Decade of Gratitude Post 10.5: New Farm Friends

Today, Thanksgiving Eve, I wanted to share one more post of gratitude – for my new farm friends. It has been just over a year now since I began social media relationships (and real life friendships) with farmers across the country.  In that year I’ve discovered much of what I believed about how food is…

Is Your Job Killing You?

Does this sound like you? “I have to work very fast.” “I work very hard.” “I manage competing demands of others.” “I worry about losing my job.” “I feel underused or powerless.” If so, your job may be putting you at risk for a heart attack or stroke. According to a study recently released by…

Decade of Gratitude Post #10: Our Precious Burdens

Part of the dedication to my first book reads: For Grace and Callie, who drive me crazy and keep me sane, all at the same time. My sassy, ten-year-old-today, daughters think that is pretty funny! Soon after Grace and Callie were born, our priest visited and referred to them as our “precious burdens.” Both Clay…

Decade of Gratitude Post #9: The Chance

Tonight I will receive the Heart Hero Award from the American Heart Association. I’m deeply honored and very humbled. I didn’t set out to do anything award-worthy – I simply needed to give back for the chance I’d been given. I am so grateful for the chance to watch my daughters grow, grow old with…

Decade of Gratitude Post #8: My Path

Sometimes it is hard to find the path in life. One benefit of a near-death experience for me was clarity of what is important and where I want to go. Right after my heart attack, I often said I could deal with anything as long as I got to raise my daughters with Clay. I…

Decade of Gratitude Post #7: Perspective

Yesterday was spent with a TNT film crew feeling like a movie star. Today, I’m in torn jeans, a stained sweat shirt, and spending the day working in the boat yard. I love the perspective of my life! We all put on “work clothes” and play a role – whether it is mom, manager, valuable…

Decade of Gratitude Post #6: American Heart Association

Without a doubt, one of the most exciting things I’ve done in the past ten years was to host the HEART for Women Rally on the grounds of the US Capitol. Pretty darn cool! Yes, I’m grateful for that opportunity with the American Heart Association – but I’m grateful for so much more than the…

Decade of Gratitude Post #5: My New Career

So, what do you do? It seems like a pretty easy question, but it often begins an odd interaction. If I say I’m a professional speaker, most of the time people’s brows furrow. It’s a fairly unusual job. If I say I’m an author, most of the time they are disappointed to find I’m not…

Decade of Gratitude Post #4: Girl Scouts

Ten years ago I woke up in the ICU after our babies were delivered by C-section and my doctors fixed my heart with bypass surgery, wondering whether we had boys or girls — or one of each.  Soon after, my wonderful husband, Clay, came to tell me we had girls. Girls!! I’d really wanted girls!…