When my older son was getting ready to go to college, I decided I needed a distraction for my 9 year old who would be left alone (suuuure it was for him wink-wink). My husband was dead-set against getting a pet because he knew he'd end up being the one to take care of it (he can't help but spoil - in a good way- anyone he loves). But it was 3 to 1, so I went with the kids to look at dogs in pet stores just so we knew what breed we wanted. It had ... Read the Post...
How Fast a Year Goes
One year. It’s been one year since my marriage took its final nosedive. I am reinventing Starting on Monday because it’s time to reinvent myself. It’s been a year and I’ve done nothing to better myself. Well, that’s not true. I ended a marriage after 29 years. I am 53 and have been with my husband since I was 19. We had our ups and downs, and he is a wonderful man. He is one of those rare people who is truly a GOOD person. But he is ... Read the Post...
New changes coming soon!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Stay tuned for some new changes! Follow my blog with Bloglovin ... Read the Post...
Can Someone Marie Kondo ME?
It's my first Monday post of 2019. Does that tell you anything? January was a DISASTER for me. But it's Monday, and it?s a day to start fresh. My goal for 2019 is to freshen up my house (as well as my body). After 23 years in this house, we have made very little changes over the years. Sure, we?ve replaced worn-out furniture, and I turned my dining room into an office of bookcases, but we have not done much else. My house was built in 1996. We ... Read the Post...
The Sandwich Generation – Guest Post by Chelly
Guest Post by Chelly Massey I am a part of the Sandwich Generation, and no that?s not because I started Keto and don?t eat bread. Although some days, I would cut off my left hand for a #11 no tomatoes from Jimmy John?s. No, I am a member of the ever-growing population known as ?The Sandwich Generation.? The phrase was coined back in 1981 by social worker Dorothy Miller, to describe those adults in their 30-40s who are caring for our aging ... Read the Post...
The Reality of Perimenopause
I talked about getting old last week. Now let?s talk about the hell that is menopause, or actually Perimenopause. Because of the autoimmune illnesses I have, I can?t take hormones. My husband has a fear of doctors and will never get snipped. I should have tied my tubes during my last c-section but never thought about it until the doctor put me on the spot in the middle of the operation. So we?ve been using condoms for years and taking our ... Read the Post...
Getting Old Sucks
The Side Effects No One Told Me This morning I was putting on my makeup about 45 minutes after I got up and noticed the sheet marks still creasing half of my face. A few years back, they would be gone after my first morning pee. Today they were still there when I left the house. Luckily my long hair covered most of it because I looked disfigured. As I am struggling to lose weight, I do worry about my skin not bouncing back. I have seen people ... Read the Post...
The Wake-Up Call I Needed
Exercise or Die? The big news story in the last two days is a new study that just came out. It is a very detailed and comprehensive study that proves that being sedentary is worse for your health than smoking, having high blood pressure or even diabetes. The study also proved that there is no such thing as too much exercise at any age. According to a CNN interview with Dr. Jaber, the head of the study, "comparing those with a sedentary ... Read the Post...
Trying to Trick Myself
Lying To Myself and Trying to Fool Myself I?m late to everything. It?s not disrespect, I just suck at time management. I?ll start getting ready 2 hours before I leave, then spend ? hour tweezing my eyebrows while reading a book because I think I have all the time in the world. So I lie to myself. I randomly put things in my calendar 15 minutes earlier than they are, then I never remember which I did it for, so I assume all of them, then I?m late ... Read the Post...
Caregiving, Cookies and Self-Care by MJ Santangelo
Caregiving, Cookies and Self-Care By MJ Santangelo I?m a wife, a mother of two, a caregiver for my mom and a struggling author. I love warm barely cooked chocolate chip cookies straight out of the oven. Oh, who am I kidding sometimes they don?t even make it to the oven! I don?t endorse eating raw cookie dough, you know because of salmonella blah, blah, blah. Anyway, seven years ago, due to some new diagnoses my mom?s health became too much for ... Read the Post...
Messy Bun, Yoga Pants and Working from Home
Guess what I?m wearing? The same thing I wear every day. Yoga pants. One of my 100 pairs of black yoga pants and one of my 100 v-neck black t-shirts. We had no plans this weekend, and I honestly don?t remember the last time I showered. Ummm, now might be that time.... BRB. Ok, it?s 3 hours later and I?am showered and dressed in a fresh pair of black yoga pants and a black t-shirt. Why does a shower turn into three hours? Well, shave everything ... Read the Post...
