• Best Thing Ever,  Family Fun,  Food,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  Jim Has Mad Skillz,  My Sister Has Mad Skillz

    Sometimes It’s Best If You Schedule These Things.

    Confession time: over the past year or so (maybe even eighteen months: I’ve lost track!), Jim and I have been in a rut. I never thought it would happen to us, but it did. We used to have plenty of time, and plenty of desire. In fact, on the nights when I didn’t feel like it, he took charge, and vice versa. As of late, our busy schedules and pure exhaustion at the end of the day turned the tides. When we least expected it, something we used to do almost every single day became an afterthought, a rarity. Of course I’m talking about cooking dinner. We used to have…

  • Shameless Promotion,  Spreading the Bloggie Love

    Social RevUp: Join Us!

    Back in July, I attended the 2011 Brands and Bloggers Summit here in Chicago. It was a fantastic day of learning, and I enjoyed being in the same hotel ballroom as so many of my midwestern blogger friends. Well, I’m going to get all up close and personal with next year’s Brands and Bloggers Summit (July 21, 2012 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Chicago!), because of a new venture: I have partnered with Chicagonista’s MJ Tam and Healthier, Happier You Reviews‘ Dwana D. to launch Social RevUp! We’ll be producing custom-made events for the purpose of connecting bloggers with brands (and vice versa). The 2012 Brands and Bloggers Summit…

  • Random Thoughts,  Reflections on Parenting

    At This Rate, We Won’t Even Have To Stop The Car When Senior Year Begins.

    We took D back to college yesterday. As I mentioned last week, emotions are very different from this time last year. Driving D and all of his belongings–well, all of his belongings that he wanted to take into that tiny dorm room of his–to school was going to be a pretty average experience emotionally, this year. We didn’t know the half of it. About a month ago, D ever-so-delicately came to Jim and me and said, “Um, I was wondering. I don’t want to upset you guys or anything, but I wondered if it would be okay if you just help me move my stuff TO my room and then…

  • Roxie

    Does This Dog Look Like A Killer?

    You wouldn’t think so, right? Boy, do I have a story for you. Yesterday, I let Roxie out into our fenced backyard to “do her business”, which is a polite way of saying…well, you know what I’m saying. I made the mistake, it being a lovely summer day and all, of walking away from the family room (where I can keep an eye on her) and getting involved in something else, in another part of the house. The reason that’s a mistake is because Roxie has a problem with not being able to pass up the opportunity to roll in rabbit poo. Usually, on a great summer afternoon, if I…

  • Friends,  Too Funny To Ignore,  Travels

    Talk To Strangers

    Before I do the obligatory BlogHer RECAP post (or two), I need to go through pictures and come back to reality a little bit. In the meantime, I have a story to share with you, one that is related to BlogHer, sort of, in that it takes place in San Diego and there is much talk of bloggers and blogging… Upon arriving in San Diego last Wednesday, my roommate Michelle and I checked into the hotel and decided to hit the pavement in search of a place to enjoy lunch. As we strolled behind the hotel on the Embarcadero, Michelle pulled out her smart phone so she could consult Urban…