Life Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect to Be Wonderful
6 Toxic Thoughts That Keep You Battling with Food
“Eating is not a crime. It’s not a moral issue. It’s normal. It’s enjoyable. It just is.” ~Carrie Arnold
Like many women, I was introduced to diet “tricks” and “hacks” at a young age. In my case, that was around twelve to thirteen years old.
I consumed magazines and movies that constantly reminded me about the importance of dieting, losing weight, and looking skinny.
As a self-conscious teenager, I began to compare myself to the women in music videos with flat bellies, the slim actresses in movies, and models in magazines with their perfect “beach bodies.”
This self-consciousness only grew …
5 Simple but Powerful Practices for a Happier, More Present Life
“There is nothing else than now. There is neither yesterday, certainly, nor is there any tomorrow. How old must you be before you know that?” ~Ernest Hemingway
It was a Wednesday afternoon, just like any other. I’d spent the last three hours bent over my laptop at a coffee shop, trying to nail down the revisions to a research report that was already three days late.
I’d been distracted all afternoon, checking my e-mail every five minutes for news about a proposal I’d submitted a few weeks earlier. When I’d found nothing to satisfy me in my inbox, I’d stumble …
How I Changed My Life by Remembering Who I Was Before the Pain
“If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” ~Unknown
For a skinny, curly haired five-year-old girl, life was magical.
Buried in books and living in my imagination, I was constantly scribbling stories and dreaming of far away places. My inquisitive mind and persistent curiosity led me further than I ever thought possible. I was a little girl with big dreams, in a world where nothing seemed impossible, where life was bliss.
Then school started.
It wasn’t easy. In fact, at times it was horrifying. And not academically, no, I enjoyed it very much. But being different and not trying to …
Awaken Your Creative Side: Interview with Melissa Dinwiddie and Book Giveaway
UPDATE: The winners for this giveaway are Alba and Nette Jordan.
Like most of us, I spent much of my childhood creating, making everything from finger paintings and friendship bracelets to leaf collages and Lego castles.
I also spent weeks rehearsing for community theater performances and hours writing poems and stories, with no thought of whether I could make money off any of it.
I created because it was fun and fulfilling, and that alone was enough.
Then, like many of us, I got caught up adulting and began spending far more time working and worrying than imagining and playing.…
Surviving Loss: You Always Have Choice
“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” ~Stephen Covey
One ordinary night after an ordinary day of work and family, I went to bed a mother, wife, teacher, writer-person.
I remember falling asleep between sentences exchanged with my husband after an evening spent with just the two of us on our patio, something we rarely seemed to find the time to do in our busy lives. We promised each other that we’d make a concerted effort to have more of these “dates.”
The next morning, on what was supposed to be another …
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