Dear Americans, Please don’t shop on Thanksgiving Day. It only encourages big corporations to make their employees miserable on the one day every American should be able to relax. There's a nasty trend of stores beginning their Black Friday sales on the evening...
My 46th birthday was in July, but I'm feeling like it's time to start calling myself 47. Why not? It's only nine months away. In the meantime: my Christmas application tells me there are 76 days until Christmas! October through December is my favorite time of the year.
Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the Midwest who uses the words "woman" and "women" instead of "lady" and "ladies." Am I the only one who learned during the 1980s that "lady" is euphemistic and sexist? Historically, the terms "lady" and "gentleman"...
I recently gave a speech in my Toastmasters club that had the same title as this post. I based it on a post I published eight years ago on this blog. I reprint the text of that June 20, 2004 post here because it's an important message (the text is slightly edited and...
On July 24th I’ll be 46 years old. I’m excited about it because I still see my birthday similarly to how a small child sees her birthday: another year older and closer to being a grown up and people taking me seriously and stuff. I can’t wait til my 50th birthday when...
I've just about had it with wearing a bra. Years ago I posted that I was going to stop wearing them, but that only lasted a few months (back then my restaurant uniform included a full apron that allowed me to go bra-less without anyone noticing at all). In the past...
Get ready for International No Diet Day on Sunday the 6th! How about it? You might wonder if a day of eating everything in sight really better than watching what you eat. I think the day isn't about going off your diet, but about trusting yourself to eat in...
This Thursday on the United States' National Day of Prayer, nontheists will have a National Day of Reason and recently Washington D.C. saw the Rally of Reason. Coming out as an atheist is becoming one of the bravest moves an American can make, especially if she's a...
As my fixation on nutrition continues, I'm becoming more irritated by people talking about moderation. I might say that wheat gives me a stomach ache or that starches cause weight gain or that natural animal fats are actually good for us, and someone will respond with...
(A fictional story, although stuff like this happens all the time.) Bob the restaurant manager checked the weather one more time. It was 8:00 a.m. and while Chicago was tricky, he tried his best to predict the temperatures each day. "Warm and sunny. Great!" Bob said...
When we first got our dog from the shelter last fall, we took him to the veterinarian. Among other things, I asked if a lean, short-haired dog like Ozzie would need protection from the weather. Should we get him a coat or some shoes? She said no. Dogs don't need...
Christmas Eve: Bob worked. I had dinner in Niles at the Omega Restaurant with friends. When I got home, Bob called and said that in the course of his job (in the restaurant industry) he'd been forced into a physical confrontation. Sadly as a result, Bob was in the...
I just learned that the fence that separates Mexico from the U.S. doesn't actually run along the Mexico-U.S. border. According to a post on The Lookout, a news blog, the Rio Grande forms the natural boundary between the two countries, but because of a treaty with...
Okay, it's not my perfect Christmas, since I won't spend it with my husband, but it's the next best thing.Bob's working Christmas Day because his restaurant is open every day of the year. I spent Easter and Thanksgiving volunteering with Little Brothers Friends of the...