I’ve been wondering about something I hope you can shed some light on for me. At what point in the last, say, forty or fifty years, did it become the norm for Americans to stop giving others the benefit of the doubt or even the simple courtesy of not jumping to conclusions in everyday situations? The Golden Rule seems broken to me. Let me try to explain where I’m coming from. Two weeks ago, I went to IKEA with the older boy, to get one more thing for his dorm room. One thing. Literally. And so we went to the self-checkout registers.** There were three registers open and in use,…
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Family Time IS Happy Time! (& So Is Eating An Angus Deluxe Snack Wrap)
First, if you haven’t yet entered to win a $75 gift credit to the NOVICA website (beautiful handcrafted jewelry, home decor, and more from around the world!), please do. Click here! By now you all know that there are certain brands to which I have a deep-seated loyalty. One of them, of course, is McDonalds. (Quick recap: my first job was at Mickey D’s; I worked there for more than two years, at a brand new store just outside the grounds of my high school. Since then, I have deeply admired the company itself, not only for the product but also for the inner workings and the good it does…
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Thanks and Hope.
This weekend, as we recognize the ninth anniversary of the tragic events and horrible losses in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., there will be lots of coverage regarding the turmoil that is going on regarding the possible burning of the Koran in Florida and the possible building of a mosque at Ground Zero. Lots of negative energy around those stories, no? What I’d like to cover in my post today is Thankfulness and Hope. When I was in New York City last month, I made a visit to Ground Zero on two occasions. The first was on foot with a bunch of great friends. We made our way…
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Happy 5771!
I wanted to take a second to wish my Jewish readers a great big L’shanah Tovah Tikatevu: may you be inscribed for a good year! (For my 2008 informational post about Rosh Hashanah, click here.) We’re off to services at our temple in a bit, but don’t think I’m taking off without leaving you some entertainment! I’m over at The Music Mamas today, recapping some of the crazy stuff that’s happened over the years at the MTV Video Music Awards. Click here to check it out! ©2010 Suburban Scrawl
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Tea at the Plaza Hotel, With Dyson
Last month I attended a Tea at the Plaza Hotel in New York City along with other writers from The Chicago Moms, Chicagonista, and NY Metropolista. The event was sponsored by Dyson, and it was a lot of fun, but I have to back up for a second. The Plaza Hotel has had a special place in my heart since childhood. My sister and I were big fans of Eloise, a fictional character created by author Kay Thompson and illustrator Hilary Knight. We had still have the original Eloise book, and as daughters of a hotel manager, totally loved the story about this precocious little girl who lived at the…
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Always Looking on the Bright Side
I was doing some laundry on Monday when I found a pair of iPod headphones in the dryer (post-cycle). “ARGGGGHH!” I exclaimed/growled/emoted/insert appropriate verb here. Stomping my feet up the stairs to the family room, I called the younger boy downstairs. “Did you leave your headphones in your jeans pocket yesterday?*” “Uh, yeah. Oops.**” I put my hands on my hips and said, “Well, they went through the washer AND the dryer. If they don’t work, I’m not paying to replace them; YOU ARE.” And with that, he (always the comedian) put the headphones up to his nose and said, “At least they smell fresh!” And then I laughed. *Obviously…
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And, Just Like That, The Band-Aid Was Off.
When Jim and I were newly married, he was in the Navy, on sea duty. His ship’s battle group was out to sea quite a bit. In fact, in the first four years we were married, he went on three six-month cruises. That’s in addition to one-, two-, or three months out here and there, as well as the cruises that only lasted a week or two. Ahead of his departure, it was awful. The anticipation of being apart was really pure hell. All of the preparations we had to make each time he left and just the emotional roller coaster we went through on a continual basis was awful.…
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Sending Your Kid To College Is Exactly Like Being Pregnant, But Different.
I never thought I would experience pregnancy more than twice, but I was wrong. No, no, I’m not really pregnant again (bite your tongue!). I am, however, exhibiting many of the same symptoms. When we found out I was pregnant the first time, the wheels started turning immediately. We started wondering about so many things: Were we ready for this change?Were we up for the challenge of raising another human being?Could we actually afford this? Of course, those were only some of the questions. And it was a little late to be asking those questions, anyway. We put lots of time into figuring out our name choices. We did research…
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Go On Vacation To Germany With Me, At Your Leisure!
Well, sort of. Here’s my roundup of Germany posts, all in one place, along with a badge you can grab, if you’d like, to display on your blog! Resize, whatever. (If you link back to this post, even better. If not? I still adore you.) The best part? You don’t even need a passport. Here we go: Gemütlichkeit (Hospitality) Apparently I Should Be Eating More Marshmallows (about grocery shopping in Germany) Above God and Everybody (The Zugspitze) Bursting At The Seams, I Had To Put One Elsewhere (Link to my Music Mamas post about German music) These Walls Were Made For Walkin’ (Our Visit to Rothenburg ob der Tauber) Germany…
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Passion For Learning: A Visit To Scholastic Headquarters!
I was honored to be on the invite list for the Scholastic Breakfast in New York City during the BlogHer conference. Then I found out that Ms. Frizzle would be escorting us to the company headquarters, and I was psyched. Ms. Frizzle will always hold a special place in my heart; The Magic School Bus books were a staple of the older boy’s childhood. They were his favorites by far, as was the animated television show. In fact, for his birthday one year (I think he was seven. Maybe eight.) we did a Magic School Bus science party in our backyard, complete with a huge school bus I created out…