• Blessings,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz,  My Kids Have Mad Skillz

    College Drop Off: We Went, We Moved Him In, I Got The T-Shirt.

    Two, actually. I bought two t-shirts, because I couldn’t decide between the short-sleeved hot pink shirt and the long-sleeved orange and blue shirt–school colors–so I went home with both. So, the deed is done. We dropped our younger son off at college and I didn’t die. I can tell you what leaving felt like, though. It felt like having a full-body bandage pulled off, with that last little sticky part that always stings the most being positioned right over my heart. But again, I didn’t die. Jim didn’t either. We were sort of thrown for the rest of the day, but we’re going to be absolutely just fine. Also, there…

  • Confessions,  Reflections on Parenting

    Actively Waiting For College…

    The raw emotions I was experiencing last week seem to have gone away (for now?) as we creep closer to Wednesday, which is “Take J to College Day”. We’ve moved into a different phase of college move-in prep, too: the “actively waiting” phase. Just like his older brother (who also chose a college in Wisconsin, where school doesn’t begin until after Labor Day) did, he watched all of his friends head off to school ahead of him. Now we are just shuffling around, trying to keep ourselves busy until it’s his turn. We all know that this is happening, that it is supposed to happen, and we wouldn’t want it…

  • Childhood Memories,  Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  I'm Apparently Old.,  Something That Could Change Your Life

    TV Or Not TV? That Is The Question.

    It is not an understatement to say that television has been a major presence in my life. I’m convinced that the reason why my skin is so fair is because as a little kid I was much happier sitting in front of the TV than I was outside in the fresh air and sunshine. It’s also probably part of the reason why I was reading at a third grade level in Kindergarten, because “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company”. It’s also probably why I never could perform a proper cartwheel. During the 1970s my TV habit grew, and this was BEFORE CABLE, kids. We had the rabbit ear antenna attached…

  • Confessions,  Roxie

    We’ll Be Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Blog Posts…Soon.

    Probably tomorrow, in fact. Today though, I feel the need to bump the Skydeck Chicago post down since it was a lead-in to a giveaway that is now over (Congrats, Shannon!), yet I don’t feel like writing much of anything. I am in the middle of my pre-empty nester mini-crisis which involves quite possibly the most manic behavior I’ve ever personally experienced. Full disclosure: I’ve been on the verge of tears since last Wednesday or so and did the ugly cry off and on all day Thursday and Friday. Yesterday and today were better. While I’m emotional (understatement), I can totally function in public like usual because that’s how I…

  • Fun in Chicago

    A Skydeck Chicago Giveaway

    Back in the summer of 2011, I was selected to be an “Ambassador” of Skydeck Chicago, which is the attraction/observation deck found (mostly) on the 103rd floor of the building technically known now as the Willis Tower (but still called the Sears Tower by me and the majority of Chicago natives). I thoroughly enjoyed my summer two years ago, making multiple trips up there for various fun reasons. Here’s the famous building in question: Wait, let’s get a little closer: See those four boxes all the way up there on the left? They make up “The Ledge”, which has kept visitors shaking in their boots (sometimes even from the ground…

  • Fun in Chicago,  Review

    Visiting Skydeck Chicago…Again (and a Giveaway)!

    Back in the summer of 2011, I was selected to be an “Ambassador” of Skydeck Chicago, which is the attraction/observation deck found (mostly) on the 103rd floor of the building technically known now as the Willis Tower (but still called the Sears Tower by me and the majority of Chicago natives). I thoroughly enjoyed my summer two years ago, making multiple trips up there for various fun reasons. Here’s the famous building in question: Wait, let’s get a little closer: See those four boxes all the way up there on the left? They make up “The Ledge”, which has kept visitors shaking in their boots (sometimes even from the ground…

  • Amazing People,  Blessings

    The Necklace

    I’m not really a “jewelry person”. Don’t get me wrong; I wish I were. I am in awe of my friends who wear different jewelry accessories with every outfit, who make use of lovely necklaces and beautiful bracelets and all kinds of earrings, seemingly endless choices. Unfortunately the awe is where it stops for me. I’m apparently more of an appreciative observer than a joiner in this situation. I’m lazy. I’ve tried to be like them. I have a small collection of pieces I could interchange (and my loving husband has given me a few gorgeous pieces through the years), but the reality for me is that I just…don’t. Ninety-five…

  • Amazing People,  Best Thing Ever,  The Dailey Method,  Working On My Fitness

    A Belated Anniversary Love Letter To The Dailey Method

    My one-year anniversary at The Dailey Method came and went about six weeks ago, in mid-June. I fully intended to write a post at that time but it’s been a busy summer around here. Better late than never. (P.S. This is NOT a sponsored post.) Dearest The Dailey Method Naperville, What a ride so far, right? In preparation for writing this, I reread the other posts I’ve written over the past year thirteen-and-a-half months (you can find them by clicking “The Dailey Method” at the very top of this page). I can’t believe how far I’ve come. It amazes me for many reasons that it was only a year thirteen-and-a-half…

  • Amazing People,  Confessions,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz,  Reflections on Parenting

    Son Set

    I really didn’t want to write about this–the emotion surrounding sending my kid off to college–since I wrote about it at length three years ago when I did it the first time, but I can’t help it. The fact is, I’m doing it again and I have returned to that state of mind. Under the circumstances, I feel an intense need for a cathartic release–again–especially because this time involves the added element of becoming an empty nester. Though I still carry a smile on my face and am truly, extremely happy, I have this inner shrieking and squirming that ebbs and flows underneath it all. The act of putting these…

  • Amazing People,  Best Thing Ever,  Fun in Chicago,  Something That Could Change Your Life

    #BlogHer13: Wow.

    After reading somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 BlogHer ’13 recaps (so far) for my job as Social Media Researcher for BlogHer, I caught up yesterday afternoon (for now) and decided to go ahead and write my own post before hundreds more show up in my queue and my brain gets fried completely. (I hear it sizzling, so I thought I’d better hurry.) This was my fifth BlogHer; I’ve attended it each year since the last time it was in Chicago (2009). It was the first BlogHer that was experienced as a member of the BlogHer team as opposed to just attending. I’ve said for two years now that San…