Thursday, January 10, 2013
Well, we're nearly two weeks into the New Year. How are those resolutions working for you?
Once that mesmerizing bejeweled ball dropped in Times Square two weeks ago, New Year’s hugs, kisses, and unwavering resolutions were exchanged from one end of the country to the other. Champagne toasts were giddily declared as well intending folks across the world embarked on what they hope will be their best year yet. Can I just say I’m not going there this year? – Absolutely not! Instead of banging out a list of my usual culprits that could use a little improvement: Eat healthier, weigh less, find my true purpose, sell custom-made wonder girdles to help pay for eight college funds, learn to play a classy instrument like a viola or the harp, and finally — mastering the fine art of clipping our Pomeranian’s nails so that we don’t succumb…
Friday, September 28, 2012
Patch offers readers all things local, but by golly, nothing can grab more attention than the coveted Police Log that runs several times throughout the week. Why? Can someone tell me the reason why?
It’s been nearly two years since the Narragansett-South Kingstown Patch site launched our grass roots on-line source for all things local. I was and still am thrilled to be a part of it! From my very first "Family Tides" column, I've smiled whenever folks in town discuss our Internet presence for all the latest, local happenings. I love to acknowledge the time, effort and journalistic thought that go into making this type of 24-hour news source resonate with our interested and supportive reader base. As an author and writer, I continually set professional goals for myself and measure them throughout the year. My niche is family-humor based pieces, for which I have no problem putting myself (and sometimes my unsuspecting family!) on that …
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
25 years ago, Cheryl never thought her trip down the aisle would bring us to where she is today.
September 19, 1987 is somewhat of a blur. I remember waking up to a very foggy, drizzly and dank morning, but nothing could stop this bride from running to the mailbox at 5 a.m. to hang paper mache wedding bells. My wedding day had finally arrived and there was no way a bit of damp weather was going to rain on my white, frilly parade. When you’re 23 years young, starry-eyed and in love with someone you’re crazy about (notice I didn’t say he was my best friend — no disrespect and hate me if you want, but this was not the role I wanted him to play), and are about to embark on one of the most important and love-filled days of your life, it seems utterly impossible to think that 25 years would ever happen this quickly. No way could we …
Thursday, September 13, 2012
If you think The Real Housewives is a reality TV series to behold, you haven't met Honey Boo Boo!
Last week I had the surprise of a lifetime. Sadly, I wasn’t visited by the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Prize Patrol, but something else unexpectedly caught my attention, and from what I understand it captured three million other American’s as well. Stumped as to what roused many of us to be transfixed to our TVs for a few hours last week? Nope, it wasn’t Billy Clinton sharing his values and morals with us during the Democratic Convention—it was something even far more outrageous from them thar parts down south—a 6-year old Georgia Peach by the name of Alana Thompson—affectionately known to her family and fans as Honey Boo Boo! If you haven’t had the ultimate pleasure of becoming familiar with America’s newest reality TV darling you either…
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Back-to-school is the perfect time to change up the "same old, same old" conversations we keep!
I will probably receive a lot of “hate mail” for admitting this aloud, but — I’m not one bit sorry that summer is coming to an end. (Wow, did that feel good to admit!) I enjoy hitting the beach and having non-scheduled days as much as the next guy, but let’s face it, how much nirvana can one mother take? One of the reasons I welcome back-to-school with such wide, open arms is not because my kids will no longer be attached to my hip 24/7 (you believe me, right?), although it does tie in with preserving my sanity. After 10 summery weeks of kid-licious endeavors I start to get a little worn down by the conversations we’ve been exchanging with one another, or not! Never mind the tedious waste of breath that utters, “I’m bored! Can’t we do …
Monday, August 13, 2012
With the Olympic Games being held in London, we in the United States have the option of waiting to watch the pre-recorded outcome of each event or we can indulge our curiosity with the media’s gift to us — the Spoiler Alert.
If you’ve been tuned in to the Olympics this past week you are probably facing the same quandary as the rest of us — choosing whether or not to find out the final results of different events because of the significant time difference between London and here. Though the media gives us an innocent warning known as a “Spoiler Alert,” it’s almost inevitable that history making records are leaked out hours before we are able to tune in and find out for ourselves. As a person who never wanted to know the sex of my unborn baby until that coveted moment when my doctor called out “It’s a _____,” the Olympic “Spoiler Alert,” although tempting at times, is an easy choice for me — I ignore it. My kids, however, do not. They have been keeping tabs …
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Summer’s here and the living is easy—however, some of the questions I have to answer when my kids get curious are not!
There are some parents who can drive 50 plus miles with their kids in the car and the silence is absolutely deafening. No matter what engaging tidbit is presented to hopefully entice even the smallest of nibbles, the kid won’t offer up so much as a sigh. Well, in my world, that never seems to be the case. Whether it be the ride to church, the jaunt to the milk store, or even a ride to the emergency room to have a LEGO removed from an ear canal somehow my powder blue minivan becomes the catalyst for whining, joke telling, bodily functions (ah, you’ve got to love 10-year old boys!) tattling, chattering, confessing, complaining and mostly—questioning. The questions vary on any given day but a reliable sampling of these riveting inquiries …
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
I completely admit that going to see "Magic Mike" was supposed to be more or less of a thrill, but it turns out I was wrong - it was even better and prompted a hopeful, rut-free summer!
Independence Day is here, and with that summer can officially begin. Eight glorious, sun-drenched weeks of vacation left — just waiting to be spent any way you like with friends, loved ones, pets, and we certainly can’t forget – our children. Sounds like Heaven, doesn’t it? Ok, so maybe “glorious” and “heaven” aren’t quite the right choice of words when you wonder what type of stimulating environment will keep your kids even remotely happy if your beach days get rained out or when the thoughts of using a glue stick, pipe cleaners and glitter for any more craft projects is enough to make you lose your mind. There are many of us who tend to find ourselves in a bit of a rut midway (yes, I realize we’re not even close to midway yet) into …
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Thursday, June 28, 2012
The family bed is a very controversial topic, but what about when it includes the family pet?
Now that I’m a mid-lifer (you do the math), I’m realizing more than ever how little in life I actually have control over. I no longer fret over my child’s public comments concerning her dentist’s bad breath or worry that I’m really too old to wear my hair up in a cheesy clip. So if people want to talk about the things happening in my bedroom (especially all the noises, more on that later) — let them. It all started (bear with me, this will end up in the bedroom, I promise!) when my husband began traveling on a regular basis for work two years ago. Ah yes, thanks to our thriving Rhode Island economy (hey, it’s not that I like I’m bitter, I’m just telling it like it is) he has had to do business elsewhere, as in not in the Ocean State — …
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
We all have dreams - and after reading one of my son's reports on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I now have a new one!
My kids got out of school on Friday and no sooner did the bus roll out of the hood, their backpacks — heaping with everything they could possibly clean out of their lockers – came tumbling into the living room and landed on every possible open walking space all within 35 seconds. I twitched momentarily then gasped for breath knowing that they’re in my charge now for the next 10 weeks! As I sifted through piles of reports, essays, math packets and petrified food remains, I reminded myself that I’m not a newbie summer-vaca mom, and that every year the 10 weeks of summer gets a little longer, I mean, easier. I may be a S.O.B. (“Save only the Best” mom), but I treat the belongings of their last-day-of school treasures much differently than…
Karen
9:26 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013
Hilarious! Love the article! more ›