s in store for the year. Because I loved high school so much, Curriculum Night is like a trip back in time. It’s probably mostly in my mind because a trip back in time to my high school days would be a really,…