For You!
Gratitude Prompts
Gratitude is a powerful practice and sometimes it helps to have a few tools to help us get in the right mindset. It also helps us broaden our perspectives on the vast number of things we have to be thankful for. I hope this worksheet is a gift to you as we enter the holiday season! I am grateful to connect with YOU here!
5 Quick Tips For a Highly Productive Week
The past few months I have had friend after friend and client after client talk to me about struggling to stay on task in the middle of a never-ending list of things to do, people to take care of, and “life” to manage. The art of the balance is an elusive goal that gets off kilter by 10am on Monday. I’ve been aggressively nodding along in these conversations. Can you relate?
The Power of Education
Maria Huisha moved to Connecticut from Ecuador in 2008. She knew two words in English: yes and no. This past February, she received her high school equivalency diploma, and now, college is on the horizon. Maria’s journey was not an easy one, but thanks to Mercy Learning Center, a Bridgeport-based organization that provides literacy and life skills training to low-income women, she had all of the support she needed to not only learn English but also experience the empowerment and confidence that comes with continuing her education.
30-Day Gratitude Challenge
Grat·i·tude: The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and return kindness.
It's that time of year again, the time when we rush toward the holidays in a frenzied state of acquiring joy. Families come together. Generational food rituals are elevated. Gifts are acquired at a dizzying pace. Social gatherings are taken to another level. The lists are long, and the line between celebration and exhaustion is as precarious as walking on a tightrope.
Every year, I tell myself that this year will be different. This year, I'll approach the holiday season in a more measured way—holiday chill, balanced. I've got this all figured out. And then mid-November arrives, I find myself in the Starbucks drive-through, determined to get my hands on a hot mocha-something-or-other in the newly released holiday cup just so I can "feel festive" while embarking on the seasonal hustle and bustle. It dawns on me—I'm doing it again.
This year, let's consider a new idea: a gratitude challenge.
The First Step to Housing Stability: Eat
Open Doors is a housing and homeless services organization based in Norwalk that provides resources for individuals and families on the path to housing stability.
Core to their model, Open Doors recognizes that the best way to end homelessness is to stop it before it happens. The prevention programs assist area residents as they gain sustainable housing and find financial stability and success.
At the most fundamental level, tackling food insecurity is the base on which all other services sit.
In order for clients to find their path in life, Open Doors knows basic human needs must be taken care of first. The first step in building this foundation? Ensuring everyone has a healthy meal on their table.
What’s in Style This Fall? Sustainability!
I’m a terrible shopper. I’ve no idea what I’m doing. I rely on friends and my daughters (and their friends) to get through. Why? Every time I try to go it alone, I end up returning what I bought after my teenagers scoff at me (and yes – I do mean scoff).
Full confession, because why not? We’re all neighbors here. Not too long ago a friend came over and made me take maternity pants out of my closet (my youngest is 16). I also had an abnormal number of sweater twin sets from the 90s. I think I’ve said enough….
Top 5 Tips for Dropping Your Freshman at College
I recently dropped my oldest child at college and the months leading up to it were filled with advice and well wishes. All of which I devoured. So, I thought it was only fair if I paid it forward with some of the things I learned from our experience. Here goes…
Podcast: The Balancing Act of Letting Go
Check out our conversation about the balancing act of letting go, mother-daughter relationships, the college admissions process, the joys and “sads” of this time of transition, and so much more!
A Summer Can Change a Child’s Life
Stories of families connecting over generations because of the relationships built in a summer are full of joy. Adults who met as children, the host and the hosted, seeing each other as brothers and sisters decades later. Parents coming together to share in the joy of seeing a child reach their potential. Lives enriched because of the belonging forged between families.
Choose YOU!
What if reading this article could save a life?
What if a phone call to a friend changed the course of their health?
What if a luncheon is the difference between stage zero and stage IV cancer?
Would you read this article, call a friend or go to the luncheon?
