I have never really had the kind of relationship with my mother that I've wanted, or wished for. It is not to say my relationship is horrible, but that it has always been complicated and confusing for me, and I wish it weren't. I find myself trying to push my mom away, pretending that I don't care what she thinks, when really I just want her to love me and be proud of me. How is it that I love her, and I need her, while at the same time, just talking to her can fill me with guilt, anger and shame?

Last year around this time I came to the realization that I was at my highest weight ever. I knew I was overweight, but when I checked my BMI I was shocked to realize that I had actually tipped into the "obese" category. My BMI was 30.8 and anything over 30 is considered obese. It was at that moment that I decided I needed to make a drastic lifestyle change.

First things first: the death of Jett Travolta is a tragedy, a terrible, terrible tragedy. And it seems, I don't know, wrong, somehow, to interrogate the circumstances of such a tragedy, to try to locate the cause of such a tragedy or place responsibility for it when, really, we should all just be bowing our heads and thanking the gods that such tragedy did strike our own lives.

There has been a lot of talk about what American car makers are doing to become more eco-friendly and survive in this economy. From fuel efficient cars, to biodegradable seats, to what YOU can do to help the American auto industry, my conversation with Ford Group VP Susan Cischke covers all the bases, and answers your questions. As I was talking to Susan, I was also shown this YouTube clip from Ford where you can see some of their efforts first hand.

O.K. So sometime in December I was minding my own business and I get this email that I missed because I was very busy minding my own business but actually the email was directly related to my business and so I guess, since I missed it, that means I wasn't minding my own business as well as I thought. (Inhale, exhale, I'm breathing. I'm breathing.)

There is a woman on my block who, when asked how she is, will always tell you of her numerous ailments. She will recount the aches and pains of aging like a well-worn litany of discontent. Ask her about politics, and she will tell you exactly what is hopelessly wrong with our government. Ask about weather, and she will either forecast bad times, or recall them. Life, for her, has become a barely-endurable onslaught of negative events. And so, every negative thing that happens in the world confirms her view. She now expects bad news in her life, and is rarely surprised.

Going to Disney World is expensive. Sure, there are ways to do without spending quite as much money, but it is still an expensive vacation. What can you do to help ease the cost on the things that you actually have control over?

In the spring of 2001 I went to work for WebMD and one of the message board communities I was responsible for was the diabetes community. At the time, I knew very little about diabetes. I knew the basic definition of the condition. I knew my grandmother had diabetes and managed it by saying "I'm not supposed to have this" as she dug into the macaroni & cheese or the potatoes and gravy for the second helping. I'd seen Steele Magnolias many, many times.

Exciting new blogs pour into the BlogHer blogrolls all the time. I'm supposed to keep you up with some of the great new finds in the Web & Technology area. I've been slacking in the show and tell department. I don't slack in the reading department. I read fascinating posts in the technology blogs daily. It's time to share with a little show and tell.

Earlier this week I spent two nights at two different hotels that had exactly the same features. Both rooms were suites, both rooms had the fancy jetted tub, a balcony with a nice view, yadda, yadda, yadda. You get the picture. If you were to compare them, one to one, on a checklist, you'd have exactly the same features. But one of these hotels was so much nicer than the other as to make comparison a little ridiculous. What was it, I wondered, that made the difference? It wasn't the service, because at both places, the staff were great. It was a bunch of little - and not so little things.

At four, my daughter's had her share of the death talk.  When she was at her old school, two of her teachers lost a loved one -- one a father and one a husband -- unexpectedly. Their grief was palpable, and we all had to talk to our kids about it when they were around two.  Last year my husband lost his grandmother and we lost our cat, Sybil, who was 18 years old.Of all these deaths, my daughter focused the most on Sybil.  While she felt bad for her teachers and her father, she didn't really know these other people all that well.  Sybil -- well, she knew Sybil. Sybil lived with us.  Sybil had been around every day of my daughter's life. She had a relationship with Sybil.  Then suddenly Sybil was gone. 

This is the time of year that many of us are setting goals in hopes of achieving success with our New Year's resolutions. And setting realistic goals can be what makes or breaks a good resolution. Have you set your goals yet? There are many theories about how to set realistic and achievable goals. But it's not always as cut and dry as all that. As with everything in life, something that works for one of us may not work for all of us. Here are some ideas that may help you find success.