A couple of weeks ago, I found the picture above of my Dad from his days at Newsweek and had to share it. Actually I wanted to share more than just this picture. I wanted to talk a bit about how amazing my Dad is. I know everyone’s dad is amazing, but I’m glad this guy is my Dad.  He is always there for me.  A voice of sanity in an, at times, very shaky world.

So, I decided to enter him in SF Chronicle writer, and parenting blogger, Peter Hartlaub’s “My Father’s A Hipster” contest. with the following blurb that had to be under 100 words:

Here is a picture of my Dad from his days working for Newsweek in L.A. Equally comfortable hanging out with cast of Laugh In or a few Black Panthers, my Dad rocked the seventies with his outstanding style that would make Andre 3000 jealous. He is the only man I know who uses the phrase, “that cat” and actually sounds cool saying it. Even though he spent my childhood traveling and working late covering major news stories of the seventies and eighties, he always made me feel like I was front page news—above the fold even.

PS: But he still corrects my grammar. Once an editor always an editor…

Of course, he’s so much more than 100 words.  He was one of the first black journalists hired full time at Newsweek, breaking color lines in the sixties. He was mentored by Katherine Graham from the Washington Post. He was a founding member of the National Association of Black Journalists which later became known as the Maynard Institute. He has won a Pulitzer for his work. And, folks, he interviewed Cher in the seventies. CHER!

But more important than that, my dad attended my father daughter Valentine’s Day dance in second grade and when some girls with heart sticker under their folding chairs got a special surprise, my dad overturned every chair until he found one with a heart sticker on it. He crammed $50 in my hand before prom as “mad money”. Here is how the conversation went:

Dad: “Do you know what mad money is?”

Me: “No.”

Dad: “It’s for when you get mad at your date and need to get out of there. BE SAFE!”

He said I was, “the second most beautiful bride he’d ever seen.” I love him so much for that alone.

And when I was recently stressed over my career he said, “to be truly responsible, you need to be responsible for yourself first.” Clearly the man has a way with words.

I could go on and on and share more and more pictures, if my parents weren’t so tightfisted with the slides. But here’s another one of his Newsweek photos I love.

But back to the contest. Well, the “winner” has yet to be decided, but Dad’s pic did make the front page of the SF Chronicle’s Style Section.  Who could say no to that bow tie?

Happy Father’s day, Dad! Thanks for being a wonderful example of how to be a working parent and make the most of each and every moment.

I love you!

Recently, I took my last ferry ride to a job I held for eight plus years.

You see, I worked at a major networks’ Interactive site as a PR director. It has been an extraordinary experience. And extraordinary stressful–demanding I’m out of the house from 7AM to 6PM most days and always a phone call or email away, constantly reaching for my Blackberry.  I am thankful for this job which has allowed me to meet some amazingly talented people. CBS has always had a habit of hiring the smartest people around with incredibly sharp with–many of whom I’m lucky enough to call friends.

You do get to meet quite a few fancy people working for a major television network like LL Cool J, the cast of Big Bang Theory, Ileana Douglas, Jeff Probst, Mary Louise Parker, Rob Lowe, the guys from the band Spoon, and half the cast of Gossip Girl.  And there isn’t a conference I haven’t been to–E3, SXSW, ComicCon, heck, you name it. But honestly, it is the hours spent with co-workers that became friends staying late working on some big announcements. Or sharing excitement with my spokespeople before they get in front of the cameras for an interview.  Or that amazing feeling reading an article that I helped place in the Wall Street Journal or on a nationa morning news show. And I’m thankful for this job because it has allowed me to support my family through some tough times as well.

But it was time to move on. My work/life/blog balance was woefully out of whack. Perhaps that is just the way things are, but all of a sudden it just became too much.  The price to high for my sanity and my health.  And it wasn’t just about me. It was about the Peach. And Eric. Basically, I wasn’t seeing enough of the two most important people in my life. And I knew that that needed to change.

I’m also very lucky to have a dear friend go through the experience almost exactly a year ago. When Alix left her big stressful corporate job, I was so impressed by her grace and joy changing her work life balance and still bringing home the bacon!  She has been truly an inspiration and I’m still proud of her and amazed at how much she’s done during her first year freelancing.

