Thrive As You

Last week I was talking with a friend about Christmas.  This friend was a little "Bah Humbug" about it all.  And truthfully, I have been a little more "Scrooge" this year than I usually am and I haven't been able to figure out why.   Until now. So my friend is saying that Christmas is "just for the children."   And I went on to explain that I didn't necessarily agree (shocking) and that Christmas is about family -- the one you're born into and the one you choose along the way.  This just a few short weeks after spending a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with friends I've chosen along the way ~ so the subject was near and dear to my heart.  Friend continues to argue with me that the decorations and all of the surrounding hullabaloo are really just for kids to enjoy.   And guess what -- I think Friend may have been kind of right.  (Dear Friend, if you are reading this, you may want to print and frame this post because I'm quite certain I...

So, I'm almost the last person on earth to see the musical, Wicked . Don't worry, I've been listening to the music for 2 years. You know how my "word" is doorway? Well my theme song is "Defying Gravity." Here are the lyrics - Something has changed within me Something is not the same I'm through with playing by the rules Of someone else's game Too late for second-guessing Too late to go back to sleep It's time to trust my instincts Close my eyes: and leap! It's time to try Defying gravity I think I'll try Defying gravity Kiss me goodbye I am defying gravity And you wont bring me down! I'm through accepting limits ''cause someone says they're so Some things I cannot change But till I try, I'll never know! Too long I've been afraid of Losing love I guess I've lost Well, if that's love It comes at much too high a cost! I'd sooner buy Defying gravity Kiss me goodbye I...

I always feel like I should blog more.  I have TONS to say.  Anyone who knows me for 5 minutes knows that.  But time... time.... time.....  and then I get to the point where it's like the words are itching me under my skin just dying to get out and so, I make the time. It makes ME feel better.   Less itchy anyway. So this summer was absolutely wild.  And because I live in the south, our summer has been over for nearly a month now.  And not only did my boys go back to school, but I did too.  Sort of.  I mean I don't want to confuse anyone because after all I've said oh, about a million times, that I'm going to go back to school.  But there's that whole "time" thing again.  You see I have one and ONLY one regret in my life.  That I didn't become a teacher.  I know I still can.  And I will.  But in the meantime............ In order to make more time in between being a mommy, a cleaning lady, a chauffer, a craf...

Is that sometimes, the hinges are f#$ked up.  And even when you try to close them, they pop right back open.  Damnit it. Suffice it to say, the doors have been swinging wildly in my life, hence my temporary near-miss, almost slip, my pinky toe might have visited, "the hole" for awhile.  I've mentioned this daily affirmation/meditation book I have -- and today it says, "Often God shuts a door in our face, and then subsequently opens the door through which we  need to go." Catherine Marshall and although I'm not a religious person so to speak........all I can say is........... AMEN .

I know I've talked about expectations a lot.  And not just in my blog either.  My therapist and I talk about it every single time I am in her office.  I talk about it with my friends and with my mom and with my husband.  "What is WRONG with me?"  "Are my expecations REALLY just TOO high?" I think the answer MUST be yes because I find myself disappointed kind of a lot. Our recent spring break was no exception.  We decided to drive to either North or South Carolina (I can't remember which, seriously -- it was RIGHT on the border) to visit my husbands parents who recently moved into a retirement-type community there.  Should be fun, right?  Warm weather, pools, etc.  Road trips are always a good time, right?  RIGHT? I won't go into the minutia of why this trip did not go exactly as planned.  But let's just say we brought our friend Murphy with us because anything that COULD have gone wrong, did.  No, REALLY.  I'm not ev...

No, not the pasta.  OK that too but really -- SPRING!  It has sprung!  I'm 38 years old.  And many a time I've been asked what my favorite season is.  And 100% of the time I've answered, "the fall."  I'm from Michigan.  Born and raised.  And let's be honest, fall in Michigan is awesome.   I love the colors of fall.  I love the way fall feels.  I love the smells.  I love the brisk air.  I love when it's time to break out jeans and warm hoodies and maybe even a scarf.  I ADORE going to cider mills and feeling the dry leaves crackle beneath my feet.  Picking pumpkins and apples has been a tradition in my life for as long as I can remember.... it's just a part of me. But the winters, notsomuch.  So about 4 years ago we packed up the fam and moved to Nashville.  And just this year, I changed my mind. Spring,  is in fact, my favorite season. Not just because it's February and daffodils are alre...

Wow.  I'm humbled to say the least.   I've been given an award from Jen at Noting Grace .  Truly.. "I'm NOT WORTHY" but thank you from the depths of my soul. Now to come up with 7 things about me that you don't already know may prove to be an impossibility.   1.     I adore, ADORE Winnie The Pooh.  Classic of course.  I have a tattoo of him on my lower back.  Eeyore is actually my FAVORITE of the Pooh characters because, yanno, we're so alike. 2.     Pasta, bread, pasta, bread, pasta, bread.  'Nuf said. 3.     I really, really, really, really, really (and this is a BIG SECRET y'all) wish I knew how to sing.  Which is kind of ironic given the person who gave me this award is a massive talent in this department.   I mean, I think I could give Holly Holiday (AKA Gwenyth Paltrow) a run for her money on Glee.  **IF** I knew how to sing.  Just sayin' 4....

