Reading the title of today’s blog may have you humming Nancy Sinatra’s #1 song from 1966, or perhaps you are more familiar with Jessica Simpson’s version from the 2005 Dukes of Hazzard movie. Either way, that song came to my mind as soon as I heard the news this week about Queen Elizabeth’s shoes. The Queen’s longtime stylist/dresser is about to release her memoir and in it she details many aspects of her job, including her responsibility to break in her boss’s shoes. If you have ever been excited to wear a new pair of shoes, only to be derailed hours later by pain, blisters and swollen feet, you know the importance of the “breaking in” process. My guess is that most of us are not “outsourcing” that job like the longest reigning monarch.   Over the years, you have probably heard the various ways that you can successfully break in a pair of new shoes. It brings back memories of my baseball-playing son who painstakingly took many steps to break in his brand new baseball gloves. There were a lot of things involved...oil, rubber bands, newspapers, a blow dryer and time...lots of time and patience were required for a successful breaking-in process. I think the leather-breaking approach may be applied to other aspects of our lives. The very same 5-steps used to break in your shoes can help you to break in a new habit - like beginning a workout, adding in a few new healthy foods or getting your life organized. Read More

So I must begin by saying that I have never studied Latin and my knowledge of the law is limited to what I have garnered from the many years I have watched "Law and Order". Having said that, I felt compelled today to write about a Latin and legal phrase that we have heard quite a bit about in recent weeks - "QUID PRO QUO". The legal dictionary defines the term as "the exchange of valuable consideration", in other words - the exchange of something of value in which both parties agree to adhere to the contract agreed upon between them. Explained in even plainer language - THIS FOR THAT or SOMETHING FOR SOMETHING.   You may notice that nowhere in the definition is the word BRIBE mentioned. That is because while all bribes involve a Quid Pro Quo, not all Quid Pro Quo are bribes. A bribe is asking someone to do something that they shouldn't have or wouldn't have done on their own. Like the many times I promised my kids dessert if they ate all of the vegetables on their dinner plate. There was no way they were going to eat every brussels sprout without an added incentive! Read More