Happy New Year! To say goodbye to the old year and ring in the new, below are the top ten most-read blog posts of 2011. Enjoy! Read more
One of my favorite holiday traditions is piecing together jigsaw puzzles! From Thanksgiving until around the first week in Jan, my dad always had an extra table setup with a jigsaw puzzle on it. I have carried on this tradition in my own family. Although my “tidy” husband doesn’t like having my puzzle-table in the middle of our library (visible from the front door), he is learning what an asset it can be for a family.
It is not often that teenage sons will hang out with their mother for over an hour and just talk, but with a great puzzle, it is a common occurrence in our home. As we work together trying to find the right pieces for the right places, we can talk about all sorts of things going on in their lives that they may not have otherwise shared with me. Or we can just enjoy being together with no pressure to talk at all.
It’s also great for a marriage. It gives us a chance to sit down in the evening, put on some great music, and talk and relax with no TV! Also, when friends or neighbors come over for a short visit, it’s fun for them to find a few pieces while they are there. In fact, this is such a good thing, I am seriously considering keeping my puzzle table up year round!
I suggest getting at least a 1,000-piece puzzle. Depending on the difficulty, and how often we sit down to play with it, we can go through several puzzles during the holiday season. (Of course young children can have their own kid’s puzzle nearby). I must admit, puzzle making is a bit addicting for me. Once I sit down and get into it, I have a hard time leaving the table to get other things done. After all, I am the “Puzzlemiester!”
My kids tease me about finding metaphors for life in any situation. (If you’ve taken a Tai Chi class from me, you know that I love finding life-lessons in the movements). The nature of putting a puzzle together incorporates SO many metaphors for life, I just had to write a list, so here it is:
~Everything I need to know I learned from a jigsaw puzzle~
Slow down
Take your time
Don’t force things into place
Look closely to see what shape things are really in
Trust your intuition
Share your joy with friends
Breathe
You must stand back to see the big picture
Have patience
Follow good examples (picture on box)
Keep track of all your parts
Allow others to help you
Its easier to see solutions with a fresh pair of eyes
Things are not always what they seem
Sometimes you just need to walk away
Often, the piece you are seeking is right in front of you but your perception is off.
and finally…
Sometimes you search for a long time finding only what doesn’t fit, then the insight comes, allowing you to connect many pieces at once. Don’t you love when that happens?
Get yourself a puzzle and enjoy the season!
Question: Why don’t I feel like the energy work that’s been done on me in the past isn’t working like it should? Read more
People ask me all the time what I think about crystals. There seems to be some controversy about this subject, but I think crystals are fabulous. Read more
Note: I did not write this and haven’t been able to track down who the author is, but for me 
it is very appropriate! Enjoy!
Greeting friends,
Just a note to let you know we are hoping to see you Thanksgiving Day. But…Martha Stewart will NOT be dining with us this Thanksgiving. I’m telling you in advance, so don’t act surprised. Since Ms. Stewart won’t be coming, I’ve made a few small changes:
Our sidewalk will not be lined with homemade, paper bag luminaries. After a trial run, it was decided that no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have the desired welcoming effect.
Once inside, our guests will note that the entry hall is not decorated with the swags of Indian corn and fall foliage I had planned to make. Instead, I’ve gotten the kids involved in the decorating by having them track in colorful autumn leaves from the front yard. The mud was their idea.
The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy china, or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and everyone will get a fork. Since this IS Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using the plastic Peter Rabbit plate and the Santa napkins from last Christmas.
Our centerpiece will not be the tower of fresh fruit and flowers that I promised. Instead we will be displaying a hedgehog-like decoration hand-crafted from the finest construction paper. The artist assures me it is a turkey.
We will be dining fashionably late. The children will entertain you while you wait. I’m sure they will be happy to share every choice comment I have made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims and the turkey hotline. Please remember that most of these comments were made at 5:00 a.m. upon discovering that the turkey was still hard enough to cut diamonds.
