I launched my blog in 2009 when I was wrestling with a midlife crisis. Since then, the digital world has changed so much. I was new to both Facebook and Twitter when I started blogging, and I was still rocking the BlackBerry for email. Instagram hadn’t launched yet. Podcasting and short videos are what the cool kids do these days, blogging is considered old fashioned. But I still find it the best way to share my thoughts and to profile people who inspire me.
I hope you’ll find something here that inspires you, or at least sparks a conversation. Some of my favorite posts are pinned to the top, scroll down a bit more to find the most recent, or check out the categories in the sidebar.
Today’s Month of Thanksgiving post is the winner of the “Who are you grateful for?” contest. It was difficult choosing just one winner, but here are some reasons I chose Margaret Yang‘s ode to her daughter’s bus driver: Many people wrote about their family, and I’m delighted to see so many people holding up the love of their parents, siblings,…
When I was a kid, Saturday mornings meant cartoons and cartoons meant Bugs Bunny. Looney Tunes anchored Saturday viewing, with a whole wonderful cast of characters including Daffy Duck, Roadrunner, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian … but the star was Bugs. Bugs taught me about pop culture, including gangster movies and hillbilly music, and of course, about opera. It was…
As part of the Month of Thanksgiving, I’m running two — TWO! — contests: what are you grateful for? who are you grateful for? Readers have submitted some excellent entries already but I’m greedy. I want more more more! The deadline is Saturday, so take a few minutes to share who or what makes your life better by going to…
I have a couple of trips planned for the rest of the year that involve air travel. I don’t mean to sound all Beverly Hillbillies marveling over the cement pond, but it’s pretty miraculous that I’m going to wake up in the cool November autumn of New York and by that very afternoon, I will be dangling my toes in…
When I pull out my iPad in public, it’s interesting how consistently I get the question, “Do you love it?”
Not “Does it live up to the hype?” or “Do you like it?” Almost without exception, “Do you love it?”
And without hesitation, my answer is yes.
Yesterday I asked you to tell me what you’re grateful for — you could win PRIZES! To get you thinking, here’s a sampling of some posts I’ve written in the past about things I’m grateful for: kitchen gadgets including our mandoline, automatic coffee maker and the SodaStream seltzer maker farmers markets New Orleans Jazz Fest And if you’d like a…
A week ago, I asked who you’re grateful for and some of the great responses that came in ranged from “my husband” to “my daughter’s bus driver.” There’s still time to enter that contest – and now let’s add another to the mix. Besides the people you’re grateful for, what inanimate objects are you grateful for? What things…
John has an art show tonight in Brooklyn and I will beam like the proud wife I am seeing his paintings showcased by ContaminateNYC. But one of the things I love about New York is that even when you aren’t at a gallery, museum or other designated art event, you’re surrounded by art. Last Friday we were headed to an…
Typically I love summer. I love going to the beach and eating at outdoor cafes and wearing little sundresses. This summer was rough on me, though. It was so stinkin’ hot for so long that I felt like I was melting. But even if this summer hadn’t served up week after week of sweltering heat, there’s something cozy about fall’s…
In New York, it’s not uncommon to meet people who don’t cook. At all. They proudly talk about using their fridge only for beverages and maybe leftovers, and keeping shoes or sweaters in their ovens. I’m thankful not to be among them. As much as I do love going out for a good meal, I take serious pleasure in the…
A guest post from the ever-fabulous Lara Zielin: I probably spend too much time online and, if my increasingly strobe-light-like brain is any indication, it might not be doing me as much good as I think. But I will say one thing about the experience: being online, and utilizing social media tools in particular, has connected me to some…
In the first week of Month of Thanksgiving, I’ve expressed gratitude for things including democracy, traditional jazz and New York City. I also gave thanks for my trainer, and there are plenty more people in my life who make me grateful.* Who are you grateful for? And why? Maybe you thought of your spouse, or your best friend, or the…
Back in my college newspaper days, one of the big editors sat me down for a talking to because as a junior editor, I was laughing on the job. Being a cocky 19 year old, I responded that I was sorry she didn’t like her job but I liked mine and as long as I was getting the work done,…
I’ve written quite a bit about how grateful I am for my fabulous piano teacher, but today I need to give a little equal time to my personal trainer, Cory. It’s a little confusing why I’m paying someone to torture me – after our first session, I literally could not walk down stairs without a sad, painful little…
Preservation Hall Jazz Band plays New York tonight and I’m such a geeky fan girl that I’m going even though I think I’ve seen them five times already this year. Traditional jazz is my soul music. It never fails to make me happy. Whether I am covered in mud on a rainy day at New Orleans Jazz Fest or packed…
I’m no Pollyanna about our political system. From negative campaign ads to the influence of money, I get that American democracy suffers numerous problems. AP’s Liz Sidoti wrote of Washington, D.C. recently: This is still a city of red-hot polarization, gridlock the norm, with partisan rancor from the Capitol to the White House. Neither party is giving the country what…
This post continues an occasional series on writers — how and why they write, what inspires them and how they overcome challenges like writer’s block and rejection. Previously we’ve heard from Jim Ottaviani, Lara Zielin, Bruce DeSilva and Jennifer Worick. Today’s Q&A features a baker’s dozen questions with Jim Tobin, a newspaper reporter turned author and college professor. From the…
A guest post by Christine Kane: Let’s say you had a baby. Congratulations! Your baby is the best human ever! You love your baby. You celebrate as it starts to crawl. You and your partner delight in this baby’s every new adventure. Then, one day, the baby stands up on her own. “Yaaaaay!” you cheer. You clap your hands. The…
