• Childhood Memories,  Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Family Fun,  Pretty Pictures,  Too Funny To Ignore

    My Dad’s 40th Birthday, In Pictures

    I know what you’re thinking. “How can her DAD be forty, when she is in her late forties??” First of all, he isn’t forty anymore, and second of all I am forty-five which is SOLIDLY in the mid-forties, so shhhh. To celebrate his birthday TODAY I am going to tell you about the celebration that is most memorable in my mind, which was in 1982, his fortieth. Of course, that was a long time ago for all of us and because I only remember certain major points of the story, I’m adding drawings for your added entertainment. We lived in Knoxville, Tennessee at the time and my mom had decided…

  • Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?

    50 Questions. Because I’m Exhausted.

    I just flew home yesterday from a quick trip to Mexico (and boy, are my arms tired! Ba dum psshhhh!). The trip was a vacation for me and work for Jim; his company has a factory there so I was basically the tagger-alonger. It put a huge cramp into being able to say things like “We can stay up late because we’re on vacation!” “We can get dessert every night because we’re on vacation!” “We can do some afternoon drinking because we’re on vacation!” Because really, only I was on vacation. (Don’t feel bad for him; he still made the most of Mexico when he wasn’t working.) While I was…

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

    The Writing Process Blog Tour!

    My sweet friend (and LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER Boston co-producer) Cheryl of Busy Since Birth tagged me for the Writing Process Blog Tour and although I almost always hate being tagged—which is hilarious because my friend Kari from A Grace Full Life just tagged me for another meme just this morning and she’s probably going to read this and go, “GULP”—I’m going to do it anyway. I also have to point out that I absolutely adore that Cheryl sent me a Facebook message BEFORE she tagged me, to ask my permission first because she knows that some people always hate being tagged. (Did I mention how much I hate being…

  • Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  I've Got Mad Skillz

    If These Walls Could Talk

    We’ve lived in this house for nearly fourteen years. Our family room, where we collectively spend the most time (hence the name) is home to an awesome and comfortable sectional couch, a bookshelf, a mission-style recliner, a chest full of quilts, and the television with all of the accessories that go along with it. We “finished” this room back in 2005, right before D became a Bar Mitzvah. “Finished” isn’t really the best way to describe it, though. It has felt decidedly unfinished to me for a long time. It’s the walls. The wall color is great. We painted it a light taupe a while back. I see too much…

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

    Halston*, We Have A Problem.

    We moved into this house in December of 2000 and one of the things I wanted to renovate as soon as possible was the double-length closet in our master bedroom. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, really. It was a standard his-and-hers closet with a rod for the hangers and a shelf above it for boxes or other items. I had, however, a dream. I had a dream of a beautiful closet with a place for everything and everything in its place. Hoping to make that dream come true sooner rather than later, I had been stalking custom closet organization products; not the expensive, richly-finished, installed-for-you kind, but the kind…

  • Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  Food,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  I've Got Mad Skillz

    The Purple Pig In Pictures

    Last night, Jim and I drove into the city to meet up with someone I became friends with in eighth grade (C), and his wife (K). We’ve kept in touch all these years and faithfully send holiday cards to each other every December, but we haven’t actually gotten together in twelve years. Or thirteen. We couldn’t figure it out. I was thrilled when C messaged me a few weeks ago to tell me that they would be in town for a wedding and would love to see us, and that’s how we ended up at The Purple Pig on Michigan Avenue last night. We had a great time. I hadn’t…

  • Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  My Mom Has Mad Skillz

    My Mom Is Pretty And Other Mantras

    Although I wouldn’t say that I’m a worrier by nature, I do sometimes grab onto an idea or a situation and mentally wring it out for all it’s worth. My latest worry is the quality of my skin. I know how it started. Two things: 1. I recently remembered for no reason whatsoever that I will turn forty-six years old this fall. I’ve never been one to freak out about aging and I’m still not, but the fact that starting in November I will be in my “upper forties” instead of my “mid-forties” gave me pause for a moment (and yes, technically I think forty-four to forty-six is probably still…

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

    Kiss, Cher, and Rock and Roll

    Buckle up for this one. It’s going to be a crazy, zig-zaggy ride. When I heard the news a couple of weeks ago that Kiss was finally going to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I was thrilled, but surprised that they weren’t already in there. Sidenote: You might be surprised to learn that I’m a big fan of Kiss. Surprise! I like their music a lot, I think Gene Simmons is one of the smartest business-minds out there, and shhhh! Guilty pleasure alert: I loved watching the adventures of the Tweed-Simmons family on A&E’s “Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels” (“Scripted Reality” or not, that was good…

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

    Old School Blogging: The Questions

    We bloggers who have been around for a while often reminisce about the good old days, when we had to blog uphill on foot, BOTH WAYS. Or something like that. Back in September I wrote about how I wanted to bring the Blogroll back because back in the day we all had Blogrolls and we all left comments and that’s how our communities were formed. (Oh, and ahem, my Blogroll is right HERE, in case you’re new here and want to discover some new blogs!) Another thing we did was write posts that answered a list of questions (and then usually tagged people to do the same, half of whom…

  • Confessions,  Do I Really Want My Readers To Know This?,  I'm Apparently Old.,  UGH.

    Sometimes It’s Best To Let Other People Make The Decisions, No Matter The Outcome.

    I’m easily stressed. This is not news to most of you. It’s mostly because I’m a worrier. And a perfectionist. And…well, need I go on? When I find myself in the middle of a stress spiral as I am this week—for many reasons, all of which have been resolved/finished/taken care of—the part of my brain that normally makes decisions easily just…shuts down. “What do you want for dinner, Melisa?” “I don’t know. I can’t even think about that right now.” “Okay, do you want salad, or how about grilled chicken? Or burgers?” “I don’t know. I don’t care. You pick.” Like THAT. I am also a life-long nail biter, which…