Gratitude Rocks!

“Gratitude is the heart’s memory.” ~ French Proverb 



Carrying a “gratitude rock” in your pocket was made popular by the best selling book, The Secret. Presently you can find unique gratitude rocks in countless shapes, colors, and sizes on numerous websites. The gratitude rock story was about a man named, Lee Brower, whose life seemed to move at such a fast pace that he unconsciously ended up ignoring all of the wonderful experiences, relationships and blessings he had. So he began carrying (what he called) a “gratitude rock” in his pocket, in reality just a small, smooth stone that he picked up by a pond of water. Whenever he put his hand in his pocket and touched the stone—usually several times a day—it was a reminder to him to give thanks for something, usually something happening at that given moment, whether good or bad. Now he carries it with him where ever he goes!



A similar story was published by a writer for the Washington Post, as part of an experiment asking the question, “How many people would recognize beauty in a place where it wasn't expected?”

On a busy workday as commuters rushed toward their busy schedules in Washington, D.C., a 39-year-old man dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap took out an old violin and began to play. Few people noticed. Most kept their eyes on the ground or looked straight ahead. A few, talking on cell phones, raised their voices in order to be heard over the music. These were, after all, busy people. They had work to do and appointments to keep. They did not stop and they did not listen. What they missed was a rare performance by one of the greatest violinists in the world playing his Stradivarius violin, worth more than three million dollars. He chose to play some of the most technically demanding, elegant music ever written for his instrument, and he played with all the passion and perfection that he had become known for throughout the world.

During the 43-minute concert, nearly 1,100 people passed by. Of those, only seven stopped to listen even for a moment. The writer, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his article about the unheard violinist, summarized the experience with these words: “If we can't take the time out of our lives to stay a moment and listen to one of the best musicians on Earth play some of the best music ever written; if the surge of modern life so overpowers us that we are deaf and blind to something like that--then what else are we missing?” (Lloyd D. Newell, "Music and the Spoken Word," Nov. 1, 2009, Broadcast #4181)

The world offers us daily moments of beauty that can enrich our lives—if we open our eyes and open our hearts! I was diagnosed with a devastating chronic illness, called Lyme disease, 14 years ago and my life has never been the same. The crippling effects of my condition make life a daily challenge. So . . . long ago I decided that just for today . . . every day . . . I'd choose to be in an attitude of gratitude for all God’s gifts. We get to choose how each day begins and receive the positive energy that accompanies our awareness and gratitude for all the many blessings in our lives.

It is amazing how this simple act of daily gratitude can change our perspective and, ultimately, our attitude. Instead of seeing the glass half-empty, it’s half-full. Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, lets focus on what we DO have—right now!



A very wise person once told me, “You won’t attract what you don’t have, until you learn to be grateful for what you do have.” The law of attraction does not focus on our lack—what’s missing, but instead focuses on gratitude for the gifts of life we already have!

So here’s a challenge for today—this season of thanksgiving. Push the “pause” button on your life and take a moment to write down 10 things you are grateful for today. Then grab your own “rock of gratitude” and carry it in your pocket to remind you to live in gratitude each and every day! Hold your gratitude rock in your hand and think about the people and things that you have in your life right now which you are grateful for. Think about the incredible experiences you've had as a result of having these special people and possessions in your life. When you do this on a consistent basis and start to associate the power of these experiences and the feeling of gratitude with your “gratitude rock,” you’ll begin creating a very formidable base from which everything else will grow.

Remember whenever you find yourself overwhelmed by life's daily stresses, all you need to do is to grab your gratitude rock and feel its positive energy to put yourself in the right state of mind immediately.



Each day we have a new canvas placed before us. How will we use it? Here’s what I’m grateful for today. What’s on your list?

My Gratitude Rocks:


1. My Savior; His unconditional love and sacrifice for me.


2. My husband, Dale, and 37 years of marriage, wisdom, dry humor, encouragement, love and support.


3. Our family, immediate and extended and the love they give.


4. Our home; I am warm, dry, and comfortable.


5. The fact that I have enough to eat today.


6. A family business thanks to the hard work of Dale’s parents.


7. Living in the age of technology, the Internet highway of information.


8. Good books to read and heartfelt movies to ponder!


9. Laughter and Sunshine—The Very Best Medicine!


10. Dark Chocolate! (You've read my thoughts about that on a previous blog.)

“Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much!”

Happy Birthday Sweet 18!

Today’s the day you’ve waited for,

Because you're not a baby anymore.

You've turned into the prettiest girl we've ever seen,

Happy Birthday Sweet Eighteen!

What happened to that baby face,

Our little girl with curls and lace?

We can't believe you're such a teenage dream,

Happy Birthday Sweet Eighteen!

I have to smile with sweet surprise,

Somehow you've grown up before our very eyes.

You've turned into the loveliest girl we've ever seen,

Happy Birthday Sweet Eighteen!

Born in the month of gratitude, I’m proud to be your mother,

You’re our bright shiny star . . . like no other.

