Danny Meyer: One of the Good Guys

October 29th, 2014
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 Danny Meyer Photo Courtesy BravoTV

Danny Meyer
Photo Courtesy BravoTV

I have never met Danny Meyer but I have eaten at two of his infamous restaurants in Manhattan: Shack Shack, which now has a location in Washington, D.C., and serves great juicy burgers and tasty crinkle french fries and Blue Smoke which offers fantastic Southern food, especially barbecue.

Danny Meyer is the author of an insightful book, “Setting The Table” and owner and founder of 10 outstanding restaurants in New York City.  Business is so good at his restaurants that most of them remain open today since the first day he opened … Read More

A Poem Of Comfort

October 27th, 2014
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Today I send heartfelt prayers to a wonderful woman and mother of three children who has been a close friend of my family’s for decades and is tragically in the process of saying good-bye to her beloved husband currently being taken care of in an ICU unit of a local hospital. I know that words cannot take away her deep pain but I send them in hopes that they may bring some small measure of comfort.  Perhaps there is someone in your life who is also bearing a burden of sorrow and is in need of words that lets them… Read More

A Fabulous Friday Mindset

October 17th, 2014
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By the time Friday arrives on my doorstep, I am usually ready to attack a pint of ice cream, preferably Ben & Jerry’s chocolate chip cookie dough. I sometimes allow myself this indulgence because after all it’s Friday and I’m using the ice cream as a way of patting myself on the back for having survived the turmoil of another work week.  I wouldn’t say that eating a pint of ice cream is healing in the classic sense, but it certainly heals my soul at a time when I need it. But also know it’s not good for me.  That… Read More

Baby Tenacity

October 6th, 2014
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One of my sisters became a grandmother this year and I now look forward to receiving short videos from her of the precious time she spends with her granddaughter.  I never get tired of watching this little bundle of energy! We haven’t had a baby in our family for many years since the youngest of the grandchildren are now in high school (A whole other world!).  Watching my sister’s granddaughter reminds me of something that I had forgotten: how quickly children change and the beauty of persistence.  Crawling and pulling herself up to a table, focusing on getting her balance… Read More

An Effortless Way To Warm Your Soul

September 26th, 2014
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  Mother Nature may be transitioning us from the warmth and abundance of summer into the cooler and shorter days of autumn, but local farmers are still offering us the bounty of their summer work. Yesterday at the Farmer’s Market near my downtown Washington, DC office, farmers were still selling peaches, zucchini and my personal favorite: tomatoes.  To me, nothing in the produce world beats a homegrown, fresh and ripe tomato.  Tomatoes are simply the best!! Despite what the calendar says, tomatoes are still plentiful right now and can be cooked and frozen as sauces or canned and eaten months… Read More

Lessons from the Spin Cycle

September 24th, 2014
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Photo via Pinterest   Whoa Nelly!! I know what this feels like, don’t you? It feels unexpected, awkward, a little uncontrollable and intense. As though at any moment, what you thought was stable becomes unstable. What you thought was predictable become unpredictable. Mood swings, spontaneous crying and having feelings change very quickly. I think of experiencing this mixture of feelings as being in a spin cycle if you will. When you are unsure of what is coming next.  It truly feels this way when grief has you on the run or a life changing trauma has taken your breath away.… Read More

The Ever-Changing Game of Life

September 22nd, 2014
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A Quote By Mary Oliver The wise quote above, written by Mary Oliver, seems on the surface to be expressing a rather obvious idea. Right? When I first read it, I almost dismissed it for I had brought Oliver’s thought into my mind too quickly and didn’t really let the underlying message sink in. Then I read it again and let it float around in my mind while I began to apply it to my own life. How many times do I go through the day rereading the chapter I read the day before?  In other words, if I keep… Read More

A Kitchen Dream Come True

September 19th, 2014
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You have to speak Your dream out loud.                ~ Kelly Corrigan Today is good news about holding on to your dreams and never giving up on them.  At the beginning of this year, I wrote about a dream of mine: to upgrade my kitchen (http://crylaughheal.com/dream-a-little-dream/). And guess what?  It is finally happening!! True to Kelly Corrigan’s inspirational saying above, I kept talking about it, researching it, saving for it and finally reached the point of giving the project a green light.  It’s been a bit scary watching the kitchen be totally demolished (I haven’t had a working oven, refrigerator or… Read More

An Amazing Gift To Yourself

September 17th, 2014
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For the past four years, I have been watching a member of my family refuse to forgive someone. Sounds incredible right? How could someone voluntarily lug around that much baggage every day?  How could someone consciously decide, all on their own, every day, that they would rather be angry with someone 24 hours a day, than try to fix the problem by opening up an honest dialogue and talking about it to the other person? How can you constantly refuse to accept the hundreds of apologies that have been offered? I guess it’s too hard.  I guess it’s too painful.  … Read More