My friend Amanda debuted her site’s video podcast series today.
 
If you’re a soon-to-be- mom, have small kids or know someone who does, they’d love this first episode. And there’s more to come!
 
Check it out!
 

I’d kinda hoped for a brief respite today. Oh sure, I needed to edit my reports, stick something in the crock pot, and do a cursory housecleaning, but I’d have loved to punctuate my day with a little mindless TV, perhaps some popcorn, even a nap. Each day fills with obligations and chores and I […]

I walked down the aisle to this song, sung by a friend of mine (not the original artist) and I can’t believe I just found it after all these years.
 
Really, I thought I’d never hear it again. i just couldn’t locate it anywhere. And the only place I’d ever hear it was if I watched […]

I hate when people take too long to continue a story. I refused to watch miniseries on network TV for that very reason. I could not stand to wait until the next day or week for a story to be completed. But hypocrite much? Nearly three weeks later and I’m finishing the Coretta story. (Not […]

Wow. You PROMPTuesdayers are GOOD.
 
I’m honored to have you participate.
 
And if you haven’t read the submissions yet, take a minute to do so. You won’t be disappointed.
 
p.s. My early morning wake-up plan was foiled by nighttime pee and cereal requests.
 

There’s so many things I want to tell you.
 
Like, why I haven’t done this PROMPTuesday. (Answer: Because it’s too hard.) Or, why I’m sipping wine in the dark (Answer: because the kids can’t find me.).
 
There’ s just many things I want to write. Things about labels and rituals and why both are necessary. Or not. […]

Happy Memorial Day!
Hope it was a good one.
I, for one, percolated over PROMPTuesday.
This time, I wanted to do something unique, something block-busting, something random and ridiculous…and I feel confident that what I came up with will confuse and befuddle you. But that’s OK! Because confusion leads to creativity! You’ve read that somewhere, right?
 
This is […]

In a pink plastic car sits a child of two, singing for the extra assurance of her daddy’s hand as she steers down the boardwalk. Mom licks an ice cream cone, bending down to share when the girl looks up, with chocolate mouth and magicked eyes.
 
A merrily painted bungalow sits behind a handmade gate of […]

This scared me. Can you imagine?

This meme comes direct from Matter of Fact Mommy, who made it up herself, and since I think it’s genius, I’m jumping on the bandwagon.
 
So straight from Matter of Fact’s mouth, here is the meme:
“I want to hear which specific post got you hooked on the blogs that you read regularly. You only have to […]

Also, the spooky atmospheric ’70s and ‘80 thrillers, “Burnt Offerings” and “Still of the Night.”
 
And then, there’s also “The Eye” (Japanese version) and “The Descent.”
 

Please note that these are not horror (although “The Descent” has some gore), they’re just spooky. Whole different vibe.
 

Not that you asked.
 

No really, you didn’t. So I’m just putting my scary […]

Thanks so much for helping raise my daughter right. Really, it’s comforting to know that not everyone believes in over-scheduling, and that random play and frolic are valuable and swimming is fundamental; T-ball optional.
 
And so while I praised the heavens for wise sages such as yourself and for your generous sharing of the wise sage […]

Do you remember how I went on and on about this, and then this?
 
How I so smugly threw about the words, “chickpea?” and “organic” and “no white sugar” and bladdedy blahblah?
 
Well, today, this happened:
 

 
OK, actually the three things on the right happened on Sunday. And also today. And it’s looking favorable for tomorrow.
 
I would like […]

I’m wondering if I’m a crack mom for not enrolling Toots in any classes this year.
Last summer, we tried ballet, and she’s been on and off in Gymstars…but have there been any classes you’ve put your kids in that you’ve loved and/or that taught them discipline and to stop talking about killing things?
 
Maybe karate or […]

I have but few dreams. Firstly, I’d like to finish my middle grade book, sell it, make enough money to live comfortably in San Diego, have a pool like Cheri’s, and support my family churning out Harry Potter-esque books in my fully automated custom-made sunlit writer’s/inventor’s (just because) loft.
 
I’d also like to open a drive-thru. […]

Is it good or bad that in certain circles I’m known as the “gallbladder blog?”

Me, at the dinner table: OK, everyone tell me about their day.
 
My four year-old-daughter, Toots: A real day or an imaginary day?
 
Me, playing along: An imaginary day.
 
Toots: OK, so there was this monster, and… (pausing)…Mommy? Can I say the word ‘killed’ just this once? (holding her finger up in the form of a “one”)
 
Me: No. […]

First of all, let me say, thanks. Your participation in PROMPTuesdays has been inspirational, fun, heartbreaking, thought-provoking and motivational. Just as good writing should be.
And I appreciate it.
 
I also hope to appeal to the lurkers and encourage you to submit something for PROMPTuesdays. There’s so judgment here and we’d all love to read some new […]

It’s noon here in San Diego and everybody in my family is asleep. I tried to close my eyes for awhile, but had so many things running through my head and then Merle Haggard did gone and woke me up for good.
 
I wish you could see me now: laptop perched on lap, bear blanket […]

“Nothing tastes as ‘chickeny’ as a chicken in the crockpot!”

I totally got into a fight at Legoland.
 
Wait, let me word that in a more mature fashion: I entered into an altercation at Legoland.
 
I’ve always been one to champion the underdog.
 
I’ll have to write about this later. Right after I pick the curly straws out of my butt.
 
