It’s appropriate food for thought, today. There were years that I gave up chocolate for the 40 days of Lent. I even got my kids to do it with me a few times. After a few of those adventures, my family and co-workers (at several different companies over the decades), begged me to never give up [...]

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The popularity of “Once Upon A Time”– that ABC- TV show that illustrates fairy tales — sparked interest in the old fairy tales I read my kids, and the ones we saw on TV. Some of these tales are spookier than I expected, and they don’t all have happy endings. I prefer happy endings, so I [...]

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On the Feb. 17 episode of Shark Tank, Maddie Bradshaw, of Dallas, told the story of how she turned bottle caps into magnets,and then founded a necklace business, and wrote a book. Maddie was 10 when she started. Now at 16, with the support of her mom and younger sister,  Margot, 12, the family has a [...]

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Pigs have become most fashionable this year. Maxwell, the Geico pig has three commercials. Miss Piggy of The Muppets returned for a new movie and dozens of personal appearances (Moi?), Hamm reappeared in Toy Story 3 last year and Piglet never went out of style as Winnie the Pooh‘s sidekick. Pork is moving closer to home. I [...]

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My last baby turned 20 over the weekend. It ended all those years as the mom of a teenager — something I’ve done for 12 years. It hit me with memories day and night. For weeks, I had dreams that friends and even strangers had brought me kids to babysit. Some were infants and some [...]

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If you or your college kids are headed off for spring break, be safe and be smart. Here are some brief tips from Marcia Perot, chief safety officer at Streetsafe.com, and tips I learned from my kids, veteran spring breakers. Never let your guard down. Pay attention to your surroundings. Know the customs and laws of [...]

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If you waited until the last minute, it’s OK. Here’s what procrastinators can do: Contrary to popular belief, gift cards are acceptable. Just add a flower, a card and/or some candy, and you are done. Do it at lunch. A spa service, manicure, pedicure,  massage or facial will make your loved one smile. Or, try [...]

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On the most recent episode of Shark Tank, an entrepreneur was shopping for investors for her Puppy Cakes, a cake mix formulated specifically for dogs. No one bit on it, but my husband and I thought it was extremely clever. And at $6.99 for a peanut butter, carob or banana cake mix. Who wouldn’t bite [...]

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It’s Fashion Friday, and If you are unfamiliar with Jimmy Fallon’s “12 Days of Christmas Sweaters” on Saturday Night Live, here’s an SNL update — 20-somethings have been holding Ugly Sweater parties for years. So what is an ugly sweater, you ask? There is nothing ugly about them — they boast holiday fare. I have [...]

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When my kids were young, one of the annual Valentine’s Day school assignments was to craft a clever box that would hold valentines. My oldest took this challenge very seriously one year when he decorated a box and mounted it atop his remote control car. It entertained his classmates and the teacher. It also gave new [...]

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Sassy Peacock at 843 Pittsburgh Ave., in Erie, is one of those consignment stores with flair. Apparently, the editors at Woman’s Day Magazine agreed because they interviewed Sassy Peacock owner Sabrina Fischer for an article in the January issue on what to do with the clutter in your home. Two words — sell it! The [...]

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I watched just about every minute of the Super Bowl and what a game! The halftime show, featuring Madonna, was a big show, as Ed Sullivan would say. And it did not go off without controversy. Too bad, too. It was a good one. If you haven’t heard by now, M.I.A., a British singer, apparently [...]

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Check out Her Times in today’s Sunday Times-News. The theme is sparkle, and the great team of cheerleaders from CheerVibe showed us what fun it is to catch the spirit of competitive cheerleading. Read their story here. There’s much more sparkling this month. Jeans, food, drinks, makeup, hair, sparkling snow on cross country skis, CrossFit and [...]

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I blogged about Kaitlyn, 25, a week ago, but I’m doing it again because this young woman will change the world in her own way. Kaitlyn went on the Kathie Lee and Hoda segment of the Today show yesterday and confidently told the world about the misconceptions of epilepsy, something she has battled since she was [...]

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Teen lovebirds. On the plus side, it’s nice to see kids in loving relationships. In our family, with six kids, we’ve seen a lot of that. But those love stories don’t always play out to anything lasting, and the breakups are hard on everyone. Parents too. We’ve absolutely loved some of the boyfriends and girlfriends [...]

