The Hunger Games is a blockbuster! My 12-year-old and I read the book then saw the movie together. We were at first reluctant. We don’t enjoy extreme violence or nauseating romance. Thankfully, this film teeters just this side of both. But it also does something else. It mentions the power of hope. And it portrays a heroine who chooses to do the right thing even when it costs her. A few weeks before, my son asked to see the movie Chronicle. I didn’t know much about it. But recalled the trailer depicting some teens who obtain ESP-like powers from an undetermined, most likely alien, glowing …

Some suburban dwellers mistakenly believe that 4-H is only for country kids. Au contraire! This 100-year-old organization is not exclusively about livestock and agriculture. 4-H offers opportunities for all kids in kindergarten through their first year of college to learn about things like technology, citizenship, fine arts and healthy living. East Ridge High School student Katherine Argo is president of a Woodbury 4-H club that meets monthly at Woodbury Estates. She leads the meetings assisted by a team of youth leaders and her mother, Karen Argo. Karen says 4-H encourages kids to adhere to …

March is Youth Fine Arts Month in District 833! I still remember my elementary school art class. In a room saturated with mingling scents of paint, clay, glue, marker, colored chalks and drying art. A haven to explore creative forms of expression. A place to receive the gift of art education. The gift keeps giving. Tonight, from 5:30-7 p.m., is the annual District Elementary Art Show open house at the District Service Center in Cottage Grove. I spoke with art teacher Jessica Frisco, who’s pulled together two thousand pieces of student artwork for another show this week: the Fine Arts Exhibit …

Cups 'n Scoops at Central Park in Woodbury has new ownership and some new healthful food options! Darlene and Lance Wendlandt officially became Cups 'n Scoops’ new owners last August. Since then, Darlene has collaborated with Amy Rodriguez, personal chef and trainer with www.amypersonally.com to add some healthy variety to the Cups 'n Scoops menu. Darlene and Amy became friends through Woodbury Community Church and find themselves in perfect positions to help each other’s business thrive. And what great businesses they are! Each is helping to satisfy the healthy and fun food cravings of …

Students of District 833 will be on spring break next week. Many families will take leave to warmer climates, replenish their Vitamin D and blind their southern hosts with a glare reflecting from their winter white limbs. But some will stay put. Keep their limbs covered. And be desperate for activities to prevent their youth from a screen-induced brain drain. Begin by viewing spring break as a real vacation even if you’re not traveling. Think of activities you might plan for guests visiting Woodbury. Then imagine your house is a week of Woodbury timeshare and you are tourists in the Twin …

Got your fill of Girl Scout cookies yet? They’re still for sale until March 25! Maybe you haven’t gotten your annual supply of Thin Mints because a Girl Scout hasn’t come to your door. My household is still lucky enough to have a loyal Girl Scout brave any weather to make sure our cookie needs are met. She kicks it old school, selling door-to-door. Still a great way for a Girl Scout to gain the life skills associated with selling cookies. I’m not interested in getting an email from the parent of a Girl Scout or a Facebook message with redundant blips of follow-up not unlike some annoying …

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and I welcome it. The traditional imposition of ashes is a reminder of our need to purify and simplify. Last winter felt oppressive with its knee deep snow and subzero temps. Lent seemed like a portal to the promises of spring. This winter has been mild. But we’re not without spiritual winter weight. Because in winter we can tend to burrow deep into work and worries. Tenuous employment, relationships, health and self-image can burden us with anxiety. Sinking ships of stress. And so Lent comes perfectly timed. Forty days of introspection that helps re-focus our minds …

I’ve taken an interest in Pinterest. At first I resisted logging onto one more time-warp venue that would surely sap more hours from my life. But it’s so pretty and Facebook kept alerting me to yet another friend pinning something on Pinterest. I had to investigate. What I found was a visual feast of ideas especially suited to holidays—like Valentine’s Day and special events like weddings. Pinterest is not exactly new. It officially launched in 2010. And it’s not exactly social media in the sense most of us are used to experiencing. But it’s definitely one of the biggest sensations to sink …

“Tiger Mother” Amy Chua will be in Minneapolis on Friday to speak and promote her best-selling book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. It’s available at Barnes & Noble in the "parenting" section, which may cause some of you who’ve read it to choke on your morning coffee. I’m heading over with some Woodbury women to see Chua. But first, this “rooster” mother weighs in on “tiger mothering.” If you’re just hearing of Chua, you might live under a rock. Basically, Chua’s been skewered in the press for the heavy-handed parenting style describes in her book. A style she calls Chinese parenting but …

On Thursday, Feb. 2, all eyes turn to Gobbler’s Knob where Punxsutawney Phil, a 22-pound Pennsylvanian rodent is scheduled to emerge from hibernation. Legend and a popular Hollywood movie suggest that this somnolent groundhog can divine the weather better than Chris Shaffer. Will there be six more weeks of winter? Does it matter? It could if we change how we think of it. It’s kind of a nutty holiday. We tend to accept nutty things when they’re steeped in tradition. But consider how Groundhog Day sounds to those first hearing of it. Like when I was seated around a conference table attempting …

