Already we are into week two of the new Friday series hitting my TV Moms column: Name That TV Mom! As promised, the lovely pages of my blog are a stopping ground for some bonus hints. 

To try your hand at solving the puzzle using the first 5 hints, go to: 

Name That TV Mom: Are you brave enough to take the challenge?

What do you think? Time for another hint? Okay here we go...

Bonus hint #1: This TV mom has made an appearance in two of my TV mom articles. She was the main feature of the first and both her show and character were mentioned in the next. 

Bonus hint #2: This TV mom once starred in a movie with Freddie Prinze Jr. and she couldn't stay on her feet around him because she was...

Bonus hint #3: Any portion of the article (*cough* headline *cough*) is fair game for clues to be lurking.

*The first hint might prove to be more helpful than it might first seem...Certain words hold more value than you might think. 

If you're still stumped, let me know and we'll toss another bonus hint into the mix in a bit. Good luck, have fun!

Over in TV Moms land (you know, my TV Moms column) we're spicing things up a little bit for some Friday fun. 

This past week we played a little game of Name That TV Mom on my TV moms Facebook page - TV Moms: The good. The bad. The crazy. and turned it into a battle between the page and the TVMoms101 Twitter followers.  Well, I had so much fun with that, that I decided to turn it into a weekly series for the column. 

Today, Friday, August 12, 2011 gave us our first puzzle: 

Name That TV Mom - Can you solve the puzzle? 

As the weeks go on and I find my groove in this you can expect things to get a little more challenging and for this blog to play an accompanying role in this party. Meaning you'll be able to come here for bonus hints and clues. 

So, I invite you to head on over to the wonderful and lovely land of TV moms and hop on board solving the puzzle of this week's very first mystery mama. 

Thanks for playing! Stay tuned...

On August 6, 2011, what would have been Lucille Ball's 100th birthday there are celebrations and remembrances occurring across the web and television.

For my part, I've  dedicated a few of my recent articles in my TV Moms column to the incredible lady of a million laughs. 

You can take a trip down memory lane, remembering the episode Lucy Hires an English Tutor or get information on the Hallmark Channel 48-hour I Love Lucy marathon as well as TCM's Lucille Ball movie marathon. 

• Memory Lane: Preparing for baby on 'I Love Lucy'
• Hallmark Channel celebrates Lucille Ball's 100th birthday with I Love Lucy marathon
• TCM remembers Lucille Ball on what would have been her 100th birthday

Also check in at my Facebook page: TV Moms: The good. The bad. The crazy. as we celebrate Lucille Ball's birthday with our favorite I Love Lucy quotes and moments. 

I Love Lucy might have been well before my time, but there's something incredibly special about this lady that has transcended across time. 

Thanks for stopping in, stay tuned...

I came across this little gem in my StumbleUpon wanderings and thought it was too fantastic not to share. 

I love the list, but figured I/we could add a few of our own. So I'll give you mine and I'd love it if you'd share yours in the comments and we'll have ourselves a little happy-day party. 

Life's Natural Highs continued...

~ A rainy, snuggly, stay-in-bed-reading kind of day
~ Being taken back in time by a song
~ Making your spouse laugh
~ Laughing so hard you cry
~ Playing at the park
~ Hearing a child's belly laugh


~ A random compliment
~ Being known
~ Laughing so hard it turns into a giggle-snort
~ The perfect set that results in a hardwood-pounding kill (yes, I'd be talking about volleyball here)
~ The tug of a fish at the end of your fishing pole
~ A spine-tingling kiss

Okay, now it's your turn: keep our list growing in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!

I'm excited to share that I got my first cover story with Simply Family magazine! Mine would be the New Beginnings: Surviving the Kindergarten Drop Off. 

You can check out the magazine online at www.simplyfamilymagazine.com 

My article begins on page 34 if you're interested in checking it out. 

Even with the excitement over this being my first article featured on a cover, this is one of my favorite pieces that I've submitted thus far. It's probably a toss up over the article on onlies and this one I'd say. 

Random ponderment: Is claiming a favorite piece of written work like telling your kids you prefer one over the other? 



At any rate, an exciting new step in my journey as a freelance writer. 

Thanks for reading...Stay tuned! 

Confession: An outdoorsy kind of girl I’m not. Hiking, hunting, camping…I'd really rather pass. Fishing, is good, I can work with fishing. And, so, you ask? Well as I sit here scratching far too many mosquito bites, I'm reflecting on this past weekend when the family went on our annual camping trip. As we were getting things set up – sweltering, with the mosquitoes already beginning their feasting - I think my words were, “This is my idea of hell.” Clearly not a fan.

It’s not that I don’t have fond memories of camping from childhood, I do, but still…I don’t get it. Dirt, bugs, heat, rain, uncomfortable sleeping, daringly eating your meals on a floppy paper plate…Even still, I can recognize that it’s not all bad. So I give you…

5 Reasons Camping Is Not the Worst Thing on Earth:

1. The stars - It’s not like I don’t have a stellar view of the stars in the sky from home, but I’m telling you, there was something awe-inspiring about the clearness and total beauty of those stars this weekend. There is something utterly spectacular about a Montana sky. I guess they don’t call it Big Sky Country for nothing.  

2. Watching my kiddo have oodles of fun - I might not be a fan, but my kid did not get the memo. Running amuck with her cousins, finding whole new levels of brave, fishing...She had a blast and all while reminding me that she's so good at letting me know when it's time to let her go to grow. 

3. Campfire – I might not actually enjoy s’mores (and no, I don’t consider this a fatal flaw), but I do totally love watching everyone find that fine line of perfectly toasting their ‘mallows to hopelessly burning them beyond anything edible. Plus…What could possibly be better than a rousing game of name that tune around the campfire. Gone are the days of the sing-along, no, now it’s time to bust out the i-pod. Welcome to camping in the 21st century. 

4. Mishaps – In our family, it just wouldn’t be any kind of vacation without some kind of something going wrong. One family member suggesting our next year’s camping trip be dubbed: “The Griswold’s family camping trip,” kind of says it all. 

5. The bugs…No the dirt…No, no the weather – So none of these things really gets my happy on, but the bugs at least are good for a few funnies. You know…The awesomeness of watching people as they flail about attempting to rid themselves of these pesky, blood-sucking monsters. The bonding that occurs as you take turns fogging each other in an effort to create an impenetrable wall of bug-be-gone. Bugs, in a round about kind of way, can bring the funny, dirt and weather…Not so much.

So no, an outdoorsy girl I’m not (and don’t tell my family I said this), but it’s not the most horrifyingly awful experience to ever be had. That wasn’t much of a glowing recommendation, was it? Baby steps.  


And in case my use of "amuck" got this moment in Hocus Pocus stuck in your melon...There ya have it.