Babysitting was one thing I succeeded at in high school. I was in demand in my neighborhood because of my little bag. Not to toot my own horn, but I was kind of the freakin’ Mary Poppins of Arlington Heights with this bag. It was my little craft bag and it… Read full post »

Well, I’ve been away from my blog for awhile now on a fantastical voyage of self-discovery to lands far-flung.

No.

No. I haven’t actually. I’ve been stewing in self-pity and body odor and I haven’t left the house in weeks because I now telecommute.… Read full post »

Ada Calhoun has a very interesting piece on the battle over “crying it out.” This is something that very directly impacts my life as a mother of two toddlers. There are few things that can screw up your life more than not getting the sleep you need. There’s a reason sleep… Read full post »

I admit it. I’ll pick up a book based solely on the title and this one caught my eye: You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up. It made me giggle and I had just finished a rather bitter fight with my husband and wanted some company in feeling miserable and self-righteous… Read full post »

I was the world’s most ass-backward teenager for lots of reasons, but this probably was reason #1. Imagine this argument going on at your own house with your own teen:

“Why do I have to take driver’s ed?! I don’t even want to drive. I don’t want to… Read full post »

If you’re not familiar with This Is Why You’re Fat, you should be. They do God’s work over there making us aware of the latest in digestive-tract-stopping-heart-clogging-chest-grabbing-gasping-for-air deliciousness. I propose, however, that some of us persist in stubborn fatness bec… Read full post »

My twenty-one-month-old has a weight problem. I have a weight problem. Our individual weight problems are affecting each other and (possibly) making each other worse. I am overweight. My daughter is off the charts underweight. Yeah, so much for fat being contagious. I wish it were in this case. Maybe… Read full post »

Gung Hey Fat Choy! Chinese New Year was technically February 14, but we celebrate all week long. My last new year's dinner will be Saturday in Chinatown. Here's some pictures of the festivities at Navy Pier. I should take some food pictures too. This holiday is all about the eating and… Read full post »

The wise man said, "Hell is other people." More specifically, hell is other people's voices in your head. I was obsessing over a post the other day debating whether plodders have a place in a marathon. Some guy who I’ve never met and should care less about got inside my… Read full post »

The Daily Mail has an interesting little piece about Asics developing a running shoe aimed at women that "adapts to suit (our) hormone levels." 

Ok. Asics? WTF? (sigh) Look I'm really glad you're studying women more closely, seeing as how we're a rapidly growing segment of the running populatio… Read full post »

 I hate February. It is 28/9 days in hell as far as I’m concerned. Every year without fail I get sick on Valentine’s Day. It might be psychosomatic at this point, but does it really matter if I feel like shit? I remember, as a kid, getting my valentines sent home… Read full post »

I got drunk and called myself an athlete a few weeks ago. This is very funny to me: someone who has spent much of her life in dread fear of organized sports calling herself athletic. Hm. It must have been the ceviche tostadas which invited a generous pairing of a lovely… Read full post »

I got an email a little while ago from the (ahem -we'll leave our financial differences aside for the moment) good people of Bank of America saying that I've been given a corral assignment for the Shamrock Shuffle! This is a huge 8K they run in Chicago every year and I've… Read full post »

I am sort of obsessed with Before and After pictures. You know the ones, you’ve seen the ads for weight loss pills or protein shakes. I know many of these particular ads are scams. They pay slim people to gain weight and switch the chronology of “before” and “after.” The… Read full post »

I’ve been reading a lot of posts lately counseling people not to write or try to get published. For the most part, they are written by smart people in the industry who know of which they speak. Normally I don’t let posts get to me. These are getting to me. I’ve… Read full post »

The snowpocalypse is coming. 

It begins the way any disaster film begins: as an ordinary day. DUH DUH DAAAAAHHH! But, you, precious viewer, have paid nearly twenty smackers for a seat to the show titled “Snowpocalypse” and an overpriced bucket ‘o’ cornlesterol, so you… Read full post »

In Which My Neurosis Ruins a Perfectly Good Film

The very sweet and fun movie, “Up,” is making a few top ten lists out there and it probably should be on a few top ten lists. Pixar is undeniably producing some of the best American animated films out there.… Read full post »

I am a memoir junky, and I am not alone it seems. Memoir has been growing steadily in popularity, maybe a result of our “reality” obsessed society. (What the hell is reality anyway? Especially when it involves a camera crew, but that’s another post for another day) I love memoir for… Read full post »

***** SPOILERS AHEAD***Stop reading if you have not seen the episode

I don't usually do TV writing, but I love Dexter. It is one of the few shows I watch regularly and I feel the need to defend the season finale for some reason.

Heather Havrilesky writes… Read full post »

So there’s a college out there proposing to fight the obesity epidemic through graduation requirements now. Lincoln University is requiring students with a BMI over 30 to take a remedial phys ed course. Kate Harding very ably wrote about how this is discriminatory bunk and I agreed and thought… Read full post »

I wake up to buzzing and give thanks for snooze buttons. No run this morning.

Once up I make myself a greek omelette and give thanks for spinach and feta cheese and their combined deliciousness.

My four-year-old shoves her little sister onto her butt and sends her screaming. I give thanks… Read full post »

I am currently trying to lose weight. As the handful of patient people who read my blog regularly might know already, I’ve spoken up on behalf of fat runners and fat people in general. So wanting to lose weight may seem contradictory to some, maybe it is. I’ll get into that… Read full post »

I know. You’re thinking “Who? The guy in the Barney suit?” (if it is indeed a “he”) Nope. See...ok...I'm not weird...ok...that's not true...but my problem is that sexy time is usually at night out of necessity, however, that is not my preference. I’m more of an &ld… Read full post »

I felt so much love for the city as I ran through all the neighborhoods. Boys’ town was a favorite spot (naturally) who wouldn’t love cheerleaders in bad drag? Pilsen was another favorite with drummers on every corner and people dancing salsa in the streets. Then Chinatown because my fami… Read full post »