My son got his first report card on Friday, and it really dawned on me that his first school year is almost over. Life is flying by.  Let’s face it: January flew by.  In the blink of an eye, we went from singing “Jingle Bells” to buying Valentines.  Well, in my house, we’re still singing “Jingle Bells” because it’s Baby Diva’s favorite song, currently.  That and “Happy Birthday!”...

I am so excited to be co-hosting with Daphne from Flip Flops and Pearls today for the recipe linkup, “Let’s Eat Y’all.” My recipe is just Southern, down-home goodness in every bite. It’s certainly not low-calorie, but I give you permission to eat it guilt-free, at least now and then. When I met my husband, I was 31 and had just moved to Raleigh.  He was my neighbor.  He lived...

I am very loyal to my TV shows.  Golden Globe winner “Modern Family” is the first show I watch off my DVR each week.  If you don’t have a DVR, it comes on live on ABC every Wednesday at 9 p.m.  Not too late in the evening, but not too early, either. Last week, the sitcom dropped a bomb, so to speak, that stirred up a lot of controversy.  Lily, the 2-year-old daughter of gay parents...

I know. I know. I spend a lot more time than the average person looking at hotels before I plan a vacation, but there is one website that I think every person should at least glance at before booking their next destination. It’s Tripadvisor. I don’t need to explain the website. It’s been around for years. Most of you have seen it. Travelers post honest reviews about the hotels they stayed in...

Clutter is a dirty word in our house, but yet it intrudes in our home like it is a welcomed guest.  We have it everywhere, especially in the kitchen. My husband would be a minimalist if he could, but two small children and an unorganized wife have kept him from his dreams. I plop the mail and magazines on the counter island.  Kindergarten newsletters and preschool art comes in at a rapid...

Leisurely Saturday mornings are a thing of the past in our house this winter. I guess you could say, for us, we’ve hit a new phase of parenting. Many parents have gone down this road with their children well before the age of 6, but we decided to wait until our son expressed an interest to play ball before joining any sports leagues that involved, you know, a weekend commitment. Sure, he took...

Wonder what walking the Hollywood red carpet is like? Image courtesy of People.com I bet all of George Clooney's ex-girlfriends miss these public moments that they'll never be able to attend again. There are so many people on the carpet when you see it on television.  It looks a little chaotic. Image Courtesy of People.com As Hollywood Royalty mingled on the red carpet at the 69th...

When I was in the news business, I was always a thorn in my news director's side.  He was a hard news junkie, and I loved "feel-good"  features with a capital F. I loved the creativity of features, the thrill of meeting new people when they were actually happy to see the news truck coming, and the fact that I was covering a story for the news that was not controversial or negative in nature....

What is it with people that once they find out you have a 2-year-old, then it is only a matter of time before they ask, “Is she using the potty?” If you say no, then they look at you as if you aren’t doing your job. If it is a grandmotherly-type woman, she’ll sigh, “Well, in the ’60s, my daughter was trained at 12 months.  She was using the potty way before the age of 2.  People just wait...

I’ve known it all along, but now the whole world knows it. Last fall, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked Raleigh, North Carolina, as the best place to live in the U.S. Raleigh, NC was ranked best city in America to live by Bloomberg Businessweek You can learn about how they came up with their criteria for best city here.  I won’t bore you with the details, but I will add that North Carolina...