Paying Respects @WTC

March 14th, 2012
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On a bright and beautiful Sunday morning this past weekend in New York City, I finally had an opportunity to visit the memorial site for the World Trade Center.

With my brother, sister-in-law and their 12-year-old daughter, we took a taxi to the 8-acre site in lower Manhattan where the infamous Twin Towers once stood.  The site is deceiving because construction fences surround the area and you can’t see the two black stone squares containing the waterfalls or even hear the waterfalls from the road.  It just looks like a regular construction site.

Getting to the memorial site is a … Read More

Emotional Spring Cleaning

March 9th, 2012
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I’m so happy that Spring is almost here!  I’ve already seen some cherry blossom buds tenderly opening and bursts of happy yellow and white daffodils in bloom around my neighborhood.  What a welcome sign that winter is finally coming to an end!  Part of my routine to get ready for this new and warmer season is cleaning the house and getting rid of items I no longer use or want. I take it as a healthy sign that every year as I open the windows, clean and change the house for warmer weather, I’m able to part with more things… Read More

Go Green Tea

February 24th, 2012
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I write today in support of tea power; specifically the healing power of green tea. I usually start the day with two cups of regular hot tea (Red Rose, Lipton, Tetley) and then sometimes will have another in the afternoon at work.  I’m not a coffee drinker and haven’t been since I stopped smoking decades ago.  I like the way coffee smells but it has to have a lot of hot milk in it and turn into a cappuccino before I will drink it.  Coffee ice cream is also very delicious but that’s another post. Earlier in the week, I… Read More

Ash Wednesday

February 22nd, 2012
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I hope everyone had a blast yesterday at whatever Mardi Gras event you might have attended for today is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of Lent.  You might have let the good times roll too much and are feeling  some pain and discomfort today from too much alcohol, food or lack of sleep but the good news is that you can offer it up as your lenten penance.  OMG, doesn’t that sound like something a Catholic school nun would have told you? For those of you who are not Catholic, today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent,… Read More

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda

February 17th, 2012
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We’ve all played the game of “woulda, shoulda, coulda” and no one ever wins. If you weren’t with your loved one when their death occurred, you might be thinking about all of the things that would be different if you had been there.  You’re thinking about how your present life might be very different if you had been with your loved one at their time of death. You might even think you could have prevented it from happening.  “I could have done more” “If only I had gone for a visit earlier/later in the day,” “I should have stayed with… Read More

Free Your Mind

February 16th, 2012
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When life throws unexpected changes at you and all the cards seem to have been thrown in the air, it could be an opportunity for growth.  Initially, it may not feel like a chance for something good to happen, but with time, something unexpected may reveal itself.  Once you start to feel as though you can manage your feelings, then you can move forward to try something different: volunteer, paint, or play music.  Research has shown that attitude towards oneself and the world is the key to managing stress.  Here is an exercise that I found that might help you change your… Read More

Take Good Care Of My Heart

February 14th, 2012
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Courtesy of United States Postal Service Decades ago, the CEOs of florist, chocolate and card companies must have been having a long liquid lunch and launched the ingenious idea of launching a fun holiday called Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day happens to be one of those holidays that has never been a big deal to me because it always feels forced.  I don’t want someone to give me chocolates, flowers or a card because they feel they have to do what everyone else is doing.  It means a lot more to me when the person I’m romantically involved with comes up… Read More

Whitney Houston

February 13th, 2012
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Whitney Houston & her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Whenever I hear Whitney Houston’s version of the song, “I’m Every Woman,” I feel better. It has everything to do with the way Whitney Houston’s fabulous voice sounds when she sings this song.  It’s not exactly about the lyrics, it’s more about the melody and where she magically takes it.  Even though Chaka Khan recorded the original version of the song and I loved it, Whitney Houston brought something extra to “I’m Every Woman” that can’t be described. Chaka is definitely funky but Whitney is powerful. Over and over as her colleagues in… Read More

Sympathy Cards

January 31st, 2012
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Recently, I sat at my desk, intending to write a sympathy card to a good friend but found myself floundering.  I started writing a few phrases and then stopped. I couldn’t find the right words that I thought would offer comfort.  It was a struggle to get my thoughts on paper and it seemed as if everything I wrote sounded awkward. I started again.  I opened the card and started to write and stopped.  Maybe I was over thinking what I wanted to say, but everything I came up with sounded so trite.  Of course, I was sorry and very… Read More