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Posted on Monday, April 19, 2010 by SeaWriter
I've managed crises and inconveniences with the assumption that things will settle down soon. I just need to get through _____ (crisis of the moment) and all will be well. The only problem is that life doesn't work that way.
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Posted on Sunday, April 11, 2010 by SeaWriter
As Bloody Mary reminded us, "You gotta have a dream, if you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?" South Pacific was our high school senior play. It has taken me all the years since then to figure out what Mary was talking about...
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Posted on Saturday, April 03, 2010 by SeaWriter
Five weeks x 1400 calories/day = weight loss and an overwhelming dose of reality therapy
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Posted on Sunday, March 21, 2010 by SeaWriter
A week in Hawaii with my law school daughter was heavenly, and the best part is that I didn't want to eat any more than my 1400 calories a day. The shock I got from seeing myself on video 3 weeks ago was apparently strong enough to get me past endless buffets of resort fare with nary a second glance.
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Posted on Sunday, March 14, 2010 by SeaWriter
What about under your upper arms? You know, when you feel as if you're securing a clutch handbag when really all you're doing is holding your arms at your side. There's so much extra padding there that it feels as if it can't be you. Even gravity doesn't help.
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Posted on Monday, March 08, 2010 by SeaWriter
As we all know, losing weight is in a category of its own for difficulty and complications. There are many ways to join a group for weight loss here on VN. I thought I'd chronicle my journey here, and if you'd like to join me, please do.
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Posted on Tuesday, March 02, 2010 by SeaWriter
You can tell yourself you're overweight. You can look at the scale and shriek, I must get rid of this...this enormous fatness. But until you've watched your giant self on video, where's your motivation?
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Posted on Saturday, February 27, 2010 by SeaWriter
These suggested opportunities for reflection come from the Center for Nonviolent Communication.
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Posted on Friday, February 26, 2010 by SeaWriter
I like to write about spirituality and personal growth grounded in our gardens, and this post is from my personal blog. As such, the tone is a little different from my usual posts on VN. I like winter as a metaphor for preparedness and thought this essay might appeal to VN readers.
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Posted on Monday, February 22, 2010 by SeaWriter
What are the things in your daily life that make you want to slam your own head against the wall? I'm not talking about despair. Just little everyday annoyances.
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Posted on Friday, February 12, 2010 by SeaWriter
It has been proven that the neural tissue in your digestive system produces more serotonin than your brain does, in contrast to what scientists formerly believed about this hormone that is involved in our sense of well-being. Could it be your "gut feelings" are every bit as important -- and as accurate -- as your thoughts?
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Posted on Monday, February 08, 2010 by SeaWriter
When we were younger it might have been a speaking in public or having a run in a stocking. Our fears change as we age, don't you agree?
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Posted on Sunday, February 07, 2010 by SeaWriter
If you haven't seen Up in the Air yet, you might not want to read this.
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Posted on Thursday, February 04, 2010 by SeaWriter
We just think we do. But what about the people in our own lives? Are we kidding ourselves about them, too?
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Posted on Wednesday, February 03, 2010 by SeaWriter
No caffeine for me after noon. It makes me jittery, and I know it. But if I see someone on television reach for a cup, I forget everything I know about physiology and insomnia.
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Posted on Saturday, January 30, 2010 by SeaWriter
The world is so different for us than it was for our mothers at this age. Does being more connected through cyberspace increase the contentedness you feel in your life?
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Posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 by SeaWriter
Mad Men's Don Draper: he's everything I was raised to believe was husband material. I choke admitting this.
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Posted on Saturday, January 23, 2010 by SeaWriter
Sometimes it seems we're packing the handbasket for a road trip, and everyone knows where you go in a handbasket...
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Posted on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by SeaWriter
Coffee with a man I've never met before turns out to be enjoyable in surprising ways, but the bigger surprise comes later in the afternoon.
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Posted on Friday, January 15, 2010 by SeaWriter
It's just coffee, just a quick meeting, on Sunday morning. It sounds so simple, and it probably is, but...
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Posted on Thursday, January 14, 2010 by SeaWriter
I'm not a believer in miracle products and I abhor the marketing hype that permeates the cosmetics industry. But I've had an experience I thought you might like to know about.
You may not entirely believe me. That's okay. Just remember: this was my best friend saying this to me. Whose eye (and heart) could I ever trust more?
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Posted on Monday, January 11, 2010 by SeaWriter
How can I dislodge some of the canonical pieces of advice my mother handed down to me: Black is sophisticated, always good, always correct, flattering, slimming... Because that was only true when we were very young. At a certain age, black is aging, aging and aging, and nothing but. And deep in our hearts, we know this!
