Ahhhh, my mama. She’s the oldest child of a pair of good Catholics who birthed seven children they couldn’t afford and would have had more if cancer hadn’t claimed my maternal grandmother’s reproductive organs. Mama is also the mother of five children, because after escaping her childhood household she decided she hadn’t had enough clamor and destruction. For a long time, she was also caretaker to two crotchety old in-laws, whose dietary no-nos fit on a list that ran for a mile. My mom’s cooked for a lot of people in her life, with not a lot of money in the grocery budget, and under some pretty tight dietary restrictions.…

Back in the heady days of my youth, back when it was me and only me that a handbag was designed to serve, I was a purse miminalist. The smaller, the better in my book – in fact, my favorite “handbag” of all time was the tiny card wallet with keychain attached that I used to carry around with me in college. ID, check. Credit and debit cards, check. Keys, check. The end. Maybe a chapstick in my front pocket, and I’d be done. Later, the little red hobo was able to do the job that my pockets couldn’t quite manage – that is, carry my brick of a cell…

Guys – I think I speak for all of us when I say – BLAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHH It’s that time of year. We’ll catch you in January, when our next Wonder Woman will take over posting! I Wonder If We’ll All Have A Merry Christmas??

Have we done this before? And if we have, who cares? I could talk about food all week, and I know I ain’t alone! So. I have the love for the holiday food. I instantly discard all of those ridiculous articles that give you tips on how not to gain weight over the holidays. Bah! I say to those. Weight, schmeight, we’re talking rummed up egg nog here! Roast turkey! Mulled wine! Pies, pies, pies! Who cares about a pesky couple of pounds that will just drop off in the summer when it’s too hot to eat anyway? NOT THIS GIRL! The chocolates can be a bit much. Candy canes,…

INSTRUCTIONS: Take one decade-changing birthday. Stir in two unexpected deaths in the family, one unfulfilling job, and enclosed spice sachet of a half-dozen passions that could never lead to paying full time work. Simmer in a medium saucepan on a stovetop for several months. In a separate bowl, whip together one slightly unfocused academic career, a penchant for short-lived bursts of enthusiasm followed by extreme boredom, and a husband with a grad school journey nearing completion. Combine and pour into a baking dish, top with a seven month old baby with plans for more on the way, and then bake until the admissions deadlines for law and graduate schools expire.…