Lauren Barack's Page

Spent 8 minutes this week having my eyebrows shaped. Yes, I am aware how ridiculous this is. That a decent pair of tweezers and a steady hand can do the same thing and for $30 less.

But there’s the rub. I don’t have a steady pair of hands – nor do I trust my visual abilities to know if I’ve done the trick or not. When I started seeing Connie two years ago, my fascist technician, she fairly yelled at me for the destruction I had brought on my face.

“This is too short. This is too skinny. You ca… Continue

With the up and down news lately that unemployment is getting better, getting worse, consumer spending is back, now it's not — I thought I'd ask the center of this key universe —

Is the Recession over for YOU?

So I'm really hoping to hear from TwitterMoms....and I think some other readers would like the opportunity to check in.

I'll start - The recession is most definitely not over for my family. Jobs are still there - but pay cuts are still there as well. Hmmm. (yes, freelancers can t… Continue

For any mom (or dad) living near a National Park, this is an offer that's almost too good to be true — this weekend entry fees at more than 100 of our National Parks is free of charge.

Yes, free.

Now, that might not be that much depending on which National Park you live near. Sure Muir Woods costs just $5 for an adult who wants to tour the kings of all redwoods, but Yellowstone might set you back $25 if you arrive by c… Continue

Like most families, we've made some adjustments for our summer plans.

A trip we take nearly every August to Big Sur got scrubbed. Instead, an economical visit to family in Los Angeles substituted. (Economical in that hotels, car rentals are not needed.) In fact, most of our days are spent hanging out with the cousins, grabbing ice cream cones in the park — a staycation, albeit one we flew about 3,000 miles to take.

However, one of us (okay, I'll admit the guilt) got the itch to take a few day… Continue

President Obama's mandate to provide health insurance for nearly all Americans is going to come with a hefty price tag — and many of us are going to be paying for it.

Right now, health insurance is not a right for all Americans. In fact, it’s a pricey privilege. The average American family of four pays $3,354 a year for coverage — double what they paid nine years ago. And the reason it's even that low? Because most America… Continue