Loving Your Family

An Emotional Box

March 25th, 2013
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As I continue to slowly reorganize my freshly painted bedroom, it is amazing the things I find stored under my bed.
Last week I wrote about my long put-off decision to finally paint and reorganize my bedroom following my husband’s death.  Now, as I pick and choose what I am bringing back into that room, I am dealing with some of the things that I pushed aside after his traumatic death and choose not to think about.
In this instance, it is an old Estee Lauder box that once held cosmetics and perfume.  I loved the different colored berries pictured … Read More

Silver Linings Playbook

February 25th, 2013
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Bradley Cooper & Jennifer Lawrence I applaud the beautiful and sensitive movie, Silver Linings Playbook, which came away from the Academy Awards last night with Jennifer Lawrence winning an Oscar for Best Actress. I had heard a lot about this movie before I recently saw it and I blown away by it.  Silver Linings Playbook definitely lived up to its reputation as a solid, slightly edgy, movie and it stands out because its story and its actors are courageous and hopeful.  The movie shines a light on two subjects that make people uncomfortable: grieving and mental health, and weaves these… Read More

Chocolate or Kindness?

February 15th, 2013
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  Finding the Balance of Chocolate and Kindness Don’t let the collar turn you off. Fr. James Martin is a charismatic Jesuit priest who has a Lenten message that can be appreciated by followers of Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Folk Religions and even atheists. It’s a simple message but one that is challenging for people (myself included) to practice.  And it doesn’t have to be Lent to make it happen.  We can practice his message any time of the year. Lent is traditionally a time when Catholics give up something.  But suppose instead of giving up chocolate (that would… Read More

Get Your S#%t Together

January 29th, 2013
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Are you one of those people who thinks that if they prepare to write their will that they are inviting tragedy to happen to them? Guess what?  It doesn’t work that way. Chanel Reynolds If you haven’t taken care of executing your will, and/or sharing bank account numbers with your spouse or partner, then you should do it today. Not to be an alarmist, but you really have no idea what is going to happen to you and you should be prepared.  Think of it as a gift that you are giving to the people that you love.  Life has… Read More

That’s What Friends Are For

January 15th, 2013
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This past weekend I met up with three of my best girlfriends to celebrate my recent birthday. I have known these special women for decades and we have been through a lot with each other and for each other.  Birthdays, weddings, funerals, break-ups, new jobs, new houses, vacations — we have been through it all! The beauty of being friends for a long time is that you don’t have to explain everything.  One person can mention a certain situation or a person’s name and we know right away what that means.  We know the things that make us laugh and… Read More

Cooking for Children With Cancer

January 11th, 2013
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Danielle Cook Navidi (in apron) Photo Courtesy of Georgetown University Hospital If you ever doubted that one person can make a difference, then please meet Danielle Cook Navidi. Navidi is a loving mother totally committed to the idea that she could cook healthy food for her then 11-year-old son, Fabien Navidi-Kasmai, diagnosed and receiving treatment for Stage III Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  His taste buds were shot, he couldn’t digest his favorite foods and sadly, he would go for days without eating. Navidi reminds me of many mothers I know who are steadfast in their beliefs about what can help their children… Read More

Mele Kalikimaka — A Hawaiian Christmas Song

December 26th, 2012
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Aloha!! This is a Christmas song that you may not have heard before but it is a song that I know from my childhood. My Dad is a big Bing Crosby fan and he would always play this song every Christmas. My sister (the one who is my Irish twin) and I thought it was a very funny song because it has a funny title and is about Christmas in Hawaii and “the land where palm trees sway.”  While dressed in our pajamas, my sister and I would get up and perform for the rest of the family and sing… Read More

It’s A Girl!

December 21st, 2012
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The daughter of a very good friend of mine gave birth early yesterday morning to a baby girl! I am very excited for the parents of this beautiful new baby and my friend and her husband who now are grandparents. It’s so magical to me that on Wednesday morning my friend was a mother and a wife (and lots of other great things too!) but by Thursday morning she had become a grandmother and met her first grandchild. You really never know what life has in store for you! Becoming a parent is the most fabulous adventure of a lifetime. … Read More

Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”

December 19th, 2012
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Cast of NBC’s “The Voice” singing a tribute to victims in Newtown, CT A good friend who tragically lost a loved one in the Newtown, CT mass shooting yesterday posted on her Facebook page this beautiful and haunting video of the coaches and artists from NBC’s hit show, The Voice, singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” in a tribute to the 20 children and six adults who died in the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary School. I think it is the simplicity of the song’s message that makes it so powerful.  Let the healing powers of the music fill your soul and… Read More