Skip links

Pineapples & Pilates

And sometimes petit fours. But NEVER peanuts.

Main navigation

Back to School Pep Talk – 5 Tips for a MORE Relaxing and Rewarding Year

By

It's that time of year again . . . . Colorful Crayola displays are popping up all over the stores, Pottery Barn catalogs arrive in triplicate seemingly every day and every morning news show is featuring spots on the latest and greatest back to school tech as well as tips to rock the new school year. We can no longer deny that we are officially in Back to School season. In fact, our school district starts on Tuesday, August 20th. In addition to the ubiquitous School Supply lists and unapologetic push for more consumerism - new shoes, new clothes, new backpacks and lunchboxes and hundreds of dollars worth of supplies, another thing that is commonplace this time of year is a book bag full of mixed emotions. I have been going "back to school" for longer than I can remember. First as a student, through twenty-two years of formal education, then as a teacher (18 years, I think), and also as a mom (this is my 14th year of back to school as mom - many of those years overlap with my ...

Read More

Eggplant & Avocado Salad

By

The last few days have been crazy around here. Good crazy - but crazy nonetheless. I accepted a new, temporary, position the starts pretty much immediately and I'll share more about that next week. (I know - there have been a lot of secrets here lately, but I promise I'll provide more information soon). My son's band, Longview, went "on the road" for the first time and played at a block party in New Jersey. It was tons of fun and they experienced their first "groupie". We enjoyed a great weekend with family and even snuck in a visit to the Jersey shore - one of my favorite places on earth. I know that may sound crazy, but growing up in N.J. I spent countless summer days enjoying the beach and boardwalk. Life inland just isn't the same and I always feel a little disappointed if I don't make it to the beach at least once each summer. This trip we visited Asbury Park, which is a really cool rock and roll town with an artsy vibe. It makes me so happy to just see the ocean, ...

Read More

License to Thrive: Embracing and Encouraging Independence

By

Hyundai Sante Fe steering wheel

This has been a momentous summer in our home. My oldest son got his drivers’ license. And, thanks to the amazing generosity of his grandparents, he also got his first car - a nicely-loaded 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe. (Which, for the record is much nicer than my first car). In case you don’t yet have a teenage driver, I’ll summarize the life-changing equation for you: License + car = freedom. Once your child has that official piece of paper and a reliable set of wheels to get them places they are pretty much always on the go. One of the most common questions I field these days is how I feel about this new chapter in our lives - as if it even matters; as if I have a say. I always knew this day would come.  Kids grow up - it's their job. And it's our job, as parents, to make sure that over the few and fleeting years we are gifted to guide and nurture them they learn to become a little bit more independent and need us a little bit less each day. Don't get me wrong, just because I ...

Read More

Favorites