Casey is healthy, spunky and—at 13 1/2—still learning new tricks, like wagging his tail. Yet today I awoke vocalizing a name for my next dog. . . . → Read More: A BOY CALLED SCARLET?
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February 2nd, 2012  7 comments  BIKING, CASEY, DIVORCE, FAMILY, HOME, RUMINATIONS  choosing a dog's gender, couples who have separate lives, dog names, dogs, fave, imaginative dog names, marriage, names, nicknames, passion, pets, psychotherapy, Relationships, sleeping with my dog, WORRY, worrywart It’s a common occurrence in New York and other cities. You put your key in the lock of your apartment building and someone is about to follow you inside. What do you do? Usually in the interest of security I ask if the person lives there and then request they use their own key . . . → Read More: WRITER + ENCOUNTER WITH STRANGER = STORY My New Year’s resolution is to learn how to play Angry Birds.
But an essay in the New York Times suggests that daydreaming increases creativity. Daydreaming requires time, time I dump into playing Words With Friends.
Words With Friends, though, is more than just words. It’s confirmation that my sister, . . . → Read More: WORDS WITH FRIENDS Marathon women a decade hence On an ordinary afternoon in 1998, Eliza, my sixteen-year-old daughter, plopped her backpack at my feet, waved a brochure so close it grazed my nose and declared, “I’m signing up for the Marine Corps Marathon. I’ll be running with a group that raises money for AIDS and trains Sunday . . . → Read More: MARATHON WOMEN When I, always the initiator, smile at a stranger and the stranger smiles back, it puts a musical note in my step. Or in my pedal, as was the case on Christmas Eve day. I was on a long bike ride from New Jersey to Staten Island and, when a driver stopped to allow me to . . . → Read More: SMILING STRANGERS January 6th, 2012 2 comments BIKING, BLOGGING, CASEY, DIVORCE, FAMILY, HOME, TIPS catching a stranger's eye, friendliness, smiling, smiling strangers, strangers, WORRY, worrywart In my post My Year of Blogging, I noted that writing personal essays involves catching yourself in the act of thinking and then exposing and exploring it on the page. Here’s something I do every single day, and it was not until this morning that I caught it in my consciousness as something to write . . . → Read More: CATCHING MYSELF IN A DAILY THOUGHT: WHICH UNDERWEAR TO WEAR December 31st, 2011 6 comments BLOGGING, CASEY, FAMILY, HOME, RUMINATIONS choosing what to wear, clothes, I hate shopping, looks, panties, shopping, undergarments, underpants, undies, wardrobe, WORRY, worrywart, writing tips ‘Tis the season to obsess . . . about gifts. For someone like me, who gets overwhelmed by choices, and–even when the options are narrowed to two–can’t decide, this can be a hard time of year. So I resort to creative gift-giving, like ice cream sodas for the third night of Hanukkah. Making placemats for . . . → Read More: ANXIETY ABOUT GIFTS: GIVING & GETTING December 23rd, 2011 4 comments DIVORCE, FAMILY, HOME, TIPS bad gifts, Christmas, family presents, foot scrubber, gift shopping, gifts, giving, great gifts, Hanukkah, presents, re-gifting, WORRY, worrywart One day, after hours of sliding my cursor from Twitter to Facebook to Stats for my blogs and back to Twitter, when I should have been writing, I emailed Dr. M, a cognitive therapist. Dr. M had previously helped me understand that worry is an addiction; it hits the same pleasure center of the brain that . . . → Read More: Twitter Addiction: Advice From a Cognitive Therapist At heart, I’m as much a salesperson as a writer. In 1978, I was recognized by Merrill Lynch for ranking second in opening new accounts among their first-year stockbrokers. During my next career, back in the days of print, selling my essays was harder. Some of my articles received a dozen or more rejections before getting . . . → Read More: IT’S 3 A.M. & THERE’S AN EMAIL: TALE OF A BLOGGING LIFE December 8th, 2011 One comment BLOGGING blog readers, blog stats, BLOGGING, email, email blasts, facebook, hurtful email, publishing, selling, stockbroker, Twitter, WORRY, worrywart, writing, writing group I needed an antidote to worry this weekend, when my bike got a flat tire and then my car wouldn’t start. So here is the latest in my Antidote to Worry Series of food photos and such. Here’s how I compose this satisfying crunchy salad: A base of arugula Trader Joe’s Healthy 8 chopped veggie . . . → Read More: ANTIDOTE TO WORRY: CRUNCHY SALAD December 5th, 2011 Leave a comment BIKING, HEALTH AND SAFETY, HOME, TIPS antidote to worry, crunchy salad, orange muscat champagne vinegar, Trader Joe's, WORRY, worrywart Note to those of my peeps to whom Twitterspeak is as foreign as Uz-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan-ese: You may not want to slog through this one. If you do, RT means retweet. I spend a lot of time on Twitter sharing links to articles I write. I have cultivated a variety of followers. Yet, how do I hold . . . → Read More: 10 TWITTER