One of my favorite shows, “Stranger Things,” is due to return this year. Fingers crossed. The show highlights a group of kids in a small town who stumble upon a bizarre world referred to as “the upside-down.” The upside-down is a dark, mixed-up and evil place where nothing makes sense, and y…

I sprung my mom out of prison last week. By prison I mean her assisted living/memory care facility.

Keeping up your personal appearance during this seemingly endless pandemic is a true challenge. Shaggy, outgrown bangs in your eyes, toenails that rival those of Wolverine, and I am just talking about my dogs! As trivial as it sounds, small things like getting your nails done and keeping tho…

No matter where you stand on the subject, it is quite interesting to observe the many ways people behave while wearing masks.

There is nothing like a pandemic to get you up off the couch and onto those projects you’ve been putting off. I cleaned out our refrigerator, which produced a host of new organisms never before seen on this planet. I cleaned out the cupboards, which ended up housing more expired food than no…

As if our family wasn’t already a den of hypochondriacs, along comes the coronavirus!

Two of our three daughters are getting married this year — one month apart. And the first one, in May, will take place in our backyard. While the thought of our two upcoming weddings fills me with excitement, there is one thing I am not excited about — getting dressed up. I hate getting dres…

My world came to an abrupt halt two weeks ago when my computer crashed.

Well, did you survive the holidays? Now comes the fun part — putting it all away! Maybe you’ve seen me at Lowe’s, purchasing numerous storage bins and bubble wrap for all the new Christmas decorations I purchased this past year. It begins after Halloween. I begin buying festive holiday décor…

My grandmother died in 1994, but I touched base with her last weekend.

Like I didn’t have enough going on in my life, what with moving my mom into an assisted living residence, but this past weekend, we also adopted a puppy.

Well, I can finally boast that all my kids are now employed. Haley started her new job as a hostess at Melo’s Pizza last week, and she is thrilled!

You may find this hard to believe, but I was quite a rocker in my youth.

It began innocently. A few miniature houses would adorn my fireplace mantel at Christmas time, and then get packed up and put away until the next year. But then along came Michael’s, with their line of Lemax “Christmas Village” pieces.

It began a few years ago – I was chatting with my mom, who was 75 years old at the time, on the phone, and the subject of how much mail she was receiving every day came up.

So I’m freaking out a little bit. My oldest daughter, Kaelin, is getting married next May. Yay! Her boyfriend, Matt, is a perfect match for her, and their kids will be adorable. Yes, I am still holding out hope that I’ll be a grandmother who can still chase the little munchkins up the stairs…

Well, it finally arrived: the first of the lasts. Last week, I registered my fifth and final child at Deer Valley High School. It didn’t hit me until we pulled into the parking lot that I would never do this again. Checkbook in hand, we walked to the gym, saying hello to many parents I have …

I want to know whose bright idea it was it to completely turn my neighborhood Target upside down! What was once my sanctuary, my “happy place,” is now my nightmare in hell! It began with a subtle warning outside Target announcing that “big changes” were coming. Yeah, big changes and a big he…

Bizarre things always seem to occur when Maury is out of town. Water heaters blow, large appliances break down, the electricity goes out for hours, etc.

While many families are taking trips to Disneyland and Santa Cruz, accompanying their kids on exhilarating roller coaster rides, we took a ride on an emotional rollercoaster yesterday with Haley.

I took my daughter and her fiance’ to lunch the other day – nothing fancy, just sandwiches at the Boudin Bakery in Walnut Creek.

In our life, it never fails. Big events come in clusters. We can never just focus on a prom or a Christmas party or a wedding. Typically, they will all fall on the same day.

What is it about spring that makes you want to clean? I don’t necessarily like to clean, but come April 1st, I glance around my house and hate everything — from the color of the walls to the style of my furniture. I am suddenly acutely aware of all the dust and clutter, and start moaning to …

You often hear people say, “You have to face your fears.”

There is nothing more irritating than sitting down to dinner and being harassed by a robo-call. You know, those annoying sales calls that are pre-recorded and don’t even have a human at the other end of the phone. At first, you think you are talking to a person until you try to interrupt the…

If you are like me, you are now wearing stretchy pants and whipping up kale shakes in your new Ninja smoothie machine. 

If you visit Chili’s in Antioch, maybe you have noticed the large sign above the hostess desk that reads “Antioch … Like No Place Else.”

There is just something about packing up all the Christmas decorations that puts me in the mood to redecorate my home, which is inconvenient because I am broke.

I carefully wrapped our family photos in tissue paper and nestled them into a generous pile of bubble wrap inside a box.