Me As Buddy The Elf

December 20th, 2016
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Photo Courtesy of Country Living

This holiday season I feel a bit like Buddy from the popular Christmas movie, Elf.

Remember the scene where Buddy the elf, who is magically played by Will Ferrell, travels from the North Pole to New York City to find his father and explains to his new family that elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup?

That would be me this holiday season.  Except for the candy corn, which I have never liked because I think it tastes like some kind of plastic or wax.… Read More

Give Yourself A Break

December 11th, 2016
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Giving is fun. Whether it’s something you meticulously made with your own hands or something you spent a long time searching for, giving to others is a wonderful feeling. I sometimes feel that giving a present to someone is more exciting than receiving. Watching the other person’s reaction while they are opening your gift is part of the fun and contributes to that good feeling of giving and letting them know they are special. During this holiday season, which can easily turn frantic as we get closer to the time of celebration, I think it is also important to give… Read More

Thankful Hearts

November 24th, 2016
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Wherever you happen to be gathering today, may you be with people who have thankful hearts and giving spirits. The diversity of Thanksgiving menus offered today reflects the healing powers of food, love, family and friends gathering with one celebration in mind.  Lasagna, Vietnamese soup or a traditional roasted turkey with all of the imaginable sides.  Today has been set aside on the national calendar to give thanks for the food and other gifts that are served and shared as a sign of gratitude for the many blessings we have received. While I recognize our desire to be thankful today,… Read More

Sweet Little You

October 21st, 2016
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      Yesterday morning, one of my nieces delivered her second child and shazam, just like that our large boisterous family has grown by one more! We expected her arrival at any time during this past week with everyone closely following the daily ups and downs of labor; starting, stopping, starting, stopping until the doctors decided that yesterday was the right time to induce and really kick her labor into high gear. At that point, things started happening very quickly and then suddenly Baby Lilly was here! When you are not around babies on an everyday basis, you can… Read More

A Bit of Hairspray Wisdom

October 14th, 2016
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Magical things happen to me in hair salons. My gray hair disappears, splint ends fall to the floor and I love watching clients and hairdressers exchange confidences that make each of them feel a little bit better about what is happening in their lives. This past weekend I experienced a different kind of magic; the magic of connecting and going with the flow of the moment. As I entered my tried and true hair salon, I was looking forward to a much needed hairdo transformation.  It was probably closer to a hair color intervention because the summer sun had bonded… Read More

Hard Days Kind Actions

October 7th, 2016
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I was having one of those days recently when I was doing my best to think positively but it didn’t seem to be working out. My thoughts felt powerless as things disintegrated around me.  Stuck in traffic.  Rescheduled deadlines. Unscheduled meetings.  Extra phone calls to untangle things that had been screwed up.  No matter how hard I tried to stay calm and focused on turning things around, I couldn’t change it. While the meltdown continued to happen throughout my day, I tried to figure out how things started to go south.  I was trying to see in my mind’s eye… Read More

Finding Your Community

September 23rd, 2016
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    You’re in the mood to go out.  Maybe go see a movie.  Maybe get a drink. But as a suddenly single, widowed or recently divorced person you might find that your usual go-to friends are busy and you aren’t enthusiastic about going out by yourself. It’s not that you can’t do it because you’ve done it before.  You’ve done it because you hate to think that you won’t do something just because you don’t have anyone to do it with. You went out by yourself to prove that you could and it was okay but not great.  It … Read More

Awesome Life Stories

September 8th, 2016
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Learning to Surf The Waves of Life Each of us has a story to tell about how our particular and significant lives have developed and unfolded over the years and it can be surprising how others decide to reveal pieces of these awesome life stories to us. The more I listen to people of all ages and cultures, the more I realize that we all have something in our lives that at some point has taken the wind out of us and made us question how we can continue on. Sometimes people tell you about their difficult circumstances over a… Read More

Princess Diana — 19 Years

August 31st, 2016
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Revealing your unfiltered feelings and becoming vulnerable to another person is not something anyone does easily, particularly when you are brokenhearted and trying to talk about the loss of a treasured loved one. I bring up the subject of talking about the loss of a loved one for today is the 19th anniversary of the tragic death of Princess Diana, one of the most iconic women of our time and one of her beloved sons, Prince William, who is now a parent himself, recently had a tender conversation with a young boy who had recently experienced the loss of his… Read More