Speaking of freelancing, I start my new consulting gig in a couple of weeks and I’m so excited about it.  The new company I will consult for is one of my favorite companies and run by some of the most talented people in the business. I have to pinch myself to remember that this is my life.

But what to do with this wonderful bit of free time? Well, celebrate of course!

I’m planning on a bit of organizing, a bit of sewing, and a bit of travel. I feel like this little slip of time is a wonderful opportunity to do something a little bit extraordinary.

Like a little jaunt to Paris.

More to come on that. Oh yes, much more about that!  Because I’m leaving today for Paris. No agenda–just a ticket, a hotel reservation and one of my dearest friends.  You can follow my adventure on Instagram and Twitter under MissDottie.  Oh, and there will be adventure. And some fine champagne, I’m sure.

Folks, I have a confession: the Peach is TESTING ME.

Everybody talked about the terrible twos–but for me it is the threes. My sweet, perfect little two year old has been replaced with a little person who has a mind of her own and wants things HER WAY. I think I might get that popular book,  Your Three Year Old: Friend or Enemy–if not for the title alone.

Another freaky thing going on with the Peach is that her moods turn so quickly that I swear I’m about to get whiplash.

Sometimes, the smallest thing will unhinge her.

And no, I didn’t give her any wine. Even when she said, please.

Speaking of please, I miss it so.  It used to be her favorite word. So happy that when she used it, she would be rewarded with what she wanted most of the time. But recently she has turned into a demanding little lady.  The perfect manners that I crammed into her little brain at 18 months are often replaced with demands. For example:

“Mama, I want some water!”

“Can you say that in a nicer way?”

“MayIpleasehaveaglassofwater, MAMA.”

That conversation happens about a half dozen times a day. I remember reading an interview with Helena Bonham Carter, who said she based her character, the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland movie, on her three year old daughter.  I remember being appalled at the time. Now I feel Helena and I could have a good old time chatting about it over a nice cocktail.

The Peach constantly let’s us know that she is a BIG GIRL. And that big girls can do a lot of things.  Like drive cars, cross the street by themselves, stay up late, and apparently eat a lot of cupcakes. Every day.

But she’s still my little girlie, holding onto my leg when she meets someone new.  A bit shy, but soon giggly and sweet.

She is more contemplative now that she’s three–enjoying some activities alone, like painting or sitting and reading books for a half hour or so.

The Peach cherishes her friends. She loves laughing and giggling and playing with them for hours on end.  She truly loves her little friends. And loves us too. Her heart is big and you feel her uncensored love and concern for people other than herself. She is happiest holding someone’s hand. I especially enjoy it when I’m the other hand.

Three is a the funny age. I think the Peach is going through some mental as well as physical growth spurt.  All this new stuff is just brewing in her and she can’t process it other than in the most basic of emotions.  It’s tough being a kid.  All I know is that it will probably pass. And too soon.  I’m sure in a few years, I’ll be reminiscing about this time and missing it so.

How was your kiddo at three? And tips, tricks, reminisces to share?

Keeping your family fed is work. There is nothing more frustrating (and expensive and time consuming) than going to the store and buying random stuff only to not know what to do with it when you get home or to have to rush out again for forgotten ingredients to turn your groceries into a full fledged meal.

When I was a senior in college my roommate Curt introduced me to meal planning.  My four roommates and I were spending gobs of money on groceries and our meals were quite scattered.  That is until Curt sat us down and brought order to our collegiate cooking chaos.  Each of my four roommates would cook one dinner a week and we would fend for ourselves Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  We would each pour over our few cookbooks (basically all Molly Katzan books and maybe one Joy of Cooking) and write down the ingredients by Sunday morning and go food shopping Sunday afternoon.  So simple, yet amazing.  And our family style meals turns us into the best of friends as well.

And now many years later, the bones of it are still there.  I still have my Enchanted Broccoli Forest, but rely more on Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, the Barefoot Contessa and dozens of other cookbook writers.