Winter has finally arrived. It’s time to go skiing! Not me of course. I don’t like to be cold or go fast. But I’m sure impressed with people who do. Adventurous Minnesotans benefit from this lifetime sport that encourages fitness, friendship and family time. But some aren’t satisfied with a meandering swoosh down those blankets of snow. For the past five years, 52-year-old Woodbury resident Wendy Loudas has been ski racing at Afton Alps. She’s not alone. A sport once dominated by men now includes many women seeking a ski challenge. Wendy learned to ski at age 6 when her family regularly …

I’ve finally found an enjoyable way to exercise! Not running. That requires musical inspiration that leads to embarrassing treadmill dancing. Not weight training. I don’t care to lift anything heavier than a wineglass. Not yoga. I like yoga but probably need to raise my heart rate above that of a warrior tree sloth once in a while. This winter you’ll find me at Wooddale Tennis & Health Club playing tennis once or twice a week. I’m not an athlete nor did I play high school tennis. I first picked up a racket (racquet for those of you with Babolat shoes and white shorts) five years ago and took …

Did you give or get gift cards for Christmas? I used to think giving gift cards was too impersonal and a bit lame. That it implied a giver that’s too lazy or unimaginative to give a decent gift. But truthfully, I’m thrilled to receive gift cards. Hook me up with some plastic magic for Target, The Gap or Barnes & Noble, and I’m grinning like a Grinch whose heart’s grown three sizes. So giving gift cards can’t be so bad. Replace just one ceramic snowman with a Starbucks gift card and call me a happily caffeinated columnist. Not to mention my assuaged guilt from spending somebody else’s dough on…

The holidays are behind us. Some needle-dropped trees have already been dragged to the curb. A few people adhere to the traditional 12 days of Christmas, leaving decorations intact until Jan. 5. But eventually we’re all sucked into the vortex of plastic storage bins. Forced to face the task of packing away ornaments, nativity figurines and lighted lawn reindeer. But what to do with those Christmas cards?! I don’t save greeting cards. I display them through New Year’s Day then dump them into the trash. I thought that’s what most people did. Wrong. During some crafty card-making presentation I …

I tend to prefer odd-numbered years. I’m not into numerology. It just seems the most notable events in my life have occurred in odd years. I was born in an odd year, graduated high school and college in odd years, got married and had both of my children in odd years. So when 2011 rolled around, I anticipated an amazing year based solely on my simplistic qualification of it being odd. Well, 2011 was odd indeed. It kicked off with one of the longest, coldest, and snowiest winters I’ve endured since moving here. Summer didn’t fare much better. First oddly rainy. Then oddly hot. Now oddly dry and…

Company is coming. Are you ready to entertain extended family? Maybe you’re heading to Grandma’s house with a gluten-free cake and an electric wine-bottle opener. Either way, family gatherings are occasionally less enjoyable than they appear in Hallmark Channel movies. Sometimes, they’re downright stressful. It begins with initial greetings. “Merry Christmas” is acceptable. “Your hair looked better shorter” is not. But if Aunt Jean greets you with a hug and a remark about how your sweater doesn’t flatter your pear shape; be polite. I ascribe to the Penguins of Madagascar method of dealing …

Christmastime prompts frequent discussion of traditions. It seems we instinctively understand the value of traditions. And experts agree. They say family traditions create good feelings and a strong sense of belonging among family members. Traditions also help parents impart values to their children. I assume that’s why parents of toddlers seem particularly interested in traditions. They’re deciding which they might want to make their own. A tradition we’ve adopted from another family is to have our kids press their handprints onto our Christmas tree skirt each year. We now have a tree skirt …

This weekend will be a highlight of your holiday season if you attend the 18th annual Christmas Festival Concert at Woodbury Lutheran Church. Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 4 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets for general seating are available at the church office or at the door. I try not to miss this presentation of joy filled music and a live nativity that each year stirs my Christmas spirit. Inspired by the tradition of college choirs, Lutheran colleges(*) in particular, Music Director Mark Shepperd assembles an incredible repertoire of music performed by a 36-…

Days fly quickly past this time of year. The flurry of activity makes keeping lists to remain productive especially important in December. There are gift lists, grocery lists, guest lists, to-do lists… The lists go on. Today I’m reviewing a special list. A blessings list. Not another count my blessings kind of list. More of a seasonal Extend the Blessings Beyond my own family type of list. It’s too easy to overlook opportunities beyond Black Friday where we brave cold and crowds to score bargains from the Get List. I want to just as purposefully check things off my Give List. First is …

I love books and regularly share what I’m reading on Facebook and Twitter. I ask others, “What are you reading?” and receive many good suggestions for my wish list. A recent recommendation was One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. The cover is charming in that peaceful I want to comfort not confront you kind of way. But then the sub-title says, A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. That struck me. Who doesn’t want to live fully? I do. Many of my friends do too. I buy a stack of copies from Barnes and Noble to give as gifts, and then dive into a Kindle version. I’m pleasantly surprised by how…