Sometimes I procrastinate. Always I regret it. Take my cell phone, for example. I knew it was time to upgrade my nearly three-year-old Droid, yet I kept putting it off.

I certainly desired the latest iPhone, but the thought of transferring all my data and then mastering a new device...

I'm currently settling into life as a single person with a new home in a new city. I am also looking to make some new friends. Thanks to the Internet, it's now fairly easy to connect with people who have similar interests and also live nearby.

After doing a bit...

I felt nothing. That was my reaction to watching the much ballyhooed two-part Oprah Winfrey interview with Lance Armstrong. The big frenzy turned out to be a little fizzle.

Yes, Armstrong admitted to doing wrong, very wrong, and to doing it often.

He told how he systematically, over the course...

I've always wanted a cool nickname. My parents chose "Nancy" because it was a fairly fashionable girls name in the 1950s. It was a safe choice. However, Nancy wasn't popular for very long. Today, hardly anyone picks Nancy for their newborn; it's a name forever stuck in the middle of...

Happy Festivus!! Today is the most wonderful of holidays -- "Festivus, for the rest of us." If you are a Seinfeld devotee, then you probably mark this special December 23 celebration.

But do you know the story of how Festivus actually began?

Festivus was started innocently enough in the 1960s...

Deep down, we knew it would happen, but we didn't really have any other choice. It was just not safe for my mother to continue to live in her senior-living apartment. She needed more care, more activities, more everything.

My sister and I were exhausted and we'd reached that tipping...

Rarely do I remember my dreams, but when I do they usually make a big impression.

A few nights ago, I had one of those exhausting dreams that went on and on with no good resolution. You know the type: The school bus is waiting and you can't find your...

When I conjure an image of a caregiver, I picture a woman. I know I'm being sexist but I always think of a female. Why?

First, I don't personally know many male caregivers. In fact, I can only think of one or two. Also, in my family, the women did...

Evelyn, one of my dad's older sisters, was truly a world-class complainer. Long before I was born, someone in the family bestowed on her the unlikely nickname, "Auntie Honey," and somehow the name stuck.

Growing up, I remember Auntie Honey harping constantly about almost everything. Her most bitter comments were...

As a kid growing up in rural Minnesota, I remember watching Helen Gurley Brown on "The Tonight Show." An insomniac, I'd probably tossed and turned for a long time before finally slipping out of bed and padding down the hall to find my mother sitting in our darkened living room....

Roger Ebert, I may sue you. Last night my sister, brother-in-law and I went to a movie based upon your recommendation and it was the worst. No, it was the worst of the worst. It was horrid.

Not only did I lose 45 minutes of my life (and, since I...

Looks can be deceiving. Mary, a slight, sweet woman, moved into my mother's independent living home about six months ago. My mom can't remember her name and instead calls her "the little young gal."

Mary's actually 83, which makes her no spring chicken. However, she might indeed be considered young...

It seems as though I'm always late to the party. In September 2010 I launched a personal blog called Dating Dementia. At that time there were already over 200 million blogs in existence. Now, just as I begin to hit my stride writing about my life, baby boomer issues, relationships,...

Watergate. Has it really been 40 years? I was just a small-town teenager in the summer of 1972, but I remember being fascinated as the break-in and protracted cover-up unfolded. It was a drama like no other. When it was over, lives and careers had been ruined, 40 men went...

Over the years my daughter has given me an array of wonderful Mother's Day gifts. When she was little, they were all handmade items like sweet cards and pictures, decorated wooden boxes and hand-strung jewelry. I've kept them all. They are treasures beyond value, and each one brings a smile...

Divorce brings up all sorts of emotions, and sometimes people find themselves acting a little crazy. Those who have ended marriages have their own personal divorce story -- some are sad, some are scary and some are just plain funny.

My slightly twisted divorce tale starts when I had been...

I first noticed signs of my mother's dementia during a trip home to Minnesota. I remember feeling panicked. You see, my dad had Alzheimer's disease and needed full-time care for more than five years. That long, awful journey took a terrible toll on him as well as my mom, who...

I'm coming clean and you are the first to know.

Early this morning I awakened in a full panic. I had a dream and it was crystal clear. It was scary, outlandish, highly disturbing, and yet...

In my twisted dream, I was married to Newt Gingrich -- yes, The Newt...

Every good dog has his day, and Seamus Romney is finally feeling his alpha male oats. Seamus, the long-deceased Irish Setter who belonged to presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, became famous for one of the Romney family's annual summer road trips which took place more than 25 years ago. The 12-hour...

The Roman Catholic church is a force unto itself in central Minnesota. You can turn on the television at any time of day and find a Catholic Mass being said, a nun being interviewed or lay people talking about church activities.

My father was Roman Catholic and very devout. When...