Every Thursday night I sit with a glass of wine watching 30 Rock leafing through my cookbooks and visiting a few very loved Websites–like Shutterbean, CHOW.com, TheKitchn.com, Epicurious.com and Smitten Kitchen.  I think about what is in season right now and often do a search around that ingredient to come up with a winning recipe.

Image via: CHOW.com (recipe is Mushroom and chile tacos)

I also try to cook one new recipe a week, which is a great way to get one out of a rut we all get into every now and then. I’m also that annoying person who tears interesting recipes out of magazines and has  folder full of them collected over the years that easy falls to the floor if you even slightly bump it. Sigh…

I try to think things through–like if I’m doing a roasted chicken on Sunday, we’ll probably have a salad with the leftover chicken on chicken soup on Monday.  And if something produces a lot–like slow cooker dishes, I’ll put us down for leftovers the following day–which is especially useful if one of us is out that night.

After I make a list of the meals I go through each recipe and write down the needed ingredients.  I often read the recipe twice just to make sure I wrote down all of the ingredients and make sure I feel comfortable doing the steps. And then we grocery shop on Friday.

Image via: Shutterbean  And yeah, this recipe is SO on my meal plan TODAY.

Now, I’d love to say this is fool-proof because of course it’s not. There are many days when I am too tired to cook or forget an ingredient or what have you, but most of the time, I’m really happy about this method. And I’m certainly not the only person to meal plan like this. There are some great templates for menu planning.  Like this one. Or this one. But I prefer my old spiral bound steno pad. Why fix it if it ain’t broke?

My sister in law is the exact opposite. She relys solely on what she gets in her CSA box and plans around that. Or she’ll go the market and fix what she and her family are in the mood for that day.  I wish I was more extemporaneous in looking into my fridge and seeing a world of possibilities. Sigh, but I’m not.

Are you a meal planner or more about scratching your food itch of the moment when you go grocery shopping?

Folks, I have a confession to make… My house isn’t so uh… organized as I’d like it to be.

After living in your house for a few years, things have a way of getting unorganized fast. Then one day, it takes you a half hour to find a pair of scissors although you probably own ten pairs of them. And that day is the day you realize something needs to be done.

So, you do what any person would do. Head over to Martha Stewart’s Website of beautifully organized things and you make a board on Pinterest a bout getting organized and you even blog about it. All the while you still can’t find your scissors in less than 20 minutes. And something needs to be done.

Inspired by the amazing clean-out and organizing bonanza my girl Alix did with her basement,  I walked up to my attic which is full of SO MUCH STUFF and turned right around to ward off the panic attack I get just looking up there.  It was just too big. Too much.  I needed something smaller. So I decided to organize my linen closet. It couldn’t be that bad, right?

OR COULD IT?

Oh yeah. It could be bad. Really bad. This little closet with four shelves took me EIGHT HOURS TO CLEAN OUT.  And I had a nervous breakdown in the middle of it and binged on a half box of chocolate chip cookies while watching Glee to sooth my shame of finding saline solution that expired in 2001.

But then I got into the zone. The zone where you start getting rid of the STUFF. The half used tubes of diaper cream, beauty products that made me break out, lipsticks that just weren’t my color, hair styling products that didn’t really do much for my hair.  I threw two shopping bags full of that stuff. That junk was just going to sit in my closet taking up room. Good riddance!

Talk about cathartic…

Here is the “after” of the linen closet.  It probably doesn’t look like much, but trust me–this was a full day of work.

This made me TRULY appreciate what Alix is doing with her basement. At least her stuff is cool. Expired sunscreen isn’t exactly cool…

But who has or wants to spend a full day going through stuff and organizing? It is particularly hard as the weather is so lovely. But there is something so wonderful about getting rid of three shopping bags worth of stuff from my house.

I’ve decided to take a much more sane approach to this spring cleaning. Here is my new organizing mantra:

A drawer a day. No more–no less. 

On crazy days, maybe I’ll just take a little drawer that doesn’t need so much help. And on other days, maybe I’ll take on a bit more insanity. Like this one…

I promise monthly reports with a hopefully increasing tally of shopping bags of stuff taken out of my house. So far the tally is up to FOUR.  Not too bad for one “drawer”.

Who’s with me? Any organizing suggestions? Anything would be greatly appreciated!