My dog Roxie is one-of-a-kind. At least I hope she is: she is positively adorable, but annoying as they come. There hasn’t been a dull moment since she became part of our family seven years ago. She has electrocuted herself. She has intentionally eaten disgusting things. She has been skunked. She has maimed stuffed animals. She has juggled a baby rabbit. She has tried to assert herself as the woman of the house: (She’s not a cuddler, unless your name is Jim.) She has stolen jawbreakers. She has stolen Dum-Dums. She has wolfed down entire loaves of bread. She has embarrassed me on our walks. She has killed…sort of. She…
-
-
Chevy + EPIFanyNow.org + Cupcakes = Passing It Forward!
Random acts of kindness. Have you ever performed one? Have you ever been the beneficiary of one? Earlier this month I was thrilled to be a part of an afternoon full of random acts of kindness, sponsored by Chevy in conjunction with an organization called ePIFanyNow.org. (The “PIF” stands for “Pass It Forward”.) It was a great opportunity, and a memorable day for many reasons. When I received the invitation, I was asked to put together a team. Each team would be driving a Chevy Volt around town, on their way to putting smiles on strangers’ faces. My team? Rita from Look, It’s Megryansmom!, Amy from ParentSphere, and Dawn from…
-
Metamorphosis
Ahh, teenagers. It’s tough, you know, trying to parent young people who are caught in the middle of childhood and adulthood. The physical, emotional, and behavioral changes brought on by the stages of puberty can be enough to drive an entire family insane, and it can be a dark time, my friends. Even if your teen is relatively well-behaved in the grand scheme of things (as mine are), puberty can be ugly. As they grow older, teenagers push back against “the system” in their fight to be more independent while still being taken care of within the family unit. They want to make their own decisions, and it’s a struggle…
-
Vintage.
When I was a kid, I collected rocks. Just plain old rocks. I used to delight in the acquisition of a rock that was slightly sparkly, or a small stone that had a smooth side or an interesting shape. Heart-shaped rocks and stones were my favorites, as were “worry stones”, of which I owned several. (They were plentiful when I was a kid in the 70s!) When I grew up, I started collecting two things: menorahs and cobalt blue glass pieces. Menorahs these days are so much more than just the traditional “U” shape: they are available in all shapes, sizes, and themes. I have a New York City skyline…
-
One of These Things Is Not Like The Other…
D was home from college last weekend, to observe Yom Kippur with the family. On Friday night, Jim and I had just gone to bed and were watching the news when we heard a commotion in the bathroom. The boys were arguing about a toothbrush. It was unusual to hear them arguing, actually: since D started college last year, they seem to get along so much better now that they each have some space. Muting the television so we could hear what was being said, we ascertained that J has been using D’s “at-home toothbrush”, thinking it was his. Once the “That’s my toothbrush!” “No, it’s MINE!” part of the…
-
Hallmark Celebrates the Moments Between the Milestones
You may have heard the term “Hallmark Holiday”. It’s got a mostly negative connotation, indicating the speaker’s belief that the holiday he or she is talking about was created specifically to sell greeting cards. (I’m guessing that the insertion of the Hallmark brand is only because they are the most well-known company, which also happens to produce high quality products. Ahem.) Putting that term aside for a moment or three, what’s wrong with a little extra celebrating in general? Whether you buy greeting cards or make them, or even if you choose to celebrate in ways that don’t involve giving cards, isn’t it great to be able to take the…
-
How I Got My Hands On Some Schweddy Balls: A True Story
Ever since the news came out that Ben & Jerry’s was producing Schweddy Balls (inspired by this, one of the best SNL skits ever), I knew I had to find it locally. But where to find Schweddy Balls in the Chicago area? I was stumped for a while, because our grocery stores (and drug stores, and convenience stores…yes, I’ve been checking!) haven’t started stocking it yet. Finally, duh: I decided to do a web search to see if we have any Ben & Jerry’s locations in my area. I already knew that there is a location downtown at Navy Pier, but was hoping I’d find one in the western suburbs.…
-
It’s What’s For Breakfast.
We get up pretty early in this house, due to having a high schooler in the family. Usually the alarms go off around 5:30 a.m., and everyone shuffles around showering, brushing teeth, and doing all of those other things required to get out of the house. J leaves by 6:30 every day. Having a sixteen-year-old means, in this house anyway, that we don’t have to dress him or make his lunch or supervise his every move to make sure he gets out the door on time: he’s very good at doing that himself. It’s for that reason that on occasion, Jim and I will “sleep in” until 6:00. Today was…
-
Missing A Sensitivity Chip
Back in the 80’s, I was a very typical teenaged girl, music-wise: I was completely over-the-moon about the (Second) British Invasion, especially the music groups involved, and especially Duran Duran. In fact, two years ago I wrote a whole post about my love for “D-squared”, and it covered the white-hot intensity of my obsession pretty well. (Click here to check it out; you won’t regret it.) Unfortunately, I never got to see them perform live. Fast forward to October of 2011. Duran Duran is touring, and yesterday I had to turn down free tickets to see them. I know. I KNOW! The tragic nature of that statement alone is beyond…
-
Chicago’s Water Tower: Small But Mighty
This Saturday marks the 140th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The fire, rumored–but never confirmed–to have been started by Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, not only razed just about the entire city but also set the stage for its rebirth into the world-class metropolis it is today. (If there ever was a silver lining to a disaster, that would be it.) The fire even jumped the Chicago River (more than once) on its way to burning an area four miles long by a half mile wide. It was one of the biggest disasters to occur in the United States in the 19th century. The Water Tower, at the north…