it isn't as bad as you think

I'm an optimist. And a worrier. Which means I'm always positive that something is going to go wrong. 

I'm trying to change. Honest, I am. Because there is no point to worrying. It's a killer.

Even our mixed-up culture is trying to drive that point home with all those "Keep Calm" signs. My favorite one ties in Douglas Adams' motto "Don't Panic" from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 

In the movie, one sure way to keep from panicking is to always remember your towel. Because everyone knows towels do come in handy.  

school for strays

One of the most amazing joys of being a parent has to be the conversations you get to have with your kids. 

You never know what they're going to come up with next. A lot of times it's just silly - fart sounds, milk snorting, knock-knock jokes and gibberish. 

But sometimes they say things that give you a glimpse of what's going on in their heads. And in the world. 

this IS 50

I turned 50 a few weeks ago. And boy, do I feel better!

Seriously, I do. I have always love love loved my birthdays. I prefer for them to last somewhere between a week and a month. I am not normally high maintenance, but I expect the entire world to notice when it is my birthday. 

I couldn't wait to turn 30. I relished turning 40. But this year was different. There was something about 50 that scared me. 

"leaving the shallows" available on amazon kindle

As some of you know, I am in the process of publishing my first book. While I am working on a novel, this first book is a collection of articles I previously published on my skirt! national blog.

Now that that forum is closed (as of November 2013 - why anyone would give up millions of hits on free content I'll never know!), I have been encouraged by several people to publish a collection of my writings. 

I was further spurred on during a writer's teleconference where the leader inspired us - in the words of Nike - to just do it.

this is NOT 40

Have you seen the movie "This is 40"?

If you haven't, good for you. If you have, please let me know. When I figure out how to get that 134 minutes of my life back, I'll let you know so you can apply, too.

I watched it because I was on the cusp of turning 50. I was curious what Hollywood (via Judd Apatow) had to say about what it was like to turn 40.

Turns out, not much.

things I take for granted: a review of "Gimme Shelter"

Every living being has certain basic needs for survival. Food. Water.  Air. Warmth. Shelter. Take away even one of these basic things and a living organism won't survive for long. 

Many of us - I dare say anyone reading this post - can go through our entire lives without ever worrying about any of these things. We take them for granted.  Because we don't have to worry about the basics, we are free to pursue other things like education, wealth, entertainment, passion, fulfillment, etc. 

In the movie "Gimme Shelter," Agnes "Apple" Bailey (Vanessa Hudgens) has the barest minimum of her basic needs. Taken away as a child from her drug-addicted mother (Rosario Dawson), Apple has spent most of her childhood in the system, being shuffled between mental institutions and multiple foster shelters, even enduring sexual abuse from the ones entrusted with her care.