After years of resisting, I reluctantly heeded the recommendations of friends and colleagues and started watching AMC’s Mad Men. Set against the backdrop of a Madison Avenue ad agency circa 1960, the show features major moral failures on the part of every character....
One of the first advertising campaigns I ran was my own bid for junior class senator at Columbine High School back in the Dark Ages. I’m not sure whether the buttons, posters or personal appearances did the trick. But, remarkably, despite the pathetic slogan: “Put the...
The hideous London Olympics' Logo of 2012 remains an epic failure. Because there were two girls named Kathy in Mrs. Dale’s kindergarten class, my mother agreed to let everyone call me Kathy Ann. The horror of it haunts me to this day. Don’t get me wrong. Ann is a...
Queso Dip, made by combining Velveeta Cheese and canned Rotel tomatoes looked great on the television commercial. In fact, the ad convinced my husband and me that we should purchase the ingredients and serve along with chips for dinner. And that first bite was...
(This column first appeared in The Press Enterprise and on January 12, 2012 and on ROTWNEWS.com on January 14, 2012.) Resist the Urge to Cut Back on Advertising Despite the Economy Planning a wedding is a little bit like drowning. As a future mother-of-the-bride, I...
(This column first appeared on ROTWNEWS.com on January 1, 2011 and in The Press Enterprise on January 14, 2012.) For our family, 2011 marks the year our daughter, Lauren, and her fiancé, Kyle, got engaged. Atop Coit Tower in San Francisco on New Year’s Eve, Kyle...
(This column first appeared on RIMOFTHEWORLD.net on December 19, 2011.) One of my family’s Christmas Eve traditions is a White Elephant Gift Exchange. For the uninitiated, the cruel process goes something like this: Purchase a gift worth $5. Wrap it up so it looks...
(This column first appeared on RIMOFTHEWORLD.net on December 4, 2011.) As soon as winter weather blew into Lake Arrowhead, I started experiencing insomnia. For weeks, I tossed and turned, double- and triple-checked the thermostat and added blankets to our bed, all to...
(This column first appeared on RIMOFTHEWORLD.net on November 6, 2011.) One of the reasons we moved to Lake Arrowhead is because we love the snow. But dealing with it poses a myriad of associated problems, including (but not limited to) getting stuck on mountain roads....
(This column first appeared on RIMOFTHEWORLD.net on October 9, 2011.) I enjoy hosting parties. But I have to be honest. It isn’t so much that I like to prepare food, decorate the house and entertain guests as it is I love having an excuse to get my family on board...
(This column first appeared on RIMOFTHEWORLD.net on September 26, 2011.) While we were in junior high school, my best friend Susan and I loved to bake. Unfortunately, we usually pursued culinary odysseys at my house instead of hers. And, because my mother was single...
(This column first appeared on RIMOFTHEWORLD.net on September 12, 2011.) My family and I survived another move. Although we're still unpacking boxes and, in the process, have uncovered more junk than the professional organizers on Hoarders, things are finally...