Last week, a very dear friend of mine told me a touching story about her household tool box. She said that it was a gift from a friend who brought it over to her house years ago on the day that her divorce became final. Her ex-husband was very handy around the house and had a tool (and the expertise) to fix just about anything. I recall that, back in the day, he even fixed a few things in my home. What a thoughtful and meaningful gift! That toolbox was more than just an attractive container for her new screwdriver, wrench, hammer and nails. It signified something very powerful...that my friend had everything she needed to move on with her new life and not only SURVIVE, but THRIVE. Read More

If you want to give your meals an upgrade, adding some new spices to your cooking repertoire can make a huge difference in transforming bland meals into flavorful, satisfying dishes. Read More

Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday...I want you to EAT LIKE A QUARTERBACK!!  When it comes to handing out nutritional advice, most football players are probably last in line. This is understandable since they do not have to worry about their weight or their waistlines and when it comes to pre-game meals, the motto is probably "the bigger the better." With the amount of calories that the players burn in each game, we are talking about some major league hunger. If you are thinking that I am suggesting that you bulk up on pre-game carbs and ingest 5,000 calories on Game Day, then you probably don't know which quarterback I am talking about. Read More

When you saw that this was entitled "Fire and Fury", you were probably thinking that I wrote all about the recently released book about the Trump Whitehouse. That is not at all what this is about since I have not yet read it and I am #176 on the reserve list at the library. Today I am writing to you about finding your own personal fire and fury...also known as your PASSION. It is often said that if you find your passion, you will be truly happy and incredibly fulfilled. I would agree with that, but an even more important fact is that passionate people are healthier and live longer. If you are passionate enough about something that it brings out the fury buried deep inside of you, you will be energized to live your life to the fullest. Read More

Thinking about going on the keto diet? You’re not alone! It’s quickly gaining popularity as a weight loss diet, but it has actually been used for years in the clinical sense to help alleviate symptoms of neurological conditions like epilepsy. Read More

A few days ago, my son’s incredibly wonderful second-grade teacher posted a bunch of photos on FaceBook of her students over the past 8-9 years. It started a tagging and sharing frenzy of parents looking through the photos and finding their adorable second grader. When I found the photos of my son and his friends (who are now high school sophomores) I was delighted to see their smiling faces. You can see their excitement for school, their enthusiasm for every classroom activity and their camaraderie. It brought me right back to the days when I served as a parent-helper and I was flooded with fond memories of what I witnessed in that elementary school. There was magic in that second-grade classroom! It was so wonderful to see!  Read More

Everyone I know has been sick! We are in the midst of cold and flu season and wherever you go these days, you see and hear people coughing, sneezing and wiping their runny noses. "To get the flu shot vs. to not get the flu shot" is being debated at dinner tables and around water coolers like the trending topic that it is. My own family was recently impacted by sickness over the Christmas holiday and it forced us to cancel plans and reschedule get-togethers. As disappointing as that was, we were also forced to do something that is as rare to us as seeing a total lunar eclipse. We were grounded. We were housebound. Our calendars were cleared and our cars went un-started for so long that one of them ended up with a dead battery. Our 10-day quarantine turned out to be a pleasant and welcome gift. Read More

The sitcom "Will and Grace" has recently returned to network television 11 years after its original 8 year run ended. The show had, and now continues to have, a "cult-like" following and I am a card-carrying member. Many a great quote has come from the hilarious and well-written scripts about Will, Grace, Karen and Jack, four best friends together facing the highs and lows of life in New York City. One such line was uttered by Will Truman, played by Eric McCormack, when he said " I love that we live in a world that would give Paula Abdul a second chance." Paula had risen to prominence in the 1980's as a highly sought after music video choreographer and later was at the top of the music charts with back-to-back hit pop songs in the late 80's, early 90's. She then suffered a series of setbacks in both her professional and personal life and the former hitmaker fell off the charts and out of the limelight. Paula was able to find renewed fame and success when she was made one of the original judges on American Idol in the 2000's, which she went on to do for eight seasons. The Will Truman joke was funny because it was said during a time when second chances weren't as popular as they are now in the Mel Gibson, Floyd Mayweather, Adrian Peterson, Michael Vick, Anthony Weiner world that we live in. Read More

Do you sometimes feel like you are going through life like a trapeze artist? That everything you do is a series of trapeze swings and you are either swinging along gracefully while hanging onto the bar or hurtling through the air in between two or more bars? If you are as afraid of heights as I am, these metaphorical images may make you think of nothing else other than hanging on for dear life when you would much rather be in control.  Read More

The power of crystals has been discovered. Today, more than ever, people are turning to crystals to aid them along their path to healing. Read More