I have never followed the NCAA tournament except for this year. Like 11 million others my step-son, Ryan, joined Warren Buffet’s $1 billion perfect bracket challenge. Unlike most others, however, at the end of the first day Ryan and only 500,000 others were still in the game. Ryan having made it through the first day, gave our family the op …
According to Facebook I have been a member since 2009. I cannot believe that I have actually been using Facebook for five years because I still feel as if I don’t know what I am doing. There is one Facebook rule I know for sure, never ever ever ever comment on my children’s Facebook pages or that of my nieces and nephews. I am well aware that …
A few weeks ago New York Magazine was in the news when it published an essay by Alec Baldwin wherein he gave his reasons as to why he was going to leave New York City. The essay was available on the internet prior to the publication of that week’s issue of the magazine. While my urge to read the essay online was strong, I was easily able to resist …
Many say that the internet has made the world smaller by allowing us to easily communicate with people who are far away. For me, the internet has also made it possible to recreate foreign experiences in my home. For instance, while in New Orleans I fell in love with the coffee, mixed with chicory, served at The Café Du Monde and bought …
This is the first President’s Week, in several years, that we have not taken a family vacation. That, along with the sound of my husband once again shoveling snow outside, has me daydreaming about vacations on the beach instead of focusing on blog writing. If I could go anywhere right now it would be to the beach in Rivera Maya, Mexico. The beaches …
I have followed the re-emerging news stories regarding allegations of sexual abuse asserted against Woody Allen by his daughter, Dylan Farrow with acute interest due to my own professional experience. I recently completed a very long custody battle wherein I represented a father seeking custody of his two young children based on our claims t …
While away on vacation recently, my family and I had very limited access to the internet. The only free internet was in the huge resort lobby. To access the internet in your room, or anywhere else in the resort, there was an additional fee. My husband and I made the decision not to pay the fee so that, when together with our kids, either on the bea …
Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read. My husband will tell you that I can easily go through, at least, one book per week. I also used to love going to the library and bookstores. There were certain bookstores, especially small used bookstores, where I used to be able to spend hours. Last year, my husband gave me a Kindle. My love of …
I changed my last name twice in my life. When I married my first husband, I happily gave up the last name “Just” for “Kaplan.” While Just may seem a great name for a lawyer, as a kid it lent itself to a lot of teasing. I also liked the name Kaplan as it put forth my Jewish identity more so than Just. When I divorced my first husband I had the optio …
Anyone who knows me would be shocked to find out the following about me: I do not go to any mall between Thanksgiving and New Years. Even when my children were much younger, and holiday shopping was more complex, I would finish all of my holiday shopping before Thanksgiving. My dislike of crowds is stronger than my love of shopping. Last week my …
Ben’s recent blog about Yiddish got me thinking about one particular Yiddish word, “beshert.” My Mom used to call my Dad her beshert because, until the day she died, they were one of the happiest married couples I have ever seen. “Beshert” essentially means “inevitable” or “preordained.” While my husband and I do not call one another beshert …
Thank you to my friend Marlene Fischer for suggesting this blog topic. One of the largest law firms in the world has been in the news recently due to the content of an internal "Presentation Tips" memorandum that went viral. The memorandum was created by the Women’s Committee and distributed to only the firm’s female associates. Included in the …
While I have a self confessed fear of flying, I love travelling and have visited many cities. In doing so, I have come to realize that I am a Manhattan snob. Having gone to school in Manhattan, I love the city. I love just walking around the city, exploring and, ultimately finding new places. Wherever I travel I seem to find myself, unintentionall …
Fred, as he loves to do, wrote a comment on Erik’s blog this week that exasperated me. Fred wrote: “Single parent homes is one of our greatest problems.” I was a single parent for eight years. During that time, I was faced with many preconceptions about my children as a result of my marital status. Thus, I am very sensitive to Fred’s sentiments. …
I am writing this blog early as my husband and I will be in Europe for the two weeks before it is posted. I am so excited about this trip as I have never been in Europe before. Along with my excitement, however, is my growing sense of anxiety. As I’ve written before I have a fear of flying. And the thought if being on a plane for seven and a hal …
It's Monday, Monday. Let me know what you think about. . .
