My youngest daughter, Sydney, is in Israel this week. She was so excited when she called me a few months ago from school to tell me that she and her friend Jaime had applied together to take a Birthright trip. Sydney was even more excited when she called to tell me that they had both been accepted on a trip. Quickly, however, the excitement t …
As I have written many times in many many blogs, I am not a sports fan. So, no one was more surprised than me when, I suggested that we change the time we were meeting friends for dinner Saturday night so that we could watch The Belmont Stakes before we left for dinner. I do not think I have ever voluntarily watched a horse race before. But there I …
Saturday was my husband’s annual cousin’s club. Every year in June, all of the relatives from my mother-in-law’s side of the family get together at our house. The cousins begin arriving at about 12:30 and each brings their own picnic lunch and beverages. We provide the location, pool, hopefully sunshine, and the bathrooms (a definite necessity). …
Given the meaningful blog Fred wrote on Friday as to the history behind Memorial Day, I’m wondering how most of us spend Memorial Day. For my family, it’s always been about inviting some close friends and family over to, hopefully, enjoy the good weather and our pool. We always order too much food (so I don’t have to cook during the following week …
It’s that time of year where I play the role of a dutiful wife. I only do for my husband once a year so I should be a bit more easygoing about it. But I cannot even pretend to enjoy it because I dislike it so much. There is nothing about it that I like. It’s dirty, smells awful, and there is nothing about it that interests me. In fact, when …
It’s that time of year where I play the role of a dutiful wife. I only do for my husband once a year so I should be a bit more easygoing about it. But I cannot even pretend to enjoy it because I dislike it so much. There is nothing about it that I like. It’s dirty, smells awful, and there is nothing about it that interests me. In fact, when …
Monica Lewinsky’s name is again all over the internet due an essay she has written that is to appear in the new issue of Vanity Fair. In the article she details a very difficult sixteen years in the time since her name became a household word. Most quoted on the internet is the following passage that appears in the essay, "Sure, my boss [Bi …
It’s Sunday morning and my eyes are barely open as I sit down to write this blog. I look to the large mug of coffee sitting in front of me for inspiration. My mug is filled with coffee, flavored with chicory, purchased from the Café du Monde over the internet (the topic of a different blog), with fat-free half and half and two Splendas. As I …
I was interested to read in The Sunday Times about a study in which researchers asked commuters in the Chicago area to participate. Half of those who volunteered were asked to speak to the person who sat next to them on the train while the other half were asked to keep to themselves. Not surprising to me, the researchers found that the commuters wh …
As Dan began packing, his resolution began to fade. So he reached for a different drink, one that would help give him the courage he needed to forge ahead with his plans. As he drank from a bottle of whiskey, questions began to swirl in his head. How was it that Duardo was able to take Espi to Argentina when Dan knew that Espi did not have a …
Sometimes, as I’m sure we all do, I wonder/worry about whether my children will accept the traditions my husband and I have tried to impart to them and continue them in their own household. When it comes to religious traditions, my children-- as my brother, sister, and I did-- loudly raise their objections. I hear annually, “Do we have to go both …
While reading the New York Times Magazine this weekend, I chuckled at a small section entitled, “That Should be a Word.” This week’s made up word was, “buychology.” As expected, the definition of the made up word, “the science of making people make purchases." While reading, I unexpectedly thought of my mother. Whenever my brother, sister, …
I have admitted in past blogs that I am not an athletic person. My idea of a work-out is to walk the treadmill as I watch a trashy television show that I have taped; usually an episode of The Real Housewives. As I have gotten older, however, I have recognized the increased importance of exercise for me. Recently, I increased my time on the …
I have never followed the NCAA tournament except for this year. Like 11 million others my step-son, Ryan, joined Warren Buffet’s $1 billion perfect bracket challenge. Unlike most others, however, at the end of the first day Ryan and only 500,000 others were still in the game. Ryan having made it through the first day, gave our family the op …
According to Facebook I have been a member since 2009. I cannot believe that I have actually been using Facebook for five years because I still feel as if I don’t know what I am doing. There is one Facebook rule I know for sure, never ever ever ever comment on my children’s Facebook pages or that of my nieces and nephews. I am well aware that …
It's Monday, Monday. Let me know what you think about. . .
