‘Tis the season for being surrounded by holiday spirit at every department and grocery store, bakery and home! Co-workers bring trays of cookies, truffles, and chocolate treats stacked neatly on top of a Christmas dish (wrapped with red cellophane and topped with a big green bow) to share with everyone at the office. Malls are filled with the sweet chocolate aroma from the Godiva store. They’ve got chocolate covered strawberries, oranges, and…
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S.! Every year, families gather on the third Thursday of November to celebrate a day of thanks. It’s a day to be with family and friends that gather together. The turkey (or vegan tofurky) is in the oven bright and early. The kitchen is filled with wonderful smells like the green bean casserole bubbling over in the oven, the garlic and onion in the bread…
I woke up one morning recently to begin my day as always and there was a chill in the air, almost a cool fall chill. I even had little goose bumps on my skin telling me I was cold. I peered out the window and watched the breeze blow off golden yellow and red leaves from the once vibrant green trees of summer to the ground. I looked down to…
Just a few months ago, I opened the front door to my house as the sun was beginning to rise, stood in the doorway and gazed out for a moment with my hat, winter coat, gloves, scarf, snow boots on and shovel in hand, ready to tackle the 8 inches of newly fallen snow that covered the walkway, driveway and cars. The tree branches that no longer had leaves on…
I walked my way through rows and rows of neatly lined up bushes in the summer heat holding my green cardboard container, intensely looking at each one, pushing branches aside. I stopped and excitedly called over to my kids, “Here is a good one!” They came running over past the other people with their containers and said, “Oh look at them all.” This bush had lots of beautiful, plump, vibrant…
On a hot summer night years ago, I was around 9 years old, sitting in the back seat of my parents’ car with my feet up on the seat and my forehead resting on my knees, my eyes shut tight with my long strawberry blond hair draping over my legs, and both hands covering both ears very tightly to block out the noise that sounded like bombs dropping on the…
Walk, drive, run, or bike past a bakery and the aroma of something sweet and freshly baked is looming in the air that will cause a sudden turn into the parking lot. Once lured in through the door, the smells are intense, with a combination of decadent chocolates, breads, and sweet fruits that enter the nose activating the dopamine in the pleasure center of the brain, down to the tips…
Purple toe nails—and I’m not talking about the pretty polished kind. I’m talking about the kind that most runners experience. The ugly side effect we experience from miles of pounding on pavement. As athletes, we don’t exactly have pretty, manicured and polished feet. That is one of the prices we pay. Why do they turn purple? Is it dangerous? How can we prevent this? According to articles from various websites…
The alarm clock goes off at 5 am, we jump out of bed and rush downstairs to start our Sunday. We sit and have our breakfast, which consists of orange juice and homemade oatmeal topped with banana, maple syrup and a few almonds, while happily watching the weather channel say it is going to be a beautiful day with few clouds and temps in the lower 70’s. That’s perfect for a run and…
What does Memorial Day mean? Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for all of the fallen men and women who fought for our country while serving in the US military. There is evidence that back in the 1800’s, women in the south were putting flowers on the graves of the soldiers before the end of the Civil War (a war which claimed more lives than any other war in…
We are now in full swing of running, biking, hiking, swimming and kayaking season. Race events are scheduled every weekend. Retail sports stores are advertising the latest and greatest high tech running sneaker that is weightless and made with the most advanced materials to promise maximum performance. Brightly colored tech shirts and shorts that whisk the moisture away from the body, compression socks that give extra support and increase blood…
My husband and I were driving and driving, going around in circles in this busy city where old narrow cobblestone streets were lined with parked cars and people. There were tall buildings made of old historical stone and brick with store fronts that had green awnings and empty flower boxes waiting to be filled with summer blooms, and other buildings that were more modern and occupied by banks and law…
“Cha cha cha chia!” It’s the all-too-familiar commercial jingle played on TV infomercials. When someone says it or you hear it somewhere, it doesn’t leave your head for the rest of the day. Chia Pet, the toy that grows chia seeds into little sprouts. Simply soak your Chia Pet in water, then spread the seeds on the area where they grow, and within days you’ll pretty green vibrant plants. Transform a dog, cat, horse,…