March 2018

At Work on the Set Ashley Fetterman didn’t get to sleep in very often over the past six months. As the makeup department head for Homeland’s Richmond production, Fetterman settled into the makeup trailer on set long before the sun came up – she was there around five in the…

Arriving in Richmond from California one snowy January, I was thrilled when a new friend described Richmond’s springtime as “gob-smacking” in its beauty. Seriously? I couldn’t wait. And happily, she hadn’t oversold the season. Then came summer. Think I’m about to whine? Nope. I love RVA in the summer. Her…

What does Emmy Sumpter credit for her win on Food Network’s Chopped Junior this past October? Was it her early start helping mom, Erica, in the kitchen? Or the many trips they took to the grocery store searching for new and interesting ingredients? Perhaps it was the at-home cooking competitions.…

“We turned out okay, didn’t we?” is a thing my husband and I have said out loud and fairly often when doing a cost-benefit analysis of a particular experience for one of our kids. The sleep-away camp is a good example. I am the youngest of six – five girls and…

When my kids took their first theatre camps several summers ago, I had no idea what was about to unfold. The camps sounded fun and engaging enough, but beyond that, I was just connecting my kids with their interests. Before I knew it, Broadway camp led to Broadway class which…

But I am telling you it won’t fit!” “Yes, it will!” “No, it won’t. See how wide it is? Here, look at the tape measure.” “What does the tape measure have to do with anything?” And so it goes. Back and forth. Up and down. Twist and turn. You would…

No really, we weren’t counting. As our loyal RFM readers know, our team stays mighty busy from one issue to the next, only stopping to count the number of years we’ve been at it every October. But after celebrating our eighth anniversary, it hit me that we were coming up…

Get spring off to a creative start by crafting with materials straight out of the recycling bin. Homemade creature planters make great gifts for all those upcoming holidays. What you need: • Milk or juice cartons (clean and dry) • Large metal cans (clean and dry) • Paper grocery or…

Last year, we signed up our oldest child for a week of sleep-away camp and lost money when he insisted on coming home after just a day-and-a-half. He says he’s ready and he wants to give it another shot. What should we do?   It’s commendable that you are giving your son’s request to return to camp…

When Shanté moved into the Better Housing Coalition’s Lincoln Mews community last summer with her son, she had no idea her family would grow so quickly. A year ago, Shanté and her 9-year-old son Darelle were homeless. Adding to the stress of not knowing where they would sleep at night,…

Ah, the sounds of spring! Unfortunately, I am not talking about birds chirping, bees buzzing, or neighborhood brooks babbling. I mean the sneezing, snorting, sniffing, and coughing many Virginians suffer from during the spring season. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, about 50 million Americans suffer…

Skip the Takeout! Whether you live on a farm or in the city, have a gourmet kitchen or a quaint kitchenette, you realize the importance of sitting down together for a family meal. Unfortunately, my saying that doesn’t make it any easier to accomplish. These single-skillet entrées, however, might be the…

According to an article I saw on NerdWallet, a website devoted to personal finance decisions,  people would rather talk about topics like death, religion, sex, or politics – instead of money. The problem is, most of us are so uncomfortable talking about money, we rarely get around to doing it.…

It’s a common refrain from parents of teenagers. “Haley spends most of the evening in her room. She is always on Instagram and texting with friends.” This process of separating from parents is part of normal development as teens move toward independence during adolescence. Yet, when teenagers develop intense feelings…

Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. In 1923, Alice Paul (1885 -1977), suffragist, feminist, and one of the primary strategists for the campaign to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution…

My husband likes building, moving, and rearranging things outdoors. He particularly likes moving really big rocks with the front-end loader on his tractor. When he is not mowing our yard, he is moving rocks and creating outside spaces with various landscaping effects: walls, paths, steps, and… more rocks. Right now,…

I used to read to my daughter a great children‘s book called A Walk in New York by Salvatore Rubbino. In it, we learned that the famous Library Lions, the marble sculptures that have stood guard at the New York Public Library since 1911, are named Patience and Fortitude. Those…

Standardized testing is a rite of passage for all students, and it often culminates with the marathon of standardized tests – the SAT. The SAT is a 3-hour long test with an optional 50-minute essay. Most college applicants have to take either the SAT or ACT as part of the…