The Cost of Being an Expert
I’m taking fencing classes. It’s good exercise and it makes my brain work in different ways. I will never, ever be good at it. Part of it is I just don’t have the right physical gifts — my hand-eye coordination is lacking, for one, and I don’t have the speedy reflexes you need to avoid…
Three Random and Unrelated Things
1) Moo and Writer Unboxed are running a contest in which five people will be given a free pack of mini-moo business cards, and everyone who enters will get 25 percent off their order. (I love my moo cards.) Even if you have no plans to enter, go and read the entries — they are…
What Do NYT Best-Selling Authors Have in Common? (Or, How Surreal is This?)
The Salem Lit Festival was this past weekend and yours truly got to go. It was a fabulous event that managed to be both high-powered and intimate. The panels were smart and informative and well run, and down the street there was a brand new candy shop. I listened to Julia Glass and Brunonia Barry…
What We're Missing
Every summer, my family rents a beach house in Connecticut. The cottages have changed over the years, but they are always within the same three block radius. The past two years we’ve rented the same place, and in my eyes, it’s a keeper. It has old, faded furniture neither the kids nor the dog can…
Fierce
I used to be fierce. Not as fierce as Linda Hamilton in T2, although I coveted her biceps. Just fierce enough. It took me a long time to get there, and didn’t really happen until I was in my twenties. I’d been shy as a kid and a teen, but a combination of factors pushed…
A Plan
So it appears that I need some structure. Without the kids here, demanding to be fed on a regular basis, I’m just wandering around the house, getting distracted by dirty socks and trying to keep them out of Harley’s mouth. Order is called for. My new schedule — just so you know — is to…
First Day of School
My house is very quiet today. When I pick up the toys, they stay in their places. I have the computer all to myself. It’s not nearly as much fun as I thought it would be. I remember a day, not so long ago, when I was in Target with a chubby baby…
Going, Going, Gone…
Only a handful of days are left before school starts. I’m starting to freak out a little. So, to distract myself, here’s the great underwear caper story: Last summer, a group of people who shall remain nameless (I don’t think they read this blog, but just in case) decided to prank another person, who shall…
Whoosh!
That’s the sound summer makes as it is flies by. Can you hear it? The kids start school in just over a week, and there’s still a long list of things we want to do. More time! I need more time! But the time we’ve had so far has been pretty special. Long days on…
Gone Fishing
Remember when summer seemed to last forever? You’d wake up early and the day would stretch out endlessly before you, green and lush and hot. There were bikes to ride and books to read and night games of freeze tag and hide and seek. Remember? It doesn’t feel that way anymore. The days feel as…
Blast-Ended Skewts and Dogs for Rent
This is Harley. Harley came to us when he was an adorable puppy and looked like this. Now he looks like this. Harley has many positive attributes. He is firm in his belief that the only good squirrel is a dead squirrel. He thinks teenagers should have 9 p.m. curfews, and if their parents insist…
She Wears High Heels, I Wear Sneakers…
Yes, I am referencing a Taylor Swift song in the headline. Don’t hate me. There’s nothing that soothes the pain of a poor review like blasting “Mean” and dancing around the kitchen with your daughter. Try it sometime. However, today I am not writing about reviews, mean or otherwise. Today, I am over at Women’s…