Hope you haven’t finished your holiday shopping just yet: a new Nielsen survey reports the number one gift request from kids 6-12 is an iPad. Computers and iPods took second place. more

Dear God: Thank you for helping me unclog the kids’ toilet just now, although I recognize I must have looked funny doing it naked, especially from your view up there. more

When you hear the name Cleopatra, what first comes to mind? more

The day after my mother died in April, the hospice grief counselor came to my house. Hospice workers know what they are talking about, so I listened assiduously to her advice. I clung fiercely to her parting words: “No one is prepared for grief. It’s not a competition and no one does it ‘right.’ more

The inevitable news that royal wedding bells will be ringing soon in England – in case you’ve been on a yoga retreat in Mexico, 28 year olds Prince William and Kate Middleton are engaged -- means many things to many people. more

Twenty years ago, a businessman in Washington, DC started an annual tradition called Fight Night. more

The website The Frisky recently published the so-called Girlfriends Code. Most of The Code had to do with grooming, partying and dating. Some of the stuff was stupid. more

All last week I was afraid of Halloween. Not afraid of razors in apples or kids getting kidnapped by masked strangers. I was afraid of…THE PARENTS. more

Katy Perry’s summer smash hit, California Gurls trumpets bikinis, stilettos, sex on the beach and melting your “popsicle.” more

I howled (not in a good way) over The Rules by Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider. I was in the minority – the 1995 book sold over two million copies and was translated into 26 languages. more