What the heck do I know about writing a book review?  Absolutely nothing. So here goes. Today I'll be discussing the book, House Rules by Jodi Picoult .  Admitedly, I'm the last to get on the Jodi Picoult bandwagon.  And I'd like to share with you how I got on.  I was browsing the book section at my favorite literary boutique, Costco , picked up this book, flipped it over, saw the word, " Aspergers " and put it in my cart.  Period. Those of you with children on the spectrum may be where I found myself.  When my son was diagnosed I started reading.  Everything and anything I could get my hands on.  Either in the physical sense or the virtual sense.  Books, internet, magazines, medical journals, you name it.  I read it.  And after awhile my eyes began to cross and my head began spin and my heart began to hurt and my blood pressure started to rise. And so I stopped.  For about 2 years. So I bought this book and it sat...

A few years ago, I decided to start an autism support group in my town.  It went pretty well but, as small groups tend to do.... we decided to break for the summer...and then sort of fizzled out.  I got busy with, well........ life and no one really wanted to help sooooooooo we disbanded.  Not really my proudest moment. Today we started our group up again.  Except this time we had all new faces.  And I was once again reminded why I do what I do.  Why I started the group in the first place, why I work with Autism Speaks , why I write a blog, why I get silly on facebook, why I put myself out there....... My friend Barbra Streisand said it best  ~  "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world." Truly -- without each other we have nothing.  I know that recently I myself have been in "the hole" and if I didn't have people around me to pull me out -- I'm not sure if I'd still be there or if I would be... somewhere else....

I mentioned in my last post that I'm a little bit of a quote, "ahem" whore.  I've actually been thinking quite a lot about my last post, which I usually don't do.  To be honest, my blog is a stream of consciousness thing.  I sit down, start typing, and hit "publish."  My guess is that most of you have figured that out by now!   But I think now that I'm blogging a little bit more about the things that live inside my brain and are close to my chest -- they are sticking with me.  It's a bit scary to say the least to post your inner most thoughts on the 'net for anyone and everyone to see.  There I go digressing.  Again. Maybe we need a safe word for when I start to digress?  Just sayin' So there's this quote -- that I LOVE.  I mean, it really speaks to me, and it also speaks to what I posted about last week so I want to share it here. "Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option."  U...

Here's the deal. I've been invited to speak at a group in Nashville in May about blogging. I know, right? So between now and May I need to BEEF UP my follower numbers so that I can feel actually WORTHY of speaking at this thing. Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo............... HELP ME! Please! Tell FIVE FRIENDS about my blog. And get a FREE present from me!!!!!! And then tell your five friends to tell five friends and THEY will all get a present from me. PRESENTS ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!! "Following" means this: You click the handy dandy button to the left, plug in your email or your google ID or whatever it is you use and then you are someone who publicly says, "Yes I read this blog" and it in turn boosts my confidence and makes me feel good about myself. What? The first word of the title of this post is SHAMELESS. I ain't proud!!!!! So here's how this works. For the nex t FIVE DAYS, ending February 3, 2011 at ...

Continuing on my Eat, Pray, Love madness... I watched the movie again last week. I know, I know everyone reads the book (any book in fact) and the movie is never as good. I'll just say that Eat, Pray, Love the movie was different from the book and leave it at that. OK I can't leave it at that. I just can't stop thinking, "I'm watching Julia Roberts!" because she's just THAT BIG of a star that I find it hard to look past. Not sure if that makes sense. Because when I watch Tom Hanks I see the character he's playing so maybe I'm really speaking more on the acting ability of Julia. Not sure. But I digress. As usual. I saw the movie first in the theater and there was a quote which was NOT in the book that hit me like a TON OF BRICKS. Literally. As in, for the REST of the movie I was trying to sit there and come up with the EXACT QUOTE because I wanted to keep it with me. I lost it. So I googled it. Nope. Couldn't find it. Even poste...

I can't believe it. I moved my blog. I mean... who DOES that? I guess me. And here's why. I was discussing in my last post that sometimes it's hard for me to write. And I realized after much thought (really this has been swirling around in my brain for months) that while I have A LOT to say about autism... it's not ALL I have to say. And yet I find that when the title of my blog is, "April walks with autism," well then by golly, I better be talking about autism. And make NO MISTAKE. I will never, EVER stop talking about autism. But for those of you who have met me... you know I have so much more to say. So here starts a new relationship with my blog. One in which I will.... open some new doors. It was easy for me to figure out the new name of my blog. Let me give you a tiny bit of background. Earlier this year, I reluctantly joined the Eat, Pray, Love craze. I say reluctantly because I picked up the book several times throughout the course of a y...