As the holiday season comes upon us once again, I am starting to feel the stress of adding even more things to my already-long To-Do List.  It seems that this is a common feeling among many people during this time of year, and especially among moms.

Many of us moms get caught up in planning for holiday parties and get-togethers, family photo shoots, gift exchanges, holiday menus and recipes, etc.  — on top of all the usual daily events, such as work, after-school activities, housework, homework, and making dinner.  We compare ourselves with other moms, wondering whether and how we can keep up with them and all the extra stuff THEY can fit into their daily schedule. Read More →

Many of us may remember that old childhood poem that goes:

“John and Jane,

Sitting in a tree,

K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

First comes love,

Then comes marriage,

Then comes the baby

In the baby carriage.”

In my past experience, this poem was usually recited by pre-teen girls, in the presence of another pre-teen girl and/or her male crush, to tease them about their (sometimes mutual) attraction to each other. Read More →

Everyone seems to have an opinion of what is the “key to marital happiness”.  But there is now a growing body of research that supports one specific “key”.

In her online Time Magazine article yesterday entitled, “Here Is The Secret to Marriage Happiness”, Francine Russo wrote about a recent study done by the University of California, Berkeley and Northwestern University.  Over a 13-year period, researchers videotaped 80 couples on several occasions, while they were discussing a topic of conflict.  One of the study’s main findings was that couples in which the WIFE calmed down quickly  —  and calmed down FIRST  —  tended to be happy together, both in the short-term as well as the long-term. Read More →

Controversial rap star, Eminem, has primarily been known for his angry, rebellious, and epithet-filled songs.  However, he seems to be showing a softer, gentler and more evolved part of himself lately.  On Yahoo! Music yesterday, Billy Johnson, Jr. posted an article about Eminem’s recently released song, “Headlights”.  Apparently, Eminem wrote it as “a mature, sincere apology to his mom, Debbie Mathers.”  The title refers to the last time Eminem met with his mom.  As she was driving away, Eminem focused on her car’s headlights, as he felt “this overwhelming sadness come over me.”  At this moment, he and his mom are still estranged. Read More →

Yesterday, Bernice Napach of The Daily Ticker posted an article entitled, “Dilbert’s Creator is Proof That Failure Can Lead to Success.”  This article accompanied a video interview with Scott Adams, who is the creator of the Dilbert cartoon strip.

Napach summarized the video interview by specifying the five main points that Mr. Adams discussed.   He also wrote about them in his recent book, “How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big:  Kind of the Story of My Life.”  These points are listed below, along with possible underlying reasons why they are important: Read More →