If you’re like me, you have plenty of moments (sometimes entire days) when you’re feeling like poop about yourself and the possibility of ever reaching your goals seems slim. Lately, I’ve been reading more and more about the power of positive affirmations. Affirmations are simply a supportive way to speak to ourselves. With all the challenges and changes that come with midlife, we sure could use someone speaking nicely to us, right? Well, it might as well be ourselves! I believe that our language and thoughts can strengthen our belief…

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I cracked out my grandmother’s sewing kit today to repair a rip in one of my son’s favorite shirts. Unlike my grandmother (and my mother), I’m terrible at sewing. My grandmother surely handed down some strong genes, but definitely not the sewing ones. Nonna Silla (nonna is Italian for grandmother) was my dad’s mother. Silla Ferrini was her maiden name. She was born in Italy in 1892. She came to the U.S. as a married woman and worked as a seamstress in New York City. She later opened a dress…

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I confess. I can’t help it. I’m drawn to woo-woo. Are you also contemplating using woo-woo to cultivate positivity, help you gain more power to set intentions and manifest your goals into reality? At the very least, I think there’s something to be gained from focused positivity and if it’s the woo-woo that gets us there, so be it. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines woo-woo as “dubiously or outlandishly mystical, supernatural, or unscientific”. My personal definition for woo-woo is all things that are spiritual and mystical (and not specifically religious),…

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It’s not always easy to feel inspired. Some days I feel down and stagnant and I’m looking for inspiration to pick me back up and keep me moving forward.  Sometimes I’m looking for a creative spark to help me attack a project from a new angle, or I’m looking for ideas on how to make better health and wellness choices, or I’m searching for inspirational advice on parenting my teenager (vs. locking him in the basement). I know how frequently I’m in need of an inspirational lift (basically every day!).…

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I have a pesky little voice of negativity in the back of my mind talking smack to me. Do you too? I’d like to duct tape the mouth of that beeatch who resides in my head and spouts nasty, mean and hurtful negativity about me into my ear regularly. I can’t be alone here. I know there have to other women dealing with the inner voice of self-doubt and insecurity too. I wonder when she moved in? I don’t remember hearing that voice beat me down when I was nine…

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