How many times have you said the words, “I have to ________(fill in the blank)?” Believe me, I can’t begin to count the number of times I’ve said that in my life. “I have to go grocery shopping” or “I have to go to work.” Imagine all the times you’ve said that in a day. Over the last few months, every time those words have left my mouth, I made an effort to exchange them from “I have to” to “I get to.” Doesn’t that have a lighter and happier feeling in your body?

Whenever my children ask me what I want for my birthday, I can never think of a single thing. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of items I’d like, I just can’t think of any when expected to answer on the fly. Since my house backs up to a busy road in my community and I don’t have a fence, they thought planting bushes in between the trees already lining my property would help with privacy during the winter months when the trees were free of leaves. Planting evergreen bushes was the perfect gift and solution!

Last weekend happened to be the 9th annual “Friendship Flower Pot” celebration. My high school girls and I gather each year to celebrate the beginning of the summer season, friendship and flowers. Each person brings enough plants and flowers to share with everyone.

Along with most of the world, I’ve been trying to come up with things to do during this Coronavirus isolation phase. This week in the US, most states announced shut-downs of non-essential businesses and asked the population to avoid going out of their homes unless it was a necessity. In doing so, people are coming up with creative ways to stay active and in-touch with others while cooped up at home.

Oh my goodness, what a crazy few weeks it’s been with the state of the world, the Coronavirus and the media. To be honest, I try to be informed about current events but also don’t watch the news on a regular basis because it’s mostly negative. It’s refreshing whenever I hear the feel-good news I know is out there but not focused on.

A few weekends ago, I had dinner with 151 dear and mostly new friends on a beautiful summer’s eve. It was a night under the stars and farm-to-table dinner, held in an opened-roof greenhouse. Farm-to-table dinners are all the rage now and would recommend to give one a try. I’ve been to a few in the past, but this night specifically, far exceeded any expectations.

Even though we were sad she’d no longer be a part of the retreat, we gave her the gift of true friendship. We loved her enough to let her go where her heart was leading. She knew where it was calling and was brave enough to admit it to herself and us. It was a night of true grace and understanding and I’m proud of her for following her heart.

Hundreds of people came together to honor a beautiful soul; which included overflow seating in another area of the considerable sized church. What I witnessed at the celebration of his life, touched my heart to it’s core.

I have an upcoming girl’s adventure on the horizon, and it only seemed fitting to get a few new things to take on vacation. Since I am not a shopper by nature, I opted for the on-line variety. It all began a few months ago when I thought I would start the hunt early, in order to be prepared for my trip.

What do your dreams look like? Are you letting fear stop them, or are you taking one step at a time, getting closer to your dream? Have faith, trust your heart, and fly. Now is the time…..you can do it!

Living within a few miles of the lakefront, we are subject to lake effect snow. This week my area was in the path of a heavy storm. It fell on-and-off for two days, and in the end had accumulated about a foot. It was beautiful but……….Holy Snowstorm, Batman!

“It takes a village”…..how often have you heard that phrase before? I had the pleasure of being involved in a community project last week that surprised me in the best way possible. Between two and three hundred people volunteered to build a community park. Being an elected official in my city, I was invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the event.

With my recent closet clean-up, I was feeling I didn’t have the right combination of clothing to pack. Because of the location of my adventure, I needed to pack for cool as well as warm weather, and realizing I didn’t have enough, or better put, I just wanted a few new things…….the shopping began.

Several months ago I kept hearing about a book that described the life-changing magic of decluttering your life. The more I heard about it, the more intrigued I became. I thought the concept sounded good, but I needed a good chunk of time to dedicate to the first step.

Do you have weeks where you find yourself in a constant, crabby mood? That happened to me last week. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was causing so much irritation. Everyone has off days, but this was kind of extreme for me; and usually doesn’t linger for long. This time I couldn’t shake it.

As we began flipping through magazines, quotes, colors, and assorted art supplies, we each had growing piles of what we wanted to include on our boards. It happened to be an on-and-off stormy evening. About an hour into creating, my friend’s husband announced we may want to go outside to get some inspiration; there was a rainbow…..no, make it a double, we all but bolted out the door!

I’m envious of those people that can make a quick decision, without much effort or stress. Both my Mom and sister are wired this way, and never look back. Oh, how I wish this was me at times. My hesitation is like a foreign language to them. I like to take my time to weigh out the options and possible outcomes. Which I think is both a blessing and a curse.

At the end of last year, one of my girlfriends recognized this, and invited me to join a mastermind group, with her and two other like-minded woman. I knew one of the gals and have always admired her, so I didn’t hesitate to say yes. My friend organized the group simply for accountability and support.