Ever since I can remember, my Pa has hated, HA-TED the movie, How The Grinch Stole Christmas! Folklore says it’s because the TV station played it one December evening instead of the show he really wanted to watch. I get it… sort of. I’d be a bit perturbed if after a long day, I settled…

There’s a thing called the “Older sibling trauma” trend on TikTok. I saw one yesterday of a girl telling how she and her sister would play “Spice Girls” except her sister got to be all the Spice Girls and made her be the fans trying to jump on stage. Her sister would kick her to…

When I was in college and had to choose a major, I thought, “I really like advertising. I think that’s the degree I’ll go for.” I always loved ads and commercials. I’d even make jingles for my own life (you may recall the Sizzler steakhouse banger I told you about in a previous blog). Even…

Tomorrow is my 46th birthday. Sure, getting old sucks sometimes. Especially when I feel like the same person I was in my twenties. Not physically, but mentally. If I had a time machine, I could go back to the days of driving around with my friends, smoking and listening to Biggie Smalls. We’d pull up…

Last night we took the boys out to dinner to celebrate how well they did first semester. We’ve been trying to curb our spending, but I’m a firm believer in TYS – Treat Yo Self, and so is PJ. Well holy moly, if I didn’t notice inflation before, I certainly do now. That is, by…

Rude, right? When we hear our kids say this we’re supposed to reprimand them and tell them it’s not nice, right? Well I applauded my son the other day for saying it to his classmate. He told me a student was reading aloud and the little shithead next to him kept huffing and puffing because…

Tell me I can’t do something and I will do it. Yes I’m one of those people. I used to be proud of it, but now I want to put it down, let it go. It’s a major indicator that I still care too much about what other people think. I want to be like…

Not really, it’s just a line from a movie that I’m slightly obsessed with, The Graduate. It’s where my crush on Dustin Hoffman began 😍; it’s where my appreciation for Simon & Garfunkel’s music began; it’s where my love for Anne Bancroft and her blonde chunky highlights (currently residing in my own hair) began. The…

This year I have 1 child in elementary school, 1 in middle school, and 1 in high school. I’m surprisingly calm about this. It’s probably because of the Effexor (or Venlafaxine for all the generic brand seekers like moi.) This isn’t going to turn into another post about mental health, but I would like to…

It’s so easy to tell other people to be confident in their own skin and to embrace their flaws. Actually living in that skin and having said flaws are a different story. I’ve mentioned here before that my nose is as crooked as a lightening bolt. It’s because I sucked my thumb until I was…

I had a terrible night. First I couldn’t sleep. Then when I finally fell asleep I dreamt allll night that PJ was in love with another woman. Do you ever try to punch people in your sleep? It’s like trying to move your arms underwater. Between him not loving me and me trying to land…

My parents owned a stationery store when I was 9 or 10. It was a fun time. Pa would always call before he came home and ask which candy Teara and I wanted. Teara usually chose a Whatchamacallit or gum. I’d choose a Hershey Bar or 3 Musketeers. Teara would call me a nerd for…

I have not been well lately, my friends. I think the world finally broke me. For as long as I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve expressed how I feel about injustice in the world. Some may say I’m a walking, talking, “woke” checklist (they wouldn’t mean it as a compliment.) You probably think it’s the…

‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers –That perches in the soul –And sings the tune without the words –And never stops – at all … – Emily Dickenson In my last blog post I wrote an encouraging message for all those who want to come out, but choose not to because of the homophobic, close-minded…

I saw a clip of Molly Shannon on Howard Stern talking about how her Dad spent his entire life as a closeted gay man. It was such an incredibly sad story. It made me think of all the poor souls I know now who will never come out because of one reason or another, but…

You know who are the best? The low-key “good” people. The ones at first glance you’d think were just everyday, ordinary people, but come to find out that they shine so bright, it makes you want to be like them. I’m not talking about those you see highlighted on the news or on social media.…

Ok so I had a glass of sangria. Just 1 glass, so I’m feeling all lovey-dovey but not wasted. I’m sitting in my pool. PJ is floating around listening to 90s music. I was listening to my book and it’s not so great. My mind started wandering. Outside of my headphones I could hear the…

The shock and sadness die down the angry fighting sets in We begin the nasty debates of should haves… would haves… and never beens The parents swallow little pills so they can get some rest for tomorrow they’ll bury their babies as they wear their Sunday best Thinking of that last morning sitting in the…

Yesterday PJ assembled the smoker he bought and spent all day prepping, then cooking the most delicious BBQ spareribs I’ve had in a long time – and we live in NC, so that’s saying a lot. My only complaint is that he should’ve made more because my savages were fighting over who got the most.…

I haven’t showered since Monday. Today is Thursday. It’s as gross as it sounds. I’m in the middle of my second round of allergy testing. Last time it was the skin prick test, this time it’s the patch test. They put 57 different tabs containing allergens on my back, marked me up with a sharpie,…

I know Mother’s Day can be a painful time for a lot of people, so here’s my attempt at making you laugh. I don’t even know what I’m going to write about yet. I’m still dredging my mind for a funny or embarrassing memory to tell you about. While I’m thinking, I just want you…

Last night my family and I went to the Cheesecake Factory. A couple came in and were seated diagonally across from us so that they were in my line of vision. (I mention the line of vision part so you don’t think I’m a weirdo stalker for what I’m about to tell you.) I couldn’t…

No, that brilliant title isn’t a product of my own imagination. It’s a book I listened to yesterday by Gary John Bishop, written in 2016. It’s not your typical self-help book. Bishop makes it very clear that it’s the anti-self-help book. Instead of trying to make you believe you’re wonderful and you deserve everything, it’s…

Oooweee some hardcore feminists are gonna want to strangle me with my own Fallopian tubes, but let me explain. I felt really guilty that this has been my opinion when, for the past few years, a woman would sometimes call the game in place of my beloved Gare (Gary Cohen), Keith (Keith Hernandez), and Ronnie…

Yesterday, I was sitting with PJ, sipping coffee and watching the news. It would’ve been quite pleasant if I didn’t see a large, grey object gyrating repetitively from the corner of my eye. Without looking straight at it, I knew what it was, for I’ve been tortured by it for the past 20 years. The…

Before I begin writing this, I want to make it VERY clear that I am not criticizing others, I am including MYSELF in this observation, for I am a self-professed helicopter mom. I’ve learned to lay off a little as they’ve gotten older, but oooh-weeee! I wasn’t just a helicopter mom, I was a dangerously…

Did you know that some people never dream? I find it hard to believe because mine are so vivid and occur almost every night. In fact, I just woke from a very complex dream where PJ and I were against a whole room of people, and I was trying to prove our innocence by reading…

Even though the world is basically falling apart around us, my life, personally, has remained steady for quite some time. If it were not for the point I’m about to make, that last statement might sound a bit braggadocios. I was recently posed with the question, “Do you find yourself overwhelmed or underwhelmed?” I truthfully…

I’ve suffered from eczema since I was in, I’d say, 4th grade. It would show up mostly in the crook of my arm and sometimes on my neck. Never really that bad though. As I got older it would come and go, but about 16 years ago, when PJ and I got married and moved…

I seriously don’t know why I watch the news. I’ve said before that it’s comforting because it reminds me of the olden days when my parents had the same ritual of turning it on as they settled in for the night. But even before the Russian invasion into Ukraine, it’s been a consistent horror show.…