Pink Christmas Tree!
Okay, the tree isn't pink, but every single ornament is. Pink is my favorite color and now that I live on my own again, I can do anything I want with my apartment. This photo shows enough of the room so that you can see that this tree isn't big. I wanted a tree that I...
Christmas: Don’t Grow Up
Many people who celebrate Christmas see it as a time of great expense, thankless effort and having to get along with people they can't stand. It's a time of ill-fated expectations, endless holiday tasks and extra responsibilities. People who experience the holiday...
How to Avoid Family for the Holidays (without Lying)
This is a revision of a piece I first posted in December 2011. Family gatherings are fun, pleasant and filled with love and respect, especially during the holidays. I offer the following suggestions merely as a public service for that small, practically non-existent,...
Horror Movies with Christmas in Them
Do you love horror movies? Are you looking for a good cinematic scare while also getting into the mainstream American spirit of this season? I've been absolutely binge-ing on horror movies over the Thanksgiving weekend, so here's some guidance. Many horror...
I Hate Myself No More
A month ago, I began reading Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One. It explains how our thoughts and feelings affect our physical and material state. He basically says that with focus and meditation you can...
I Prefer Physical to Emotional Pain
I had my usual dental checkup last week and my dentist told me to see a periodontist. I've had no pain, sensitivity to hot or cold or discomfort in my teeth whatsoever, but he said my gums looked dangerously receded, so I made the appointment. The periodontist...
IMPACT Self-Defense for Women
You can take the IMPACT Core Program in a weekend. This past weekend I spent Friday night, all day Saturday and all day Sunday attending a weekend workshop on how to defend myself against an assailant, even though I don't live in a lot of fear about that. I've been...
MOST COMMON NAMES IN THE UNITED STATES
This is why divorce won't lead me back to my spinster name: "REGINA MARIA RODRíGUEZ:" This graphic is from Slate's article Why Aren't There More John Smiths in the U.S? Do you see that name that's sixth from the top, "Maria Rodriguez?" Two thirds of my given name is...
I’m perimenopausal
And now a word about menopause. According to Christiane Northrup's The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health During the Change, women with emotional issues they haven't faced yet often have more uncomfortable physical symptoms during menopause....
The cycle of Halloween candy
Happy Day of the Dead! It's November and I love November because it's the last month before my absolute favorite month: December. Over the next week Halloween candy will flood into workplaces all over the United States. This is the cycle: grown ups buy candy, give it...
I’M ON iTUNES
This is my CD cover (the photo was taken in 2005 at age 39. I'm 47 now). My first and final album is up on iTunes right now! I can't tell you how excited I am. You can buy the whole thing or individual songs, but I encourage you to go to CD Baby.com to actually...
Happy Halloween!
I love black frosting. I haven't posted a cake in a while. This cake is from my favorite bakery Central Continental Bakery in Mt. Prospect, Illinois, USA. They don't have the most sophisticated website, but they have the best buttercream frosting (vanilla and...