This time of year is so hectic it’s hard to find the time to read. I love nothing more than a heartwarming Christmas story to put me in the holiday spirit. Unfortunately, I usually don’t find the time until the … Read more...
Celebrating Family, Friends, Fun & All The Craziness
Wishing you and yours a wonderful celebration of family, friends, fun and all the craziness of the holiday season!
Merry Christmas
and
Happy New year!
… Read more...Ten Things I Don’t Want to Hear Two Days Before Christmas
Here is my Ten Things I Don’t Want to Hear Two Days Before Christmas list:
… Read more...
- I have a Christmas lunch at work/school/preschool tomorrow. What would you like to make?
- I need to start my Christmas shopping. Can you take me
Acting, Hacking and Hollywood
Talking with Jerry Doyle earlier in the week, what started as a tangent to a conversation on terrorism turned into a full blown interview about Hollywood’s underbelly. We discuss the dust-up caused by the Sony Hack and media release of … Read more...
Christmas Spirit, It’s Free
Christmas can be a tough time of year. I know this from experience. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with the demands on our time, bank accounts, sanity. For many years, I have struggled to hold onto any kind of genuine … Read more...
The Terror in the Torture Report
It was several years after 9/11 before I had occasion to once again board a plane. Arriving at airport security, the sight of everyone in line, by rote, yanking off their belts and shoes shocked me enough that tears rolled … Read more...
Book: HOUSE BROKEN by Sonja Yoerg
"introspective character-driven women's fiction with smart writing"
I first discovered Sonja Yoerg when her nonfiction book about animal intelligence, CLEVER AS A FOX, popped up on Goodreads (“How interesting!” said the animal lover in me). I was fascinated by … Read more...
Will We Ever Bring An End To Domestic Violence?
When Football executive and former NFL player Troy Vincent appeared before a Senate committee examining the NFL’s handling of domestic violence and sexual assault, he became the unexpected face of domestic abuse, if only for a moment. While looking to … Read more...
Book: THE SON by Philipp Meyer
” an incredible historical fiction … a full-belly satisfying feast”
A sprawling family saga spanning the 1840s to 2012, The Son is an incredible historical fiction account ranging from the Comanche raids of the nineteenth century in Texas to the … Read more...
Words: “…The Gulf Between Practice and Profession …”
“One of the great tragedies of life
is that men seldom bridge the gulf
between practice and profession,
between doing and saying.
A persistent schizophrenia
leaves so many of us
tragically divided against ourselves.
On the one hand,
we proudly … Read more... 
Desert Diversity, Saguaro Style
Those of us who feasted on a diet of Looney Tunes and Doritos each Saturday morning as children probably grew up thinking that those funny desert plants zipping past the roadrunner and coyote were all pretty much the same: deep … Read more...
What if Fresh Produce Had A Mascot?
When we think of fresh fruits and vegetables, we immediately think “healthy.” And not about actually feeling better. We think more about all the work — storing, cleaning, chopping, slicing, cooking that it takes to prepare them, and less about … Read more...
Featured Book: MIXED FEELINGS by Olivia R. Burton
I read a lot of galleys. A lot of them. My dream is to discover the next big thing before they’re actually, you know, the next big thing. Everybody loves to have a good “I knew them when” story. Sometimes … Read more...
Lost In Translation Of GoldieBlox’s Ad
GoldieBlox released a video ad introducing their new action figure for girls (video below). I was thrilled to read in the press release of their intention to “show girls more options and lead them to a world full of possibilities.” … Read more...
Do You Have A Growth Mindset?
What’s your mindset? Research shows that people with a “ growth mindset ” are more likely to focus on taking small steps to reach goals, experimenting along the way, while people with a “fixed mindset” tend to believe that talent … Read more...
Words: “…An Exquisite Balance…”
Carl Sagan on how to ” distinguish the useful ideas ”
… Read more...“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs:
the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us
Does Hollywood Reflect Our Struggle With Aging?
I recently asked if we are now a Botox Nation, preferring Barbie and Ken’s wrinkle-free faces, boobs of steel that say Hi! to the ceiling and six pack abs to a less glamorous reality. It was both surprising and … Read more...
Nectar Thieves In The Night
The first few times it happened in 2008, it was a mystery. We’d awake to the hummingbird feeder completely drained each morning, nectar splashed against the window.
So we set up our Cudde camera. And what we suspected was true:… Read more...
Silence Equals A “Yes” Vote
The midterm elections are upon us and famously have lower turnouts, but it’s more important than ever to vote. Midterms may not be as sexy. But they matter. If you get even one person into office who’s better than the … Read more...
Be Happier, Eat 5 Fruits and 5 Veggies Daily
We’ve long been told “we are what we eat” and we need to “eat well to be well” in our physical health. Fruits and vegetables have long been known to promote longevity and decrease risks of chronic diseases such as … Read more...
Who Doesn’t Love The Fair?
I don’t. There. I said it. I don’t like the state fair.
When the family packed up to make our annual trek, I tried hiding under the couch but someone spotted me. I tried to beg off for financial reasons. … Read more...
Komen Pink Camouflaging “Bit For The Cure”
One in eight women will develop or die from breast cancer. Having a mission statement to end breast cancer is noble in words. How an organization goes about achieving that mission shows whether it is noble in deed.
Susan G. … Read more...
Freezing Eggs, A Perk For Female Employees?
When I read the headline that Apple and Facebook are now offering to freeze female employees’ eggs as a perk of employment, I thought I had entered the Twilight Zone!
Is that taking progress a bit too far? Is this … Read more...
Success In An Elusive F2 at The Knoxville Zoo
Once upon a time, an interesting species of turtle became extinct. Last seen in 1908, the Arakan Forest Turtle, Heosemys depressa, disappeared and was never seen again. (This seems like a sad story, but stick with me.)
About 100 … Read more...
Who Would Maya be Now?
Today, sitting outside at a cafe on Grand Avenue, I met a two-month old baby, Stella, her mother, and her grandmother. We chatted under the shade of a tree, while Stella followed her grandmother’s words with her blue gray eyes, … Read more...