Now 18, on THIS—the 18th day . . . you're queen!

Happy Birthday Sweet Eighteen!

Wishing Happy Birthday to you,

Hope all your fondest dreams come true.

Happy Birthday Sweet Eighteen!

Happy Birthday Sweet Eighteen!

We Love You!

Happy 18th Birthday Kenzi!

The Gift Called Old Age

“Old age is when you still have something on the ball, 


But you are just too tired to bounce it!” ~ Author Unknown



As my husband and I approach the years that were promised to be “golden,” mourning the loss of his parents and watching mine go into assisted living, the prospect of aging looks daunting to say the least. Recently I received the following email message, forwarded from a friend. It’s just too good not to share. I was unable to discover it’s original author, but the message truly resonated within me. The timing to read this could not have been more perfect. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!



The Gift Called Old Age 



The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question and I would ponder it, and let her know.



“Old Age,” I’ve decided, is a gift! I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometimes despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt . . . and that old person that lives in my mirror often startles me! However I don't agonize over these things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family, for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I have aged I've become kinder and less critical of myself. I've become my own best friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avant-garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4:00 a.m. and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60's and 70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love, I will. I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful, but there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And eventually I remember the important things.

Sure over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or when a beloved pet gets hit by a car? However broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think! I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong!

So, to answer your question, I like being old because it has set me free! I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it)!

To all the Golden Oldies: “May you always have a rainbow of smiles on your face and in your heart forever!”

Sisters, Sisters

“’Help one another,’ is part of the religion of sisterhood.”

~ Louisa May Alcott

[Pictured: My sisters, Vicki and Judy, and me!]

I grew up following in the footsteps of my two older sisters, Vicki and Judy, although being my father’s third daughter in a row, often made me wonder if he was secretly disappointed when I was born. However, I am told that when they placed me in my father’s arms and he carried me from the delivery room to the hospital nursery, it was love at first sight.

My sisters were my heroes and my playmates. Vicki, nine years older than me, had always longed for a cuddly, baby sister. Her dreams had vanished when Judy arrived three years later, who refused to be snuggled and caressed or be her baby-doll. So I became Vicki’s baby, carried around like a precious dolly. Competitive by nature, Judy attempted to imitate Vicki. Unfortunately with her short, petite frame, Judy ended up carrying me by my head! Amazingly I survived this contest for my love.

My sister Vicki was so competent in caring for me that eventually my mother gave into Vicki’s plea to be my babysitter, letting her tend me for short periods of time while she was away. Vicki insisted that the hired babysitters were insufficient and that she could do a much better job, and she did!

I remember fun times growing up together with my sisters. We would link arms, doing “Can-can” chorus line high kicks, singing the famous lyrics from the song, “Sisters, Sisters,” from Irving Berlin’s 1954 movie, White Christmas. Words like, “Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters,” and “Sharing, caring, every little thing that we are wearing,” are deeply embedded within the memory bank of my “Ya-Ya Sisterhood” days.

I was reminded this week of the numerous times my sister, Vicki, came to my rescue during and following childbirth. She was always there for me even though she was a young busy mother herself. I remember going into labor a week early with my daughter, Aleesha, following a bout of the flu. Vicki cleaned my house and did my wash while I was in the hospital (even all the little extras that sometimes get left in the bottom of the wash bin because you aren’t using them right now). My mother was taking care of my little boy, so Vicki appointed herself housekeeper and clothes washer. I can’t express how uplifting it was to come home to a freshly cleaned house and folded laundry neatly put away, after my rushed hospital entrance. Only another woman can understand how much the gift of cleanliness means to a tired new mom.

Another time I was having a miscarriage and my mother was out of town. I called Vicki and she came running . . . only to find me lightheaded, bleeding profusely, and reading a book called, “How to Clean Everything in your House.” Unable to do anything about the miscarriage I was obviously having, recognized from past experience, I’d decided to do something about my newly purchased, now blood splattered, bedspread and the red blood trail leading to the bathroom from my early morning dash of awakened realization. Obviously alarmed and realizing I was not thinking rationally, Vicki calmly told me to go to the hospital with Dale, and not to worry as she would take care of everything. There are not many people on the planet one can ask to clean up a blood stained bedroom, that at the time resembled more of a crime scene than an actual emergency. Only someone who loves you would do it without a second thought.

It was on an early Sunday morning this month, on November 1st, when my daughter, Ashley, had an unexpected hospital dash of her own. Expecting her second child, she was scheduled for a Tuesday morning C-section that week. All month long she had been preparing for the long awaited day. She had reorganized every room and closet in her home, washed baby clothes, bought the necessary new things, and set up the nursery. We’d joked that even though she was having another C-section, how wonderful it was to be able to know your delivery day and be so prepared. However, as life goes, her little boy, Isaac, became ill just before Halloween, three days before her scheduled delivery. Suddenly there were bathrooms to be re-sterilized, and sheets and towels to be laundered. She planned on doing it all Monday before her hospital entrance.

