Concert season is upon us. The Boss will rock Wrigley Field Sept. 7, REO Speedwagon with Styx and Ted Nugent are playing at Charter One Pavillion June 24, and Train performs at Ravinia Aug. 11. It got me thinking about my first concert. It was U2 in 1987, the Joshua Tree Tour. Who was your first concert? What was your favorite concert of all time? For me, it is a hard choice between Springsteen, U2, Jimmy Buffet and Billy Joel. Music is very personal and every genre has its fans and its haters. Because this is America, where everyone is entitled to their opinion, we want to hear yours. Are …

It's prom season and those memories can come rushing back. I know it's a very special night—you're getting dressed up, your parents are so excited and it could end up being a very long and very fun night. But I didn't like my high school prom. At 18, putting a tuxedo on was less fun than chemistry class. And I know it's an opportunity to go out to dinner with friends, but couldn't we have done that anyway? But the real terror of prom was the dancing. I don't, and won't, dance. Bryan Adams' masterpiece "Heaven" came on and I'd sway back and forth with my date, but anything that had a beat and …

Jobs are on people's minds these days. Although the Labor Department just reported that employers added 120,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, it was still fewer jobs than they had hoped. Jobs, especially good jobs, can be very hard to find. Remember when you were young, and you couldn't wait to get your first job? What was it? Did you love it or hate it? I remember mine clearly. Of course, I started out babysitting in my hometown of Traer, Iowa (pop. 1,250). I think my going rate was 50 cents an hour. For FOUR kids. But I digress. My first real job - with what I considered a big paycheck…

Your first car—whether you loved it or hated it, you definitely remember it. Depending upon where you stood, my first car was beautiful. A little rusty, the paint was dull and it had kind of a old dusty smell coming from inside, but it was beautiful. My first car: a light blue 1965 Ford Thunderbird with a 290 engine, four-barrel carburator, sequential turn signals and a steering wheel that moved to the side so you could get in and out easier. It didn't run at first, but that's what made it even better. I spent over a year working on that car with my dad, step-dad and especially one of my best…

As many schools are in the midst of Spring Break, it made me nostalgic for those days in high school where you could have a full week off. Where you could sleep in, hang out with your friends, stay up late and then do it all again the next day. Ah, high school was the life, wasn't it? Maybe yes, maybe no. I know people who do not look back on those four formative years with fondness. Sure, they enjoyed long breaks from school. But school itself? Not so much fun. Kids were mean, there were too many cliques, teachers terrorized them, spitball wars in the hallways... Or maybe for you, those were…

  As the presidential candidates continue to criss-cross the country seeking the nomination, with stops in Illinois this week, it got me thinking — did they want to be president when they grew up? Did a young Mitt envision himself in the Oval Office? Did a 7-year-old Rick Santorum believe he would set the conservative moral tone for the country? What do you think Newt dreamed of being when he was young? You ask a 5-year-old and they'll say something different every time. They want to be president, a firefighter, an astronaut or pitch for the Cubs. Or even a ballerina. When I was young, I was …

Admit it. Every time someone mentions The Jeffersons you think, "Fish don't fry in the kitchen. Beans don't burn on the grill." You can't help it. Those theme songs were as popular as the shows themselves. Gilligan's Island, Diff'rent Strokes, Facts of Life, Family Ties, Good Times — all of them memorable. Every sitcom or drama had a theme song, even if it was instrumental (I can hum you a few bars from Buck Rodgers). But after the '80s string of Cheers ("Everybody knows your name"), Gimme a Break ("What happened to my piece of the cake?") and a bunch more (remember Charles in Charge?) they …

After six years of living off of instant rice, spaghetti and PB&Js while I was pursuing my degrees, one day I realized that kind of food just wasn’t cutting it anymore. While those meals definitely saved time, they also weren’t very satisfying. I needed to learn how to cook. Let me start by saying, I’m not completely clueless in the kitchen. I know how to make a grilled cheese, stir-fry and anything involving a Crockpot. But I am definitely a far cry from that of Rachel Ray. I love how all of those chefs on TV make everything look so easy and effortless, while I am still burning the second …

Some things are interesting, few things are fascinating or funny while most things are dull. Those boring things can become repititious, which can make us want to scream. You've gotten to the point where you'll duck into your garage because your neighbor is walking down his driveway and you can't tolerate another story about his golf game. You get trapped at work by someone who will talk your ear off about the last restaraunt she visited — every course, every price, every bite — in excruciating detail. How about your husband's fantasy football team? Don't you want to hear more about that? I …

The old roll is gone. The new roll is right there. It's. Right. There. Why, oh why, can't someone put it IN the holder?!? That is just one of the pet peeves that annoy me. Or schmack, schmack, schmack...bloooowwwwwwwwwww...pop!  These sounds make my skin crawl. I can't stand the slobbery slippery noises coming from the chewer's mouth. Others don't even notice it. That is worse than the toilet paper situation. Everybody has a pet peeve. There are websites devoted to pet peeves like Get Annoyed. What are yours? Maybe it is people who state the obvious. Like, "It's always the last place you look…

The New England Patriots and the New York Giants. Blah! I've seen this game before, but this time there's no "Will the Patriots have a perfect season?" or "Will Eli win a title like his brother did?" It's the same game without the drama. So now we're stuck with another east coast game. There's no way around it, either Brady or a Manning is going to win the whole thing. And that means more Brady and Manning on prime time next season. It could have been Harbaugh versus Harbaugh — a Civil War game! But the Baltimore kicker and the San Francisco punt returner apparently had vacation plans they …

It has been a big news week with the State of the Union address, the Republican debates and more. There is a lot of political bickering going on. So we decided to take a break from reality and daydream a little bit. We're just askin'...What would you do if money were no object? Think about it. Say you just won the Multi-Billion Dollar lottery and it is all yours, free and clear. More money than you could ever spend. Even the IRS doesn't get any. (We have that kind of power.) Would you take a cruise around the world? Go on safari? Move to Australia? Buy the Cubs and bring in all new players? …

It’s as predictable as it is unpleasant. The gym in January is not a pretty place to be. For regular gym-goers, it means two things: it is going to be extra-crowded until people give up on their resolutions, and there are going to be many people lacking gym etiquette. I keep the bar low when it comes to manners at the gym. Talking on your cellphone? I can tune you out with my iPod. Hogging the treadmill? No problem, I’ll do the elliptical today. Not wiping down your machine? I clean it before I get on. No, my biggest pet peeve at the gym is probably so trivial, I’m embarrassed to admit it …