How To Pull Away From the Destruction Cycle

We live in a world that takes absolute delight in tearing people down. For many, it’s a way of life.

Owning Only One Family TV

I am an unapologetic lover of pop culture and so this isn’t an anti-TV tirade. I stumbled on this only because we couldn’t afford multiple TVs with cable when our kids were little.

Life is weird.

Via Flickr Creative Commons, courtesy of smays

Red & Red2: Age Doesn’t Mean Squat

When I grow old, I want to be as kick ass as the characters in the Red movies.

On Reading Gatsby Again, With My Daughter

I was excited F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby was a novel my daughter’s English class was reading this semester. Last year, when her class read my all-time favorite, To Kill a Mockingbird, she and I had wonderful discussions.

I wanted to repeat the experience.

Now, it’s been many years since I read Gatsby. I decided this time I’d read along at the same pace as the class and get the benefit of their discussions in talking with my daughter later.

I Admit It: I Liked Dark Shadows

I went to see Dark Shadows this weekend. With one reservation (I’ll get to that later), I enjoyed it. If you appreciate a twisty sense of humor, have a healthy ability to suspend disbelief, love Tim Burton or Johnny Depp, you will probably like this movie.

Let the Revision Begin!

Conventional writerly wisdom says one should wait weeks or even (gasp!) months between finishing a first draft and starting revisions. But, dammit, I couldn’t wait that long.

Yes, Prrrrecious, I’m back….

My Take on Novels vs Films

Over the past month, I rewatched the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, which motivated me to reread the books (it’s been several years). Half way through The Fellowship of the Ring novel, I realized that despite the differences between the two forms, I truly love each as a separate experience.

This isn’t usually the case with me.

Vomiting on Mom (It’s Not What You Think)

My husband lovingly calls it “vomiting on Mom.”

My mother used to call it “telling about your day.”

I call it “necessary evil.”

Update: Tic Disorders in Our School

Since writing my last post,  a diagnosis has been revealed concerning the 12 teenage girls in my community who suddenly developed a tic disorder.

Tic Disorders In Our School

Well, folks, when you can’t believe things could get any stranger in the world of raising families, something new pops up and blows everything before it away.

Warning: This is a long and winding post even though I cut out a lot of the extraneous stuff.