KATHRYN R. BIEL: AUTHOR

When I was in my late teens and early twenties, December 31 was a night full of potential.  It was full of hope and promise, and it was billed to be the best night of the year.  Somehow, for over a decade, I searched elusively for that perfect night.  Here are some examples: 1993-1994: When I was 18 and a senior in high school, I spent New Year's Eve at Sea World in Orlando.  I was performing in the halftime show of the Citrus Bowl the next day.  It was a cold and rainy night, and we rang in the new year watching fireworks from outside the park, waiting to board the bus. 1994-1995: (my freshman year in college) I spent New Year's Eve at First Night Albany (remember that Anne?).  It was again raining, and Albany was a lot colder than Orlando.  After the excitement of college, First Night Albany was very tame.  And cold. 1995-1996: (my sophomore year in college) I was up at University of New Hampshire with my college roommate.  ...

Dear Jake and Sophia, Today, we had a perfect moment.  It was just after lunch.  I settled in on one end of the couch, while the two of you settled in on the other, and we were facing each other.  We were all sharing the fuzzy blanket.  I was reading my nook, and Jake, you read a book to Sophia.  It was so content and peaceful.  It's how life should be. I thought about getting up to get the camera to immortalize the moment, but knew that would ruin it. I want you both to know how special siblings are.  You are very, very lucky to have each other.  Some people do not ever get the chance to have siblings.  Some people, like Dad, lose their siblings much, much too early.  Please always try to remember that.  Siblings are the first friends we have in life.  If we're lucky, they stay our friends throughout our whole lives.  Siblings have shared our childhood.  They can laugh at the jokes that only you get.   They ...

****WARNING:  This is a soap box post.  It is what I think and I believe.  It is me, exercising my first amendment rights.  You don't have to agree with me, but think carefully about what I say.*** Right now, Pat and I are watching a TV show that I like to call the "Feel Good Show of the Year."  In the TV guide, it is listed as Intervention.  For those of you not familiar, it is a show about an addict and the family stages an intervention in attempts to help save the person's life.  The current episode is about a 22 year old addict who has turned to prostitution.  She has a 3 year old son, who is being raised by his father.  This young woman was born to an 18 year old mother who was incapable of caring for her daughter. She dropped her daughter off on her father's doorstep at the age of 3.  Her father cared more about partying and women than of being a parent and his parenting strategy was just to buy his young daughter stuff. ...

So, I was really not that far off in my post yesterday... Multitasking stresses out working moms more than dads - NEWS10 ABC: Albany, New York News, Weather, Sports By Jenifer Goodwin HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Ever unload the dishwasher while helping with a child's homework? Ever keep one eye on soccer practice while checking your voice mail and trying to figure out what to make for dinner? That's called multitasking, and in a fast-paced world, American working moms do a whole lot of it -- and seem more stressed by it than working dads, a new study shows. According to the research, working mothers spend 9 more hours a week multitasking than do working fathers, or about 48 hours per week for moms compared with 39 for dads. And, when they have to multitask, women don't particularly enjoy it. The research found that when women are trying to do multiple things at once, they report feeling stressed, while men don't s...