• Confessions,  UGH.,  Writing

    Let The To Do List-ing Begin!

    After yesterday’s announcement, I was pretty keyed up and had the absolute worst night of sleep in recent memory. It took me two hours to fall asleep in bed because I was thinkingthinkingthinking, and I was wide awake again after about two hours because I was thinkingthinkingthinking. I came downstairs at about 3:30 a.m., turned on the television and opened the ole’ laptop. I worked on a post, checked emails, and scrolled Facebook–but not for long because my friends were all sleeping at the time and there were few updates posted since I had gone to bed earlier. I finally went back to sleep on the couch and got about…

  • I'm Apparently Old.,  Queen of Denial,  UGH.

    Another Example Of How Time Flies, For Your Reading Enjoyment

    Today J and I officially begin the in-person part of his college search by taking our first campus tour. (That’s not the example of how time flies.) (Well, it’s ONE example, but not the one referenced in the title. Wait for it.) We are starting in hyper-local fashion, by touring a small, private college located in our own town, one that I toured twice with D. J’s new Admissions Advisor at the college happens to be an alumna there. As it happens, she worked at the front desk of the health club where I was also employed, when she was a student of this college herself. She used to wave…

  • Childhood Memories,  Confessions,  Fun in Chicago,  Jew Stuff,  UGH.

    It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

    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…

  • Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Reflections on Parenting,  UGH.

    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…

  • Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  UGH.

    Getting Back On The Horse

    After the traumatic morning I had on Sunday, I waited as long as I could to get gas in my car. In other words, I waited until I was thisclose to empty. I figured that it probably wouldn’t be smart to drive by the gas station on the way home without stopping, so I took a deep breath and turned in, parking myself at the pump on the far end. Seriously, I was nervous. The funny thing is, I’ve been pumping gas since I was sixteen: nearly twenty-seven A LOT of years now. It took that one moment… that one HORRIFYING, SCARY, EMBARRASSING moment …to screw it all up. It…