Remember peer pressure from high school? When a kid was caught smoking, the blame was always put on Peer Pressure. As adults we hope we have outgrown Peer Pressure and are now capable of making our own independent choices. We are reminded every day that we are a Social Species. Did you know that your Social Network has a direct effect on your health? The Framingham Heart Study is an ongoing study since 1948. In 2007 they released a study called “The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network...

One of my favorite verses in the Bible reads, to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Ecc. 3:1. When I turned thirty, I started thinking about my purpose. I felt my life was incomplete; I wanted to do more, be more. I was married with three beautiful children and a career in radiology but everything had become mundane. I was a wife and a mother, but I wasn’t sure who “I” really was. I have always had big dreams and big ideas and more than plenty of good...

It’s the culture mantra of our generation, and every New Year we do it again! We resolve to get our lives organized, lose those 20 pounds, and pray that all birthday greetings get sent out on time! With the hope of starting afresh we put pencil to paper and begin creating our ‘goals’ lists once again. We gather the necessary goods to ensure that it all happens, and promise ourselves that we’re going to get...

 The plan started to take form after sitting quietly at dawn for several days listing “things I said I wanted to do when I grew up” and “things I like”. In our family we are big list people, a trait we learned from my father. At the time of his death, we found a list of all the books he had ever read and I was abl...

It is now January 2011. We just finished the eating frenzy known as the Holiday Season. The average American gained about 10 lbs between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, and an additional one million people now have a BMI (Body Mass Index) over 30%. This means an increased risk for Heart Disease, Diabetes, Liver Disease, Cancer, and many more health risks. So it is no surprise that about 60% of us have made a resolution to get back to their pre- Thanksgiving weight. Within the next 90 days mo...

“When something leaves your vocal cords it is 2-3 times more likely to become true.” ~ Thomas Leonard I’ve known for a very long time that I wanted to be a Motivational Speaker. I love public speaking. To me it is like breathing. It is something that has always felt very natural for me. Being in front of a group presenting, or doing what I really enjoy most, teaching, feels like a personal slice of heaven. There is no better way to touch people than by sharing information that can ma...

I have often said that I am living my life in reverse. When all my friends were in college and back packing through Europe, I was becoming a Mom. When I was at home caring for my little ones everyone else in my age group were clubbing and starting out in their business careers. I was the first in my group to get a divorce, to have grandchildren and to extricate myself from the financial burden of owning “things”. I was the first to stop giving my grandchildren presents at birthdays and Christ...

When we started Footsteps Group, our goal was to help others as they work to craft an original and authentic life. Our initial conversations centered around how we could support our parents during the aging process and how we could apply the lessons learned from their experience to our own lives. But in the quiet moment of personal reflection, I came to understand that it is not just about applying the lessons of aging to our lives but embracing the lessons of living. Yes, we want to be self-...

According to “Grand Magazine”, the average age of first-time grandparents in the U.S. is 46. Many women in the baby boomer generation find themselves in the position of taking on more responsibility than ever before for the care of grandchildren. The result for many is “Grandma Babysitting Fatigue”. This is a sensitive topic to address because as grandmothers we don’t like to admit when we are over committed in this area. We feel conflicted between loving our kids and grandkids on o...

Excerpt: Happy families have certain traits in common. Communication, togetherness, sharing activities, affection, support, acceptance, commitment and resilience are typical in families that function well. Children benefit from regular mealtimes, affection, play, traditions and outings with the whole family. Unhappy families may benefit from professional help. R...