The NCCA Chef’s Competition at Stratford University — Woodbridge campus

As I skimmed through my files looking for holiday fare, I came across a sketch I drew when my sons were in elementary school.

For many women, getting a mammogram is already one of life’s more stressful experiences.

Thanksgiving is coming up fast. You might think of it more as Tech Giving, if like many, you are
expected to give of your tech talent and time over the weekend to resurrecting a recalcitrant parental
PC.

Here we are again just three weeks away from Thanksgiving with Christmas right around the corner.

Here are some tips to help avoid that pain and to combat it when it does occur.

A reality show miniseries about the Jackson family will premiere Dec. 13 on A&E, the network says. Back-to-back hour episodes will air that night at 9 p.m. EST.

Dominion Woman’s Club members raised $1,000 to preserve and protect the Bull Run Mountains. The money was donated to the Bull Run Mountain Conservancy (BRMC) which was founded in 1995 to manage public access on the southern 800 acres of Bull Run Mountains State Natural Area Preserve.

Justine Huheey, age 9, was presented with the Garry Evans Youth Volunteer of the Year Award at the Securing Emergency Resources through Volunteer Efforts (SERVE) annual dinner and meeting. She has been attending Children’s Services activities with her parents, Rob and Amy Sue Huheey, since she was 2 years old, and has been an active volunteer for the past several years.

My husband and I are standing in the kitchen having an important conversation, working through a dilemma that we used to struggle with pretty regularly: “What do you think?”

Now I’m positive you’ve changed your closets over to your warm, winter clothing since we’ve had a couple of those 30-some degree mornings! I certainly have.
Our wonderful volunteer Connie will be at Manassas Mall on Friday Nov. 27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for her annual Connie’s Coats for Christmas drive.

All over the area, important work is being done by teams. Each individual works at their own location, usually at hours of their choosing. The work is critical and with rigid deadlines. Authority levels and responsibility boundaries are muddled at best. And the teams work for free, from home, for their kids.

Poor Microsoft. It used to be the release of a new version of Windows garnered all sorts of excitement. A week and a half ago, they released Windows 7, and no one seems too excited about it.

The “tourist triangle” is how Julie Sullivan refers to the three popular southeastern Pennsylvania cities of Lancaster, Hershey and Gettysburg.

When purchasing kale, look for deep blue-green leaves without signs of yellowing or wilting.

More than 2,000 kids are getting the ultimate trick-or-treating treasure: Candy from President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House.

Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes! I've never been a fan; they're bland and pasty, but my husband loves them. When I make them, they burn and barely rise.

Normally, I want to write here about tools that you can put to use right now. However, the tool I’m going to talk about today has a waiting list, so if I convince you of its value, you’ll need to get on the waiting list.

I recognize that Okra’s Louisiana Bistro in Manassas serves some of the finest dirty rice in the area.

Michelle and Barack Obama sat one table over from J. Lo and Marc Anthony, and all four of them were rocking in their seats as Sheila E. shook the house — well, really the tent.

Those wonderful folks at Project Mend-A-House has all the answers to your fall honey-do project list!

We are all used to the concept of buying software at a store.

Melvin C. Goodwyn left his job as a music teacher in 2002 to become an administrator at Woodbridge Senior High School, because he said he always loved a new challenge.

Teenager plucks Mom’s last nerve

Find what’s happening in and around town.

Sweet and spicy mustard is a regular condiment on Bavarian tables.

If you are looking for a change from the corporate coffee cafes that dot our shopping venues, then take a short ride into historic Occoquan and cozy up at the Coffee House on the corner of Commerce and Washington Street.

Evernote does it all, and it’s free

The folks at the Medical Reserve Corps are gearing up for H1N1 flu clinics to immunize the community.

This team, these girls, who we’ve cheered on and watched grow, my own volleyball player, this is it.