For the last several years, I’ve used the 1996 Broadway Musical Rent song, written by Jonathan Larson: Seasons of Love, as my signature sign-off for the year. The song’s lyrics ask what the proper way is to quantify the value of a year of human life in 525,600 minutes. Here is the equation: 365 days × 24 hours per day × 60 minutes per hour = 525,600 minutes in a year. Plus, over the last two weeks, I’ve been pondering how to end my blog on the last day of the year, capturing

Drug store shopping is not only for picking up prescriptions sent in by your doctor, and your favorite candy bar staring at you in the face at the register. It also carries 50% off cheeky Christmas “crap” the day or two after Christmas. When my two sisters, Kimberly and Annette, and niece, Shana, thew the gauntlet down to drug store shop this morning, I was all in on the adventure. When we lived in Ohio, a favorite Drug Mart store was less than a mile from our house. I shoppe

If you celebrate today, 12/25: Merry Christmas to you and yours. We’ve had a blast playing with grandson, the little guy, Bodie!! He brings a great spirit to all of us and truly is pure joy for our family, as he turns 21 months old today. We are very grateful for family and friends, and hoping all across the country and world, a very happy holiday season. I’m also thrilled for all my readership of my blog! Thank you 😊. With love and gratitude! Terri

We are all set for Santa! Since I like to keep things simple with decorations, not one room is top heavy with stuff. And, my tree has only two ornaments on it. Of course we have more (in boxes in the garage that hasn’t been used in a decade), but that’s not where the spirit of the holiday season is found. Gathering with loved ones is where my greatest joy comes from, whether at our home, or somewhere else. (Our peeps are on their way). Wishing everyone who celebrates Christma

For those who tune into the fading sun a few weeks before the Winter Solstice, those brilliant skies scatter saturated hues across the horizon almost daily, or at least here in the Mid-Atlantic. My usual thinking is that the January skies and sunsets are typically the best in the business, but December 2025 has not disappointed. Depending on where I am in the house when the show starts, I sometimes do a double-take of what I’m seeing due West. And since these brilliant sunset

There is nothing like a cup of hot tea in the morning. I have my favorite, the Wegman’s brand of Black Cinnamon, sitting right next to me as I punch out this blog post on a very cold Maryland December morning (19 degrees - yikes!). But it’s not only on cold mornings I drink this delicious tea, but it’s also every single day, or pretty close to every day - even on those hot summer days! Since I’ve never had a cup of coffee in my life, the tea takes its place. When I travel, I

I know it's been a minute since my last blog about the Holiday Wishes Quilt Raffle, but there was one big priority that's shared below: hint - Baby Boy Bodie! Santa, is That You? Most of our week was spent in Richmond, Virginia, babysitting 20-month-old Bodie. His parents were in Washington, DC, for a couple of days as our son-in-law received an award from his company (Capital One Bank). Bill was there the entire week, holding down the fort, but I had to come home on Thursday

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all who participated in the 2025 Holiday Wishes Christmas Quilt! A BIG shout of Congratulations to Mary Jean McCarthy for winning this special quilt for her and her family! Here are the facts: We had 631 names (chances) on the Wheel of Names - Wooohooo! We collectively raised $2200, with Bill and me matching the first $500 - YAY!!! We will donate the money to these organizations: Just Tryan It ,  which provides financial assistance to fami

Hello! I am psyched about this year's raffle quilt and collectively helping a few families like mine during this festive season. However, as I wrote in The Focused Fight: A Childhood Cancer Journey: From Mayhem to Miracles , this time of year was pure mayhem on several occasions. A lot of it had to do with Santa finding Olivia and Ryan while we were hospitalized. I'm hoping that with the funds collected, we will be able to help with outstanding medical bills, a car note or re

Today's birthday with twins Bill and Don Tomoff is that "funny" one in today's vernacular: 67. They are both doing their things in different states, but I'm sure they will be on the horn a few times today, laughing and sharing the usual stuff they talk about daily (they are right now as I type this post). For us here, we celebrated a week ago by going to one of our favorite restaurants in WDC, Founding Farmers, for their delicious brunch. The celebrations included Ryan's Bon