Narcissism: The Truth behind the Word
We are in an age when people are throwing around mental diagnoses like they're candy in a parade. Narcissism has been a word batted around a lot in popular culture.…
3 Reasons to Embrace the Power of “And”
"And" is a very small word that can wield a lot of power. Let's embrace those three letters as a word of connection, inclusivity, and gathering. Uniting and including are…
5 Reasons to Get Outside This Winter
Brrrr. It's cold and windy and miserable outside. Time to find a comfy couch, a cuddly blanket, a cup of warmth, and a remote control or book and stay inside…
Living in Abundance: 5 steps to Loving What You Have
"If you look at what you have in life, you will always have enough. If you look at what you don't have in life, you'll never have enough." Oprah Winfrey.…
In Praise of Boredom: 5 ways boredom is good
Boredom: the state of feeling wearied by dullness, tedious repetition, and apathy. Synonyms include apathy, indifference, disgust, lethargy, and monotony. Thanks, dictionary people. What a downer. How can any of…
The Power of the Pause: 5 Ways to Add a Little Space in Your Life
Pause. Feel your heartbeat. Take a big breath in and let your lungs inflate as full as they can. Pause and hold. Now exhale and let all that luscious breath…
The Five Love Languages through Zucchini
The summer light is fading, the morning is starting to have creamy crispness to it, and our gardens are full of zucchini. This zucchini squash quandary is not new...it has…
Nine Things to Do When You Have an Empty-Nest
The day that all older women told me about arrived recently...my fourth and last baby has graduated from high school and will quickly be out on his own. While endlessly…
Finding My Soul in the Garden: Digging for Healing and Health
Gardening has been the bane of my existence. I grew up in a very rural area of Iowa surrounded by acres and acres of corn and soybeans and alfalfa. The…
In Honor of My Beautifully Broken Brain: My TBI Journey
March is Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Month. My TBI story begins on a perfectly beautiful, bluebird-sky day in early February 2013. While driving my son's acting friends to their drama…
The 2020 vision board…what happened?
2020...the year. Who visualized this? It's been something....how's that vision board holding up? Last year I wrote an article about designing your vision board for 2020. Touting its propensity to…
The Benefit of Trying New Things
This is a story of trying new things...and the regret of listening to others. It's probably a familiar story to some. Picture this: it's 2010 and I have just returned…
The Grounding Effect of the Library
It's a badly held secret that I am absolutely infatuated with libraries...public, personal, or fictitious. Where there is a gathering of books and information is where I would like to…
Three Ways to Know You are Making the Right Decisions for You
If you are like everyone else on the planet right now, you have a great pile of decisions to make. Should I go to the grocery store? Should I travel…
Birds Build Nests…Why Am I Nesting?
Mid-March I became a different person...a nesting person. Not only did I "celebrate" another trip around the magnificent sun, I also compulsively began to clean and re-clean and decorate and…
Yelling: How to Get Your Message Across
Early in the lock-down, I realized that I had no area in my house to "take" my yoga class. Work was from home, college was from home, high school was…
Envy, the Little Green Monster
I'll be honest with you, until a little while ago I did not grasp the difference between jealousy and envy. I thought they were synonyms for one another. So when…
Fighting your Inner Mean Girl with Positive Self-Love
Up until fifth grade I felt I had led a positive, normal Midwest life. Although not together, my parents loved me. I had lots of books to keep me happy…
Vision Boards – Express Your Desires and Visualize Your Future
There is a lot of buzz around the idea of vision boards. You've been probably seeing vision board workshops popping up all over your social media accounts. Is this something…
A Christmas Love Story: How A Dog Became My Greatest Gift Ever
All good love stories start the same way...a brain injury and cold noses. Get some hot cocoa and a snugly blanket and let me tell you all about the Christmas…
Mind Your Gurus: How to Manage All Those Voices We Follow
Jim Rohn, a renowned businessman, once said, "You're the average of the five people you spend most of your time with." In short he's saying we emulate who we surround…
Be the Dog: Lessons I Learned from my Greyhound
Cat people vs. dog people I am not...strike that. I WAS not a dog person. It's been said that there are two kinds of people in this world...dog people and…
It’s a Hill of a Life- Lessons From my 450 Mile Bike Ride
I have a problem...I love an epic adventure. I love a new challenge...a physically-draining, heart-wrenching challenge where you have to dig down to the deepest bit of your soul to…
The Evolution of my (S)Heroes
Every kid wants a hero. Someone who is bigger, stronger, and more powerful, who will defeat the bad guy, and inspire them to be more. Often it is quoted that…
Hey, I know you! New Phase…Same Family
Hello! It started innocently enough. We were two 19-year-old college freshman, and we only had eyes for each other. And, we had it badly. We could talk for hours about…
A Penny’s Worth of Thoughts: Collecting Valuable Moments with your Children
The glimmer of sweet, sweet coins Nothing makes me happier during a run or a walk than catching a small glimmer in the street. A small glimmer that is of…
The Beauty of Birthdays- Let’s Celebrate
I love March! Not only is it the start of spring when daffodils start popping out their bright yellow heads out of the ground, it's also MY birthday month...and a…
Coffee, Love, and Other Things Important in My Life
My Coffee Pot died today…. well, kind of. It ALMOST died today...it was a tragedy for about 10 minutes. Don’t worry...I already had a new one bought in my head. …