If you are ever presented the opportunity to discuss your bikini-area laser hair removal, family events where you saw your grandfather in boxer shorts and your parents driving through a car wash naked in front of a large group of people who you are then quite likely to run into at the local grocery store … I enthusiastically recommend doing so. As a matter of fact, it is exactly what I did last Thursday night at the Vale Schoolhouse as a guest of Vale Club for an event that raised money for FamilyPASS. And I don’t mean to brag, but in those couple hours, we raised a tiny fraction of a …

I really will try almost anything once. I am a firm believer that life begins at the end of your comfort zone; that it is not a spectator sport and that one should go big or go home. I am also a firm believer in avoiding clichés like the plague. This is why I'm absolutely qualified to talk about writing in front of a group of people — like I'm doing tomorrow night. Courtesy of a gracious invitation from the Vale Club, I’ll be doing my first-ever speaking gig to present some of my blog posts and columns at an event that benefits FamilyPASS, an organization with which Vale Club is affiliated …

Vienna Youth Soccer is the most unexpectedly hilarious thing I've experienced in this area since I dined at a quirky little well-reviewed restaurant on Route 123 and was told by the server, "We have four specials tonight ... I'll tell you about two of them." My daughter has now been part of a VYS team for four seasons and for each of the seasons that she’s played, her team has worn a different color T-shirt. As a group, the girls come up with a name based on this color — so in the past, they’ve been the Red Dragons, the Blue Dolphins and the Yellow Bees. I know … "Awwww," right?   And this …

Don't ever sit next to me on an airplane. I'm serious. Because you're a reader of this column, it's obvious you're an extremely intelligent, lovely person with a highly evolved sense of humor. All things I would never discover because I'd be busy performing a cost/benefit analysis on the Bigfoot Garden Yeti Sculpture in the Sky Mall catalog as a way of deliberately trying not to engage you in conversation during our flight. Yes, I am totally that person. I'm polite enough to seatmates. I won't monopolize the arm rest, climb over you countless times to go to the restroom, or listen to my music…

It has been interesting to watch the events of the past week unfold. Ever since Hilary Rosen commented that Ann Romney had "never worked a day in her life," there has been a flood of nastiness in national and social media that is causing divisiveness and bringing out the worst, most judgmental sides of people who all seem to know what is best for everyone else. (Hint: whatever decision they make for their families.) I'm upset because I thought we had all evolved enough to respect each other’s choices. And I'm upset because the real point that Hilary Rosen was (albeit, clumsily) trying to make…

Last week in this column, I mentioned I lost my iPhone. This happened when I placed it on the train seat next to me while returning to Manhattan from my cousin's wedding on Long Island. Well, I'm thrilled to announce that thanks to a good Samaritan who took the time to turn it in at the Penn Station Lost and Found (Tagline: We’re 'Tude-a-rific!) and my good friends Meredith and John who claimed it and shipped it back to me, the phone is once again in my possession. I'm even happier to announce that since I have not cost our family $600 to replace a phone, I am now at liberty to divulge the …

For someone who is pretty much the antithesis of a gambler, Fortuna has played a major role in my life of late. I am not overstating my risk aversion. I'm so conservative when it comes to taking chances that I get preventive medical and dental checkups twice a year, I always have an umbrella with me and I easily have four years' worth of toilet paper stocked at any given time. (The latter is a survival instinct borne of dating a former boyfriend who showed so little forethought in bathroom tissue supply that he and his roommates were relegated to using pages from an old phone book in …

The chasm between the ideologies of the two main parties in this country is ever-widening. Perhaps because it is an election year, the differences are more apparent and it appears even less likely that the gap between them can ever be bridged. Both sides believe its way is the right way and no amount of discourse seems to sway the other. I cannot go anywhere these days without the talk turning to this two-party system: the party who lives their lives on social media … and the party who I simply cannot relate to at all. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you know I’m firmly ensconced in …

My daughter has the fashion eye of a great clothing designer — or, more accurately, clothing designers — as her personal aesthetic is really a combination of influences. It could probably best be described as "Betsey Johnson" meets "Alexander McQueen" meets "LSD flashback." Not only is she talented at pulling creative outfits together, she absolutely loves doing so. She sifts through my closet all the time, then takes my clothes and pairs them and drapes them in ways I would never imagine: skirts used as capes, necklaces as headpieces, clashing patterns that somehow don’t clash, and exactly …

I may have mentioned before that growing up as a younger sibling was not a great experience for me. And by "not great," I mean "I'm still stiff from all the years I spent in a fetal position." And I haven’t even shared the time when a teacher asked my sister to draw a picture of her family. Which she did — with flourish. She came home proudly displaying this work of art — a piece that included a full-color Daddy with a huge smile on his face, followed by a Mommy in brilliant color and also looking elated. She (the oldest child) came after that, also happy and in vibrant color. After that, in …

