The time was spring 1994.  The place, a shabby apartment in Isla Vista, the college town just outside the UC Santa Barbara campus.

Everything about this particular evening was pretty much just like every other party evening. My three besties and I were gathered at our friend Carlos’ apartment, just one block off DP (Del Playa was/is the main party drag in IV), where the floors were sticky and so was the weed, from what I was told. My girlfriends and I were all donning the standard party “uniform” of black top, jeans, and Del Rio M·A·C lipstick. Cheap glasses filled with cheap Merlot (Fetzer I think) were being mixed-up all over the place since wine charms had yet to be invented. The music in the background was most likely something like Aerosmith, Meat Loaf or the Black Crowes.

This pretty much described every party we attended at UCSB, especially that year, our senior year.

The part of the evening that made it distinguishable from other night occurred at some point during our game of Asshole of Mexicali or whatever the drinking game du jour happened to be.

Before I knew what was happening, a song came on that I did not recognize, which was a rarity. I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to music at parties so I was just on my way to change the CD when I realized that EVERY OTHER person at the party knew the song. They not only knew the song, but they

Back in November, while trying to recover from my sixth cold of 2011, I vowed to stay healthy and not get sick in 2012. It is a new years resolution I am determined to keep. I have been doing a lot of research in this area, talking to medical professionals, reading articles on the all-mighty Internet, and also polling other friends, especially moms who seem to get hit the hardest.

Here is what I have found out about preventing colds and relieving them once they invariably hit.

***DISCLAIMER:  I am NOT a medical professional, though I’d like to play one on TV, or in the bedroom, but that’s a different story.

Besides the tried and true methods of getting plenty of sleep, cutting stress out of your life, drinking lots of water and washing your hands one hundred times a day, here are a few

Tips to Prevent the Common Cold:

Vitamin B – The research I’ve done shows that Vitamin B has not been a proven, effective method of preventing the common cold or flu, however, many of my friends SWEAR by it, including Madonna, who is not my friend, but will be someday. Apparently what it does give you is energy, which in turn, makes you feel well. Some health food stores

I cried at a parent/teacher conference yesterday, at my five-year-old’s preschool.

No shit. Full-on cried.

If you know me personally, this will not come as a shock because I have been cursed/blessed with an over-zealous sensitivity gene and over-active tear ducts, both of which I inherited from my mom, and I have a tendency to cry a lot.

I call it a blessing and a curse because I really love to cry. Crying, for me is an expression of emotion, sometimes sad, but many times happy. It’s a release of angst. It helps me purge myself of the shit that gets bottled up inside me and typically, when I’m feeling wigged out about something, all I need is a good cry and then I’ll feel better. But it’s a curse in a professional situation where I am expected to hold it together, like in a parent/teacher conference.

Which brings me back to the story at hand.

When I walked into the dimly lit, feng sui’d classroom (our preschool, though Lutheran, also has a certain Zen-like quality), I felt a little

Santa was good to me this year. I got comfy PJ’s from Victoria Secret, the newest perfume by Issy Miyake, and was surprised with an iPad that I’m now addicted to. I lucked out, big time! I’d have to say, however, that my favorite gift of all was from my best friend, Mern, who always gives me jewelry. This year she found a little shop on Etsy called Little Green Room, by Amy Aguirre, and ordered me these little personalized rings with my daughters’ initials.

Personalized Rings from Little Green Room on Etsy

They are delicate and darling. Another reason why I love Etsy and why I love my BFF.

Check out some other cool items by this designer that would be great for the next holiday coming up, Valentine’s Day.

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas from Little Green Room on Etsy

I cannot get enough of Etsy and all the funky, unique gifts it has to offer! Thanks Mern, for my thoughtful and darling gift!

Yes, January is the month of new beginnings and goal-setting, but for me it is also the month of playing-catch-up-on-all-the-crap-I-neglected-because-of-the-holidays. Counting how many times I said, “oh that will have to wait until January” would be fruitless because I would lose count somewhere between gajillion and bajillion. It would also take time away from doing all the things I need to do now that January is here. So, I won’t. Instead I’m going to just get to work on said things, pray I don’t forget anything and hopefully somehow get better at time management.

One such thing I’m working on is a photo montage of my mom’s old photos for her upcoming 80^th birthday. I have been procrastinating this video for months now, only to realize today that I have one month to get it all done. I went to her house the other day to look at all the old photos she had pulled and had a blast going down memory lane with her.

Some of my favorite pictures were of her days as the social chair at the Arizona Biltmore back in the mid 60’s.

The pictures all showed off her bright strawberry blond hair and her effervescent personality. She was a real life Julie McCoy, which is exactly the nickmame many of my friends have used for me over the years.

Every time there was a special event, my mom would dress up to match the theme, like this Luau . . .

And of course there was

I want to fly like an eagle, to the sea. Fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me.

- Steve Miller Band

It was 11:00am on the first day of 2012. Feeling surprisingly un-hungover and sufficiently satiated from our breakfast burrito/Bloody Mary brunch with friends in Lake Arrowhead, I began to comprise my mental list of resolutions, goals and intentions for the new year. Somewhere between questioning whether I should throw a big party or get a boob job for my impending fortieth birthday, I heard my friend Hayley calling my name from outside.

Considering that only fourteen hours prior that same friend had spotted a mountain lion a few houses away from our rental cabin, I was a bit hesitant to run outside. But then I heard her more clearly,

“Mary, come quick, it’s a bald eagle.”

She pointed up to one of three lithe pine trees outside our cabin and described where exactly I should look. After a few seconds of trying to eyeball through the needles and cones, I spotted it.

I am not usually one to be swept up in awe over animals or nature, unless there are jazz hands involved, but this beautiful specimen had me captivated. I ran inside