Confessions of a Night Owl
Confessions of a Night Owl One thing I always read is that morning people tend to be healthier and thinner. People who eat breakfast are usually thinner. People who get the right amount of sleep tend to be thinner. No wonder I?m fat! My bedtime is 4:00am. Last night I tried for 2 but it was 4:40 before I got in bed, then read till 5. When I was in college I scheduled later classes and often pulled all-nighters to study (still graduated at the ... Read the Post...
Proud Quitter – Guest post by Kari
Starting on Monday. What an ideal concept, right? Like Monday is the automatic reset button for everything and anything you've ever started or attempted to stop in your life. Diets. Quitting smoking. Exercising. Mending fences with someone. We've all said it but I wonder how many people have actually stuck to it. I can say that, for myself, I have failed miserably at most things I have said this about except quitting smoking. I loved ... Read the Post...
Plus Sized Women with Average Sized Men
I'm plus sized my husband is not. Last week a ?fitness trainer? wanna-be model wrote that he and his friends laugh at men who have partners that are bigger than them. This really hit home for me and hurt more than I wish it did. My husband is 150 pounds. I will never be 150 pounds again. Even when we met when I was a size 7, I was 144. I was also 19 and didn?t have 2 kids and a connective tissue disease. My husband, bless him, has ... Read the Post...
Fat Shamers Not Welcome Here
More Fat Shamers Show Their Colors If you didn?t hear all of the commotion yesterday, there was a little backlash to the Cosmopolitan UK cover with plus-sized supermodel Tess Holliday on the cover. Some fitness trainer/wannabe model suggested that people unfriend him if they find that attractive. The nasty responses from people who agreed with him were absolutely horrifying. Yes, Tess put herself out there knowing there would be backlash and ... Read the Post...
Confessions of a Weed Smoking Mom – Guest Post by Jen
I am Jen. I am a bestselling author. I smoke pot. I am the mini-van driving soccer mom with 4 kids and I do it on the reg. I would love to tell you I don?t do it when I?m responsible for other people?s kids, but I?d be lying. High is my normal. I have smoked pot since I was a teenager and now in my mid-40s, I still smoke. Daily. I am not a hippie. In fact, I am that normal suburban wife you see in your local Kroger. I?m room mom. I?m on the ... Read the Post...
“Such a Pretty Face” – Guest Post by Author Amy Queau
"Such a Pretty Face" - Guest Post by Author Amy Queau ?She has such a pretty face. She?d be gorgeous if she just lost some weight.? That was the first time a guy had ever given me a compliment. I heard it from his girlfriend, my friend, and I thought, ?Wow. I guess that?s the only way a man is going to love me. I?d better get started.? I was 12. My name is Amy. And what I can tell you now, at 41 years old, is that it doesn?t matter. It ... Read the Post...
May 2018 Update
It has been a crazy, busy few months. I plan a large 3 day book signing in April, and my focus was 100% on that for the month before, not really stopping to have time to cook. I did some drinking and a whole lot of pudding shots, and I am thrilled I didn't gain. I have completed 16 weeks and lost 21 pounds on Weight Watchers so far. And I'll be honest. Though I am going to meetings and watching what I eat, I have been slacking on my tracking (See ... Read the Post...
Start of March Check-In
I can't believe it's a new month. Here in Parkland we have been in sort of a numb bubble. My focus has been on making sure these kids are heard and represented correctly. I have also been educating myself more on our constitution, guns, politics, and the NRA. The helicopters are still overhead every day as local schools walk out and march toward ours. There are new stories and new insights unfolding hourly and I feel like I can't miss a thing. ... Read the Post...
Every Parent’s Nightmare -Terror in Parkland
**Note: While this blog has been kind of dormant on and off over the years, I thought this may be a good place to post this, especially with the title Starting on Monday--we can't put this off anymore, more of our children will die. This was MY TOWN. MY KIDS' SCHOOL. I SUBBED HERE. I can't keep quiet. Angry. I am so angry. I?m sad, I?m scared. I have been crying for 3 days straight. My oldest son (graduated) was editor of the Marjory Stoneman ... Read the Post...
