You've got the back-to-school haircuts taken care of, the first day of school outfits are laid out, and now you've got a couple of days left to plan for the dreaded packed lunch. Between nut allergies banning peanuts from schools, e-coli conerns having us think twice about the fruit we're eating, and listeriosis turning us all off of coldcuts, I can't help you with what goes into those lunch boxes, but let me give you some ideas for what to pack it in! The hottest trend in lunch boxes this year is reduce and reuse. At my sons' school, kids... More »

We all know water's good for us, but there are so many trendy hot issues related to water... what's in it? what happens to the bottles? how does it taste? I grew up drinking good old-fashioned tap water. At the cottage we drank "town water" because you didn't want to drink what came out of the tap (something to do with that saying about not peeing in your own swimming pool). About ten years ago, my husband and I got a water cooler as a gift and started drinking bottled water from our water cooler. We loved the taste and... More »

I'm all for new board games. My family has spent hours this summer playing Apples to Apples, including one memorable game with my sister playing from 300 kilometres away over the phone. But when it comes to the classics, I'm a board game purist. Leave the Canadian version of Monopoly on the shelf; it's only fun for me if I can buy Park Place! Don't stick Shrek on my operating table; the only patient I want to mess with in Operation is that cartoony guy who looks like W.C.Fields. You don't see Scrabble trying to update itself by adapting to... More »

It's sweeping the UK..but will you be buying mantyhose for your man? So far the trend's staying across the pond, but how long will it be before our husbands follow the lead of their Brit counterparts and start buying record number of sheer, patterned and support tights for men? Word is that they're being sold not as fetish garments, but as practical, comfortable and stylish everyday wear. Tights aimed at men are designed slightly differently from those worn by women – and not just because they come in sizes large enough to accommodate beefy hockey players. They usually feature support... More »

It all started simply enough...in early May my husband brought home a new family car. Bill works for Volkswagen, and we're a VW family. My last three cars have all been Passat wagons, and while I LOVE them, one has pretty much been a replica of the other. This latest was a little different. There are always fun bells and whistles with a new car, but this one came with something to which I took an immediate shine...satellite radio and a three-month free trial subscription. Satellite radio's not something I'd ever looked into, or even considered. It seemed like it... More »