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Miscellaneous
The Day the Water Came through the Dining Room Ceiling
Posted on Jun 25, 2008 4:47:42 PM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

Actually, it was on Monday. It had been pretty hot in New York over the weekend and Eldest and Middle had been begging my husband to put the air conditioning unit in their window, as he does every summer. After a bit of procrastinating (part of the process) and grumbling (ditto), my husband gamely installed the unit by himself on Sunday afternoon, while I kept walking by the room, Baby in my arms, worriedly asking if he needed any help. (Because, you see, in the late 1990s there was the Air Conditioner Falling Out of the Third Floor Window During...

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The Renovation
Renovation Conundrum: Should You Provide Refreshments for People Working on Your House?
Posted on Jun 23, 2008 5:39:01 PM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

This past weekend we had a team of about eight men working outside of our house from early morning until late in the afternoon. (Like many guys in my experience who work outside, they showed up unannounced, and with a very loud machine. In this instance it was 7:13 a.m. on Saturday and my husband and I were awakened by what sounded like a chainsaw beneath our bedroom window. “What’s that!?!?!” my husband snarled, to which I replied, “I don’t know, but I think it’s in our backyard.” As it turns out, it was not underneath our bedroom window but...

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Observations
Unexplained Phenomenon #247: Why Some People Just Make You Sleepy
Posted on Jun 18, 2008 4:15:18 PM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

I was in a meeting the other day with one of my favorite colleagues when I had a sudden, shocking realization: she makes me sleepy. In fact, she has always made me sleepy. I’m not sure if it’s her voice or her beautiful skin or her whole demeanor or the fact that her area of expertise is something I don’t completely understand but the net effect is that whenever I meet with her I get sleepier and sleepier and lower and lower in my chair until I think I’d really benefit from taking a very short nap. Which is not...

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Observations
You Know You're in Trouble When...
Posted on Jun 16, 2008 5:32:51 PM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

Your son calls you at the office and his first words are, “Mom, don’t be mad.” You have just woken up and are already tired and you haven’t even gotten out of bed yet One of your staff members says she needs to see you by the end of the day, for 15 minutes, and doesn’t give a reason why * the phone rings anytime after 9:45 pm the baby wakes up crying your dog looks sheepish when you walk in the front door ** the guy who is doing major repairs on your pool says that yes, DEFINITELY, he...

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Advice on Being a Lady, Courtesy of My Mother...
Posted on Jun 11, 2008 5:09:14 PM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

...or why I live in the wrong decade, maybe even century. A couple of weeks ago I was in LA, having a meeting in the TLC offices about our upcoming tv show and the eagle-eyed executive producer of our series looked over at me and said in disbelief, “Are you wearing a slip?” I was and, as it turns out, it was showing. But of course I was wearing a slip! I was wearing a dress — what else would you wear under it? You see, my mother told me that a lady always wears a slip. In fact, for...

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Everyday Life
Cooking for One, or Not
Posted on Jun 9, 2008 5:25:54 PM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

I am writing this at 8:15 on Sunday night. Baby is asleep and Husband, Eldest and Middle are at the Meadowlands watching the US national soccer team play against Argentina. Yes, it's a school night and yes they will probably get home at 11 but school is almost over, so what the heck. I do hope they make it home, if only because tonight I realized that if I didn't have my family to cook for, I might starve to death. That is, tonight I realized--as Baby and I stared at each other over the tray of his high chair...

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Family
Finding Sanctuary in Your Own House
Posted on Jun 4, 2008 10:16:35 AM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

My husband and I bought our house four years ago, in a semi-complicated private sale, from a couple who had lived there for 28 years. The wife was kooky and fabulous and full of interesting information. One of the first things she said to me about the house was, "We bought it for the dining room and the front porch," and after four years I know exactly what she means. The dining room is great because it's spacious enough for a big table (one that will hold lots of guests) but mostly because it's bright and has these wonderful old...

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Miscellaneous
This Just In: Magazine Editor Taken to the Woodshed by Angry Readers
Posted on Jun 3, 2008 10:43:57 AM  |  By KristinVanOgtrop

Occasionally I'll write something in my editor's note for the Real Simple monthly issue that makes readers mad. Sometimes they think I'm frivolous and sometimes they think I'm a horrible person and sometimes it's somewhere in between. Well, I've done it again, and this time it's more on the horrible person end of the spectrum. In the June issue I wrote about ordering a Dumpster and throwing out lots of the dusty rubble that seemed to make up most of my basement, particularly after our renovation last year. It was a liberating act, and I said so in my letter....

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