I think everybody has THAT song, that when they hear it they are magically trance-ported to another world. I know whenever I hear Anyway You Want It by Journey…I’m back in junior high (young people: it’s what we had before Middle School). Whenever I hear Bat Out of Hell by Meatloaf, I’m cruising the southwest side of Cleveland, Ohio with my bestie Todd Stuart in my 1984 Chevy Cavalier drinking a nasty beer called Little Kings (young people: do not drink Little Kings and drive). Whenever I hear KC and The Sunshine Band, I can’t help but think of thinking how cute KC was, performing on Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve with those hot bell bottom pants and platform (boogie) shoes.

For 18 years, I was a professional people watcher, also known as a “comedian.” I got paid to watch humans and report on the weirdness of what they do in the funniest way possible. After many years of training, I now simply walk into any room and in one glance can put together someone’s background.

The Ghosts of Crafts Past...my mother used to get me all kinds of craft things when I was growing up. She loved sewing and crafts, my family members loved sewing and crafts, so it was just a natural progression that I did them too. Somehow, the crafting gene that was supposed to be transmitted genetically by my DNA skipped a chromosome and passed me over. When I did paint by numbers, it was supposed to be like coloring, only my landscape painting was really drippy...and required the furniture to be professionally cleaned.

Last year I began taking a series of courses with Robert G. Smith who teaches Eutaptics, which is a brilliant combination of Hypnosis, NLP, and Tapping. I love his combination of these techniques because it gets results very quickly, but more importantly, I get to use my sense of humor in order to help my clients get those changes. I completed my Level 1 Eutaptics Training last week, and look forward to starting Level 2 in July. I want to share with you one of the lessons I took to heart while going through my Level 1 training, and that is The Upper and Lower Models of the World.

To say I had an unusual upbringing would be an understatement. While my friends were headed to conventional vacation places like Disney or Cedar Point on a Memorial Day Weekend, my parents would pack up their 1926 Dodge Brothers Touring Sedan with a picnic basket (complete with a portable liquor cabinet)(it was almost okay to drive a little tipsy in the 70’s) and ride off to something like The Milan Melon Festival in Milan, Ohio. On the way home we’d hit The Blue Hole which was a huge blue hole in the ground that was deeper than the Marianna Trench. Of course, know one knew who Marianna was much less her “trench,” so making irresponsible claims like that was pretty safe.

“‘We must hurry!’ said Mr. Wonka.

‘We have so much time and so little to do! No! Wait! Strike that! Reverse it!’”

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is one of my favorite books of all time. An eccentric recluse chocolate factory owner and innovator sends out 5 Golden Tickets out into the world to tour his factory, with the secret goal of finding the next owner of his factory.

A few years ago, I realized the life I knew was coming to an end. My life as the daughter of my parents was coming to an end with my mother’s illness. My life as the wife of my soon to be ex husband was also coming to an end with our divorce. My extended family is mostly in Ohio, and I wasn’t about to go back to Cleveland after loving 20+ years of Florida weather. I was an only child and then I didn’t have children of my own, so if I didn’t act quickly it was going to be just me. And that scared the sh*t out of me. I had to do something.

Boredom.

Medical experts call it the ‘disease of our time.’ They say "Everyone suffers from it." That feeling you temporarily went through until your school lecture was over, when you finally got through the line at Disney to ride the ride, or that feeling you had on a slow day at work? Medical experts have now decided "boredom" is a disease.

Long, long ago, in a galaxy pretty darn close to us…we celebrate Star Wars Day on May the 4th! It’s hard to believe how a movie that opened nearly 44 years ago is still influencing us today, thanks to memorable characters, a twisted timeline, and of course, ingenious marketing. The movie Star Wars debuted and made movie history as one of the largest grossing films of all time. When I watched Star Wars for the first time at the age of 8 I knew I was hooked.

We are all naturally drawn to optimistic and enthusiastic individuals or parties. Both in our private life or in the workplace. A safe, happy, passionate, and intellectually engaging environment enhances our own levels of energy and trust.

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “The Power of Positive Thinking,” but positive thinking really does have more power than we give it credit for. The way we think is connected to our actions and behaviors, thus positive thinking is linked to more positive outcomes.

I know many of you think this past year being quarantined taught us all a thing or two about difficult moments, but I kicked off my 2015 with separating from my ex-husband and then a week later becoming my mother’s full-time caregiver. The next 3 years were pure HELL. My mother was rushed to the hospital at least 10 times for various ailments, falls, and UTIs. I moved myself, my mother, or my mother’s stuff 12 times in less than 3 years. I was constantly getting phone calls from whatever assisted living facility my mother was at informing me mother was “spicy.”