QUESTIONS & 1 TWITTER TALE November 30th, 2011 One comment BLOGGING, FAMILY, travel making lemonade out of lemons, meeting on twitter, tweeting, Twitter, twitter questions, twitter spam, twitter stories, twittiquette, WORRY, worrywart Is it a worrywart trait to seek pleasure on the highest plane? To always be wondering whether–no matter how good something is–it could be better? That’s how it is with me and eating. It’s a similar quest with family time. When I hear about a family who acts out Shakespeare together or who is always . . . → Read More: IN SEARCH OF THE ART OF EATING, TECHNIQUE-WISE November 22nd, 2011 3 comments FAMILY, HEALTH AND SAFETY, HOME, TIPS Adam Gopnik, eating, eating a pomegranate, eating chocolate, eating technique, eating while standing, family time, fave, mindful eating, MRI, pleasure, poison food for dogs, savoring food, taste buds, tasting, the art of eating, wine tasting, WORRY, worrywart If our family were contestants on a TV know-your-family game show, and the emcee were to ask, “Who is least likely to be a pest?” we would all shout “Emy!” The rest of us can be annoying, not least of all yours truly, but never Emy. 3 a-door-bell kids When my three daughters were little, . . . → Read More: IN SEARCH OF JOLLY GEORGE: OUR FAMILY GLOSSARY November 17th, 2011 5 comments CASEY, FAMILY, HOME Chinglish, FAMILY, family glossary, family jargon, family names, funny family words for things, labeling kids, nick names, WORRY, worrywart While shops experience brisker business on weekends, blog traffic slows, at least mine does. So I’m posting this shortie today, hoping for weekend visitors. What I’m about to write is one of those things I wouldn’t give a second thought to, were I not examining myself all the time for the very gaggle of . . . → Read More: HOARDING WATER LIKE CHICKEN SOUP November 12th, 2011 4 comments BLOGGING, CASEY, HEALTH AND SAFETY, HOME BLOGGING, filtered water, observing oneself, obsessively checking things, quirks, quirky behavior, saving filtered water, water filters, WORRY, worrywart 1955 After a swallow of dinner, I dirty my face with burnt cork and, on my shoulder, rest a broomstick with a bundle of rags tied to its end. I then prepare for the battle with my mom over not wearing a coat. I step into the hallowed night, wondering which house has the apples . . . → Read More: HALLOWEEN HARDSHIPS November 8th, 2011 4 comments DIVORCE, FAMILY, HEALTH AND SAFETY, HOME, MR. RIGHT/WRONG apples with razor blades, beijing, China 1979, Cultural Revolution, feeling awkward in Halloween costume, Halloween, Halloween candy, Halloween costumes, Halloween crime, haunted houses, kids and Halloween candy, not being home on Halloween, WORRY, worrywart Mom had often complained that I'd thrown away her bag collection when I helped her move. So, for her birthday, we gave her a gift of gift bags . . . and she cracked up. I’m a saver. Every time my inbox mounts to the limit of 4,000 emails, I move a few thousand . . . → Read More: SAVING EMAILS. SAVING VOICEMAIL. MY MOM’S VOICE. November 1st, 2011 4 comments BLOGGING, DIVORCE, FAMILY, HEALTH AND SAFETY, TIPS, travel death of mother, deleting messages, grief, inability to cry, mother, mother's voice, saving email, saving voicemail, WORRY, worrywart For my recent article on Home Goes Strong about Happiness at Home, I interviewed my blog crush Gretchen Rubin, whose book The Happiness Project–the same name as her blog–was a #1 New York Times best seller. All that goes on underneath my roots Gretchen keeps a one-sentence journal, which she admits sometimes expands to 4 . . . → Read More: STARTING A JOURNAL . . . OR WILL I GET TOO MANY IDEAS? OccupyDC provides photo ops. Here are a few and, at the end, a link to my salade nicoise recipes. There’s a tie-in, sort of. Committee Meeting Home Sweet Home [ Two Medics: A Muslim and a Jew Family Time . . . This father said he's already collected 1,000 signatures for . . . → Read More: OCCUPYDC PHOTO STORY, PART 2, & A SALADE NICOISE RECIPE October 25th, 2011 Leave a comment BIKING, CASEY, HOME, WISHES 99%, demostrations, Occupy Wall Street, occupydc, protests, salad nicoise, WORRY, worrywart The other day, I bike downtown to the Newseum to hear a panel discussion by New York Times columnists. I leave home early enough to swing through McPherson Square, D.C.’s Occupy Wall Street venue. Soul Power My immediate sense is a blast from the past, a hippie and flower child commune ambience. The . . . → Read More: “OCCUPY WALL STREET” ON K STREET, WASHINGTON, D.C. When I’m in New York, I like to hang out and write at Jack’s, a coffee place in the West Village with a patina that suggests long afternoons of sipping lattes and tapping on laptops. The overall look is shades of brown, like paper bags and coffee. Jack’s is so small it has no bathroom. . . . → Read More: HANGING WITH CHAD: MAKING A NEW FRIEND October 17th, 2011 2 comments BIKING, BLOGGING, DIVORCE, RELIGION, TIPS, travel, WISHES BIKING, fave, finding bathrooms, Jack's New York City, Low Country New York City, meeting