In this age of all media, all the time, one can achieve fame in many ways. You can work hard and make a name for yourself in high-profile fields such as politics, journalism, sports, law or the performing arts. You can glom onto someone else's hard work and simply date someone in a high-profile field and gain fame by being the plus-one. Or, as is becoming more and more prevalent (and requires the least amount of effort), you can simply receive tweeted photos from someone in a high-profile field. However, the public is fickle and this type of fame can be fleeting. So, I’ll offer up this bit of…

It’s no secret that I sometimes crowdsource to solicit column ideas, as coming up with a weekly topic can be challenging at times. So when I recently polled friends about subject matter, a good friend suggested writing about things I would consider giving up for Lent if I was any sort of practicing Christian. This friend is somewhat of an expert in the religion arena, as he is in the process of converting to Catholicism — a plunge he decided to take because his current love is a member of the Catholic Church. (This is a bit of a pattern for him. A former love of his was Mormon, so he also …

On Feb. 13, MainStreet.com posted an article that ranked the wealthiest counties in the United States. And Fairfax County — home to Oakton, Virginia (as you know) — was listed as the second weathiest. In the country. (And often with wealth comes a certain level of sophistication ... so take that also-rans Orange County and New York City County...nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah.) I, of course, was alerted to this news by our Majordomo, who handles the pesky task of scanning the news for me and finding only the items he knows I will want to read. Master Canedo and I were nibbling on some toast points…

Demi Moore and I have a lot in common. Even more than the recreational peyote usage, leeches-used-as-anti-aging-treatments and christening our daughters after famous namesakes (her daughter after iconic actress Tallulah Bankhead; my daughter after Avery labels and reinforcements). You see, Demi and I are both cougars. Some people find "cougar" to be an offensive term, yet I embrace it. I have always found younger men attractive, and I am fiercely unapologetic about that. Before I was married, all of my boyfriends were younger than I — some by a few months, some by several years — but always …

I am one of those people who desperately needs validation. Lots of validation. I once walked into a building simply because there was a sign posted indicating that they offered validation. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered it was just for the cost of parking. If you’ve been reading this column for a while (Have you? What do you think? Am I funny? Do you like it? Do you like me? Do you really like me?), you’ll notice I gravitate toward endeavors that lend themselves toward receiving feedback from others — things like blogging (followers!) and running (medals!) and Peeps diorama …

In early January, I made some radical changes to my diet and exercise routine. Lest you think good health is enough of a motivator for me, please be assured it is not. But a good healthy competition is another thing entirely. And a company named DietBet banks on the fact that I and other freakishly competitive people like me (read: the Dilettantes) will be successful with their weight loss model. The DietBet website turns dieting into a fun competition. And by "fun" I mean "lets you risk losing a pile of money to ensure that you lose weight." DietBet put up $5,000 dollars that I, the …

I’m a pretty easygoing person (pauses while raucous laughter from those who know her best subsides), but as a communications professional and an anal-retentive word Nazi, there are some things I just cannot abide: certain words, and the misspelling and misuse of words.  There are many common errors I have seen repeatedly (e.g. "for all intensive purposes," "mute point"), and it seems that lately I’m seeing even more creative uses — in everything from blogs to personal e-mails to professional letters. So, I’m providing the following clip 'n' save column as a public service announcement — a PSA…

I normally don’t write about such personal things, but my husband and I have discovered a device that has completely heated up our marriage. I wanted to share the secret so other couples may benefit. Thanks to this new acquisition, we no longer just go through the same old motions, with the predictably stale and sometimes even bitter results. Now it’s all hot, all the time — and we’re always ready to go with literally a moment’s notice. I don’t know if it is the mechanism itself or the variety it provides, but it has changed our experience entirely. I am completely turned on by the boldness …

This past week was pretty exciting. For two-and-a-half days, my life was a complete blur — and this time it was not because I was confusing medications. In this instance, the craziness involved a Redskin, a few toomany cocktails and some police intervention. Or as I like to call it, "my 20s." Actually, those things were all part of the soap opera known as "the felony trial on which I was a juror." This was the only time in my life I was actually encouraged to judge someone (my sorority years aside), and somehow that made it much less fun. And you know what? Other than lacking the ominous …

I think the reason so many people fail at New Year’s resolutions is the lists of things they try to do better are too extensive. I was guilty of that last year — when I attempted New Year’s resolutions for the first time in ages — and realized only moderate success. As one who learns from her mistakes, I deliberately kept my list of resolutions simple and straightforward this year, focusing all of my attention on only two things: 1) staying healthy and 2) returning to my job after the holidays with a renewed sense of purpose and enthusiasm.   For those keeping track, as of January 2, 2012 — …