• Stars, turtles, and pigs, or the problem with incentives

      I was recently listening to a podcast about Richard Simmons, a fitness advocate and TV personality. If you know, you know. The podcasters described a section of his memoir in which he described a heartbreaking scene of attending a Weight Watchers meeting with his friend’s mom while he was in…

    • Why I didn’t write

      When I was in third grade, I wrote a series of mystery stories. At home. On my own. It wasn’t an assignment. I just loved reading Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, and The Hardy Boys so it made sense that I would want to write my own version. My stories centered…

    • A Gentleman in Moscow

      Earlier this year as my husband and I were watching one of our shows, a preview for the TV adaptation of A Gentleman in Moscow popped up. “Oh, that’s one of my favorite books!” Hoff shared. I’ll have to read it before we watch the show, I thought to myself.…

    • Forever young-ish

      Last month at our regular get-together, my aerobics-teaching college friends started reminiscing about Knott’s Berry Farm. Three of us grew up in Southern California and had lots of fun memories going to the amusement park and the teen dance clubs inside the park, Studio K and Cloud 9. But one…

    • The magic of the library

      This weekend I went on a quick trip to Seattle with my sisters, their kids, and our parents. We packed in as much eating and activity as we could with two 6-year olds in tow. On Sunday, having been on a ferry ride, visited a farm fall festival, watched fish…

    • The hills are alive

      The hills are alive

      …with the sound of music! This last weekend, the hubs and I headed back to the Hollywood Bowl for The Sound of Music Sing-a-Long. If you’ve never been to one of these, the event typically starts with a costume contest and then the sing-a-long version of the movie is played…

    • Sober September

      Back in my May, my husband, stepkids, and I decided we could all use a little detox. So we challenged ourselves to a month without vices. After negotiating all of life’s events and situations that would make this difficult, we finally settled on September. I agreed to give up alcohol…

    • Doggy paddle

      Last Sunday marked the second time in a row our dog Ginger didn’t fall or jump into the water while we were paddleboarding. She’s been out paddling with my husband and me four times now. The first time we took her out she ended up in the water unexpectedly–my husband…

    • Red Vines or Twizzlers

      This weekend the boys, my stepsons and husband, and I went to a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. We were there to see Mt. Joy because it’s one of my son’s favorite bands. (It wasn’t appreciated as much as I hoped, but that’s another story.) Anyway, as we waited for…

    • Take a break from homework

      Homework, homework, give me a break!  Anyone old enough to remember that line from a candy commercial? It’s a line that is etched into my memory, but apparently I attributed it to the wrong candy bar. I thought it was for Kit Kat, but it was actually for Summit bars.…

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