I’ve Got a Crush on Simon Cowell

As some of you may know, I’m a fan of American Idol. As others of you may know, I once got to kiss Paula Abdul.

But Simon is the one who thrills me.

He’s an acquired taste—bitter at first, with a hint of spicy heat as an aftertaste. In the beginning I didn’t care for him. I thought he was too mean, too harsh—I even thought he might be there just to make “good reality TV.” But then I started to notice something. It… more

Tags: American Idol, television

10 Easy Ways to Talk with Your Daughter about Sex

I have three girls—one who is grown, one who is just going through puberty, and one who is almost 3—and I am a firm believer in talking about sex. My husband and I both came from families where that didn’t happen well…OK, at all. And we were left to our own devices, which is NEVER a good thing when you are a kid. I never want my girls to feel as ignorant and underprepared as I was. Because whether we like it or not, our daughters turn into young women with sexual feelings, and… more

Tags: Kids, parenting, sex, Top 10 List

Why I Do It

By the time you read this, they will be on their way home: 8 in-laws for the weekend, dinner for 12 on Friday night, lunch for 18 on Saturday, and Easter lunch for 26 on Sunday.

It all takes weeks of preparation, none of which my husband quite understands. Massive lists and multiple trips to different food stores. Beds get miraculously made up, towels and soaps get distributed, and dozens of rolls of toilet paper get put into place.

This is the 12th or so time I’ve hosted everyone…. more

Tags: easter, Food and Recipes, Home, Kids, Other

It’s Candy Time!

I try to be healthy and good and stay away from sugar. (My grandfather once wrote a book called Sugar and the Criminal Mind!) But with candy-crazy kids and a husband who only enjoys reading books about candy, it’s dang hard. Plus, we seem to live in Candy Central. We are a gumdrop away from Hershey, Pennsylvania. But our true claim to fame is that we live in the home of the Peeps—those fluffy little marshmallow birds and bunnies coated with colored sugar. And since Easter is this… more

Murder, Mayhem, and Misery…for Pleasure?

I have officially entered the realm of old-fogy-dom, since I am about to complain about what’s on TV.

Last week 13 people were murdered in Binghamton, NY, a town I drive through regularly on my way to my in-laws’ house. It seems that every day we hear that children have suffered abuse, and families have been decimated by murder-suicides. We hear about strangers around the world being brutally killed in schools, day care centers, and hotels. The latest shocker is that criminals in China… more