Thoughts of the Day
My life has qualified me as "experienced" on such topics as Army life, parenting, mental health, loss and grief, multi-tasking, and adapting to all things new (good, bad, or indifferent). I will share my thoughts on these topics and hopefully you will find some calm in the chaos knowing that others have been where you are.
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47 Years and Counting…Can I Make It to 150?
Today is my birthday. Somehow I have survived 47 years on this planet amidst a sea of seeming insanity. However, despite all the challenges that life dumps in front of me, I would still like to live to maximum life expectancy. By the way, researchers have recently identified 150 years as the upper limit of human life expectancy. I wonder if I can make that long. Before I was 30, I was absolutely convinced that I would not ever reach that milestone birthday. I lived a lost and reckless life back then and spent more time in the throes of depression and anxiety that was certain to eventually take my…
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7 Tips for Establishing a Successful Online Vintage Clothing Resale Business
If you are passionate about clothing and fashion, you may have considered different ways to generate some extra income from this passion. One way to monetize on your stylish pastime is to buy and sell vintage or other preloved clothing online. This article will outline seven tips to help you get started with an online clothing resale business. 1. Find your niche. The first thing you need to do is identify the style niche for your clothing resale business. You may want to focus on a particular style genre like bohemian dresses or maybe your focus will be on a certain fashion generation or decade. There are a variety of…
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Welcoming My Husband to the Fabulous Forties!
Forty years ago today, just four days before my seventh birthday, my favorite person in the whole world was born and I didn’t even know it. But I am grateful for it every single day. Happy, Happy Birthday to my amazing husband, Jeff. This year has been full of wonderful milestones for him. He has retired from the Army after 22 years of active duty service. He is starting a new job in the civilian world that he absolutely loves. He just turned 40 and that’s a big deal! And he is rediscovering himself in the context of not-a-soldier which is a really beautiful process to witness. I can’t wait…
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What You Should Do If Your Teen is Arrested
Most parents would prefer never to receive a surprise phone call from the police informing them that their teenage child has been arrested. Even the thought of such a thing would probably send many parents of teenagers into panic mode. But the reality is that sometimes it happens and we should be prepared to deal with it in as calm and effective a manner possible. If you ever find yourself in this situation (and hopefully you don’t), I am going to outline the steps necessary for the hours and days that follow the arrest of a teenager to ensure the best outcome for everyone. *This is contributed content. Remember that…
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6 Ways to Feel More Comfortable About the Way You Look
Do you ever struggle with self confidence? The older I get, the more I realize that self confidence is an fickle emotion that tends to come and go in waves for all of us. We may feel confidence in the way we look on Monday, only to feel awful about ourselves by Wednesday, returning to a place of self confidence on Friday. Repeat that cycle a million times and you have my life in a nutshell. But I am certain that I am not alone in this capricious cycle of self confidence. With a focus on the now, I think today is the perfect day for all of us to…
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As Old as a Decade and That’s a Big Deal & Link Up On the Edge #242
Tomorrow Archie turns 10. And that is a big deal, y’all! One decade ago in the evening hours of this day, I was sitting on my back patio in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with Jeff and my sister and her husband enjoying a steak dinner from the backyard grill. I was 35 weeks pregnant with a due date of June 1. I was hot. I was huge. I was uncomfortable. I was anxious. To ease my anxiety, my sister urged me to have a small glass of wine, reassuring me that baby Archie was all done cooking in there and a few sips of wine would do no harm. Well, apparently Archie…
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4 Tips to Improved Personal Development
There are thousands of guides online that talk you through the process of professional development, teaching you exactly what you need to get that promotion or seek out a change in career. However, personal development is not spoken about as often despite the fact that it is equally important. After all, personal development often means that you feel more confident and comfortable in your own skin, meaning that you can tackle any problems that may come your way. It can also help you navigate your way through a difficult headspace or move on from things that have happened in the past. With that in mind, here are some easy and…
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And in the Blink of an Eye…
…Eight years has flown by. Where does the time go? How can it move so slowly yet fly by so quickly? My baby is 8 today! We celebrated Radical Ralphie‘s 8th birthday yesterday with a few friends, some pizza, and an amazing strawberry flavored strawberry cake from my favorite baker ever, Monica of Europe Cakes. We started the day with a trip to the park while Archie and Jeff ran some last minute party errands. We ate and laughed and had an obstacle course in the backyard. Then we went to the playground with our friends for two hours in the evening. We finally have some beautiful spring weather here…
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Making My Way Back in Leather, Leopard, and Snakeskin & Link Up On the Edge #235
This week has been a rough one for me due to some circumstances that sort of sent me into a weird emotional spiral which resulted in some very eye opening revelations about myself and about people in general. I can’t really share the details for a bunch of reasons, mostly to maintain some privacy as well as to keep this post from getting overwhelmingly long and probably rather boring. But I learned some important things through the experience this week and I want to share them with you. I have learned that for a person who preaches a lot about not being judgmental, I have a difficult time accepting the…
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Welcome to Retirement, Army Style
I am still recovering from the weekend festivities celebrating and honoring my amazing husband on his retirement after 22 years of active duty service in the United States Army. It was a beautiful ceremony and we were so blessed by the few friends and family members who were able to make the trip to northern New York for our celebration. I wanted to share some photos from the weekend as well as a bit about Jeff’s military career. This is all official sounding, Army style… SSG Jeffrey M. Herling joined the Army after graduating from Weatherly High School (Weatherly, Pennsylvania) in 1999. Upon completion of One Station Unit Training, his…
