• Fun Stuff

    It Was All About Her, But Really It Was All About Me

    We’re not allowed to talk about the time before Miss 14 was born. This is a family joke that started when she was about 5 and discovered that we had existed as a happy family of six before she was born. After looking at the family album, Miss 14 (then Miss 5) promptly placed her hands over her ears and started yelling “Noooo!” When we finally got her calm enough to ask the problem, she replied “I don’t want you to have a life before me.” Ummmm, spoken like a true last child who has been spoiled rotten by her family. So we indulged her and never really spoke of…

  • Fun Stuff

    Lunch with Miss 14, So Worth It

    This weekend I was supposed to be in St. Louis hanging out with my bloggy friends at Show Me the Blog but do you know where I am? I’m at home. On the sofa. And I’m OK with that. Yesterday my daughter, Miss 14, invited me to her school to eat lunch with her. Apparently, this is a tradition at their school. For the parents to bring food to the school and eat with their children. I didn’t know about the bringing in the food part, but I’ll get to that later. Anyway, I chose to go to my daughter’s school for lunch today, therefore, I couldn’t make the trip…

  • About Me

    Loose Threads and Other Random Thoughts

    1.  Our dog, Squeekerz, has a bad attitude.  I suspect it’s because the kids named him “Squeekerz” and because they keep dressing him up like he’s a toy.  That’s him in the picture with Miss 15, you can’t see it but his eyes are screaming “Help me!”  When he was little, they used to dress him up in doll clothes… 2.  Next week begins Finals’ Week at the college.  I can’t believe I’ve been working at the library for a semester already.  It went by so fast.  I remember when I started, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make a connection with any of the students but last…

  • About Me

    Loose Threads and Other Random Thoughts

    1.  That’s me with Miss 17.  I’m so incredibly proud of her.  I’m also slowly but surely preparing myself to let go as she prepares to go to college.  I will not cry.  On Friday, she and I hung out and did a bit of shopping, eating and talking.  Seeing my daughter grow from a little bean to a young lady has been the most amazing trip.  I’m one of those blessed moms who hasn’t had to go through all the problems that I caused my mother with her teen daughter.  That’s not to say we haven’t had our issues (at 12 she started to lose her mind, at 13…

  • About Me

    Day 8: A Photo that Makes Me Sad

    My dad died unexpectedly a few years ago and, unfortunately, this was the last picture that the four of us ever took together.  My parents divorced when we were young and, after living with my dad for about a year, I moved with my mom, sisters and stepfather to Italy and didn’t see my dad again until I was an adult.  My dad was an incredible artist and musician who never failed to make me laugh.  I miss and love him dearly.

  • Fun Stuff

    Book Review: What We Have: One Family’s Inspiring Story About Love, Loss, and Survival by Amy Boesky

    What would you do if your family was genetically predisposed to cancer? Would you live your life in fear of developing the disease or would you live every day as if it were your last? This is the backdrop against which author and English professor, Amy Boesky, has lived her life. The women in her family have what can only be described as a generational curse ~ by the age of forty~five all of them develop and ultimately die from ovarian cancer. This memoir is a touching tribute to the women in her family and their attempts to live life to the fullest even in the face of overwhelming odds.…