What Are You Doing Today?

March 20th, 2015
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A few days ago I was listening to the radio on the way to work and in between songs I heard the deejay tell the inspiring story of a 99-year-old woman named Lillian Weber.  Lillian is a talented and heart-of-gold seamstress who sews one dress for a young girl every day.  A whole dress.  All by herself.  At the amazing age of 99.  Her dresses are then donated to a charitable group that gives them to impoverished young girls in Africa, Haiti and other countries.

Lillian Weber will turn 100 in May and so far she has made over 900 … Read More

An Irish Sense of Humor

March 17th, 2015
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I love a holiday just as much as anyone else but to me St. Patrick’s Day is not just a day to “green up” and drink a lot of booze. It’s a whole lot more. It’s also a day to celebrate my Irish heritage and the unique way the Irish laugh at life.  I take pride in knowing that the Irish have a rich and historic culture made up of a lot more than pub crawling.  We also are a people known for having a wicked sense of humor.  A bit rough and tumble you might say. Growing up in… Read More

A Daring Thought

March 4th, 2015
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It’s winter here in my part of the world and that means weather has continued to be dreary and cold.  It’s also the middle of the week and I’m looking for inspiration to give me a boost and I can’t think of a better person to do that than the fabulous Brene Brown! If you don’t know Brene Brown, she is an author, mother, wife and also a Ph.D. research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.  If you get a chance check out her TED talk.  It blew me away! Brene Brown has an amazing… Read More

Looking for Mr. Sandman

March 2nd, 2015
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Monday morning is here already and I hope your weekend went just as you planned! For me, I wish I were feeling a little more refreshed and revived because don’t you hate it when you find yourself awake in the middle of the night? When your mind is thinking about things that have carried over from your day? This has happened to me a few times recently and I plan to roll with it until I can get back on track.  For even as we plan for the best to happen in our lives, sometimes traumas and tragic losses of… Read More

Traveling in Hope

February 23rd, 2015
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Wow! What a weekend! Here in Washington, DC, we received 6 to 8 inches of steady snow on Saturday but then by Sunday the temperatures rose up to the 40’s!  As my neighbor and I were out shoveling the slushy mesh, we both remarked that it was warm enough to take off our coats. Today the temperatures are dropping back down again to February coldness so it just goes to show that you never know what Mother Nature is going to bring to us in terms of weather!  I also have that same kind of uncertain feeling about this upcoming… Read More

Torch By Cheryl Strayed

February 20th, 2015
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As soon as I finished reading Wild, Cheryl Strayed’s fantastic New York Times best-selling memoir (http://crylaughheal.com/wild-by-cheryl-strayed/), I wanted to read more of Stayed’s work. I enjoyed seeing Wild the movie and thought it should have received more attention in terms of nominations but what I really wanted was to read more of Strayed’s honest and direct thoughts about the gritty aspects of life and loss, what happens to us through our friendships and who and how we love. I wanted to read more of the her words, and the way she chooses to put them together.  I truly have never… Read More

Creating An Oasis of Calm

February 16th, 2015
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When I read the above sign, I knew I was in the right place. Isn’t it just great? I love the simplicity and comfort of this message and the fact that it was posted on a black bench in the lobby of a local yoga studio where I took my first lesson over the weekend made the idea behind the message even better. I was in a new place about to begin a new experience but felt immediately welcomed. Taking off my shoes became the first step to creating a calming place for myself.  As I pulled my boots off… Read More

I Heart Chocolate

February 14th, 2015
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Happy Valentine’s Day!  I hope love and romance totally fill your day! For those whose sweetheart is no longer with them, I send you hugs and hope that great memories of your time together may warm or mend your precious heart. For myself, no romance or flowers are in sight today (maybe next year!), so I intend to have a good time and in that spirit, this post falls into the category of laughing at life, enjoying what I have and focusing on something else associated with Valentine’s Day: chocolate! Chocolate is healing?  Check. Chocolate is therapeutic? Check. Chocolate makes… Read More

A Plucky Poem of Resilience

February 11th, 2015
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// When I open my personal email early in the morning, one of my favorite things to see is an email from my son.  I don’t get them as much I did when he was in college because now I receive more text messages.  But still, receiving an email from him always makes me smile. The email that I write about today arrived over the weekend and in it my son wrote that a friend of his had seen the poem featured below and wanted to pass it along to me so that I could post it on Cry Laugh… Read More