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Posted on Friday, January 08, 2010 by SeaWriter
On the one hand, it's encouraging to see so many women writing about weight and how they're going to lose it. On the other hand, it's so depressing it feels nearly impossible to overcome the problem, at least to me.
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Posted on Monday, December 28, 2009 by SeaWriter
Did it bother you, too? Let's figure out why.
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Posted on Sunday, December 13, 2009 by SeaWriter
My first crush wasn't a star from the movies or television. And he didn't sit across from me in homeroom.
My first crush was Ludwig van Beethoven. I even had the sweatshirt to prove it.
Today I see that as a young girl, I made a choice that would last a lifetime.
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Posted on Thursday, December 10, 2009 by SeaWriter
Here's something a wise grandmother might be able to do to get her grandchildren through a dysfunctional Christmas
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Posted on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 by SeaWriter
Where do you see signs of newly emerging strength in your own life?
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Posted on Monday, October 12, 2009 by SeaWriter
Suddenly losing weight is not all about me. Instead, I'm beginning to believe I have no right to these extra pounds.
What are your thoughts on our collective over-indulgence? I realize this question doesn't directly apply to everyone. I wish it didn't apply to me.
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Posted on Saturday, October 10, 2009 by SeaWriter
Any dog owner, like any parent, knows that there are times when you least expect them that your dog's/child's soul is hijacked in front of your eyes. These are learning opportunities: you learn what astonishment feels like, and by the time you come to your senses, the moment has passed. Relaaaaaax...
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Posted on Monday, October 05, 2009 by SeaWriter
...notice that you don’t see national advertising from casket companies—no prime time slickness, no half-time sponsorship. Why might that be? Is it because we all know better than to buy a casket we don’t need?
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Posted on Sunday, October 04, 2009 by SeaWriter
What's your likely first reaction? Your answer might tell you something about yourself.
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Posted on Thursday, October 01, 2009 by SeaWriter
I have to admit that staring into the greenish-yellow of coreopsis Moonbeam, which I used to love, now gives me the same twitchy sensation I imagine I’d get by sucking on a yellow pepper--but I love the golden color of giant sunflowers and certain calendulas.
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Posted on Sunday, September 27, 2009 by SeaWriter
It is possible for you to come to see that there is a more complex story line around a topic than the one you are accustomed to telling yourself.
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Posted on Friday, September 25, 2009 by SeaWriter
Postmodernism is a flurry of focused thought, but it is not taking place in the classroom of life where actual learning occurs. Instead, it is a diversion, off the point, an extra-credit hobby class that mistakes itself for core curriculum.
It raises this question: if something is good for everything, is it actually good for anything?
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Posted on Sunday, September 20, 2009 by SeaWriter
We can intentionally create intense connections with good memories if we pay as much attention to happy events while they are unfolding in time as we do inadvertently when our brains make us hyper-alert in the face of evil.
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Posted on Thursday, September 17, 2009 by SeaWriter
...when you really need to try out new ideas about who you are, or what you want, or what you might do, your hairdresser is often your go-to person.
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Posted on Monday, September 14, 2009 by SeaWriter
Fall in the garden is a time of quiet and small things...and peace descends upon it like a down comforter.
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Posted on Saturday, September 12, 2009 by SeaWriter
In the past, a person's life was contained within the person: no electronic tethers or tentacles supported or confined...
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Posted on Wednesday, September 09, 2009 by SeaWriter
How do you cram your energy and soul into a two-dimensional profile?
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Posted on Friday, September 04, 2009 by SeaWriter
I feared being the older woman in the back of the classroom, the person whose very presence caused the younger students to lower their voices and watch their language...
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Posted on Thursday, September 03, 2009 by SeaWriter
You can't force a tree to set fruit by trimming it into submission...
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Posted on Wednesday, September 02, 2009 by SeaWriter
Lovely as your memories may be, you're free to be independent of the past...
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Posted on Monday, August 31, 2009 by SeaWriter
Soren Kierkegaard said, Our lives always express the result of our dominant thoughts --and he said it way before a single word was written about the laws of attraction...
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Posted on Sunday, August 30, 2009 by SeaWriter
I love memories of my children. But I grow weary of living in two moments at the same time when the choice of which to stay with is not mine to make.
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Posted on Friday, August 28, 2009 by SeaWriter
Some thoughts on the comfort of feeling small and significant...
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