Many of you already know my husband, Garth (not his real name) does NOT allow me to use his real name, let alone post pictures of him, here on my blog. Aaaaaand, especially for new friends visiting with us for the first time, here's why: because living with a professional dork is hard, yo. Tagging him on Facebook? Yeah, that would be a big HELL NO and FUHGEHTABOUTIT! However, one of our mutual Facebook friends tagged him for the #IceBucketChallenge to help bring awareness to ALS, because she knows my husband has a REAL BIG heart and will out (and... Read more →

I am very proud to once again partner with my friends at Kelloggs, Action for Healthy Kids and the Team USA athletes in helping to spread the word about the #GreatStarts program's effort to provide breakfasts to kids who might otherwise go without. How? By sharing ways in which you can help share breakfast with a child in need, too. This is my fourth year helping Kellogg's give childhood hunger the virtual bitch-slap it deserves. Why? Long story short, because my family is no stranger to hunger: And, as promised, here's the video featuring the Team USA athletes. For each... Read more →

I shared an update on Facebook, praising a good Samaritan for stopping to check if I was alright after having negotiated some very icy roads, earlier this morning. I then added to the comments: Long-time blog readers will understand EXACTLY how very proud I am, of myself, for NOT losing my sh*t. I feel the need to expand on this morning's discussion (which is EXACTLY why I love Facebook, btw!), because I am extremely lucky to have been introduced to lots of brand new online friends over my eleventy years of blogging -- someone once called me the "grandmother of... Read more →

Did you know that today, November 19th, is World Toilet Day?!? I know what you're thinking -- seriously, what's next, National Bathtub Week?!? Okay, here's the thing, but what most folks don't realize (and I'm including myself, here) is that over 1.5 billion people in the world are STILL living without access to sanitary water or a proper toilet. The statistics of children dying due to things we tend to take for granted, like clean water and proper sanitation, are staggering. Today, I am once again very proud to partner with the good folks at American Standard to help share... Read more →

Kellogg's #GreatStarts bloggers, standing left to right: Deanna, Caryn, Jaime, Crystal, Me, Danielle (that's Jim Craig, SQUEEEE!!!) and Fred standing next to the adorable Charlie White. I am very honored to once again partner with Kellogg's, as well as U.S. Olympic legends and athlete hopefuls representing Team USA, as a Champion of #GreatStarts blogger and...yeah, I KNOW!!!...who EVER thought a dork (like me) would EVER be able to say that, out loud. Last week, I was invited to meet with these awesome athletes in New York City (I know, RIGHT?!?) to help kick-off the 100 day countdown to the Sochi... Read more →

I love watching ghost shows: stuff like Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters and My Ghost Story can really get my adrenaline pumping. Thing is, I just get myself too involved in the storyline, sometimes the really scary scenarios can carry over in my real life, too. Like, when there is someone knocking on the front door...in the middle of the night...then "OMG, the zombies are here...DON'T ANSWER IT!!!" Thankfully, it's at this point when one or ALL of my kids are kind enough to remind me "Really mom, you think zombies are gonna knock?!?" Then about 1:30 a.m. this morning.... [knock-knock-knock]... Read more →

I hate fake people ~ Yeah, me too!!! Day 1 into NaBloPoMo...[scratches head, blank stare]...and NOW I remember why I haven't NaBloPoMo-ed since 2011...this blogging every day (even on weekends) thing is hard...YO!!! The really cool thing about NaBloPoMo-ing is that there are daily prompts to help get my blogging juices going, but today's prompt was a little too hard (i.e. made me think more than I really care to) for a Friday. Instead, I'd like to tell you about a brief encounter, with a doorman, in New York City: ----------------------------------------------- Nobody takes much notice of a doorman. That's because,... Read more →