As any parent will tell you, raising kids is a pretty precarious job. Too many experts give too much advice about too many things, and it’s hard to understand which techniques will work and which won’t. Which is why I’ve come up with a no-frills, conflict-reducing theory about parenting: Be reasonable.

It all started when I had my first child, and I was told I had to be “rigid.” If she breaks a rule? No ice cream for a year! (and I had to actually stick to that). Break another…

I would bet my next paycheck that this has happened to you.

A friend, spouse or someone else close to you makes a remark out of the blue — and it hit’s like a bombshell. It’s the offhand comment that really hurts.

Q: What got me thinking about this?

A: A wonderful article in the New York Times entitled: The Remarkable Shelf Life of the Offhand…

I read a great NY Times review  of the Pixar film “Finding Dory,” which opened in theaters last Friday. I haven’t had the chance to see it,  but now it’s on my list.

Why?

Because according to the reviewer, the movie…

I have a dear friend here in Hawaii who, by nature, is calm, rational, and easygoing. Naturally, she doesn’t love conflict, but guess who does? Her mom.

In fact, her mom likes conflict so much that she’s determined to instill a “fighting spirit” in my dear friend, her daughter. Turns out, mom reports that she instigates fights with her daughter in order to teach her how to stand-up for herself and fight. No matter what the subject, mom will pick a fight about anything and…

Did you know that there are nine common conflict “hot buttons?”

You can take an online test (thanks to the Center for Conflict Dynamics at Eckerd College) to find out which button(s) irk you the most.

Which will it be?

• Unreliable – people who can’t be counted on
• Overly analytical – people who are perfectionists and focus too much on…

We all want to be friends with “nice” people, don’t we? They return our calls, they support us when we need them, and they are kind and sweet at least 80% of the time. Who WOULDN’T want to be friends with them?

But, recently, I’ve made it a habit to seek out those who rub people the wrong way. You know who they are – they’re brash, loud, and oftentimes say the wrong thing.

So, why would I do this?

Turns out, I’ve learned a lot about…

We had a good wet winter and spring in Reno this year. And everything has grown like crazy – including the weeds.

You know, at first you see a few and then all of a sudden, it seems like a whole new clump has just grown overnight.  It was my intent to take care of the unwelcome garden guests one weekend – when all it did was rain.

So, the next time I planned to set aside for this task was over Memorial Day weekend. Of the three day holiday, it was…