That Sunday when she called to say she was in labor and they were going to the hospital, I heard tears of mixed emotion in her voice. She had tried so hard to be prepared and have her home ready for her highly anticipated little baby bundle. Things were not going as planned and she felt disorganized, still needing to pack her son to stay with Grandma.

A few hours later all was right with the world as mother and new baby son were safely sleeping in her hospital room. Yet her sister, Rachel, felt the motherly emotion of knowing what’s it’s like to go into labor early, not as prepared as you’d hoped. Rachel and her husband, Gordon, made a trip to Ashley’s house for a quick “Merry Maid” service. Sheets and towels were laundered, carpets vacuumed and floors mopped. The kitchen and bathrooms sparkled and beds were made to perfection. No one but another mom could understand what a gift of love that was from one sister to another. “Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters!”

“Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of.

You know whatever you do, they'll still be there.” ~ Amy Li

Smothered By Chocolate!

Nobody knows the “truffles” I've seen! It has been said that, “Man cannot live on chocolate alone, but woman sure can!” I’d have to agree. As a teenager I loved The Smothers Brothers, the lanky, crew cut, fresh-faced singing siblings. There was Tommy, the older, ‘dumber’ brother and Dicky, the annoyed straight man of the famous comedic duet. They would launch into a well-known folk song, only to have Tommy ruin it, much to the delight of the audience and the consternation of Dick. Song after song would come to an untimely demise by the sometimes innocent, sometimes gleefully naughty, antics of Tom. Every television variety show would come to a climactic war of words between the brothers, with Dick pointing out all of Tom’s flaws, shouting him down until Tommy would burst forth with, “Oh yeah? Well, Mom always liked you best,” bringing fits of laughter from the audience.

My favorite Smothers Brothers record was titled simply, “Chocolate,” deliciously hilarious with a visually delectable chocolate album cover. My favorite song, “I Fell into a Vat of Chocolate,” went like this:



Tom (singing): “I fell into a vat of chocolate. I fell into a vat of chocolate . . .”



Dick (singing): “What’d you do when you fell in the chocolate?”



Both: “La dee doo dum, la dee doo dum day.”



Tom (singing): “I yelled ‘FIRE’ when I fell into the chocolate!”



Dick (annoyed, singing): “Why’d you yell ‘fire’ when you fell into the chocolate?”



Tom: “I yelled ‘fire’ ‘cause no one would help me if I yelled, ‘CHOCOLATE!’”



Both: “La dee doo dum, la dee doo dum day.”

I don't understand why so many "so called" chocolate lovers complain about the calories in chocolate, when all true chocoholics know that chocolate is a vegetable! Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans and beans are a vegetable. Furthermore, sugar is derived from either sugar cane or sugar beets. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category as well. Thus, chocolate is a vegetable.

So if you’re a chocolate lover and feel guilty as you devour each tasty morsel of sweetness, take reassurance in this timely message. After all, stress wouldn’t be so hard to take if it were chocolate covered. Furthermore, chocolate is cheaper than therapy and you don't need an appointment!

Chocolate is delicious, delectable, and soothing! And yes, American! Originally chocolate was a New World discovery, one of the most sought-after treasures in Europe, brought back from the brave new land across the Atlantic. It seems like everyday, there's a new report about a medical study confirming chocolate is, in fact, a health food. Don’t you just love the news stories that report it’s rich antioxidant goodness, cardiovascular health, and even diabetes strength? It’s just what chocolate lovers everywhere want to hear about this beloved American guilty pleasure. We want to be “smothered” in our own decadent vat of chocolate!

I could give up chocolate, but then I'm not a quitter. So remember, life can be hard, but chocolate definitely helps! In honor of the healing emotional affects of chocolate, here’s my favorite “Top 10 List of Chocolate Quotes.” Indulge in their chocolaty goodness and find yourself another reason to go for a piece of chocolate!

The Top 10 List of Chocolate Quotes:
1. “In the beginning, the Lord created chocolate, and he saw that it was good. Then he separated the light from the dark, and it was better.” ~ Author Unknown
2. “There are four basic food groups: Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate, and Chocolate Truffles.” ~ Author Unknown
3. “Forget love . . . I'd rather fall in chocolate!!!” ~ Author Unknown
4. “Life is like a box of chocolates . . . You never know what you're gonna’ get!” ~ Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)
5. “Make a list of important things to do today. At the top of your list put, 'Eat Chocolate.' Now, you'll get at least one thing done today!”

~ Gina Hayes
6. “There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate!” ~ Linda Grayson, “The Pickwick Papers”
7. “The 12-Step Chocoholics Program: Never be more than 12 steps away from chocolate!” ~Terry Moore
8. “All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!” ~ Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz
9. “Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands and then eat just one of the pieces.” ~ Judith Viorst
10. “I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process. It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?” ~ Author Unknown

*For a healthy Nature’s Sunshine Chocolate bar, made with Xylitol, click here. Xylitol is an organic compound, naturally occurring sugar substitute, found in the fibers of many fruits and vegetables.