Last year, for Mother's Day, this mom's choice was to take advantage of "MY DAY" and force my husband and children to sit through one of my favorite movies of all time:  Gone With the Wind. It went over like a lead balloon.  This weekend, I am hopeful to see a film we truly all enjoy. As a mom and movie buff, I recently felt it my social and cinematic responsibility to see the documentary movie "Bully," currently in theaters. My original plan was to definitely take my kids with me to see it.  The controversy regarding the rating from the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), however, …

I had a great visit with my one and only sister last week, who came down over her Spring Break vacation from teaching. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed the usual sister silliness that is bound to occur. When she visits, we go on excursions. Sometimes we visit favorite places, sometimes we try something new. Last summer we went on the Anheuser-Busch brewery tour. This time we visited the City Museum. This visit, I had a small bone to pick with my sister. Last month, we went on a family vacation together. We met up in sunny Florida for a long weekend in the middle of February. At one point …

I grew up loving the smell of fresh-brewed coffee every morning. One parent was a coffee-lover, one parent wouldn't touch the stuff. My household now is the same way. I love it, my husband will proudly say he has never let it touch his lips.  (I have no idea why he is proud of this, but he is.)  Occasionally he will burst into a song from his childhood piano lessons, "C - O - F - F - E - E;  Coffee is NOT for me..." I remember when I started drinking coffee somewhat regularly. I was in college. (No, not for late-night studying...those nights were why Mountain Dew was invented; the soda with …

I am excited to report that for the first time this past weekend, I took the Amtrak train. About two weeks before, I had decided to visit an old college friend for her upcoming birthday, in my favorite big city, Chicago. Having driven to and from Chicago many times over the years, and many times by myself, I decided to forego the boring, flat drive up Interstate 55 and check into the Amtrak. I was very surprised to find the pricing so extremely reasonable. My total ticket price, round trip, was about $100. That's about what I would spend in gas if I were to drive. Taking off from our …

The 84th Academy Awards, aka the Oscars, were held last night as the sun was setting over beautiful Hollywood, CA. I love every minute of the festivities. My dad and I used to love watching the awards ceremony together. I viewed some of the coverage today and did see some negative things about last night's event...it's too old-fashioned, the show did not use new technology enough, the opening comedic montage of host Billy Crystal inserted into some of the films was archaic and not funny. I disagree. The Oscars (or just about any awards show) is a traditional event. Especially one that is 84 …