Search Results for: blog elements of mother and father

Mother’s Day Scrapbooks: Back to Basics

I just saw a car commercial that suggested dads should come into purchase new wheels for Father’s Day. For crying out loud, we haven’t even celebrated Mother’s Day yet and Madison Avenue wants us to start thinking about buying gifts for dads. My calendar still says April. I still have to finish the scrapbook I am making for my mom for Mother’s Day. I certainly don’t need a car company breathing down my neck about Father’s Day. So, yeah, time is ticking on my half-done Mother’s Day memory book. I’m sure I will be able to finish in time if … Continue reading →

Elements of Mother and Father

Even when our children have two parents in their lives, if we are a single parent running our own household, we are called upon to incorporate all sorts of different “traditional gender” roles into our parenting. We can cling to an idea that we are only this or only that and many of us find that we take on elements of mothering and fathering and become a better-rounded parent… This is not to say or imply that there is anything wrong with those who choose to go the more traditional “mom” and “dad” route and are heading up two-parent homes, … Continue reading →

Sense and Sensibility

Upon their father’s death, the Dashwood sisters and their mother find that they are essentially homeless, as the estate, by law, goes to his son from his first marriage. They’re left with a measly 500 pounds to live on, but thankfully a cousin offers them a cottage not too farm from their home. While the family packs up their belongings, they are visited by Mr. Dashwood and his unpleasant wife, whose only saving grace is her brother, Edward (Hugh Grant), who comes to visit before heading on to London. Oldest sister Elinor (Emma Thompson) immediately takes a liking to Edward, … Continue reading →

Just Who is Candace E. Salima?

So, I’m thinking to myself. Maybe I should interview myself – hey, I’m writing these BLOGS, I’m an author and maybe you should know a little more about me. My bio paints a pretty clear picture of my background, on a surface level. But I’m going to ask myself the same questions I’m asking others. So here we go: 1. What prompted you to become a writer? My mother taught us how to read before we hit kindergarten. I can’t remember a time when books weren’t an integral part of my life. As a child my reading interests were in … Continue reading →

First Names Are Fascinating

Genealogists are often interested in the meanings of surnames, the last names or family names of their ancestors. First names are interesting too, even if you are not in the position of trying to select one for a new addition to the family. You probably know what your first name means. Have you ever heard any of your ancestors’ first names and wondered what they meant? If you are curious, you can check out a web site like BehindtheName.com and see what those names mean. There are a few names in my family tree that I am curious about. For … Continue reading →

Which Peter Pan is the Best?

Charming is one word that we could apply to just about any Disney animated film, and even though 1953’s “Peter Pan” certainly is that, it’s devoid of charm when compared to the play/novel on which it was based. One of Walt Disney’s greatest strengths was his ability to take an older story and reinvent it for modern audiences. Doing so for “Peter Pan,” however, just replaces what is a wry and sweet sense of humor with silly slapstick, which seems cheap in comparison. A primary reason why Barrie’s book, and presumably his play, is so charming is its witty, very … Continue reading →

Top Ten Irish surnames

Are you Irish? You might be if your surname happens to be one of the most common Irish surnames. As you are working on genealogy, you may discover that you have ancestors who came from Ireland. You might want to extend your search into Irish databases, to learn more about your relatives. I am an American with Irish heritage, even though I don’t happen to look very Irish. My married name is from English origin, and my maiden name is Swedish. I know I am Irish because one of my grandmothers spoke fluent Gaelic, and her surname was Darcy, (which … Continue reading →

Book Review : For the Love of a Child: The Journey of Adoption

Monica Blume, a social worker and counselor with LDS Family Services, once saw a young woman who had been adopted watch a film entitled “ Adoption and Unwed Parents”. Tears ran down the young woman’s face. “I never knew that my birth mother loved me,” she said. Blume, who has worked with many, many birthmothers, birth fathers, birth grandparents over the years, wrote For the Love of a Child: The Journey of Adoption not only in hopes of being helpful to birthmothers, birth families, and clergy who may be involved in adoption decisions, but in hopes, she says, that she … Continue reading →

Media Review: Follow that Bird!

I consider myself a book-lover, frugal, and responsible about other people’s property. Thus it may surprise you that, upon finding and reading a book in the church nursery, I ripped it up. By hand. Into tiny little pieces. I told the nursery director later that I didn’t even want someone to pull it out of the recycling and read it. Perhaps even more surprising is that it was a Sesame Street book. More surprising yet, I set out to review the movie the book was based on, and ending up thinking that it wasn’t that bad, actually enjoyable, with a … Continue reading →

Waiting for the Light to Change – Annette Haws

In the new novel “Waiting for the Light to Change,” Sarah has had a difficult life. Her husband, Bob, left her and her three children when her youngest was just one. She’s had to work hard at providing for her family, being both mother and father, and battling the resentment that built up against Bob and his new wife, Claire—a battle she lost. She hates the fact that Bob is a successful doctor, has money to burn, and has the respect of everyone around him while she’s sitting on raggedy furniture, barely able to meet the bills. She works at … Continue reading →