When Home Means Belonging
What an incredible opportunity to speak with the changemakers at A Better Chance! And WOW - are they speaking my love language - belonging & community!
“We want the house to be a home. Not just a place you are passing through. What we are trying to do is connect. To let all the scholars know that they belong.” Sonya Harris-Jagenberg, ABC Westport’s DEI Coordinator Co-Chair.
Art…like life…
Art, like life, is often at its best when it seeks to honor the history of what has been while stretching for the possibility of what could be. It is the connectedness between those who teach us, support us, and create beauty and meaning from what begins as a blank canvas.
The Opposite of Addiction Isn’t Sobriety - It’s Connection
I had the opportunity to write about an organization that is battling addiction by providing affordable sober living and community- Recovery Community Development. I’ve seen firsthand the power of this community and I’m in awe of the life-saving work they do. The piece was originally published in Westport Lifestyle Magazine “The Opposite of Addiction isn’t Sobriety: It’s Connection”. You can read the full article here…
Connected Lives. Connected Voices.
I lost my friend, Lisa Laudico, to MBC (Metastatic Breast Cancer) this past summer. I’m still processing the loss, swinging between the hole it has left and my lack of belief that it’s actually true. Most days it still feels surreal, other days it’s too heavy, and I think that’s why I’ve been struggling with how to honor Lisa this month – Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A month set aside for us to raise our voices and scream at the top of our lungs…support women and families fighting this dreadful disease…and please, please find a cure! Find a cure!
LOVED.
Let’s talk about LOVE today…it’s Valentine’s Day after all…and I’m convinced that we can make this holiday more than another reason to run to the store and stock up on cards and chocolates. Don’t get me wrong…I love a good reason to let those around me know I love them…I just wonder if we can dig a little deeper for ourselves and find a moment in a day celebrating love to think about where we fit in that equation. How we conjure up a little bit of loving ourselves exactly where we are – as we are.
A Different December
Does December ever get away from you?
I know it does for me some years! As soon as Thanksgiving is over until somewhere in the first week of January I'm a head down, list managing, task accomplishing crazy person.
Don't get me wrong...I love the holiday season...but this year I'm looking to do things a bit differently. One of the big things we learned over the past two years is how much healthier and happier we are as a family when we slow down, work to be more present, and focus on what matters. So, that's what I'm up to this month - AND I HOPE YOU WILL JOIN ME!
30-Day Gratitude Challenge
💫 Join me! 💫
30 Day Gratitude Challenge!
Let’s build thanksgiving into our whole month! Click on the link in this post to download 30 days of prompts designed to build more joy into our lives through simple acts of gratitude!
The Love of Tiny Fingers
At some point, Clive reached out his pointer finger very slowly. His finger was curved and shook a little. He held it there for a while until the baby figured out that she could reach it and grab hold. He swung her finger back and forth. She stared with rapt attention and smiled even wider. I could have thrown myself on the floor from the beauty of it all. Thank you God for my view today, I thought.
What I Wish I Knew In High School
I adore my teenagers and their friends (and also my husband who has to put up with A TON of girls)! It feels like such a privilege to watch them all grow into these incredible women. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
And as they do, I'm constantly thinking of the things I've learned along the way that I hope I can share with them in a way that helps them prepare for all that is ahead. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
All of this inspired me to jot down things I wish I knew in high school! I've turned them into conversation cards for you in the hopes that they'll spark some good discussions with your children too.
What Makes Your Heart Sing?
Let’s face it, life has a way of getting so busy and bogged down that before we know it, we feel stuck and out of touch with the things that fill us up and make our hearts sing. My hope is that this FREE guide is the beginning of helping you become unstuck. That you will feel encouraged to make changes in your life that are transformative and exciting.
I know that if you are vulnerable with yourself as you explore what sparks joy for you, you’ll start to feel a connection with your authentic self that will open the door to so much more. You have a full, resilient life ahead of you, all it takes is a first step.