I think I am a borderline hoarder. I like to keep what I have acquired. If I remember who gave me an item, I have a hard time parting with it. It’s a curse of my sentimental heart. When I see an object that I purchased, I think and feel about the hours I have [...]

My pants are starting to fall off and people are beginning to notice. They are asking me what my secret is for losing weight. I usually say portion control, choosing highly nutritious foods and the simple equation of burning more calories than I consume. But I am not being completely honest. There is more to [...]

When I was a child, our family and neighbors went “visiting.” One family would go over to another farm family’s home. Sometimes a telephone call was made but other times a family would stop over unannounced. The adults would sit around the kitchen table drinking coffee and visit while the kids disappeared to play. When [...]

My husband is an early riser. Dan jumps out of bed before his alarm goes off and is ready to work at 5 a.m. Before he leaves the house he has a healthy breakfast and walks the dogs around the block. He packs low calorie healthy snacks to bring to work. But at work he [...]

As a child I remember summers riding my red, white and blue 1976 bicentennial bicycle with the banana seat and walking through the fields and pastures. In the winter my brothers and I would go sledding down the hill below the barn. One winter I went ice skating quite a bit wearing borrowed skates. As [...]

My daughter’s One Act Play made it to state so my husband and I made a short-planned dash to the cities to watch their final performance. Our goal was to leave Wednesday afternoon. While I was still tying up loose ends at work, Dan was packing fresh fruits, almonds, ready to eat fresh vegetables, cheese [...]

When my daughter was very young, I had conversations with her about not cutting her own hair as young girls often do. I would tell her, “leave it to the professionals.” I am not a very good cook probably because I haven’t practiced a whole lot. I don’t like to spend a lot of money [...]

The other night my husband let his Chihuahua out the front door to go do his business. All of a sudden Chico started barking and ran towards the corner of our lot. Dan looked out the door. Two women were walking by with a Great Pyrenees dog. Chico the Chihuahua ran right under the Great [...]

My daughter was in the WDC high school play “Wonderland” this fall. It was about Alice wanting to become a queen while in Wonderland. On Alice’s journey she comes across a sign which reads “You Choose — Your Choice.” The Madhatter explains the concept to Alice. Even if you choose not to choose, that is [...]

My mother tells that when I was a toddler, I had a rather bizarre appetite. I ate hand lotion, baby aspirin and drank kerosene. There was one time mom left me in the car while she ran into the grocery store. She had parked in front of the large store windows and was only gone [...]