Bring On Lemons

  As most of you know - we have a big family. Every big family starts small and back when we were just a family of 3, I went with some friends to pick up their new dog. I had never been to a puppy breeder, but I guess thinking back, this was probably a puppy mill. There were puppies everywhere and it smelled funky. The elderly gentleman seemed to know who belonged to what and had papers to go with mot of the pups. While my friends finalized their deal, my 2 year old daughter managed to find the runt of the litter. I think that's an incredibly difficult thing to do when you're talking teacup chihuahuas as they are all very small. Regardless, the elderly man stopped to chat and of course offered me a phenomenal discount on the pup since he didn't have papers and she was so very small.  I said I would consider it. I remember him clearly turning to me and saying I should think long and hard about adopting (or is it considered buying if you're at a puppy mill?) a chihuahua s...

Hello everyone! It is nearly 11pm and it's been a VERY long day here ... but with so much going on, there's also lots to think about, reflect upon, and write down. I could talk to you about how everything went wrong today and tell you that with every catastrophe I chose to be happy but that would simply be a lie ... I chose to reflect and then react which usually leaves me with the realization that my cup is 1/2 full instead of being 1/2 empty. Anyway, I'm not going to go into the details of everything that went wrong. You'll have to pick up a copy of my memoir someday and hope that today's date made it past the editing and proofing ... At some point in the day, I took my young son (he's 5 believe it or not) to the pediatric clinic. He said his ear was bothering him and I had noticed some drainage the last few days. Long story short, he has tubes in his ears and spent the better part of his younger years not being able to hear which in turn caused a speech ...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/902432461/tell-em-new-book-by-liysa-callsen Below is my book review of Tell 'Em by Liysa Callsen - enjoy! If you can help fund the project, there is a link at the top and bottom of the article - donations of any amount are accepted and I know Liysa will appreciate them! Tell'em by Liysa Callsen is a soulful sharing of one woman's journey in finding herself and her purpose. Callsen pours her soul out to her readers, sharing both triumphs and tribulations. Tell'em is entertaining at times, but at others you just want to grab Liysa and hug her because the imagery is so strong. You feel the pain of the child who is being teased, the child who wants so badly to belong and has no one to turn to because her instinct is to protect the family she loves. She is victim and hero and it's her turn to tell her story! Tell'em brings to light a world most of us have not had the pleasure to experience - the Deaf world. Callsen entert...

Do you feel like things are out of control? Too many irons in the fire? Too many things on the 'to do' list? Not enough hours in the day? Feel like someone else is driving the bus and you aren't liking the direction it's heading? YOU have choices... breathe Stop whatever you are doing right now. Close your eyes. Breathe in, Breathe out. Put down your smart phone. Grab something to drink (ie: water, coffee, etc...) and take a seat. I want the next 7 minutes of your life...starting now... Here's a gift I want to give you: I met a man who was a college football star. He went surfing and had a terrible accident. He woke up paralyzed from the neck down. That's right...he can't move his arms, he can't urinate without help, he can't dress himself, feed himself, make love to his wife, hold his children, etc...(I know...you're wondering what kind of gift this is...). I don't want you to feel more fortunate because someone is in a worse situati...

And this my friends, is my submission to the 2012 Spring Flash Fiction Contest. All characters and the story line are completely fictional - enjoy! (and wish me luck) The Hardest Words to Hear It was another busy day at the office. Portia was off to another meeting in a few moments and as she grabbed her water from her bag she saw the crumpled bills that Klaus had tossed at her the night before. She didn't remember how the fight had begun, but it ended with him throwing the bills in her direction and muttering “go buy some shoes or coffee or something tomorrow”. They both knew that all the money in the world wasn’t going to fix their broken marriage, but Klaus knew that a little retail therapy would go a long way in brightening Portia’s mood.  And after all, they had plenty of money now. Unfortunately, it didn't bring back their baby. Portia got pregnant early in their relationship. It just took that one time on the lake up north. Neither of them could believe it, a...