Category Archives: Life Lessons

We’re Not in the OC Anymore, Toto

Posted on August 27, 2014 by WhiteElephantInTheRoom

So I’ve moved again. And after a very official two-hands-and-two-feet count I can now claim to have lived in nineteen homes across six states and spanning three continents. I could blame Military Dad or Traveling Mom but seven of these … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Home, Humor, Life Lessons | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

The Dos and Don’ts of Foolin’

Posted on April 1, 2014 by WhiteElephantInTheRoom

The scene is Christmas Day 1991. Snow falls in the Chicago suburbs as an eleven year old girl in red snowman socks (that she still owns) wakes up at 7AM and runs to the tree to scope out the loot. … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Family, Friends, Holidays, Humor, Life Lessons, Work | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

How to Move Five Minutes Away

Posted on October 8, 2013 by WhiteElephantInTheRoom

Shortly after celebrating my three year move-aversary from my Arizona house to my gorgeous California resort-style apartment, I mentally calculated the fortune I’ve been putting into nothing since 2010. Since I couldn’t go back in time and buy a Tesla, … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Friends, Home, Life Lessons | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Shower Affair

Posted on June 24, 2013 by WhiteElephantInTheRoom

This is my 100th blog post. And like any every other important milestone in my life (30th birthday, fifth annual Christmas party, ten-year anniversary reunion of the cast of Friends), I’ve been preparing for this moment for an absurd amount … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Life Lessons, Love, Travel | Tagged , , , | 36 Comments

Operation… and Other Games that Make Us Better

Posted on June 6, 2013 by WhiteElephantInTheRoom

I love pasta. It’s a deep love, a passionate love, a two syllable lo-ove. And sometimes you do crazy things for love. So the other night when I was making a little rotini and one fell ever-so-dramatically under the burner, … Continue reading →

Posted in 80s, Cooking, Family, Food, Friends, Humor, Life Lessons, Nostalgia, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 27 Comments

How to be Brilliantly Vague: Corporate Jargon Part 2

Posted on May 9, 2013 by WhiteElephantInTheRoom

I once had a professor who enjoyed incorporating unnecessarily lengthy words in his lectures. At first he sounded brilliant and I hung on his every really long word. Alas, this was a class in accounting rather than rhetoric, so it … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Humor, Life Lessons, School, Work | Tagged , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Waiting Game

Posted on March 26, 2013 by WhiteElephantInTheRoom

After tying double knots in our shoelaces and crying to get what we want, the art of lining up is one of the first lessons we learn as a child. We lined up for lunch, we lined up for field … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Friends, Humor, Life Lessons, Nostalgia, School, Travel, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 197 Comments

Don’t Know Much About History

Posted on June 7, 2012 by WhiteElephantInTheRoom

I just returned from a long weekend in the Chicago suburbs to celebrate my cousin’s high school graduation. As I listened to the bittersweet speeches from students and faculty and watched the pride in parents’ faces as their child’s name … Continue reading →

Posted in 80s, Family, Food, Humor, Life, Life Lessons, Nostalgia, School, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Bananas Won’t Make You Fat – And Nine Other Secrets to Life

Posted on April 17, 2012 by WhiteElephantInTheRoom

I adore a good epiphany – when you’re plodding through life, doing something completely innocuous, then suddenly a moment captures your attention and a tiny little metaphorical light bulb begins blazing in your head. Once the buzz subsides, you are … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Family, Fitness, Food, Friends, Health, Humor, Life Lessons, Mobile, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 41 Comments

How to Fake a Gourmet(ish) Meal

Posted on March 16, 2012 by WhiteElephantInTheRoom

Growing up as the only child of a single working and MBA-earning mother, I learned to “cook” at an early age. The infamous Alphabit/Lucky Charms medley was my specialty, but I could also make a mean peanut-butter-on-a-spoon. As my skills … Continue reading →

Posted in 80s, Cooking, Family, Food, Friends, Health, Holidays, Home, Humor, Life, Life Lessons, Nostalgia | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments