2016 will be my year of enlightenment, since 2015 brutally kicked my ass. After our home flooded in December 2014, we went from living in a 2-bedroom, 2-bath flat to a 1-bedroom, 1-bath. We gave Franco the usable bedroom, while…
What I Celebrated on Christmas
I went to church by myself, because Franco is too much of a toddler to sit still and besides it was his bedtime. Dean watched him while I googled the closest Catholic church in Scottsdale, arriving 15 minutes before the…
6 Things I Learned from the Miss Universe Pageant
Embed from Getty Images 1. People make mistakes. The host Steve Harvey mistakenly announced the wrong winner. He owned up to it, took responsibility, and apologized a gazillion times. What else do people want him to do? Jump off a…
9 Finance Tasks to Complete Before the End of the Year
1. Give to your favorite charity/charities. Not only is this the season of giving, but giving is proven to be beneficial to your well-being. Further, charitable donations reduce your taxable income. You can also donate household items to Goodwill or…
Present Imperfect
You know what I want to give every single person for Christmas this year? Marie Kondo’s book on not buying more shit! We are a society obsessed with goods! I don’t want more shit. I don’t need more shit. Please…
Holiday Photography Session
Sending out holiday cards is so stressful. Way too many decisions to make: photographer, pictures, card vendor, then going through the process of making sure you’ve got correct addresses. Since we are all online anyway, why can’t holiday cards simply…
Tiger Parenting and Achievement in America
I finished listening to Amy Chua narrate her own book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and really enjoyed it. The book came out in 2011 and ignited a controversial debate on parenting in the U.S. First, you can’t argue…
A Glimpse of Life in List Form
How are you doing? Staying warm? I mentioned that my good friend GR passed away suddenly several months back. His mom posted on Facebook that she woke up on Thanksgiving thinking she had nothing to be grateful for, then realized…
Change for Refugees
I continue to be haunted by this photo of 3-year-old Aylan, who drowned trying to escape war in Syria. My son sleeps in his own bedroom in a Victorian home in a quiet, safe suburb of San Francisco. What would I…
Dear Bloggers, Your Readers are Counting on You
View image | gettyimages.com If we were embroiled in World War III right now, you wouldn’t know it from 95% of lifestyle blogs which makes me sad. Personally I do not understand it. That’s like saying, let’s pretend slavery or…