Women's Life Link Be Well, Be Happy, Be YOU!

Clothing is actually the most underutilized tool at our daily disposal (IMO of course!).... So often do we just go to the store, find our “size”, throw it in the cart, and hope that it “fits”. Will it meet the bare necessities? Most likely, yes. Will it be comfortable? Maybe. Will it flatter you? Well.... probably not, unless you get really lucky (refer to my first post, Rule No. 4... Try EVERYTHING on). What a lot of women don’t realize is....

There are plenty of books out there that deal with how to tell your kids about sex, the dangers of promiscuity, how their bodies are changing, and protection. Talking with your daughter about the pleasures of sex is a whole other matter. How do we discuss the fact that it’s fun, adventurous, and meant to be shared? My goal here is to help you along, not to hand you a speech. I’ll cover some of the subjects you may not have even thought of as a teen but which our kids may be facing in school and on the internet.

Though I'm not claiming to be an expert in child development, I think having and raising 6 children (3 of which are grown, successful women) puts me in the ball park to at least give a little advice. Raising 5 girls has been a life-changing experience for me. I've seen my strengths and, of course, my weaknesses as they impact my girls. Over the years I've realized there are certain things that girls need to know in order to be strong, happy women. Here are my top 5 lessons to teach your daughter (preferably before she gets to college).

I am a mother. I have 3 little people. Two daughters and one son; ages 9, 7 and 5 respectively. I have a mother, and I have a mother-in-law. I also still have a living grandmother. So what is a mother? If we refer to the dictionary the definition is concise - a ‘female parent’. But how do we do it and what are our expectations of being a mother? What about having a mother? Surely it’s more than being a female parent. It’s about the nurturing, the teaching, the sharing, the guidance and the companionship. There are many books penned on just the issues of how to be a better mother and how to deal with the position of being a mother.

It's Mother-Daughter week and it is also “Triggers” week in my group therapy. Coincidence? I think not. The kicker – my mother (whom I do not have a relationship with) recently contacted me on Facebook. It’s funny when you start making changes in your life, the little things that you try to ignore, rear up their ugly heads. What would the old me do?

From the moment I knew you were inside my womb, I dreamed of how beautiful you would be, how smart, and how loving to the world around you. Your first cry marked the beginning of your incredible journey of life in a world that isn't always kind or loving back. So with the amazing joy I felt at that instant, a fear also gripped my heart. I was afraid of losing you. Every mother feels this bittersweet tug of war in her spirit. I also feared that I would somehow not be a good mother to you, that I would monumentally screw up your life in some obscure way.

Being a woman, who is smack in the middle between structured and unstructured, I tend to see both sides of the to schedule or not to schedule debate. And depending on where you fall on this scale of either beautiful chaos or rigid order, you likely are gazing at the proverbial green grass on the other side. The unstructured woman will long for the day when she actually feels caught up and able to find her sofa, dinner table, and bedroom floor. Where the rigid perfectionist dreams of having time to just enjoy her life, to take off and just do something fun. Well, ladies, you can learn from each other. With a few tricks taken from both extremes, you can find balance and get things d

So the Australian Open tennis tournament is on in Melbourne at the moment, and watching the Australians play and compete got me thinking... We have this thing in Australia called the ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome’. Mind you, I think it’s in other places around the globe, but this is my experience of it here. It’s a rather ugly scenario where Australians like to chop down those around them who are standing taller or achieving more than they are, so that everyone appears to be on the same level, average -not making any one look less!

The other day my friend, D, gave me a really cool stainless steel coffee cup that has a detachable plastic sleeve on it. It also came with a dry erase marker. It appeals to my artistic, whimsical self, as well as my coffee side. On Sunday, I decided I would write something inspirational on the cup and think on it throughout the day. I decided on "Do"

So, after reading my post last week.... maybe you think, “Yes. I need some help in this whole fashion image area. But where the heck do I start??” A lot of women I come across feel that way. They know their wardrobe needs some TLC, but short of stripping all the mannequins in the store.... many women don’t really know how to put together a “look”. But before you even step foot in a store and spend your hard-earned money, you need to have a plan. An idea. An inspiration!

Here's the deal... In a perfect world and body, short-term inflammation is a normal immune system response that helps fight infection , rescues body systems during trauma, and eases allergic responses (grandma's yummy chicken soup simmering on the stove). Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, happens when the body does not turn off the production of normal pro-inflammatory cells that are needed in those temporary situations (the pot bowls over, starts a fire, and keeps burning until someone puts it out).

I don’t mind saying I have the best sex life ever. Probably better than anyone else’s. I know that sounds egotistical, but that is how content I am, with where I am, in that area in my life. I’ve achieved the pinnacle of success in that area of my life. But not before I swam through a lot of dry flavorless valleys. Actually I wasn’t swimming; I was pretending to doggy paddle and really drowning.

I had an epiphany the other day, and I have been unable to shake it, so I thought I might share it with you.

I've ridden a roller-coaster my entire life, fitting in nowhere, not even in my own home. Of course, by chance when I did, I’d find some way to mess it up. This life never allowed me to like myself or believe I deserved others to like me either. I’d moved out on my own by 16 and was expelled from school just before graduation. My life displayed a pattern: abusive relationships, drug abuse, eating disorders, and other self-destructive tendencies that I never once thought of as problems. I really had no idea who I was. I simply lived my life the best way I knew how.

I've been thinking about how humbled I am by the fact that I am surrounded by such amazing women on the new author panel. These women have many other things they could do with their precious time but have chosen to give me and this magazine a slice of that time. It's an honor...really.