Book Pick: Prairie Tale

Hollywood Treasure and America's Sweetheart....Melissa Gilbert is one of those actresses that kind of transcended the screen and became a part of the culture. While her book came out in 2009 and she's had some life changes since then, it is still a moving and honest picture of the life of a woman who we all feel like we know.

For starters, who didn't love Half Pint? I watched Little House every day after school and felt certain that Laura Ingalls and I would have been good friends....in this century, of course.....I don't think I could have worked with an outhouse. The dirt on her costars was fun and her love of Michael Landon was apparent. Her lack of love for Melissa Sue Anderson made me laugh though....I think I knew it all along!

And after all those tenny bopper rags my mom bought me at the grocery store, how did I never know that she and Rob Lowe dated on and off for years? And were engaged? To be fair, they were just a little older than me, but still! Her Hollywood escapades and celeb stories fed my gossip fiend and reminded me of how fun the 80's must have been in LA. To have been the gal pal of all those guys in The Outsiders? Swoon......

Her struggles with substance, relationships and coping with learning the details of her adoption were sad to read, but I really admire her bravery in sharing. I also felt a twinge of sisterhood in some of her custody issues with her oldest son. I found myself rooting for Melissa and even sent her an email to tell her how much I loved her and her book. Hey, that's what us fan girls do. Rock on, Half Pint, rock on.

Reclaiming Your Childhood: Priceless

This story might take a minute to tell. Bear with me. When my sister and I were little girls, my mother took us to a large baptist church in town. Even as a child, I never remember feeling welcome there. But I do remember the lovely older couple that kept my Sunday School class. They gave us saltines and kool-aid, and I remember thinking they would be nice grandparents to have. At Christmastime, the Sunday School class was set to have a random gift exchange. Every child was supposed to bring a gift that could be exchanged with any other child.....no specific gift designations. I received the gift of an Avon 7 bead necklace which was very popular at the time. I loved it so much and was thrilled to have it! I was somewhere between 5 and 7 at the time. (Back in the 1970's and 80's, Avon was a cosmetic company that was also known for it's inexpensive jewelry. I couldn't find a price on what this necklace would have cost back then, but apparently there is ...

My Week with Rumor

My dog Rumor was an experiment. A trial offer. And all parties knew that going in. Except for maybe Rumor. Rumor was an outdoor country dog. His given name was Ruger (named after a firearm if you don't know, I didn't) which made sense for a dog raised in hunting country. He was a stray that came to live with a loving family at about the age of 1. He lived outdoors, slept in a garage crate at night, frolicked with an older dog pack and had a lovely life. We think he was about 4 years old. He had been neutered, had vet care and was by no means a "rescue". His dad offered Ruger to me on a give-it-a-try basis. He knew I wanted a dog. He told me Ruger would be sweet to me and also be my protector. He was right on both counts. He told me if it didn't work out, I could bring Ruger back to him and his wife. I could tell they were a little sad when they dropped him off. It made me glad to see that Ruger came from such ...

NYE for $200, Alex

Can we all just agree that New Year's Eve is the worst of the string of winter holidays? I would even go so far as saying it's THE WORST of all the holidays. I loved when Stanford Blatch defined a party as feeling very "forced festive". To me, most NYE parties feel that way. The idea that this is a big year-end blow-out and we'd all damn well better make it awesome! The reason I hate NYE is because it combines two of things I most hate about celebrations: cold weather and crowds. Plus it's during a time of year when everyone has already spent all their money. AND you usually have to the leave the house. ADDITIONALLY, you have to stay up late. It's a big F.U. from me on all this. I would dare say that some of my happiest New Year's memories have been spent at home in my pajamas with either my child, an S.O. or happily alone. I remember one unforgettable year of moving into a 3rd floor apartment on NYE. I rememb...

Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

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