Jamie Janosz

I am adding a link to my summer memoir essay that is featured in this issue of Catapult online magazine. The theme is "Summer Days." I hope you check out this great source for creativity and thinking about Christianity and life. http://www.catapultmagazine.com/summer-days/feature/pine-trail-camp

Last week we went camping in Door County, Wisconsin. While the campground does have very sluggish wi-fi access at the main station, it is a bit harder for us to be electronically entertained. The small 12-inch tv we have only gets one channel on a good day. So our evenings are filled with staring at a campfire instead of cable. Being a brave mother, I decided to drag my 12-year-old along on a hike in the Peninsula State Park. My husband and I love the scenic views and woodsy, rocky landscape. We had explored these trails a bit as a couple, but never with my daughter. Now I must admit that neither my daughter nor I are athletic types. Our favorite Door County outings usually involve shopping for clothes or fudge. But, it was a gorgeous day, and we decided (with a bit of pushing from Milt) to get outside and enjoy the beauty of the northern woods. We hiked two trails: The Minnehaha Trail – a .5 mile easy walking beachside stroll – and the harder 2-mile Eagle Trail ...

They seem harmless. A fluffy pink rabbit and a spotted plush cow. If you are a parent of anyone under the age of ten, you know about Webkins . These adorable creatures - hundreds of them - come with a printed tag and code that unlocks a computer world designed just for kids. Each time they buy a physical plush toy, the code unlocks a virtual pet. The web-site - some of it educational and much of it just for fun - teaches kids about saving and buying and caring for a pet. It also creates a desire for more pets and more points - thus more computer time. When my daughter moved past Webkins - she moved into Neopets (with a few other sites in between). Neopets is a larger site - also with accompanying real-life collectible items. On N eopets , you own one to four virtual pets that you need to feed and care for. The site is filled with games and battles and strategy. It has a chat option for those over thirteen. My daughter was instantly hooked. She loves Neopets . We do n...

When Sabrina was little, there were some shows that she loved - and I hated. Some of them made me want to poke my eyes out. Barney - for example - somehow charms every child and horrifies every parent. Even worse for me were the Teletubbies. Dipsy and Yoo-hoo - or whatever their names were - were spooky brightly colored aliens who bounced across a creepily deserted landscape with a baby peering out of a giant sun. Of course, my daughter loved them. She even had little creepy tubbie dolls. My husband also mentioned how much we hated The Big Comfy Couch and Bananas in Pajamas. While I enjoyed the cartoon Spongebob Square Pants - I had to be sitting down and watching it. If it was on in the background, the voices made me want to climb the walls. But there are some shows we have both enjoyed. I love when we find tv shows we can watch together. Here's my list. Add yours! 1) Project Runway - We both enjoy the fashion creating. We like the odd characters and the mentoring of Tim Gunn....