A Little Life
Last night on the season finale of “The Bachelor,” Brad Womack chose Emily Maynard, the single mom from Charlotte, N.C. who’s tragic story of love and loss literally brought tears to my eyes each and every time she told it. I don’t know if it was how perfectly put together without looking cheesy (like bachelorettes so easily do) she always was, OR the fact that she was a single mom, but I was rooting for Emily from the beginning. Sure, the fact that she seemed closed off and dull concerned me, but the old producer (Bachelor producer, in fact) knew that there HAD to be more. That this guy could ...Read More
Though bedtime has become a battle in my house as of late, there are actually a few sweet rituals that have little to no hysteria-three year-old-hostage stand-off- negotiation type qualities. One of those rituals happens to be a discussion about dreams… After I’ve told him a story about how houses are built in a factory run by five men named Bob, Steve, Joe, Fred, and Roger (don’t ask), I rock him in the chair and tell him to have sweet dreams. Of course, conversation ensues…
J: What should I dream about, Mommy?
Me: Tonight, you should dream about chocolate chips, rainbows and Giraffes who play the violin—
J: No, no, no, Mommy. I’m ...Read More
I recently started blogging for a fantastic website called GalTime. Thought I’d share with you a post I wrote about being a single mom and how it’s all too easy to live in “woe is me” land. While I certainly wouldn’t consider myself the poster child for single mothers everywhere (as all of our journeys are so very different), I will say that I think my advice, though simple and very literal, could help ease some of the anxieties that all moms face- single, separated, divorced, dating or happily hitched. Looking forward to your thoughts….
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Single Moms: How to Minimize the “Woe is Me”
By Jennifer Brandt
on Tuesday, March 1, 2011
While the ...Read More
My entire life, I have dreamt about going to the Oscars. Not just going to the Oscars, but being in the Oscars… that is, RECEIVING an Oscar. As a little girl, and then a young adult studying theater at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, my dream was to win an award for Best Actress. Now, it’s for Best Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay or Sound Editing. I’ll take anything really. The point is, I really want an Oscar. Just seems so magical.
And I’ve been practicing my speech (again, it’s always with a British accent for some reason) since I was 4.
Well, after watching an entire evening of Anne Hathaway’s ...Read More
In one of my many Wacky’s classes, we were told that telling a child how “good” they were or how amazing everything was that they did would actually be damaging. “Don’t label your child,” Wacky would say. Instead of them doing a “good job” when they built a tower of blocks, you should praise them for their efforts… their concentration… their architectural ingenuity. Blah blah blah.
Here’s the thing, to some degree, Wackidoo has a point. If you’re constantly telling a child that they’re good, when they do something not so good, they will feel bad. And apparently, there’s something wrong about a child considering themselves to be “bad.” (like they ...Read More
Last weekend, a friend of mine told me that as a parting gift at a child’s birthday party, her 2 year-old son was given a goldfish. I had 3 responses, consecutively:
#1) Are you fucking serious?!
#2) Wow. That’s cool.
#3) Did they give you a bowl?
No… she said. They did not. No bowl. They just handed her a fish IN A BAG, and said thanks for coming. That was it. I tried to spin it in my mind… Perhaps that was a clever and cool alternative to Silly Bandz, candy, or some chatchke from Oriental Trading Company (seriously, spare me the junk people). But I never was really able to decide how ...Read More
Growing up, I was very lucky to have parents that knew about cool places in and around LA to take children. My weekends were spent taking drives to places like Santa’s Village or San Juan Capistrano or eating at dive taco stands that everyone in LA would/should know about like Titos tacos…. Anyway, now with a child of my own, I’m equally eager to explore LA and it’s surroundings with my little guy in tow.
(Check out my interview with Red Tricycle about some of my favorite things to do).
Of course, I must admit, big elaborate day trips and activities are not always easy to orchestrate week after week. Plus, even ...Read More
Genetics. Sometimes it works in your favor. Sometimes it does not.
My legs: A positive result of strong genes and good gams on both sides.
My nose: A fluke.
My boobs: Well. My boobs….
When I started this blog, (and it had a different name), I shared the story about how at an early age, I saw my Great Grandmother getting dressed and putting on a bra (a “brassiere” she called it) over some sort of medieval looking Spanx getup (It was the late 70’s… which meant her undergarments were from the late ’50’s). Long story short, I remember watching her with wonderment– How is it possible for boobs to fall ...Read More


