Monthly Archives: February 2018

I am reposting this blog, with a few alterations, because it was just my special day!! I confess, I love my birthday. This is not news to my family who I suspect writes the day on their calendars in BOLD 72 font lest they forget to call me or Facebook post at 12:01 am and risk my wrath.  But you may not be aware of just how serious I am.  I begin the day earlier than usual, (why miss a minute), and answer every phone call like this:  ‘Hello it’s me and it’s my special day!!’ Most people are still speaking to me. You know the folks who make you promise not to have a cake and sing happy birthday to them?  What’s wrong with them???  I say, sing away, make a fuss, bring the pomp and the presents and oh yes, some jewelry never hurts.  It’s my special day after all! This year lived up to all my expectations in terms of the fuss and fanfare despite not having all the family I wanted with me and despite having to travel on the actual special day and despite not being surprised by the captain announcing it was my special day and [...]

In my new book, Cook Your Marriage Happy, the first title in my Cook Yourself Happy series, I talk a lot about cooking and other tangible therapies and how they can prompt self-reflection.  Growing up, meals were much more than food for the body, they were integral to identity and lifestyle; penciled into our family schedule in bold.  Lunch was discussed at breakfast, dinner discussed at lunch.  The itinerary for eating was revered and strictly adhered to and even late-night snacks took on the regularity of a 4th meal, ritualistic as worship, and as much about family time as food.  But despite that, it’s the thread of clothes and shopping that I remember most, the thread that helps me chart my childhood and is a window into the memory of how my mom and I bonded.  I suppose shopping, too, then, is experiential? We were not fashionistas, mom and I, and neither once of us could boast great style, but we’d perfected the before, during, and after gestalt of shopping; it was our thing.  Today it might be mother/daughter spa day or yoga and spin class; back then it was Bonwit Teller and B. Altman.  My mom exulted in designing me and [...]

I have always been good at multitasking.  I gave birth to my second child while watching The Preakness Stakes, deep breathing, going to my mentally happy place, and having a discussion with the doctor and my husband about global warming.  Well, I was yelling at them to shut up about global warming but I think that counts as participating, don’t you? By the way, if you don’t believe me, the winner that year was Tank’s Prospect, who won by a head.  There’s a birth joke in there somewhere but I’ll leave it to you.  I was actually rooting for Eternal Prince (I gave birth to a son) but the horse came in third.  My son would probably say that sounds about right.  What a whiner. See, I’m already multitasking having started a blog, a memory, and a guilt trip in one paragraph.  I take this seriously man.  I mean, I train.  In the service of expedience, I can mentally compose an email while physically doing the same with a marinade for pork chops (coffee and molasses, yum) and play HQ all at the same time.  (note:  I have only made it past Q 7; apparently, the Sous Therapist is not the Cerebral [...]