people, new friends, reaching out to new people, restaurant bathrooms, shmoozing, working at coffee places, WORRY, worrywart Public Service Announcement: Help my article “Dear Customer Service: Thoughts While on Hold” go viral, so companies get the message! Please tweet, comment on it, share! Mom as a little girl at the shvitz w/ her mom, getting beaten with fans Up until I first got my period, I was Susie. In high school, . . . → Read More: THE NAME GAME: HOW DO I SIGN AN EMAIL? SUSAN? SUSIE? SOOZE? SUE? S? s? October 11th, 2011 5 comments CASEY, DIVORCE, FAMILY, HOME, RUMINATIONS adult calling parents Mommy and Daddy, angst, customer service, fave, names, nicknames, saving time, saving time when emailing, signing emails, signing my name on emails, stress, time, time wasters, wasting time, what to call in laws, WORRY, worrywart “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” I’ve been thinking I should get a medical alarm button to wear like the one advertised in the campy Life Alert “Help! I’ve fallen!” commercial. My mom wore one until she died at age 92. Otherwise, how would I contact someone if I were to fall, unable to move? . . . → Read More: HELP! I’VE FALLEN AND I CAN’T GET UP! October 4th, 2011 3 comments CASEY, DIVORCE, FAMILY, HEALTH AND SAFETY, HOME, TIPS alert systems, burglars, emergency response, emergency systems, falling in the shower, life station, loneliness, medical alert, medical alert systems, WORRY, worrywart Popcorn is one of my favorite comfort foods. It fills me up, is healthful, tastes delicious and I pretend that eating this overflowing pot of it, sprinkled with sea salt, won’t make me feel squeezed in the waist by my elastic waist pants. When my oldest daughter Eliza was a toddler, I thought it would be fun . . . → Read More: ANTIDOTE TO WORRY: POPCORN September 30th, 2011 Leave a comment FAMILY, HEALTH AND SAFETY, TIPS activity with kids, antidote to worry, ANXIETY, comfort food, cooking, cooking with kids, I Love Lucy, I Love Lucy baking bread episode, popcorn, popping corn, stress, WORRY, worrywart Beware of asking me to rant. I am liable to start today, five days after autumn began (also National Good Happy National Pancake Day Neighbor Day and National Pancake Day), and never stop until Flag Day. If you really want to hear loud and wild talk, ask me about the leaf blowers whose noise . . . → Read More: NOISY SEASON RANT You can tell a lot about a person’s life from the files they have open on their browser. Too many tabs Eugene, my computer guy, says I shouldn’t keep so many files open. But like with my desk, if I put things away, I’ll forget about them. So I leave them out and layers . . . → Read More: MY OPEN TABS AND WHAT THEY REVEAL September 21st, 2011 Leave a comment BLOGGING, HEALTH AND SAFETY, TIPS computers, hiring a painter, New Yorker, New Yorker festival, newpapers, no time to read, open Sites, open tabs, organizing, time, WORRY, worrywart My very first Mr. Wrong told me, “Susie, what you need is a purpose.” That was in ninth grade. George, now a retired psychiatrist, was right. The benefits of having a purpose were never more obvious than after I launched my blog. Blogging The irony of blogging about being a worrywart, is that it . . . → Read More: My Year of Blogging, Lessons Learned September 14th, 2011 9 comments BLOGGING, DIVORCE, FAMILY, HEALTH AND SAFETY, MR. RIGHT/WRONG blog readers, blog searches, BLOGGING, loneliness of writers, regrets, Twitter, WORRY, worrywart, writing, writing groups There’s something serene, along with a sprinkling of smug, about people who practice yoga. They laud the benefits—“Doing yoga has saved my back.” “I’m no longer stressed.” Self Portrait With Bike If I had the patience to do yoga, I’d also have the attention span to meditate, read the New Yorker and maybe even drive . . . → Read More: Yoga-Envy, Bike-Smug & How to Salt Food Season 8 of “The Family Vacation” has ended. Back from The Hamptons to their everyday lives are “Family Vacation” stars: the exes—since 1998—Steve and Susan (yours truly) and their three twenty-something daughters, Eliza, Sabrina and Emily. Let’s take a look back at Season 1, Summer of 2004. “The whole family’s in the . . . → Read More: THE “FAMILY VACATION,” AT THE BEACH WITH MY EX, SEASON 1 At first it all seemed like a big adventure: stepping into Hurricane Isabel at one am with two pajama-clad teenage daughters and one dog in tow, basking in mini-celebrity the following morning when neighbors gathered in small clusters to gasp at the damage, and moving in with my ex, which surely interrupted whatever sameness had existed . . . → Read More: GETTING TREED: WHEN THE TREE FELL ON OUR HOUSE, PART I Getting ready to go with my daughter to the cobbler on our bikes on this lovely summer day. Passing under a doorway, I start shaking while the house is quaking. Dare I run to get the dog who is barking at the front door or stay here where it’s safer? Things are falling off the . . . → Read More: #EARTHQUAKALYPSE |
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