As I may have mentioned once or twice, today is my 15th wedding anniversary. I don’t write much about my husband. It’s kind of like an unwritten blogging rule that we’ll yak about our kids all day long but tiptoe around our significant others. I try to respect his privacy and probably won’t ever write about him. Except today. The one day a year that instead of focusing on what’s wrong with him, I remember all the things that make him right for me:

1. Family always comes first. Before anyone or anything else, me & our son are the most important things in his life - top of the list - family means everything to him.
2. He’s an excellent provider. Yes, he’s a workaholic. There are worse things. Like a husband who refuses to get off his ass and take care of his family. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s almost Memorial Day and you know what that means….no more hiding behind winter layers. Also I believe you can officially wear white shoes again. And the Sex & the City movie starts. Lastly, it is my 15th wedding anniversary, for which the traditional gift is crystal. I’ll expect Swarovski gifts from each of you.

But let’s get back to the immediate issue at hand and that is: SUMMER SKIN. It’s a little scary, I know, peeking out for the first time of the season. There’s so much to consider. So much preparation to undergo. So many appointments to make and products to buy. So let’s get right to it. Read the rest of this entry »

Laughter…they say it’s the best medicine. But when was the last time you laughed out loud?

Jon Stewart makes me laugh out loud. I think Craig Ferguson is the funniest thing in late-night TV. There’s always a few good lines on House that make me snicker. The “Diversity Training” episode of The Office was possibly one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen on television.

There’s a hilarious chapter called “The Wisdom Tooth” in Augusten Burroughs’ book Possible Side Effects where Burroughs and his partner go on vacation and stay at an inn owned by a doll collector. They find it creepy and make plans to take the pants off all the dolls during the night. Or pop their heads off and stick them on stakes lining the front walk.

McSweeney’s lists make me laugh. I especially liked Text Messages That Would Have Been Helpful:  ”hey just wnted 2 give the heads up, CC on way w 3 shps, want 2 colonize u. dont giv n unless u think casinos r gr8. txt me back”

Funny is David Sedaris, Juno, Jen Lancaster’s self-deprecating books.

What doesn’t make me laugh: bathroom humor, Adam Sandler, that Borat guy. I don’t get British humor. And I don’t think inappropriate automatically equals funny. Like South Park. Well except for that one episode where they lampoon Scientology and Tom Cruise. “Daaaad, Tom Cruise locked himself in my closet and he won’t come out.” “Mr. Cruise? Mr. Cruise? You need to come out of the closet.”

What’s the last thing that you read, saw or heard that made you laugh out loud?

I typically spend the first four or five months of a new year renting and watching Academy Award-nominated films. Maybe it’s where we live or maybe I’m just not quick enough on the draw, but I never manage to see many of them prior to the awards ceremony. This weekend I watched The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, based on the French memoir Le Scaphandre et le Papillon.

I pretty much decided that I needed to see this movie when Julian Schnabel beat out the Coen brothers, Ridley Scott and Tim Burton for the Best Director Golden Globe. When I started watching it, I thought first that it was really weird. But as the story unfolded and I realized what was going on, it started to seem pretty freaking amazing. Then it made my eyes hurt and I had to go take out my contacts. Read the rest of this entry »

A couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the Annual Tribute Luncheon of the Women’s Foundation of Greater Memphis. The keynote speaker was the beautiful and talented Gloria Reuben, she of classic “ER” fame. (And I just want to say, if the celebrities you meet aren’t SO much more beautiful in person than they are on TV, then you’re meeting the wrong celebs.)

She talked about her life and her career and how she found her way. It was very inspiring. Which I’m guessing is the objective of a keynote speaker. Luck favors the prepared, she said, and she talked about how she used prayer, visualization and journaling her soul’s desire. “Your soul’s purpose will find it’s way to you if you’re open and you listen and you take the call.” Today she asks herself, “Did I choose this? Or did it choose me?”

In my 20s, I gave little thought to the future or to my purpose in life. I enjoyed friends, griped about my job and just tried to get out of school so I could start my “real” life. In my 30s, I worked hard to get ahead in my career, started a family and began to accumulate material goods. Now in my 40s, I find myself changing jobs and questioning what it is I really want. And how to find it. And how DO you find it if you don’t know what it is? The Bible says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

What sort of tools do you use to chart your course?