On Raising Boys to Men.

There are truly no handbooks out there on the best way to raise boys. Yes, there's plenty of suggestions and guidance for mothers as they stumble through life determining how to raise young boys into decent human beings. But, in all actuality, we (as in those mothers or fathers out there) just go with the … Continue reading On Raising Boys to Men.

Ma Vie En Rose: To Whole30 or To Fake Whole30–That Is The Question.

  Folks. Let's get real. When a person commits to Whole30, you know it's about to go down. To commit to going 30 days without sugar, bread, carbs (the bad ones), dairy (and I don't know--everything else that we call decadent, and comforting) is downright borderline psycho. So, of course, I made my family try … Continue reading Ma Vie En Rose: To Whole30 or To Fake Whole30–That Is The Question.

A Letter To The Middle Child On His 21st Birthday

My Dearest Boy, You have been the one who gave me the least to worry about, but yet--I still worry. You have proven that studies of middle children, and people lied when they talked or wrote about the middle child syndrome and all of its characteristics. You have never been one to fit the mold. … Continue reading A Letter To The Middle Child On His 21st Birthday

Ma Vie En Rose: Favorite Spaces in Fairbanks, Alaska

The husband and I have fallen into a routine during the weekend.  Soon after we drop our daughter off at her ballet school for several hours, we incorporate sitting down for lunch in the middle of running our boring but much adulting needed errands. In a way, I believe we are somewhat nostalgically preparing ourselves … Continue reading Ma Vie En Rose: Favorite Spaces in Fairbanks, Alaska

Ma Vie En Rose: My New Chocolate Cake BFF

  Folks, I have tried every chocolate cake recipe out there. The fancy ones, the Martha Stewart ones, Nigella Lawson's old fashion chocolate cake with the violet flowers. Some of them required minimal ingredients, while others had a laundry list of items. They always turned out great--but, truly not worthy of praise. Until... I picked … Continue reading Ma Vie En Rose: My New Chocolate Cake BFF

Ma Vie En Rose: I hate you, Adobo. I love you, Adobo.

Folks, this is so blasphemous to admit, but I feel that I must (soo dramatic, I know): I have had a frenemy relationship with adobo all my life. When I was growing up, I couldn't stand looking at it. I remember my aunts cooking them in the kitchen and I'd watch the pork drenched in … Continue reading Ma Vie En Rose: I hate you, Adobo. I love you, Adobo.

March In The Cold

Cold for Alaskans means it has to meet the -20 threshold. If it's above -20, many of us consider the weather not too bad. On Saturday, March 24th, the weather was somewhere between 20-30 above zero. A perfect day to be outside and for Fairbanksans to hold a rally in support of March For Our … Continue reading March In The Cold

A Vindication of Warriors.

I first read "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" by Mary Wollstonecraft when I embarked on my undergraduate studies in English literature. It's a pretty complex, and heavy read. In summary, Mary's argument was that women, in particular mothers, are the first teachers of their children, and as teachers--mothers must be educated so that … Continue reading A Vindication of Warriors.

Ma Vie En Rose: Anchorage, Alaska

If you were to ask my children what they remember most about our trips to Anchorage, they will tell you that it was always filled with soccer first, and then traditional activities: eating out at restaurants, and shopping. We'd drive the 6 hours down from Fairbanks, the RV packed with soccer gear and all the … Continue reading Ma Vie En Rose: Anchorage, Alaska

Ma Vie En Rose: The Turon

  I think I'm going to get booted out of my family for not letting go of this recent battle. Me vs. the Turon (banana lumpia. Lumpia = Filipino eggroll. Instead of the savory filling, the Turon is filled with fresh banana coated in white sugar, and brown sugar). At every opportunity, I've been inserting … Continue reading Ma Vie En Rose: The Turon