• Reflections on Parenting

    Bittersweet.

    Note: This post is part of Fatherhood Friday at Dad Blogs, where all the cool kids are hanging out. (Moms are welcome over there!) I *might* even have a column called “Teen Angst” there. Welcome to my visitors from DB; thanks for stopping in! As I left to walk the dog the other day, I noticed that the mail truck had just stopped at my house. I grabbed the mail and discovered that the younger boy received his freshman schedule. Both of my “babies” will be in high school this year. I can’t believe it. I put the mail in the garage and Roxie and I set off on our…

  • Music,  Spreading the Bloggie Love

    My Car Stereo Had An Aversion To Kids’ Music. (Wait, That Was Me.)

    I always have a good chuckle when I read or hear about parents who “have” to listen, ad nauseam, to children’s music in the car. When the boys were little, I would converse with friends about this very topic and they would complain about how they “never get to” listen to the music of their choice unless they were alone in the car. WHAT? Who’s in charge here? I mean, really, I wasn’t a jerk when my kids were little. I did play *some* kids’ music in the car for them. However, I had strict–but simple–standards. Nothing overly annoying (to me), like Barney. We listened to some kids’ music that…

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

    Lady…Or Not?

    My recent post about dog poo combined with my mom’s comment on yesterday’s post in which “she always said I’m a lady”, got me thinking. There is no question that I act like a lady, mostly. Alright, sometimes. I would have been a totally awesome Southern Belle. I’m certainly prissy enough. I don’t like to get dirty. I enjoy sweating when I work out but MUST shower immediately or I get grossed out. I’m borderline goody-goody (less these days than in the past, though!). I’m a people-pleaser. I’m NICE. I’m pleasant. I have good manners. I love tiaras, for goodness sakes. I could go on, but really…need I? Anyway, as…

  • Best Thing Ever,  Fun in Chicago,  Too Funny To Ignore

    Queer Eyes For the Straight Girls

    On Friday, my roomie Sue (or, as she is commonly referred to among some of her new friends, “Cape Cod”) reallyreallyreally wanted to go to the Expo Hall to meet Carson Kressley. Though I was more excited about the idea of meeting Tim Gunn, I’m also a Carson fan and told her I’d be glad to go with her. We showed up at the booth at 3:00; he was supposed to appear at 4:00. (Oh, I’m sorry…I guess people were in SESSIONS instead of waiting in line for celebrities. My bad.) Even the women at the Nikon booth (Nikon sponsored his appearance) told us we should go away for a…

  • Roxie

    We Interrupt This Warm, Post-BlogHer Glow For a Rant…

    Dear Witch-that-lives-down-the-street, You really pissed me off a few minutes ago. There I was, innocently walking my rambunctious little dog-child down the street and on the home stretch when she, having to poo, veered into the front corner of your yard next to your driveway by a mere three inches. As she got into poo-position and started to do her business–for the second time on this particular walk–you appeared at your screened window and shouted at me, “Hey, could you not do that?” First of all, *I* wasn’t doing anything. But whatev. I replied to you, “I’m sorry, she had to go, and I already used the bag I had…

  • Best Thing Ever,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  Something That Could Change Your Life,  Spreading the Bloggie Love

    Okay, So I Lied.

    I apologize for those of you who are Up.To.Here. with BlogHer, but I have to do two post-conference posts. But two is where I’ll draw the line. Seriously. And now, without further ado, I give you… My Favorite BlogHer Moments, IN BRIEFby Melisa with one S *Starting the weekend off by grabbing Sue from O’Hare and Weaselmomma from her house, then meeting Mrs4444 at my house. Sue gave us homemade bracelets which included “Be yourself” charms. Great reminder! *Thursday’s dinner at Giordanos with Sue, Michelle, Weaselmomma, Heather, Tara, Melissa, and Mrs4444 *Getting Michelle (and then Sue!) signed up for Twitter…finally! (BTW, follow them here and here.) *Going to the expo…

  • Best Thing Ever

    Thank You, M&M!

    The older boy recently went out to Walgreens (or CVS, or the BP mart, can’t remember!) to get some soda and movie candy for us, and when he returned home, he opened the bag and handed me a bag of goodness. Limited Edition Coconut M&Ms? Yippeee! He said, “Here Mom, I thought you’d like these.” Let’s conjugate that sentence.“Here Mom” = giving something to me. So nice! (I think he even paid for said snacks with his own money!) “I thought” = he was THINKING. Great skill to have! “you’d like these” = THINKING AGAIN, about what someone else would enjoy. He is going to make his future wife very…

  • Friends

    It’s His Day…So He Gets To Pick The Cake

    Someone really super-awesome was born on this day and I just wanted to give a brief shout-out to wish him a Happy Birthday! I first noticed him at Joeprah’s; sheesh, that Joe is responsible for lots of blogger connections, now that I think about it. Anyway, the comments he was leaving for Joe were hysterical, and I started reading his blog almost immediately. He became part of the community I “hang out with” regularly online, especially when we joined Cre8buzz. His writing usually leaves me in hysterics, except for when he writes a serious post on occasion; in that case, his writing leaves me in awe. He was actually the…

  • Confessions

    What’s In A Name?

    I am not going to do a “Get To Know All About Me” post for the thing that’s happening this weekend that I said I would only write about once before and once after*, in case you’re wondering. The way I see it, the two people who might be interested in meeting me already sort of know me from reading this blog, and those who don’t read my blog, well, they won’t see that post, will they?I’ve been called many names in my life. I know, I know, you can only imagine. But I’m not talking about nicknames or insult names. I’m talking about celebrity names. The first name I…

  • Confessions,  Friends,  Music

    When I Realized There’s Enough To Go Around

    This post, about an intense rivalry I’m currently having, is long overdue. I need to give you some background information first, though. Back in my teenaged years, the U.S. was in the middle of what was called “The Second British Invasion” (the first being The Beatles, of course!); we were crazy about all things UK; the big groups were (just to name a few): Wham, Tears for Fears, Pet Shop Boys, Bananarama, Spandau Ballet, Depeche Mode, Culture Club…the list goes on. And of course, there was Duran Duran. I, along with my group of friends, would spend hours upon hours watching MTV (when it played nothing but music videos. remember…