The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Ok, while I sit here in my favorite Karen Neuburger house clothes, it dawned on me that there is no time like the present to talk about why I won't be attending many social functions anymore.

As you may know, I recently turned 40, and along with feeling a little bit older, I feel a little bit wiser and most definitely more comfortable in my own skin.

You see, much of my career has been about going to glamorous events and talking to glamorous people, but it recently dawned on me that I am bored with the whole social — phony, get dressed up, and make nice to a bunch of people that I really don't give a flying f* about — scene.

My favorite social outing is going with my family to Costco and seeing which one of my kids can distract the sample person long enough for me to try to get a double sample, and sometimes — if I am lucky and the kids are really charming — I get a triple sample, which means that while my husband is shopping for deals, I can surprise him with a "Look, honey, I got you something to snack on." It always works so well that when we get to the register he has no idea how many things I have hidden in the cart.

So, what does Costco have to do with being a so-called socialite? Nothing, but at least you get an idea of where my priorities have taken me this past year.

After spending many years actually getting paid to cover social events, I have come to the conclusion that I would rather pay someone else to go than to deal with the superficial B.S. that goes along with many of these unnecessary functions.

Are we not going through a recession? And should I not be saving my money for my children's future? Yeah, I think that would be wise.

Now, I am not going to stop enjoying great restaurants and fun social gatherings, but if it means that I would be better off staying at home and watching "Louie" crack up my husband or having my kids show me how much smarter they are than me, I will clearly take the home front.

Yes, I have been assigned the role of the Rake's Social Butterfly, but I hope that you will understand that I will be picky about whether or not to attend an opening of a restaurant or another event — versus staying at home and trying to cook the pre-packaged food that Trader Joes has on special.

Lastly, I would like to give a shout out to Carolyn Peterson who is THE best female voice-over woman in the business and who inspired me recently, while I was working on a radio commercial, to take a deep breath for six seconds before recording a 60 second spot. Carolyn was the very first person to ever give me a break in the radio biz, and it brings a smile to my face to get to work again with her at Hubbard Broadcasting!