Dear Eric Bolling: I’ll Try Not to Let My Boobs Get in the Way When I Smack You in the Head

– Posted in: Conservatives are Funny, Mean People, Media, Tammy Thinks
"We are men of action, sir. Lies do not become us." -- the Princess Bride

I've been avoiding the news lately. In an effort to de-stress a little, I decided it just wasn't in my best interest to follow the midterm elections too closely or see precisely what was on fire (with the exception of the trees burning a few hundred miles from my house and causing the air to [...]

Why I Could Never Work for Hobby Lobby (Other than the Obvious Answer — They’re Total Jackasses)

– Posted in: Chronic Pain, Mean People, Tammy Thinks, Women's Issues
You can't attach an asterisk to part of my body and expect me to be okay with it.

One of the awesome little side problems I've experienced during my whole fibromyalgia/atypical facial pain mess has been menstrual migraines. For those who don't know, a menstrual migraine -- at least for me -- is a series of days-long headaches that occur like clockwork before your period. In my case, they lay me out for a [...]

5 Things That Have Changed Since You Watched Grease

– Posted in: Beauty, Bullying, Elfie, Getting Older, Growing Up, Mean People, Mouths of Babes, Movies, Nevada, Okay That's Funny, Parenting, Things To Do with Kids, Unsolicited Advice, Women's Issues
Grease the Movie

The other night, we all sat down and watched Grease. As far as my husband, Tenzin, is concerned, it’d be embarrassing to become a full-grown U.S. American without being able to sing along to "Summer Lovin'" and "You're the One That I Want" (and no, it's his brother who's gay...) Anyway, it became pretty clear [...]

How to be Famous: Go Get Shot

– Posted in: Complaining, Life is Dangerous, Mean People, Media, Nevada, Reno, School, Tammy Thinks, World Gone Crazy, Worst Mom Rants
How to be Famous: Go get Shot

I woke up to a Facebook message from my friend saying there was a shooting at Sparks Middle School and her husband was fine (incidentally, Sparks is right next to Reno, where I live). She wrote this in all caps at least four times and with about five exclamation points behind each "fine." I see [...]

The Tree Doesn’t Fall Far from the Apple

– Posted in: Bullying, Conservatives are Funny, Elfie, Family, Growing Up, Kid Friends, Mean People, Mouths of Babes, Newt, Parenting, Women's Issues
Why my kids are better people than I am

So I'm happy to report that the kids not only survived camp but had a fabulous time. Apparently the first night was a little touch-and-go: Newt wanted to come home very badly, and Elfie got stung by a bee. But they sucked it up, and the memorable stories have been trickling out of them since [...]

How to Make a 45-year-old Mother of Two Feel Like a Child

– Posted in: Guest Blog, Mean People, Working for Pay, World Gone Crazy, Worst Mom Rants
child statue

I've often heard that one of the best ways to boost kids' self-esteem, decision-making skills, and autonomy is by giving them something to do and then backing off. You know, task them with a job but then allow them to get the job done in a way that they see fit. Incredibly, this works with [...]

It’s Time to Stop Dreaming. And Stop Frisking.

– Posted in: Mean People, Politics, Tammy Thinks, World Gone Crazy, Worst Mom Rants

I cry pretty easily. Really, it doesn't take much. When we read Harry Potter, I get weepy when Mrs. Weasley shows Harry any kind of motherly affection (I know, don't judge). But last night, while watching The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, I cried for real. Lawrence showed an interview with Kasim Walters. He's a high school student [...]