As accompaniment to the children’s recital, I will play a recording of tribal drumming. If the children should mention that I don’t own a recording of tribal drumming, or that tribal drumming sounds suspiciously like a frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, ignore them. They are lying.
We toyed with the idea of ringing a dainty silver bell to announce the start of our feast. In the end, we chose to keep our traditional method. We’ve also decided against a formal seating arrangement. When the smoke alarm sounds, please gather around the table and sit where you like. In the spirit of harmony, we will ask the children to sit at a separate table. In a separate room. Next door.
Now, I know you have all seen pictures of one person carving a turkey in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. This will not be happening at our dinner. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in a private ceremony. I stress “private” meaning: Do not, under any circumstances, enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children to check on my progress. I have an electric knife. The turkey is unarmed. It stands to reason that I will eventually win. When I do, we will eat.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind my young diners that “passing the rolls” is not a football play. Nor is it a request to bean your sister in the head with warm tasty bread.
Oh, and one reminder for the adults: For the duration of the meal, and especially while in the presence of young diners, we will refer to the giblet gravy by its lesser-known name: Cheese Sauce. If a young diner questions you regarding the origins or type of Cheese Sauce, plead ignorance. Cheese Sauce stains.
Before I forget, there is one last change. Instead of offering a choice between 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and small fingerprints. You will still have a choice; take it or leave it. I hope you aren’t too disappointed that Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving. She probably won’t come next year either.
Wow, I had such a fun time in Birmingham, Alabama last month! I taught my SimplyHealed Training to a great group of people. Many traveled to get there; one woman came all the
way from New Zealand and another came all the way from Scotland!
My fab assistant Melinda-we finally got to meet in real life!
A good thing to remember
A better thing to do
Work with the construction gang
Not the wrecking crew.
Dale Carnegie said, “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most do.” Do you find yourself falling into critic mode more often than you’d like? It’s easy to do. We live in a society of critics. It sometimes seems much easier to be negative and critical of everything from the latest movie to our neighbor’s choice of hairstyle. But we can learn to resist this impulse. It’s destructive not only to our fellowmen but to us too.
Dwelling on the negative, broadcasting it outward, will lower your vibration. After all, you can’t throw mud without getting some on your own hands. Nobody likes a critic. Like the Yiddish proverb says, “A critic is like the girl who can’t dance so she says the band can’t play.”
You may have good intentions in general, but you’ve heard what the man said about the road to hell and its paving stones. So instead we can connect good intentions with creative action. Many people think that once they get the motivation they will get things accomplished. Actually, the reverse is true: action precedes motivation and begets more action and motivation in an endless positive circle.
When my kids come to me with a problem, after hearing and validating it, I usually ask (and by now they know it’s coming), “How would an extraordinary person deal with that situation?” or “If you were a super-genius, what would you do next?” In no time they have a solution figured out because the super-genius and extraordinary person within themselves gets to work and figures it out! Creativity is built into every one of us; we all possess creative powers. Be brave enough to live creatively. And the bonus of that is that when you spend time improving yourself you won’t have time to criticize others.
You can find opportunities close at hand by paying attention to the positive things that are working for you and having gratitude for them, rather than finding reasons why things won’t work. They are lying dormant waiting for the observant eye to discover them. Read more
by guest writer Wendy Minks
Have you ever stood at the beach and let the waves rush over you? Not ready to jump right in to all the chaos, you timidly walk down to where water meets sand and inch your way in. As you stand there enjoying the cool flood over your hot feet, WHAM! a huge wave comes and knocks you on your butt. Read more
I’m excited to introduce these certified SimplyHealed practitioners!
These practitioners have completed the four-day SimplyHealed course, along with some additional requirements for the SimplyHealed Master’s Program.
Hailing from several U.S. states as well as Australia, each of these wonderful women bring their own special gifts to and are great at the work — they can help you with all types of issues!
Since I tend to be booked out about four months in advance, a great option is to have a session with one of them since they can get you in much sooner, usually within a week or two.
Many more amazing practitioners will be added to the certified SimplyHealed practitioners page in the coming months.