3 MAY 2024 · "I love pulling weeds!" said no one ever! Weeds can ruin a garden, but how do you keep them under control?  We nip them with a garden hoe, before they get too large to deal with easily. In this episode, we'll talk about hoeing, nipping, and dealing with the weeds in our lives before they take over. 

30 APR 2024 · A garden is never the same from one season to the next, it's a lot like life. But for some reason, I can accept that things won't always go the way I planned in the garden.  In our lives, we can take things so seriously. Replay incidents, accidents, and events over and over. But, we can never change the past. So, how do we learn from what happened but not dwell on it? Failing forward is a concept I'll share in this episode, along with a story about some of the big garden fails we've had but that we've learned from to grow better each season.

27 APR 2024 · In this episode I share a story about a sign in my school's teacher's lounge that read, "Don't Talk About Yourself, We'll do that After You Leave!"  Just before an acredidation board came to tour the school, my dear hubs helped me make a sign to hang alongside this one that showed a version of Eleanor Roosevelt's quote about Large Minds Discuss Ideas, Medium Sized Minds Discuss Events and Small minds Discuss People.  Funny enough, both signs disappeared within a week. But, the idea behind Eleanor Roosevelt's quote - about the size of our "talk" is an important one to consider. Not only from what we say, but just as important is what we listen to or allow to "speak" into our hearts and lives. With such constant and easy connection to audio / video / chat / social media / television / radio... it's easy to mindlessly listen and watch things that can bring us down.  In my small group on Facebook, we are going through a book chat, the book is Jamie Kern Lima's Believe IT!  and this week she was sharing about the idea of a microphone. We each have one, and we can decide to whom we hand the mic for our hearts and minds. We can also adjust the volume to allow the "big talk" the Idea talk more space and attention. And, when needed, we can lower the volume or take the mic back from people and things that would make our minds smaller.  Here's a link to our Facebook small group called https://www.facebook.com/groups/525142993159755/ We are a group of GAL PALS the positively effect our little corner of social media.

23 APR 2024 · My dear hubs likes to tease me about how good I am at creating "maximum dammage" in the garden.  It's a fun play on words, because we build up a dam of dirt around each row of tomato plants - it helps us funnel water to the roots of those plants instead of splashing water everywhere.   In this episode, we'll talk about ways to channel our resources to the things that need them.... and to weed out the things that we shouldn't be pouring our limited time, effort, attention and creative energy into. To see a video of our actual garden when this episode was recorded, click here: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/DpWCGS1WJp4Rfhcb/?mibextid=WC7FNe Plus, here's a link to the awesome "Homegrown Tomatoes" song we'll be singing all summer:  https://youtu.be/U1_P85kMIX8?si=uQzVQjxrcVgU-K_F  (I like this version best because it has all the extra versus! - I did record a version of this episode where I was singing the song... but Tom Fisch does it way better!).

17 APR 2024 · Have you ever had someone tell you, "well, it could be worse"? Is there always a silver lining?  A positive mindset doesn't make the circumstances dissappear, but it can certainly make the trip better for us and all the passengers around us.  In this episode I share a funny story that my dear hubs likes to tell, along with some insights from the garden and life to help us consider ways to look for the positive.

14 APR 2024 · Each year our neighbors think we have an instant garden...  but the truth is that appearances can be decieving.  Like with social media.  It is easy to think that everyone is living the good life and you are missing out.  In this episode I'll share 3 simple steps to get your joy and sense of contentment back if you've been scrolling and not finding peace. 

11 APR 2024 · How do you keep on the sunny side when there is so much to be worried about? In this epsisode I'll share how life feels when you don't know what results you'll hear or what that will mean for your life. So much uncertainty can create an environment of anger, frustration, and chaos. So, how do you stay in control and not let the anxiety win?

8 APR 2024 · The Relaxation Station It's the day of the Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024 and lots of folks are really excited to "watch" this amazing event. We're focused on the next cancer test today and keeping life good and happy while we "hurry-up and wait".  There's a little cabin in our yard with a porch and a sign that reads "The Relaxation Station". It's a physical reminder of taking the time to relax. But, how can you relax when you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or full of anxiety?  We use the most important part of the alphabet to create that space to give us the room to enjoy and appreciate life  "a..b..c.......j...k...l...m....NO...". I've shared ways to add things into your life to top off your tank, and feed your soul. Today, let's consider what we need to let go, say no, and step back from, so we have the space to handle the most important things. And to find your own happy place, or relaxation station. 

4 APR 2024 · Befriend the Birds Picking up a hobby or a long term project, show to binge, or other occupation to keep your spirits bright can have a positive energy effect.    Bird song and bird activity bring a bright spot to the day and can lead to a great hobby as you gain their trust and get to know the various birds visiting you. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has an outstanding FREE app to identify the birds you see and hear - It’s called Merlin Bird ID : https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/download/ Without hope, happiness starves… so finding ways to keep your spirits bright beyond the moment become extra important as a caregiver and care receiver. 

30 MAR 2024 · Topping Off Our Tanks Have you ever stuffed as much fuel or gas as you could in your vehicle's tank?  We're usually pretty good at watching the fuel gauge on our source of transportation, but how much attention do we pay to our body's fuel level? Our mental, spiritual, and physical energy?  This episode shares a story with the purpose of providing us with reminders to fuel up, top off the tank, and keep an eye on our fuel gauge.