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If you fear hearing those words from your child’s teacher, rest easy. I’ve been there, and I’m writing this because it’s the time of year when parents start thinking about where their little ones will be attending school once they graduate from preschool. My advice: Don’t push them. There is no magic date or age [...]

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Today’s The Bird Feeder Wars article in Parade Magazine made me laugh out loud. I can identify with author Connie Schultz. We have a squirrel in our yard that’s as big as a dog, and our neighbor has tried to thwart its attempts to clean out her bird feeder. It is funny to watch. We [...]

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If you have kids looking at colleges, then you know the word FAFSA. It stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. If you want more information, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov. There are a lot of FAFSA sites, but don’t start filling in your information anywhere but http://www.fafsaonline.com/fafsa-form/. Other sites charge a fee and waste your time. And [...]

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Congratulations to:
Diane Wisinski, Mary Catherine Menosky and Meagan Bielanin, winners of tickets to Saturday’s Bayhawks game! Thanks for entering. For more free stuff from the Erie Times-News and Her Times, please check back on this blog and at…

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Marc Brown is in town, and I’m proud to say I lived right across the street from his former elementary school. My kids attended the same middle school that he did at Westlake,  and there were plenty of inspirations in those schools that appeared in his books. Lakewood Elementary, Brown’s grade school, was one of [...]

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Everyone knows we gals are shoppers, and now some research proves we do some good things with our bargain skills. LeaseTrader says more women ordered third-party vehicle inspections of vehicles before buying compared with men — something experts suggest everyone do before you make an emotional decision about a vehicle purchase. Women also ask more [...]

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Serena Williams, the last of 21 US women and men in the first major tennis tournament of the year, was dismantled by Russian Ekaterina Makarova, 6-2, 6-3 last  night and I watched every minute. It was painful to watch Williams, who has come back from innumerable injuries, including a blood clot, foot surgeries and countless [...]

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Would you like that cleaner shaken or stirred? Well, who knew that vodka could clean chrome plumbing, freshen clothes and more? I learned all about it on CBS’ morning show yesterday. Now, I know rubbing alcohol does the same thing, but with a somewhat nasty medicinal odor. No olives or lemon twist required for cleaning. And [...]

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This mirror and countless other items had lives as barrels and other useful items before they became artsy mirrors, tables and chairs. These things are available in Erie — read about it in House to Home here. You can find them in regional art galleries and some home fashion boutiques. There’s plenty to see out there. [...]

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I read recently that snakeskin shoes were out, and naturally I just bought a few pair of fake snakeskin last year. But snakes were in the news yesterday in regard to beauty treatments. If you missed the wacky report, I caught it on GMA, and you can see it right here. The newscast discussed a [...]

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It’s instantly available, and I love it. I still love Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons and Brickhouse coffee, but at home, it’s Keurig.  I read an article that analyzed the pricing on some popular coffee machines — read it here. It said that the Keurig can brew coffee for as little as 40 cents per cup. [...]

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“What’s the plan, MacGyver?” This is a line from one of Modern Family’s episodes where Jay’s family gets locked inside their gated property because the remote gate won’t open. Cam comes up with a plan to fix the gate, and Jay makes the reference to MacGyver, the 1980s and 1990s secret agent adventure series starring [...]

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A lot of people don’t like video games, but we played a lot of games that were both puzzles and business plans. One game that taught all my kids how to become entrepreneurs was called the RollerCoaster Tycoon series. It came out in 1999 about the same time as the Millennium Force at Cedar Point. My [...]

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It doesn’t happen very often, but when the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers meet on the field, fans in this house go wild. Earlier in 2011, my oldest vowed that his beloved 49ers would be playing my youngest’s fave team, the Packers, in a playoff game. It would avenge the 34-16 loss the [...]

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Welcome to real estate blanketed in snow. It’s kind of pretty, isn’t it? And you know if a house looks good in the snow, it looks great with green grass. Since we can’t do much to home exterior right now, this week’s House to Home offers some cool interior decorating ideas that add a splash [...]

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