What if I told you there is a way to survive — nay, not just survive, but enjoy! -- even the most heinous of family gatherings? It works at birthday parties and weddings. It works at quiet dinners, or full-out family reunions. (Your own, or your in-laws.) What is it, you say? … [Read more...]

The excitement of wedding festivities faded and the reality of my new life stood before me. My first challenge was to set-up the kitchen. Aunt Barbara had given me four wooden canisters painted with Mexican chickens. I filled them with flour, sugar, tea bags, and loose instant … [Read more...]

My husband said those three little words. It was perfect timing, just when I needed to hear them the most. Most women long to hear “I love you” or “You’ve lost weight,” (a close second and heartily welcomed comment). But my three words usually come an hour after my husband has … [Read more...]

The other night, I was trying to explain to my seven year old twin boys what an oxymoron is. It's when you have a combination of contradictory words that just don't seem to go together. I tried to illustrate with some examples like, “jumbo shrimp”, “awfully nice” and “pretty … [Read more...]

I have elevated social interaction to an art form. Painful Impressionist. Nowhere is that more apparent than my stilted conversations with macho guys, particularly the fathers of my children’s friends. When I come to pick up my kids at their houses, they blink at me as if I am … [Read more...]