Today: Sea World.
 
Tomorrow: Drug-induced coma.
 

I’ve been out in the real world for days now, with no Internet connection, Twitter, or e-mail access and it’s been weird. I’m actually not speaking in acronyms or hitting “Enter” after I make a comment.
 
And I wrote a long post all about how I went to the zoo and the beach and how today […]

Sinus Infection: Manufactured enough snot to feed an entire colony of bone-eating snot flowers. I realize that for this sentence to work, it should be: snot-eating bone flowers. But I’m not a scientist. (Or a marine biologist?) If I were, I’d opt for a totally different naming convention for weird things, like “Weird Thing with […]

Does anyone know of a good park in San Diego with slides and see saws (do they not make those anymore? are we THAT afraid of injury and liability these days?), clean bathrooms nearby and non-be-dog-pooped grass?
 
Would also like play structures appropriate for 2-, 4-, and 5-year-olds. Plus a wine drinking fountain.
 

Have you heard of Pandora? I love it. You type in one of your favorite artists and a super secretish algorithm populates an online radio station with kindred musical artists. It worked for me. I dug almost every song played. Found some new stuff too.

Here’s my PROMPTuesday submission:
 
I shuffled through the milk crates stuffed with LPs. My knickers chafed uncomfortably, spurred by the hot sweatiness of the St. Mary’s gymnasium. Wet slicked down my back as I pulled out Supertramp’s album. The one with “Goodbye Stranger.”
 
I planned my outfit with him in mind. We had the same last name […]

No intro today.
 
Just this: Write about your first love. Work the phrase, “Beauty in the shadows,” into the piece. This one can go to 250 words.
 
Other “rules” (air quotes implied and used ironically):
 
You must write your entry in 10 minutes. This encourages top-of-mind, primal thinking before the ego and judgmental brain kicks in. Just set […]

Well, let’s see.
 
I don’t think I’m a planner. I try to be, really, really try to be, yet there’s some synapsal tangle in my brain that prevents me from actually following through on said plans, or rather, I follow through, but not in that perfectly logistical way you see other moms do.
 
I’ve seen women make […]

I met Coretta T. when we were both in the fifth grade. She told great jokes, had a typical Italian family and an enormous pantry filled with Little Debbie snack cakes. I’d moved to Chicago the year before, as little girl lost, it was nice to find a friend who adopted me instantly.
 
Together with a […]

No more morosity.
 
Today is sunshine, puppies, no funny substances stuck under my toilet rim, a full belly of eclectic and nourishing food, chai tea (without sugar), and an effective hard water de-mineralizer.
 
Yea, today there is no fuzz on my sweater coat, no ambivalence about my discipline methods, and plenty of butterflies, even the ones that […]

Disclaimer: Abandon hope, all ye who enter here, of carefully constructed sentences, relevant points, or peaceful easy feelings.
 
If I were a cartoon or bit character in “Bewitched,” there’d totally be a dark cloud hovering over my head. I really need to look into this Sag-Scorp cuspy deal, because now I’m thinking there’s something to it. […]

PROMPTuesday came around quick, didn’t it?
 
And here I was, just a few short hours ago, sitting at book club, innocently forgetting that shortly, a new writing prompt must be posted, so I, without a care in the world, poured myself another glass of wine…
 
But: I’m BACK, suckas!
And as such, a new writing prompt […]

If you only knew the trouble I’ve seen today. My sign (Scorpio-Sag cusp) must be in opposition to some planetular alignment, because nothing is going according to plan. Not a thing has gone smoothly, or on time or in accordance with my wishes.
 
Today I should work, but Booger slept in big time this morning and […]

Do you think there’s a world where one can actually say “Calgon, Take me Away!” and instantly you’re transported to a warm bubble bath, open waterproof book, glass of champagne (or fruit smoothie, your choice, lame-o), and a babysitter paid through three days?
 
Or do you think in that dimension, “Calgon” would be a carnivorous Mingkowborn […]

“MaaaaaaMaaaaaaaaa!” Booger wailed it from her crib this morning. I prayed, as I pulled the covers over my ears. Sometimes, she’s a one-hit morning shouter and I don’t hear from her again from a good hour.
 
Ah, but it was not to be and she continued, now playfully: “Mom! Moomoo! MaMoo! MoooooomoooomooooMA!”
Her vocabulary’s increased ten-fold in […]

One of my favorite bloggers, Eden, is the editor of a cool literary e-magazine called Toasted Cheese and they’re having a writing contest going on NOW. Check it out HERE.

 
On Monday, The Rock and I celebrate seven years of wedded sticking togetherness through thick and thin, midnight arguments, beautiful and complicated births, misunderstandings, understandings, trying hard, sailing through, near misses and never quitting.
 
I’ve told you before that we don’t have an easy relationship, but I thank my stars we’re together. It’s like God decided […]

I’d like to do something light and rainbows now. Especially after the heaviness of the below…
 
SO here you have it:
 

 
Thanks to Absolutely Bananas, I’m going to have some fun and list some of my favorite beauty products.
 
First, please know that I have brows. And by brows, I mean BROW WOW WOWs. Heavy, thick, Frida Kahlo […]

I’ve wanted to write, yet I haven’t.
 
I’m doing that second guessing thing I do, hesitating to put anything down because what it might reveal about me — things I’m not too sure should see the light of day — or what you would think — but then I know this is for me, and an […]