Keep Your Mouth Shut And Wear Beige

The best advice for the mother of the groom? Keep your mouth shut and wear beige! "It's bad enough when two mothers plan an event as fraught as a wedding, but what happens when the ex-husband's new girlfriend elbows her way in? Keep Your Mouth Shut and Wear Beige adds the mother of the groom to literature's rich collection of long-suffering women. When Seidel's heroine refuses to suffer in silence, the results are both poignant and hilarious." ---Debra Galant, author of Rattled and Fear and Yoga in New Jersey Darcy Van Aiken is doing just fine, thank you. She's an ICU nurse with an "amicable" divorce from her ex-husband, Mike, two great kids, and a prescription for Ritalin. Then her older son, Jeremy, gets engaged to Cami Zander-Brown---daughter of a wealthy New York family---and her world gets turned upside down. The source of her trouble, much to Darcy's surprise, is not in the form of Rose Zander-Brown, Cami's elegant and accomplished mother. Nor is it in the form of Guy Zander-Brown, Cami's charismatic and wildly successful literary agent father. Instead, lurking in the shadows of Mike's new life is the beautifully dressed Claudia, a self-described "managed perfectionist." The Zander-Browns have money. Lots of money. The plans for their daughter's dream wedding grow more fabulous by the day, and loving every minute is Claudia. With her perfect taste, Claudia can't help thinking she would make a much better mother of the groom than Darcy. This wedding is her chance to entrench herself in Mike's life---and take credit for the two sons Darcy has worked so hard to raise right. It's a battle of will and wits. What Darcy learns about herself---and about family and friendship---makes for a delicious, hilarious, touching read.

Women today are facing so much uncertainty—about life and the future. The need to pivot is stronger than ever, but many of us feel powerless to change or simply don’t know how to take that essential first step. For Lori Allen, business owner, breast cancer survivor, and star of TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, these vital life lessons are the inspiration for her new book. Say Yes to What’s Next is more than just a guide for our best tomorrows, it’s the beginning of a life-makeover movement for women of all ages. Lori Allen’s advice stems from the ups and downs of her personal life: from building one of the biggest and busiest bridal megasalons in the country to navigating her position in the sandwich generation and caring for a husband battling cancer during her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Lori shares her life experiences with confidence, wisdom, and her signature humor to model how today’s women—especially those of us approaching age fifty and beyond—can live out the coming years as the best of our lives. Whether you’re feeling invisible, ignored, or like your voice doesn’t matter, or you’re simply uncertain about what’s next, Lori offers advice on what to do, what not do, and how to see your way through the unexpected. In Say Yes to What’s Next, Lori addresses crucial issues, such as how to pivot, embrace the unexpected, and live out your passion how to practice essential self-care that enriches your mind, body, and spirit how to make space for yourself and your priorities while still being a caring partner, parent, and friend how to maintain a close circle of girlfriends at every age and stage of life how to take charge of your money and attain financial freedom and security Say Yes to What’s Next is a life makeover and therapy session all in one, as Lori helps women from all walks of life shape their futures with confidence, style, and sass. This is your opportunity to get real with yourself, to give yourself the truest form of self-care by putting yourself first. Discover your potential by saying yes to what’s next.

An honest, humorous, and refreshing look back on the experiences of a unique generation and the challenges of growing older in the digital age. Musings of a Baby Boomer: Life Before X, Y, and Z is a collection of selected shorts from Hoflander’s weekly newspaper column “Full Circle,” featuring sometimes funny and sometimes philosophical stories with a continuous theme: the reluctant, but generally happy, aging of the Baby Boomer generation. In this collection, Hoflander tells stories about everything from yard flamingos and college move-in day to battling internet bots. She reflects on the simpler times of her childhood and addresses present-day changes to which, as a baby boomer, she adapts: memory loss, evolving technology, and politics. Through it all, she uses humor and wit to remind readers not to take life too seriously—and to focus on the things that really matter. “This book entails family, friends, and wisdom from the perspective of the baby boomer generation! A great read for all! Delightful.” —Teresa Parson, First Lady of Missouri “America needs healing, and instead of destroying our history, perhaps musings from those who have been part of history can provide a way forward. That is what Kay Hoflander's book offers.” —Lieutenant Colonel Allen B. West (US Army, Retired), Member, 112th U.S. Congress, Former Chairman, Republican Party of Texas “Hoflander has the magical skills to hit upon daily life with humor and understanding . . . For younger readers, this book just may help you better understand your parents or grandparents. It is a book for all generations to enjoy.” —Suzanne Skelly, University of Missouri Graduate Educator, Realtor, Genealogist and life-long Bibliophile

As Kay Hoflander personally knows, Baby Boomers are a generation all of their own. From having parents known as the "Greatest Generation" to witnessing the moon landing and ushering in the digital age, this generation has experienced it all. This collection columns are a compilation of the musings and adventures she has experienced as a Baby Boomer in a world more virtual than reality. The humorous and whimsical approach she brings to life leads readers to reminisce the writings of Erma Bombeck. Tackling everything from aging to "going viral", her columns remind us not to take life too seriously and maintain focus on the things that really matter. Join Kay Hoflander on a honest and refreshing look back on the experiences of this unique generation and the challenges of aging digital.

Are you struggling to connect with your child now that they've left the nest? Are you feeling the tension and heartache as your relationship dynamic begins to change? In Doing Life with Your Adult Children, bestselling author and parenting expert Jim Burns provides practical advice and hopeful encouragement for navigating this tough yet rewarding transition. If you've raised a child, you know that parenting doesn't stop when they turn eighteen. In many ways, your relationship gets even more complicated--your heart and your head are as involved as ever, but you can feel things shifting, whether your child lives under your roof or rarely stays in contact. Doing Life with Your Adult Children helps you navigate this rich and challenging season of parenting. Speaking from his own personal and professional experience, Burns offers practical answers to the most common questions he's received over the years, including: My child's choices are breaking my heart--where did I go wrong? Is it OK to give advice to my grown child? What's the difference between enabling and helping? What boundaries should I have if my child moves back home? What do I do when my child doesn't seem to be maturing into adulthood? How do I relate to my grown child's significant other? What does it mean to have healthy financial boundaries? How can I support my grown children when I don't support their values? Including positive principles on bringing kids back to faith, ideas on how to leave a legacy as a grandparent, and encouragement for every changing season, Doing Life with Your Adult Children is a unique book on your changing role in a calling that never ends.

This book should be mandatory reading for prospective couples and in-laws...prevent in-laws from becoming outlaws. --Shalom Feinberg, M.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Discusses school library budget terms and processes and provides guidance and special tips for planning a budget and getting it approved by the district.