Last Friday as I toiled away at my desk, Dave went to the Home Depot and bought two Adirondack chairs for our yard. Never one to skimp when it comes to the Depot, he purchased real redwood because “plastic is cheesy Share and Enjoy:
I’m excited to announce that I learned a new skateboard trick. It involves getting 11-year-old Malcolm, avid skater/reluctant reader, to pick up the written word. My trick? Subscribing to Skateboard Magazine. Trust me, he’s more thrilled with it than he appears to be in this photo. Especially when Mag Swag is involved. Sick. Carrying on [...]
My fifteen minutes of fame could be over. As you read in my Tuesday post, I was on the 95.7 Ben FM morning show with DJ Marilyn Russell yesterday. We did a five minute Woman of the Week segment live – and then taped another 10 minutes to play on a future Sunday show. Yup [...]
Summer time. Family vacation, or a chance to pack the kids off to sleepaway camp so Mom & Dad can have some peace and quiet? Traditionally, we’ve done the family vacation. The truly classic American summer family vacation is the camping trip. Below, Rocky Mountain National Park. The #1 advantage of the family vacation is [...]
Okay, I am not one to disparage my own people but the phrase “family bar mitzvah weekend” has never caused me to shudder with anticipation. Not that bar or bat mitzvahs are horrible. They’re not. But I do think it is fair to say that they are predictable. That’s why you invite the crazy cousins [...]
George Carlin died early this morning, and I’m sure he was relieved to learn that it’s true, you can’t take it with you. None of it transfers to the other side. Money. Possessions. Stuff. I always loved Carlin’s rants about Americans and their consumerism. Paraphrasing: “We have houses for our stuff. When we leave we [...]
True confession: I was unfaithful this week in New York. Afterwards, I felt like a walking cliché because I was armed with all of the stereotypical excuses: It didn’t mean anything. It just happened I was out of town. It was only one time. I did it for the excitement. I was feeling bored. I [...]
We did it, we went to Disney World! What everyone told us was true. It was: Clean Fun Expensive (except for the 69 cent cup of tea from the MGM Studios coffee shop) Tiring Crowded Uncrowded Slick Unsophisticated Diabolical Happy Full of cashiers named Chris and Jennifer, just like us, only they were from China, [...]
My boys are privileged. As I write this, it almost feels shameful that they are. But truth be told, they have an awful lot of stuff and want for nothing. Dave and I work really hard for that stuff. No silver spoons or trust funds. It’s earned. But my kids have absolutely zero concept of [...]
One Christmas a few years ago, we received a brilliant gift from friends Penny & Glenn. It was a small British book called “Boring Postcards,” compiled from the collection of Martin Parr. The minute Chris and I opened it, we were crying with laughter. Charmless vistas, an eerily empty lounge in a convalescent home, hideous [...]
