I’m not about to deny the place in my heart reserved for football and pumpkin spice lattes, but they don’t seem to be enough to make Autumn feel significant. So simply put, I’m striving to give this glorious season a more befitting identity within my life. The downgrade seemed to have started during my years as a small business owner when it became a respite between the chaotic pace of summer entertaining and the exhausting demands of the holiday retail season. Typically, I dragged myself into September desperate to catch my breath and reclaim some semblance of a normal life if only for a few weeks. Not exactly lofty goals. Continue reading “Fall Should be More Than Football and Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Right?”
Shift Shop: I’m Happy I Did It…and Even Happier I’m Done!
My skepticism kicked in as soon as I heard Beachbody’s latest super trainer, Chris Downing, promise I’d get leaner, faster and stronger in three weeks. But as he rambled through his spiel, his enthusiasm seemed refreshingly genuine and once he flashed that infectious smile my resistance softened. I was in. Now that I’ve finished Shift Shop, I’ll admit this trainer and his breakthrough “ramp-up” method was worth my time. I say that even though my performance tanked on day fifteen, of the 21-day program. Reflecting on my experience objectively, I can see the problem wasn’t so much with the program, at least not technically; it was that this old lady simply needed a longer ramp. Continue reading “Shift Shop: I’m Happy I Did It…and Even Happier I’m Done!”
Cheers to Lake Hair, Tan Skin, and Months of Living in a Swimsuit!
How can you not love summer? The days are longer, the colors are brighter and life moves to the great outdoors. For many, summertime means the frantic pace of their everyday existence slows a bit; kids are out of school, people take vacations, traffic is lighter, and everything seems just a little easier. For me the opposite is true. Right about the time everyone else is taking that deep breath to welcome the summer respite, my life is speeding up. From May through August the pace is intense, my workload peaks and despite it all, or maybe, because of it all, I’m my happiest self. Continue reading “Cheers to Lake Hair, Tan Skin, and Months of Living in a Swimsuit!”
The Rhythm of Summer
Every summer has a beat. It varies from year to year, but once it kicks in we all march to it. Some years I pick it up by Memorial Day, other years it takes a little longer to resonate. To most casual observers and our Facebook friends I’m sure each of our summers appear the same: weekend gatherings of our summertime family joined by an interesting array of guests with a backdrop of water, sun, boats, food, drinks, laughter, music, hugs, and smiles… Good times always rule, but trust me, each year has a distinct beat all its own. Continue reading “The Rhythm of Summer”
Why Do Food and Fun Have to be Such Great Companions?
I rolled over and looked at the clock: 3:52 a.m. The grumpy stomach and foggy brain that awakened me Monday morning was unmistakable; it’s a hangover. . . a food hangover. It doesn’t take long to realize going back to sleep is not an option; my head is throbbing but it’s mostly because I’m pissed at myself for ruining the start to what I expect to be a very special week. Continue reading “Why Do Food and Fun Have to be Such Great Companions?”
Boost Your Bright Side If You Notice People Avoiding You
We all know at least one Debbie or Donny Downer – the perpetual sad sack that makes our stomach flinch when we see them heading in our direction because we know two minutes into the conversation we’ll be looking for car to jump in front of. I wish I was exaggerating, but few situations in life drain me more than getting cornered by one of these folks.
Is life really that much worse for these doomsters? Has the universe conspired against them as they would have us believe? Continue reading “Boost Your Bright Side If You Notice People Avoiding You”
What’s in Your Pocket . . . a Poem by Chance?
Poetry intrigues me, yet it’s a literary genre I rarely seek. It seems the times in my life when I’ve most appreciated the art form have been when it has found me. That was the case one April day five years ago when I wandered into a local bookstore, sadly no longer in business, and stumbled upon Poem In Your Pocket Day for the first time.
A woman greeted me with a smile and a question. “Do you have a poem in your pocket?” Continue reading “What’s in Your Pocket . . . a Poem by Chance?”
Life Is Short . . . Eat The Cake
And drink the wine, and the margaritas, and even the champagne! Especially the champagne! Last weekend I decided my newly adopted healthy lifestyle was going to have to stand down; it was after all my birthday. And I had the good fortune to be spending it with friends I’d known . . . well, forever. I wasn’t just hurdling past another annual milestone, I was doing it with some of the best friends a girl could ever have. And that’s a reason to celebrate! Continue reading “Life Is Short . . . Eat The Cake”
There’s No Shame in Saying No
We were having dinner with friends recently when the conversation got around to how much we had on our plates despite all of us being retired. A couple of us were excited to share the things we’ve been working on. For me launching this blog has been a lot of work, mostly because the twenty-somethings that write the descriptions for these blogging sites using terms like “easy set-up” and “intuitive formatting” did not grow up in an era when a significant technological advancement meant migrating from rotary dial to touch-tone phones. Continue reading “There’s No Shame in Saying No”
And So, The Countdown to the Summer of 2017 Officially Begins . . .
I always have mixed emotions with the arrival of spring. Don’t get me wrong; I love the longer days, the warmer weather, and the explosion of color that’s replacing more of the gray shades of winter each day. But spring is petal-to-metal busy around here. The next eight weeks is when Tim and I transition our home from a winter sanctuary to the welcoming lake house so many friends and family help us enjoy each summer. Continue reading “And So, The Countdown to the Summer of 2017 Officially Begins . . .”