This Week's Simple Tip What do you think these four pictures have in common? They all portray ways we can convince our minds we are being "productive," while really being "idle." Staring at clouds, playing with sand, gazing out the window and listening to music are all ways we can escape, relax and even daydream. Called "niksen" which means "doing nothing," the Dutch consciously take time and energy on a regular basis to do "idle activities." They look at it as a way to sh

This Week's Simple Tip My friend Sarah and I made our annual visit to the memorial site of our dear friend Tracy who passed away in her sleep six years ago at the young age of 50. Her grave marker inscription describes her perfectly: A Compassionate Heart. We look forward to our visit each year; we take time to reminisce and laugh and fill her in on what's been going on since she has been gone. We could easily skip the visit because we are "too busy," but we choose to mak

This Week's Simple Tip We still laugh about the morning many years ago that I awoke very angry with my husband because of his role in the very realistic dream I had during the night. Fortunately for us, that was a one-off occurrence. :) But think about it: we each awake with the option on how we set the tone for the day. Yes, things continuously happen throughout the day that may potentially lead to anger, fear or other emotions. Amazing, each of us has a "magic tool" to

This Week's Simple Tip Years ago, I did the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Challenge Walk. Having raised thousands of dollars and trained hundreds of hours, I walked 60 miles with many other women in an effort to raise money for a breast cancer cure. I did the walk in Atlanta where we had experienced a drought that year. I'll never forget how the skies opened up with torrential rains just as we started on our challenge. It was cold, wet and miserable as we dredged through the 3-4 inc