Nancy Drew  The Nancy Drew in the movie bears no resemblance to the Nancy Drew in the books. Save your money: buy some books.

Formula Follies  Three of my four kids were breastfed; one I abused with formula. Check back in 30 years, and I'll let you know where I stand on this.

The Ordeal of Domesticity  Caitlin Flanagan is the common ground that stay-at-homes and working moms have sought for so long. No matter how moms spend their days, they all can hate her!

The Power of Christmas   I know that, as a conservative, I'm supposed to be outraged about the "War on Christmas" and I'm supposed to celebrate "Resurrection Day" instead of that ol' pagan Easter. Sorry, can't do it. My faith is bigger than this.

The Bantam Menace  I am, admittedly, just a slaughterhouse-visit away from descending into total animal-rights whackdom.  I scoop box turtles out of roads.  In any case that pits man versus beast, I am usually going to side with the beast.  But come on... are the descendents of the brave men who signed the Declaration now afraid of ... turkeys?

Reality Bites  It is entirely untrue, a vicious lie, that the Partridge Family theme song is on my iPod. Or, if it is true, the kids wanted it.  Really.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside  Look, I spent the first 30 years of my life in the Deep South; I think everyone should rush home when it snows. But if garbage men and hotel maids have to get to work in lousy weather, everyone else should, too.  And no one should get to stay home simply because it's cold.

Star of Wonder  Do we really need a serious, scholarly explanation for the Star of Bethlehem? Please spare us. Christmas is about miracles; let them be.

Triplet-Tale Trauma  I'm not taking a position on abortion here; I'm taking a position on sloth.

The Election of the Fittest   The more frequent and vigorous your workouts, the more likely you'll be elected president. John Kerry learned this. Will Hill?

Dough Re Me   I'm no fan of Sharon Stone, but had to come to her aid. If otherwise rational people can consider HER body doughy, my supermodeling prospects look dim.

Give Me a "C"!   To all my friends at the Natural Childbirth League: I'm sorry. I loved my C-sections. Bed rest, TV dinners, catheters… what's not to like?

Try To Remember   My life is not so vacant that I spend the year planning for Christmas ..  but I did once spend two days stripping wallpaper from a rental-house living room so that it wouldn't clash with the Christmas tree. We all have our weaknesses.

Ebenezer Was Right   This piece inspired a flood of heart-warming emails calling me a cold-hearted bitch -- many of them sent on Christmas morning.  Not one of my angry correspondents noticed the irony. Nor did any of them offer any solutions to the problem, or suggest what they would have done better. I'm still waiting.

The Great Unwashed   When I lived on the beach in South Carolina, I expected hurricanes occasionally to disrupt my life.  But in Richmond?  Who knew?

The Silent Crisis of a First-Time Caller   This piece is a study in perseverance. It was written five years before it was finally published, and I still have two rejection letters from early queries. But everything's in the timing. NRO ran it on the 15th anniversary of the Rush Limbaugh Program, and Mr. Limbaugh wrote me a gracious thank-you note that my grandmother will treasure forever.

The Ann Coulter/Strom Thurmond Diet Plan   I wrote this in long-hand, on scraps of paper, while driving down the interstate. For really long sentences, I'd pull over to a McDonald's. Come to think of it, "Silent Crisis" was also written on a road trip.  And they say cell phones are dangerous.

Wigand Stamping out Smoking, One Pack at a Time   Jeffrey Wigand is the tobacco whistleblower portrayed by Russell Crowe in the movie "The Insider." The photographer who accompanied me to this interview made the mistake of taking a pack of cigarettes with her. She didn't have them when she left. The guy means business.

The Fall Gal   All you adult-onset athletes know what I mean here: some injuries are meant to be flaunted.

Flak Like Me   I was a press secretary twice: a year for the S.C. attorney general, six months for the S.C. state treasurer. Not my thing. But the experience made me a better journalist.

God and the Astronomers  From 1990 to 1995, I covered religion and ethics for a daily newspaper in South Carolina. The editors occasionally fielded complaints that I wasn't serious enough; imagine that. But I loved being the lone Catholic at gatherings of the Southern Baptist Convention.