Losing Your Fear of Poetry

When I taught ESL, my students dreaded analyzing poetry. I was able to relate, as I once feared the condensed rhythmical words myself, for their power to humble students and teachers alike. But I pushed past my fear, and delved into the dark dungeon of poetry, and unearthed a treasure, which I have been richer… Continue reading Losing Your Fear of Poetry

Review of Week 52- Optimizing Yourself – Report Card for Year of Optimizing Yourself

When I looked back on all the optimizing yourself topics of the year, I found a common thread among them all, and it was improving how I used my time. My time on earth is short and precious, and a large percentage of it is already used up with sleeping,eating,showering and cleaning. By setting goals… Continue reading Review of Week 52- Optimizing Yourself – Report Card for Year of Optimizing Yourself

To My Dear Blog Readers:

I wish you all a peaceful and happy holiday, and, when the stress of hustle and bustle subsides, the time and energy to savor all the special moments, as you love, and be loved. When we exchange gifts, we share ourselves – our time, our energy, our money, and our love. When we make our… Continue reading To My Dear Blog Readers:

Tuna Noodle Casserole Christmas Gift

Tuna noodle casserole has been a popular dinner at our house for years. My sister gave me this recipe 30 years ago when my husband and I were first married, and by the time we had three growing boys, we had to double the quantity to feed everyone, but it has been a quick and… Continue reading Tuna Noodle Casserole Christmas Gift

Top 10 Children’s Christmas Songs From Boomer’s Childhoods

These 10 Christmas songs were hits when the baby boomers were kids or young adults, and are now classics.  These quality songs are still being played on the radio today, and the reruns of the television specials that many of them are a part of, are being enjoyed all over again by the boomer’s kids… Continue reading Top 10 Children’s Christmas Songs From Boomer’s Childhoods

Optimizing Yourself – Week 52 – Dec 16 – 22, 2013 – Report Card for The Year of Optimizing Yourself

  This week I am going to review the optimizing yourself topics during the past year, and give an update on how improving myself is going this year.  I continue to work on many of the weekly exercises, such as “read more books” beyond the week that I posted the topic, and throughout the year. … Continue reading Optimizing Yourself – Week 52 – Dec 16 – 22, 2013 – Report Card for The Year of Optimizing Yourself

Review of Week 51 – Optimizing Yourself – Go On a Journey To The Spirit

My journey to authentic power of the spirit began this week when I was about to get in my van one morning, and discovered that I had a flat tire.  I felt anxious when I discovered the tire, and began to think about how I could manipulate events and people to get the tire fixed. … Continue reading Review of Week 51 – Optimizing Yourself – Go On a Journey To The Spirit

How To Survive The Winter Hot Flashes

For 50 years, I have been cold.  Although the winters on the BC Coast are moderate, it still gets chilly in December. This year, however, I did a complete 180, and am incinerating with menopausal hot flashes that are hotter than July. I shunned hormone replacement therapy, so had to devise a strategy to survive my… Continue reading How To Survive The Winter Hot Flashes

Winter Needs Christmas

Many people are not religious, but they still love Christmas. Christmas has become more secular, and more spiritual. In those parts of the world where winter is cold, Christmas warms our bodies and souls from the inside out. Christmas is a time of expansion – we eat too much, spend too much, drink too much,… Continue reading Winter Needs Christmas

Week 51 – 0ptimizing Yourself – Dec 9-15, 2013 – Go On A Journey To The Spirit

For this week’s optimizing yourself exercise, I am going to go on a journey to the spirit.  Since the human spirit is full of goodness, I am going to listen to my spirit this week so my decisions will be influenced by love instead of fear. In In Gary Zukav’s book, “The Seat of The… Continue reading Week 51 – 0ptimizing Yourself – Dec 9-15, 2013 – Go On A Journey To The Spirit

Review of Week 50 – Optimizing Yourself – Think About What I Can Give This Holiday Season

This week, my goal for optimizing yourself was to stop thinking about what I have to do for the holidays and think about helping someone else.  I didn’t do one big grand gesture, but I found small ways to incorporate helping people into my daily activities, so it would be easy and fun. I decided… Continue reading Review of Week 50 – Optimizing Yourself – Think About What I Can Give This Holiday Season

What is Your Favorite Holiday Decoration?

Sometimes our favorite holiday decorations are not the ones that cost the most money, or fit into a designer color scheme.  They are often the ones that catch us by surprise, and melt our hearts, because they were made with love by the hands of a child, who is so excited to give them to… Continue reading What is Your Favorite Holiday Decoration?