Sometimes you have to grab the bull by the horns, especially when it comes to your health. [Read more...]
Miss Lori says Craftsman is looking for someone to get SCREW*D
June 22, 2011 By 1 Comment
As you know week before last I was a guest at the CraftsmanDIY event here in Chicago. Believe me, no one was more surprised than I was by the invitation. When you think of Miss Lori, my guess is power tools are not the first things that come to your mind. (Well, maybe if you are frustrated with me. But that is a different story.~Tee Hee Hee) [Read more...]
Miss Lori says she doesn’t want to be a used car Mama anymore
June 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Goodbyes can be hard, even for Miss Lori. [Read more...]
Miss Lori shares her top ten tidbits from her Chicagonista Spa Day at Mario Tricoci
May 24, 2011 By 4 Comments
Yesterday, I joined the Chicagonista gals, and some lucky viewers, at the Mario Tricoci Salon in Bloomingdale. We gathered for a good ole fashioned girlfriend spa day, minus the champagne. We each sampled a variety of services from manicures, spa pedicures, hot stone massages, facials, air brushed make-up, blow dry and style and more. I learned a lot on our little outing, mostly that I need to do it more often. But here are my top ten tidbits of the day. [Read more...]
Miss Lori debates whether she is a Minivan Mom or an SUV mom. First the Dodge Caravan
May 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As you know the title of my blog is Musings from my Minivan. If you follow me even a little you know that most of my life is spent in a vehicle. Between my three children, my concert tours, and my social media events my but is permanently formed to the shape of a car seat. Which is why finding the right car to fit my lifestyle, (and my backside for that matter), is so vitally important. My last three cars have been Chrysler Town and Country minivans, used. (Because I worked for PBS not Disney!). [Read more...]
Miss Lori is ready for her birthday
May 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment
When I started writing these posts about my blessings and wishes for my birthday I thought they would basically be a glorified shopping list, not to be crass. I truly wanted to take time to acknowledge my year with my blessings, but my wishes, well I thought they would be what most of us list as wishes for birthdays. But the process of writing them, of searching my brain for ideas resulted in some soul searching…some self truths if you will.
Miss Lori lists five things you should not do with a cellphone at your ear
May 12, 2011 By 4 Comments
I swear I saw five separate people do these things this week and I just had to write it down. Here are five things I don’t think you should do with a cellphone at your ear. ( I mean the actual phone, not an ear piece.) Please feel free to add to the list. [Read more...]
Miss Lori is counting her 14 blessings of age 40 before her 41st birthday
April 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
For the year leading up to my 40th birthday I did a count down. Well, not actually a countdown more of a count up. I wasn’t intending to do anything big. And I wasn’t really doing it for anyone but myself. I was doing it because shortly after my 39th birthday I felt as though my life was blurring, or more specifically my days were blurring, blurring together. A run on sentence of days minutes and hours. So to combat that I started acknowledging each day on my facebook page. Day 1 of the year of 39. Day 12 of the year of 39. Day 145 of the year of 39. That’s all, nothing extravagant. Just a few words and number to separate each day from another. It didn’t stop all of my weeks from bleeding into the other, but it did help to change the way I looked at my life…at least I would like to think that it did. [Read more...]
Miss Lori wants to wean her children off of her brain
April 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
When I was pregnant with each of my children I suffered intense morning sickness. So much so that it put me in the hospital with dehydration. What I came to understand is that my body was practically allergic to the hormone production necessary for gestation. But once the placenta took over the hormone production, which usually happened during the fifth month of pregnancy-after that transition of responsibility took place inside of my body, I felt remarkably better, clearer, more energized, and of course hungry. It was a rough road, but it was worth it. Because at the end of each journey there was a beautiful baby for me to love and care for.
Now let’s fast forward a decade. My children are 8, 10 and 13. They have extremely busy lives, academically and socially. There are so many pieces to their lives, and mine. I am now 40 years old. That age when the World is telling me that my body is starting to bulk up, and my mind is starting to slow down. 
Well, judging from the fit of my pants that bulk thing is dead on. Also, considering I called the dog my daughter’s name last night, the brain part must be right too. But wait a minute, 40 isn’t old. I don’t care what the experts say. My brain functions pretty darn well. I am an expert multi-tasker. I accomplish more in one day than most people do in a whole week! I run my own company. I run my household. I manage three children. I perform over 75 live shows a year. I blog and vlog at least 4 times a week. I teach, I counsel, I consult. I create. My brain is working. It is working hard… too hard! Here is what I think. It’s not my age that is depleting my memory. No. What is depleting the natural resource of my brain function is my three children. 
You heard me right. My brain isn’t just doing the thinking for me, it is doing the thinking for them as well. You know what I am talking about. “Mom where are my socks.” “Mom I thought you were going to RSVP me for that bar mitzvah?” “Mom when is my soccer game?” “Mom didn’t you bring my uniform?” “Mom. Mom. MOM!” 
And all of that extra thinking is running me down! It’s no coincidence that more of the people living past 100 don’t have children. (Ok. I don’t know that for sure, but it seems to be true when I watch Willard Scott’s Smuckers bithday’s on the Today Show.)
Just like pregnancy, it’s time for the “placenta” to take over and do the work for itself. In other words, once my children take over and do their own thinking I will feel better, clearer, more energized and hungry. Well, hopefully not hungry as I can’t blame the kids for the bulk. (Although I could make a case for it, but that’s a whole different post.)
So, stop letting the World tell you that getting older means your brain is getting slower. Just wean those children off of your brain! Make them feed themselves with the knowledge of their everyday functioning lives. And then, then you can bask in the glow of the free space of your own memory. Maybe even take on a hobby like Suduko. Best of all you will live long enough to watch your children grow up, become parents, and suffer their own memory loss at the hands of their kids, Sweet revenge worth waiting for.
ML
* Level 0: Some or all of the ideas mentioned in this post are a product of lack of sleep and should not be quoted as fact, or relied upon for any other purpose than comic relief.
Miss Lori can be found Musing from her Minivan at MissLori.TV , Wearetherealdeal.com , YoungChicagonista , ChicagoMomsBlog , and ChicagoMoms.com. You can also see her Activating to Be Great at Miss Lori’s CAMPUS on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
