I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking about what New Year’s Resolutions I want to make this year. I’ve got several in mind, and just decided on my main one. I’ve written in the past about the power of “First Thing in the Morning.” For many people, first thing in the morning is the most productive and efficient time of day. I have many examples of that in my own life. I used to roll out of bed and plop myself in front of [...]
There were 14 of us in the class. Some, especially those who grew up in this area, already knew a few of the others, but I was among those who knew no one else before beginning the class. By the end of the first class and the weekend retreat, however, we were all well acquainted, and more excited than ever about what we were going to accomplish. I wrote about this class a few weeks ago. It’s a Leadership program sponsored by the Chamber of [...]
I don’t know if it has anything to do with the students I worked with and wrote about in my last blog, or the college students I – along with several other members of my Toastmasters club – recently helped prepare for a career-oriented Elevator Pitch competition. But I’m getting ready to go back to school – sort of. And I’m really excited about it. Also, just a little bit nervous. Like many people, I consider myself a lifelong learner, and have always enjoyed the [...]
Rarely have I ever used my column or blog for a public service announcement, especially one on a controversial topic, but I’m going to make an exception this week. If you haven’t already done so, PLEASE get vaccinated against COVID-19. If not for yourself, then for your loved ones, for your children and grandchildren, for your friends and neighbors. The people who would miss you most if you succumbed to the disease, and the people for whom your heart would break if you lost them [...]
We spent two days driving, then two and a half days at our destination, and another two days coming home. Some people might question whether the time we spent there was worth the time it took to get there and back. Under other circumstances, I might agree. But not this time. We were visiting our grandkids. My husband and I got our second vaccination in mid-February, and waited the recommended amount of time to allow the vaccine to come to full strength. Then we hit [...]
I was a little nervous when my doctor’s office called to schedule an appointment to go over the results of the bone density scan I had done last week. I figured that anytime this has to be done in person, rather than with a phone call, the news can’t be good. Happily, I was wrong, and the doctor said my bones were even stronger than they were in my last scan two years ago. The news made me think of a newspaper column I wrote [...]
Plenty of movies over the years have utilized the “fish out of water” concept, pulling the main characters out of their comfortable, familiar world and putting them – either comically or dangerously – in an environment that’s totally foreign to them. Time-travel movies like Back to the Future are good examples. So are movies that transplant characters from big, bustling cities to small, laid-back rural areas. Or vice versa. Crocodile Dundee manages to do both, between New York City and the Australian Outback. The reason [...]