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• Just between eggs: brown and white
  The boy spotted these brown eggs in the dairy aisle of our local grocery store.  He politely asked me to pick up a dozen of these brown eggs. I did. Later he said, “I’m ready for my chocolate eggs now.” Instead, I taught him how to poach an egg. Click here to watch him. Remember, he’s five. [...]
• Is Peace in the Afternoon A Myth?
  When you’re dealing with kids, their current state of affairs, for better or worse, will be the ruling emotion of your day. This co-dependent state of affairs keeps us locked in patterns and routines that may or may not serve us well through dinner time. The culprits are many; yet they’re always the [...]
• To the woman who stands at the school playground in the full-length
  cocktail dress, I can only say this: Wow. I mean WOW. Here, in the sea of elementary kids crushing each other to get outside to find that person waiting at the door who will escort them home on foot, or to the vehicle lined up in the stop-drop-and-go line, there you stand like [...]
• You and the Absentee Ballot
  I know very little about you; but I can say this with absolute certainty: Out of all the variety of demographic types that visit this Blog each day; all of you have this one thing in common: you’re short on time. Now, I’m going to take you back in time, in my little world, [...]
• And we Sing Happy Birthday
  Somewhere, in the middle, I lost my way. I stopped having big birthday parties; except for the ones we had with family. There were already enough kids here to have our own party. Then, something shifted again inside – I do have a five year old; and I’m throwing a birthday party [...]
• Do you really think you need more money?
  Byron Katie says that may not really be true. But your belief is what’s causing you the stress. Watch this: I need More Money. In four simple questions, Byron Katie brings you to the work. 1. Is it true? 2. Can you absolutely know that it’s true? 3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought? 4. Who [...]
• Just keep my mug full of warm lattes and wake me when its over
  Those of you who live in parts of the world where there are minimal seasonal variations might be interested in learning that this transition occurs abruptly; almost overnight. Seasonal journeys are often accompanied by a single dramatic change in the weather; like the markedly cold turn downward into the 40 degree Fahrenheit range that happened [...]
• Sunrise at the lake
  You can see a glimpse of the clothes line through the trees. I don’t often shoot these sunrise shots.  We face the west, so the highlight is usually the sunset, and we often ignore the sunrise. From our view, we don’t see the morning sun hit the water.  Before now, I’m not sure why I [...]
• Dinner Inspiration
  So simple, so easy, and takes advantage of all of those red peppers on sale right now. Recipe is here.   They’re giving away 24 handbags in 24 hours. This one is my favorite, but I understand you might have your own. There’s 23 more bags to choose from. Check out the “win a free handbag” contest here. [...]
• The One Mistake I Always Make
  At the end of my exam, my gynecologists always looks me in the eye (I’m sure she does this to all the moms) and asks me this: Before you had children, you probably imagined yourself as a beautiful swan, having lots of children around you, because you loved children, and that’s what you wanted around you [...]
• Complain all you want, time moves like a turtle
  I opened a wedding invitation that came in the mail, but I couldn’t read it because it was written in one of those curvy scripts that look decadent, but you cannot actually read the words; especially when you’re in your 40s. I just didn’t have the time to focus on all of those swirls… it [...]
• 3 more questions for the author of Nights in Rodanthe
  He told us everything; he left so much unsaid. I became more intrigued just as he was jetting off to catch a plane, and the group interview with Nicholas Sparks, author of the book, Nights in Rodanthe, (and The Notebook), was coming to its close. The movie, starring Richard Gere and Diane Lane, opens in theaters [...]
• Stocks can dive in a day; and they can rise in a day
  While most of us are cautiously holding back and keeping our money close to our chests, the almighty great investor, Warren Buffet, has stepped up like Santa Clause with a $5 billion investment to Goldman Sachs Group. Goldman was a firm that admirably did not report a loss from the credit crisis fallout; but this [...]
• The 40s: The Most Delightfully Dangerous Years of Your Life
  This is hardly about thinking when you were 10 that when you turned 40 you would be old; and then becoming 40, and discovering that you don’t really feel that old. Being 40, you may, or will discover, to your delight, is much like your 20s, only better. When you’re in your 40s, you’re old [...]
• A weekend in 24 hours
  Saturday 7:15 a.m. Make cream of wheat, pull clothes out of dryer and rouse sleepy kids for various sports practices and one game. 10:15: Pick up last child from sports practice, and enter loaded car for overnight trip to the lake. 11:00:  Realize we should have stopped to take the time to pick up a book on tape [...]
• We all have our vices
  There were some nice things about going without power for four days.  The kids went to bed when it was dark; woke up by the sunrise.  Reading by candlelight is nice, once you get the hang of it. And the house was entirely quiet. No humming of anything. We all have our vices; and there was [...]
• Your Family’s Disaster Recovery Plan
  We were very lucky during our four-day blackout. Still, there were a few moments during those dark days, when my thoughts turned dark too, and I began to wonder, “what will happen if…” One occurred when I was driving to get milk for hungry kids and found the grocery store coolers abandoned like an eerie [...]
• The day Texas soil blew into my eyes
  The boy’s football game just started when the winds came. Seventy miles per hour, later recorded at the airport. We held the little boys close to us on our laps while we sat on the ground to watch the game; we couldn’t let them run off to the playground, the trees made it [...]
• Organic Seating
  We needed something to sit on around our campfire at the lake.  For too long, we carried those folding chairs up and down the steps, that were never there when you really need them. The most practical solution was always right in front of us.  Trees. Tree stumps from trees damaged by high winds and storms. Once [...]
• Money is not a noun; it’s a verb
  We all want our kids to learn this one vital life skill: Save more than you spend. Still, it’s a tough lesson to teach kids in an age of instant gratification; pay for a song on-line and it’s instantly available on your i-pod. Worse, money is no longer “real” to kids. [...]