Even if you don’t follow NFL football, you are probably well aware that we are in the middle of the playoffs. After all, in just a few weeks, the Super Bowl will be upon us. It is undeniable that the teams that made it all the way to the playoffs have each had a great season, with many more wins than losses. While watching one of the playoff games this past weekend, I heard the sportscaster discussing the “mantra” of one of the teams. It is A.S.A.P., which in this particular case, does NOT stand for “as soon as possible.” The team uses the abbreviation to mean ANY SQUAD, ANY PLACE! The team philosophy is that they come ready to play their best, no matter which stadium (and state) they are playing in and which team they are opposing. One of the defensemen for the team was recently quoted as saying "We come into your place ready to play. Our motto around here is 'Any squad, any place,' that's what we say.” My husband often tells me that you can garner many a life lesson from paying attention to organized sports. I agree and feel that this is one of those times. I can embrace the idea of “any squad, any place”. I wouldn’t be practicing what I preach if I didn’t show up ready to be my best, no matter where I am and what the circumstance. Read More

Right now we have Federal employees on our minds as the government shutdown enters day # 19 and over 800,000 employees will not be receiving their paychecks. As we well know, the impact of this is far-reaching as we all face the reality of life without many essential, valuable and much needed employees and the work they normally do for our country. Because of this, I have been thinking a lot about the phrase “good enough for government work.” You are undoubtedly familiar with this phrase and how it is used in the common vernacular. It is used in a very negative way, as in “Do you have more work to do on that?” “Nah, it’s good enough for government work!” The Urban Dictionary goes so far as to define the term as meaning “probably not the best, but what the hell, we got the job done” and is followed by the hashtag #slacker.   Read More

I love this time of year! I always look forward to hanging my new wall calendar and loading my Day Planner with crisp/clean/new pages brings me organizational joy! Every time I hear someone say that the new year is a blank page waiting to be written on, I get that “first day of school” feeling all over again. Transferring recurring dates into my 2019 calendars allows me to look ahead at the new year. January feels like the Opening Act for the eleven wonderful months that will follow.    Recently, I was in the car with my son and I was busy thinking about Opening Acts when the country song “I Don’t Know About You” came on the radio. My son, who is a country music fan, promptly said “It’s so amazing...last summer this singer was the Opening Act for the Opening Act and now he’s on the top of the Country Billboard Chart!” I agree with my son...that is amazing...and also inspiring. The singer and songwriter that he was talking about is Chris Lane, an unsuccessful American Idol contestant who after graduating from college, worked for his father’s landscaping business but never gave up on his dream to become a successful country music artist. Year after year, Chris kept writing songs and performing small gigs until he was “discovered”.One of the notable parts of Chris’s backstory is that he played baseball in college and was talented enough to play professionally after graduation. He suffered a career-ending injury which ended his baseball dreams. The great news for country music fans is that when Chris was forced to put down the bat, he decided to pick up a guitar. Almost two decades later, Chris Lane is now one of the most played country music artists with songs that have topped the charts and even gone platinum!  Read More

Do you find yourself getting stressed during the holiday season? This time of year is filled with parties, shopping, spending, entertaining, and a list of other demands that can easily lead to overwhelm. Read More

This is the time of year when many of us are on either the giving or receiving end of a Christmas Cactus...the very popular houseplant that produces colorful, tubular flowers. If you have ever had one, you know that there are instructions that must be carefully followed in order to not kill your cactus. I don’t have the “greenest thumb” so I usually panic when I receive a gift that requires my attention to keep it alive. I even need Alexa to remind me daily to feed my son’s pet fish so I don’t get distracted and miss his feeding time.    The Christmas Cactus directions are very clear: “keep it well lit, have the proper amount of humidity, add fertilizer to assist with growth, and water with care.” These suggestions sound like they were written by a Health Coach! It turns out everything your new plant requires is also just what you need to grow, thrive and bloom!  Read More

Last week, California Highway Patrol (CHiPs) Officers stopped a Tesla Model S car that was being driven by a driver who was sound asleep. According to the police report, after following the sedan for about seven miles and unsuccessfully getting the driver to respond to their lights and sirens, the officers figured that the Tesla's Autopilot Driver Assist System had been engaged. They pulled in front of the car to get it to slow down and safely come to a complete stop in the middle of the highway. Not surprisingly, the officers found the driver asleep and drunk. This whole episode gave a new (literal) meaning to the idiom “asleep at the wheel”.   The phrase was originally intended to mean “failing to attend to one's responsibilities or duties; not doing or paying attention to that which is important or for which one is responsible.”    Can you recall a time when you or someone you love was “asleep at the wheel”?  Read More

Cravings. We all have them. Food cravings are a common response to what we’re going through and can cause the desire to munch on foods we wouldn’t normally eat, such as salty potato chips or sweet chocolate brownies. Studies have shown that cravings for certain foods come from a variety of reasons, including memories, emotions, weather, and stress.  Read More

Thanksgiving is now in our collective rear-view mirrors. It is my favorite holiday for so many reasons, one of which is the fact that it is all about giving thanks, showing gratitude and counting our blessings. The rapper, singer and songwriter Snoop Dog was in the news this week for finally receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after a successful career that has spanned three decades. His acceptance speech received a lot of attention because after he thanked the important people in his life (his parents, wife, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Kimmel and Quincy Jones), he took the time to thank himself saying:   “Last but not least, I want to thank me for believing in me, I want to thank me for doing all this hard work, I want to thank me for having no days off, I want to thank me for never quitting, I want to thank me for always being a giver and trying to give more than I receive. I want to thank me for trying to do more rights than wrong, I want to thank me for just being me at all times.”  This part of Snoop’s speech made headlines and got people talking about the appropriateness of self-gratitude.  Why does it strike us as unusual and noteworthy when someone thanks himself? Does it seem narcissistic? Is it a humble-brag? Or is it a great reminder of what it takes to be successful? Read More

I very clearly remember the times I spent as a child washing the dinner dishes at my Grandparents’ house. On one such occasion, my grandmother suggested that I use some “elbow grease” to get the baking pan scrubbed clean. I started opening up every one of her kitchen cabinets. She asked me what I was looking for and I replied “I am looking for where you keep the elbow grease.” She laughed so loudly and for the longest time! My grandma had to explain to me that “elbow grease” isn’t a product that comes in a container, it is the amount of effort that you put into getting a job done properly. I have never forgotten that moment and the very important lesson that I learned that day in my Grandmother’s kitchen! I recently heard the wrestler/entertainer John Cena being interviewed on the radio. When he mentioned the title of his new children’s book, I was brought right back to my grandmother’s kitchen. The storybook he wrote all about cartoon car characters is called “Elbow Grease” which is the name of the story’s monster truck and main character. Elbow Grease the truck is determined to prove to his four older and bigger brothers that he can keep up with them. He enters the Demolition Derby and throughout the story, displays his determination and can-do attitude. The little monster truck’s hard work and perseverance show that he is not only able to keep up with the bigger and stronger cars, he also lives up to the meaning behind his name - Elbow Grease. Read More