­

About bettyliedtke

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far bettyliedtke has created 716 blog entries.

Looking forward to an international event

By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be at this year’s Toastmasters International Convention. I’ve attended several International Conventions in the past, and was amazed at how many people I met, how much I learned from them, and how much I enjoyed the experience. But then life got in the way, and it’s been a long time since I’ve attended one. As you might expect, I’m really excited to be going this year! One of the things I remember most from my first International Convention [...]

By |August 24th, 2018|Columns, Respect, Toastmasters, Values|Comments Off on Looking forward to an international event

The best part of summer

“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy.” It’s a line from a song in the musical, Porgy and Bess, and it was also the theme of both our Toastmasters meeting this week, and the Table Topics portion of the meeting. During Table Topics, one person will ask a question or make a comment, and then call on another member to respond. That person has to talk on the subject for 1-2 minutes. Table Topics gives us all a chance to practice thinking on our feet, and [...]

By |August 17th, 2018|Columns, Family, Holidays, Toastmasters, Values|Comments Off on The best part of summer

Dreaming about a Sign of the Times

I dreamed last night that I was out of town on a “girls’ weekend” with a friend of mine from Minnesota. Two other friends of hers were joining us – people I had never met. One of them was deaf, and used sign language to communicate. While we were waiting for them to show up, my friend showed me how to sign a greeting. I don’t remember what the actual message was in my dream, but I remember the main gesture. It involved holding my [...]

By |August 10th, 2018|Columns, Respect|Comments Off on Dreaming about a Sign of the Times

Old Friends, New Saying

“Well, butter my biscuits, that was fun!” In order to fully appreciate that statement, you need to hear it spoken with a slow, Southern drawl – which, obviously, I can’t do in print. But I repeated it often after reading the saying – the “butter my biscuits” part and several variations of it – on coffee mugs, tea towels, and wall hangings in some of the shops and boutiques I strolled through last weekend. I was with some friends I haven’t seen in a long [...]

By |August 3rd, 2018|Columns, Quotes and Sayings, Travel, Values|Comments Off on Old Friends, New Saying

Time with Family and Friends

We’re finishing up laundry and leftovers after a lovely visit from my sister and nephew last weekend. Now I’m packing and preparing for a weekend at the coast with three fantastic friends whom I haven’t seen in person in almost ten years. So I’m not going to write much this week, other than to say how wonderful it is to spend time relaxing and having fun with family and friends who mean the world to us. And that I hope you are able to enjoy [...]

By |July 27th, 2018|Columns, Family, Values|Comments Off on Time with Family and Friends

A rainy day leads to a sunny outlook

The weather was sunny and dry when we left home, but clouded up on our way to the grocery store. It was drizzling when we went in, and pouring when we came out. People were racing to and from the store holding umbrellas over their grocery carts and themselves. “You wait here,” my husband said. “I’ll go get the car.” There was a long line of people with full grocery carts waiting near the entrance to the store, and I joined them. There was also [...]

By |July 20th, 2018|Columns, Respect, Values|Comments Off on A rainy day leads to a sunny outlook

A new player is joining our team

We spent Father’s Day weekend at the home of our son and his wife, but Father’s Day wasn’t the reason for our visit. Instead, it was to attend and celebrate our daughter-in-law’s graduation from Nursing School on Saturday morning. When we got to their house Friday evening, there were two gift boxes on the kitchen table. “Happy Father’s Day,” our son said, pushing one of them toward my husband. “And a belated Happy Mother’s Day to you,” he said, pushing the other box toward me. [...]

By |July 15th, 2018|Columns, Family, Quotes and Sayings|Comments Off on A new player is joining our team

Birthday Wishes for America

242. That's the number of candles on America’s birthday cake this year. If America made a wish before blowing out the candles, don’t you wonder what it might have been? After giving it some thought, I have a few ideas. If it were me, I would wish for fewer headlines about the people who are most in the news these days, and more about people like the man who returned my nephew’s lost wallet a few weeks ago. My nephew figured it must have fallen [...]

By |July 6th, 2018|Accountability, Columns, Family, Holidays, Values|Comments Off on Birthday Wishes for America

Birthday Reflections through the Years

Spoiler alert: Today’s blog is one of the Stroll-Down-Memory-Lane ones that evokes the song, “Sunrise, Sunset,” from Fiddler on the Roof. It has to do with milestone birthdays. Like 13, when you become a teenager, and 20, when you stop being one. Like 16, when you can get your driver’s license, and 21, when you’re officially and legally an adult. And then, before you know it, you start getting mail from AARP and Senior Living facilities, and all of a sudden your Medicare card comes [...]

By |June 29th, 2018|Achieving Dreams and Goals, Buried Treasure, Coaching, Columns, Family, Health and Well-being, Uganda, Writing|Comments Off on Birthday Reflections through the Years

Quiet reflections of a memorable trip

“Why are you silent?” Tony asked. “You aren’t talking.” “I guess I just don’t have anything intelligent to say right now,” I told him. Actually, the reason I was silent – and I admit this is not like me – is that I was lost in thought. Thoughts and memories on the morning of my last day in Uganda. Tony was driving, as he had been doing for most of the time I was in Uganda. I was sitting in the passenger seat, as I [...]

By |June 23rd, 2018|Columns, Travel, Uganda|Comments Off on Quiet reflections of a memorable trip