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Miscellaneous
When Life Gets in the Way of Blogging
Posted on May 28, 2008 11:17:43 AM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

Last week I was in the LA area for the Real Simple sales conference and meetings about our upcoming show on TLC. It was such a fun trip, even if it meant being away for 5 days and did not — just like every other business trip I've ever taken — live up to this relaxing fantasy that I persist in having about business travel generally. (Raise your hand if you've ever really slept well in a hotel.) At the end of the meeting our brand development and strategy director, Gary Ryan, presented the results of a study that Real...

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Observations
Overrated or Underrated?
Posted on May 14, 2008 2:57:34 PM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

Face time Amy Winehouse Peonies Spinning class Egg white omelets 30 Rock Punctuality Video conferencing Creativity Knowing your carbon footprint Brad Pitt Table manners Stainless steel appliances Labradoodles

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Everyday Life
Time for Yourself, Time for the Soul: Who Needs It?
Posted on May 12, 2008 7:22:16 PM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

Sunday was Mother's Day, as you all know, and I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand I love being a mother more than anything in the world and so wanted nothing more than to spend the day with my three boys. On the other hand being a mother is exhausting and extremely time-consuming and I wanted nothing more than to be left alone for the entire day. The day was cool and sunny and began with an adorable, very serious card that Middle made in school with his very best cursive and a poem on the back....

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Family
Should I Pick Up After My Husband?
Posted on May 7, 2008 5:33:51 PM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

Or just be annoyed that he doesn’t pick up after himself? One of the most mysterious and maddening things about my relationship with my husband — together for 22 years, married for 16, through four apartments, three houses, two pets and three kids — is the fact that by the end of every day with him there are baseball hats on the kitchen counter, shoes in the middle of the bedroom floor, and copies of The Economist next to the car keys that weren’t there when I woke up. In brief, he is the man I continue to love, but...

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Family
Parental Mystery #834: What My Son Will and Won’t Eat
Posted on May 5, 2008 4:49:38 PM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

My Middle child, who is nine and in fourth grade, is a wonderful boy, a very funny kid, an enthusiastic friend, a loyal son, and an incredibly, incredibly picky eater. Not only is he picky, but he’s stubborn, which turns out to be a challenging combination. He has several areas of his life where his stubbornness takes on a laser-like focus: bedtime is one, and eating is the other. I know, I know, it’s the oldest complaint in the book: my kid won’t eat anything but chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese! But my little guy is sharp as a...

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Friends | Observations
Your Life as a Pie Chart
Posted on May 1, 2008 9:16:35 AM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

I've been thinking lately about my old friend Hope, a onetime soulmate who I spent a lot of time with when I first moved to New York. She was kind and hilarious and would send me annotated articles from celebrity magazines and I would laugh my head off. In my mind, everything Hope did was smart and interesting, and she made me feel smarter and more interesting just to know her. Hope now lives in New Jersey with her husband and three kids and I live in New York with my husband and three kids. We have all but lost...

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