Ciao, amici! My holiday break officially ended last week, and for the past five days, I’ve been busy working and collecting links for you. I’ve also been spending every last second I could with my daughter, who leaves this morning to return to school. I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, I miss her terribly when she isn’t here. On the other, she needs to be free to pursue her hopes and dreams. She’s an amazing person― smart, talented, hard-working, funny, and (not that it matters) beautiful. I know she’s going to accomplish great things, and I can’t wait to see what they are. So I have to let her go.

I’m blessed that I have two extraordinary children (my son is every bit as exceptional as my daughter). Doubly blessed that my son goes to college locally, so I don’t have to say goodbye to…