I don’t hate politics.
I do, however, hate politicking.
There are select moments I avoid social media (Facebook in particular) and major elections are at the top of that list, the aftermath of a catastrophic and/or polarizing event is a close second (after that is when I am on a “real’ vacation, which is not germane to the topic of this post at all so let’s just set that aside for now). Continue reading
Once again this month has been very busy, leaving me little time to myself, making it hard to find a moment to write. That is until this past holiday weekend when I was sans husband or children in our house—a house, I might add, I had NEVER once spent a night alone in six years we lived there. Check the box on that bucket list now…
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A little over a week ago my family and I returned from a family trip to the Caribbean. These kinds of trips are always incredibly special to me. I have memories of spring vacations from when I was growing up so nostalgia is part of it, but it’s also been a while since the four of us have been able to go away together. So this trip felt special in a few ways–almost like a victory for our family.
Red Gift Box by courtesy of Naypong / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
As the mother of two children, every year I encounter the same question from family and friends: “what do the kids want this year?” Of course my kids make lists. Professionally, in a former life, I even worked on a holiday gift list solution for moms because from the moment I gave birth, this has always been a conundrum–what is the right answer and how do you coordinate who is getting and giving what? Unfortunately the service I mentioned is no longer available, but these are some websites and apps you should check out if you’re looking to make list sharing with family and friends painless and simple this season…and beyond.
my Dad and me circa 1989 (or ’90), Anguilla, BWI
The parent / child relationship is one of beauty and complexity. I am reminded lately of the added layers this bond must sustain when daughters start experimenting with their freedom and sexuality in adolescence. I won’t go into why I am reminded–those aren’t my stories to tell and I believe they are sacred to those individuals. What I will say is my family is near and dear to me and I am a mother and a wife. Forgive me for sharing the obvious, but before becoming a mother or a wife I was (and still am) a daughter and did a fair share of experimenting and testing bonds and bounds. My circumstances were not common, but they were not unique–nor were they often discussed until years after some damage had been done. Perhaps someday I’ll write about that (maybe, I’m still debating).
my delightful and precious unicorn in her sweet pajamas
Growing up is tough business. You couldn’t pay me to go back to my middle or high school years. Navigating the social circles, fighting for my freedom, starting to find my voice, trying to shape who I am and where I fit in the world, meeting and losing friends, experiencing first love…and that’s before I’ve even started to tackle the accelerating homework and school pressure because college is just a few years away. Nope, I’m very happy to have survived that… The only thing that makes it worse is when there are bullies, “mean girls,” and tormentors amplifying the noise that already exists in an adolescents’ head. I had my fair share of experiences as a kid with these types of people–and it was agony–and I know from FB that most people have experienced it too.
The kids in the ocean at Coney Island: Summer 2013
The summer is almost over. It’s hard to believe Labor Day weekend is just two days off in the distance and all I my blog has to show for it is a handful of posts. I had grand plans…
The summer is a meaningful time for me: family birthdays and annual celebrations, my anniversary and, of course, excursions and getaways. Yet every time I meant to sit down and capture it for my blog, I was distracted or something else came up and it no longer seemed timely. But now, dear reader, as summer’s precious moments are coming to a close, it seems all the more necessary to remember the highlights, gifts and surprises of Summer 2013.
I’m going to a few summer parties and I can’t wait. It’s alway such a blast to party in the warm weather and enjoy some fun in the sun, especially since now my kids don’t need constant supervision. I always like to bring something for my hosts that contribute to the meal, but what about hosts that tell you: “just bring yourselves.” That never seems right, right? Right.
IMHO it’s always important to express thanks with gratitude for an invitation with a gesture. I also want to make sure that what I share with my recipients aren’t run-of-the-mill. These ideas are gift pairings that are fine alone, but are truly better together
Last summer at Coney Island
I’m trying to plan a summer getaway for my family. I’ve been incredibly indecisive this year, not from a lack of ideas…quite the opposite. I have too many ideas, and each one conjures up images in my head of idyllic moments that will eventually become life-long memories for all of us, and that turns into a form of vacation-analysis-paralysis. So I’ve booked nothing but researched pretty much everything the Northeast has to offer. I’ve got it down to either Hershey, PA or Washington DC and I want two things: family-friendly and a property with an outdoor pool (I gave up on the beach a while ago, obviously).
I’m very excited to talk about this new way of sharing my gift ideas with you! It’s called Glossi and so far I have a few issues already published with a few more on the way.
Glossi lets me turn my content into digital magazines, like this one on Summer Party Hostess Gift Ideas (featured above), and they really take a totally different shape and tone. I LOVE making them…I’m seriously addicted. What’s more, there are some really cool content creators making their own digital magazines on all sorts of topics and being ridiculously creative–check out Nina Garcia, Olivia Palermo, Lucky Magazine and categories like food, kids and family and lots more so do check them out online and on the App Store.
Related Links:
Offerings: A New Category
What’s This All About
First Time Gifts: Buying For A New Boyfriend or Girlfriend
6 Really Cool Stationery Ideas
The Gifting Whisperer 