The first time I ever tried “eggs over easy” was when my father made them for me when I was very young. I was always amazed at the whole egg-making process which included fancy flipping and just the right temperature and cooking time. I remember that the eggs were perfectly done each and every time. When I asked what the secret was, the answer was the same every time - “you have to go easy.” You probably know what happens when you turn up the heat on your eggs in an attempt to cook them faster...the result is something that is overcooked, dry, tasteless and difficult to get out of the pan.   Taking it easy does not only apply to serving up the perfectly cooked egg. It is a way of life that we would each be smart to embrace. Everyone I know, myself included, is so busy. Our calendars are booked solid with commitments, both work and personal. We schedule everything, but for some reason, we feel guilty penciling in some rest and relaxation onto the calendar.   I tried very hard when my kids were younger to not over commit them. You often hear that over-scheduling your children is the #1 thing NOT TO DO when you are a parent. So we had choices to make - Tae Kwon Do or baseball? Piano or art classes? We could not do everything, certainly not without inducing a lot of "agita" (the Italian word for STRESS)! But then your kids grow up and there are AP classes, weekly exams in every subject, part- time jobs, daily sports practices...you know what I am talking about - the things you cannot say NO to, even if you wanted to do so.   Read More

here is something about the first snow of the season and watching Hallmark Christmas movies that get me feeling quite wistful. So on this Throwback Thursday, I am asking you to join me for a walk down 'Memory Lane'.   Remember when the only phone you had was the one on the wall of the family kitchen? My sisters and I considered it a very significant upgrade when the cord that came with it was switched out for one that was long enough to reach into the family room. We were living large! Even though that cord was always twisted beyond belief and took a team of us to unravel it and restore it to its original glory, I really miss that phone! Back then, if someone wanted to speak with me, they had to get through my parents (and/or a busy signal) to get to me. Remember when the phone never rang while we were driving in our cars, shopping in stores, or when we were at school? There most certainly were never phones ringing while we were enjoying a much cherished meal out at our favorite restaurant! Times have really changed and today I am left thinking that they are not all for the better.   More than ever, I am seeing people driving and talking, working out while talking, and walking the streets and talking. It is even a common occurrence to see people answering their phones while they are shopping and checking out at a store. Each time I have observed this, the person chatting on the phone is completely unaware of the frustration on their sales clerk's face. When I am out to dinner, I see people all around me who are on their phones the entire time and not even looking at the person sitting across the table from them. Have you ever dined with someone who took calls, wrote texts and surfed the web right in front of you? I have. It is not a good feeling. Do you remember when we all actually made eye contact and spoke to one another? There are so many phones ringing and pinging during the classes that I teach that I have had no choice but to announce that all phones be silenced before I begin a class. I may have to resort to collecting the phones at the door! Remember when going shopping or going to fitness class meant it was an hour or two away from the ringing phone? Shopping and working out were considered "me" time. Read More

You have heard it said many times over the years - "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Perhaps your parents said it to you when your elementary school classmate showed up at school with the same lunchbox as you. It may be what you said to your own daughter to settle the "she's got the same prom dress as me" battle. I even heard the NHL discussing the concept this week as it pertains to hockey teams in the league trying to create as powerful and unstoppable a forward line as the Boston Bruins (their three forwards, known as "the Perfection Line", have a record of 31 goals in their last 14 games). It is not uncommon for copycats to appear when something or someone is successful. Just google "copycat recipes" and you will be inundated with a plethora of ways to attempt to replicate Red Lobster's very popular Cheddar Biscuits, Olive Garden's Alfredo sauce, Chipotle's Cilantro-Lime Rice, Panera's Mac and Cheese, and Cinnabon's rolls. While I am often encouraging you to "do your own thing" and be a health and well-being trailblazer, today I am writing to encourage you to be a copycat. I want you to start cooking and eating the PF Chang's way. Don't worry, they won't mind...imitation is the sincerest form of flattery! Read More

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

Right about now, you might be saying to yourself, “Hey! She has it all wrong! The correct expression is “the devil is in the details”! You are right. Decades ago that phrase was used to describe situations in which a mysterious and difficult element was hiding amidst the details - something that might have seemed simple at first look, but would actually take more time and effort to complete than expected. Therefore, “the devil” had to be there among the details. While the idiom may have caught on and became part of our vernacular, I refuse to embrace the concept! You see, I am an extremely detail oriented person and I do not think it is the work of the devil at hand when you care enough to focus on getting the details right. I believe that when something matters to you, then you will want to focus on the details and you will put your love and passion into everything that you do. Whether it is a personal project or one for work, attention needs to be given to the details to ensure completion and success. My son recently showed me a very interesting interview of the newly appointed head football coach at Lipscomb Academy, a private high school in Nashville, Tennessee. He was extremely impressed by the coach’s philosophy and principles and wanted to share the video with me. I loved the interview so much, I watched it three times. Coach Trent Dilfer, who was hired this past January, shows us that there is life after the NFL. He is a former quarterback who won the Super Bowl in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens. Lipscomb Academy had made the decision to build a premier football program after winning only two games the past two seasons (their record was 35-32 during the past six years). They chose Dilfer, who was a top-ten first round draft pick, played 14 seasons in the NFL with Tampa Bay, Baltimore, Seattle, Cleveland and San Francisco, and finished his career with 20,518 passings yards. Dilfer was the perfect pick, because after retiring from the NFL, he helped coach high school quarterbacks in addition to working as a commentator for ESPN. He says that the decision to take the job at Lipscomb was an easy one because he had been searching for something that would tap into his PASSION and give him PURPOSE in his life. Coach Dilfer’s passion and purpose for his new job are not the only things that make him perfect for the job at Lipscomb...it is also his “love is in the details” approach to life. Read More

You are undoubtedly quite familiar with the phrase “there’s no ‘I’ in TEAM”. Over the years, I have heard everyone from coaches to bosses to sportscasters using the term. I am fairly certain that I have uttered the words over the years when trying to get my family to pitch in on projects. Recently, my eldest son began college at a university that has a rich history and is steeped in tradition. At the University of Notre Dame, which is 177 years old, there are notable traditions for Game Days, Football Fridays, music, Masses, cheers, bagpipes, trumpets, candlelight dinners, the Leprechaun, an annual t-shirt (known as “the shirt”) and more. While you may not personally know a Notre Dame alumnus, you are probably familiar with one of the school’s most famous graduates - Daniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger who played college football at the University of Notre Dame. His early life and career at Notre Dame were the inspiration for the 1993 film Rudy staring Sean Astin in the title role. Rudy is well known, not so much for his football highlights, but rather for the backstory of his path to the school. You see, Rudy grew up in a very large lower class family of steel mill workers who were all deeply devoted to the football team of their favorite university, Notre Dame. His whole life, Rudy dreamed of nothing but playing football at the University of Notre Dame. He had many obstacles, however, including not having the money for tuition, the grades to qualify for a scholarship, or the athletic skills to earn him a spot on the team. He got a job at the local steel mill instead, but he never let his dream die and he eventually got admitted to the university in his junior year. Of course, he tried out for the football team, but the only position he could get was as a live tackle-dummy. Read More