I bet you don't know this answer! 

Young people don’t have bucket lists.There’s just too much they want to do to bother making a list. Besides, young people are too busy with NOW to think much about TOMORROWS. They’ll also discover as they age, they could never imagine some of the stuff they’ll do, without it ever appearing on a list. Like this duck who never dreamed he'd swim with the flamingos, ended up doing it without it being on his bucket list.

My bucket list is getting shorter (like that duck's legs), but it’s a good thing. I’m finding out, I cross off been-there-done-that stuff faster than I’m adding more to do.  

Then there are those desires that gradually fade in time. For example, I carried around a wish for fifty years that I’m “happily” crossing off my bucket list, not because I did it, but because now I don’t want to. With just a little thought I got to the bottom of why it’s been such a perennial desire. ADVERTISING!

Does it bug you when you're around someone who smacks while eating? 

Unless you’re taught to close your lips while you masticate, the sound coming out of your mouth (especially when you’re eating something crunchy) is very unpleasant for those around you. If you think about it; when your kids are little and they smack, because they haven’t learned how not to, you might say to your child, “Stop smacking!" But rarely do you demonstrate what it sounds like to smack and actually show how to fix it. Who do you know that gives anti-smacking lessons? The House Fairy, of course!

The House Fairy Program has more than 65 videos starring the House Fairy teaching children the basics of keeping their rooms neat and tidy and having good manners. She has helped thousands of kids, but some of her videos have helped adults.  See the video.

One woman wrote that when her “smacking” friend saw the video with the House Fairy showing what it sounds like to smack and how to prevent it, her friend realized she was a smacker herself and took steps to change her behavior. (She told her friend that she tends to forget not to smack when she’s really hungry, but she's getting better.)

Speaking of smacking, here’s an email from one of the House Fairy's Snuggle Bunny graduates, twelve-year-old Brady Main. It's so sweet. 

Maternity Awards? Could there be such a thing?

It's graduation time again, and it got me to thinking about it, which lead me to the idea of celebrating. I looked up the definition of celebration and it said: a joyful occasion for special festivities to mark some happy event.

When we’re young, because we’re growing and changing, there’s cause to celebrate those achievements of going from grade school through high school and college, as well as celebrating the holidays and birthdays.

If we work at a job, there’s usually the annual awards banquet giving out Employee of the Year statues and BO (Born Organized) achievement pins and certificates. I know because as a keynote speaker, I’ve sat through hours of achievement awards presentations. 

But what about us moms? Yeah we might get a Hallmark card once in a while, but there’s no annual awards banquet for Mom or Dad.

Also, a great graduation gift idea below.

It's worth a try! 

You were probably thinking, when you read the title of this blog, that I was writing about drinking gin.

Well, this blog is about the card game called gin rummy. (Incidentally, this is my husband in his winning costume when we went to a Halloween party as Dow and Jones, during the stock market scare.)

Okay, I’m not a marriage counselor so I probably shouldn’t be going around giving advice to married couples, especially since I’m on my second marriage and so is my husband, but the idea of letting a little gin improve your marriage is really a good one, at least for Terry and me and I thought I’d share with you why it is.

You probably should know that Terry is a workaholic because that’s one of the reasons I came up with this idea in the first place. He’s never without his cell phone or IPAD and he looks at weekends as catch up days to finish all the work he didn’t accomplish during the week because of overbooking. It seems when each day comes to an end, his “to do” list is longer because for every task he crosses off, he adds a couple more jobs.

I don’t think guys like tricks played on them.

When you’ve lost weight on a low-carb diet or maintained your weight with a lifestyle of limited carbohydrates, but then you gradually start gaining, it’s because of one reason (well unless you’re pregnant), you’ve let carbs sneak back into your diet.

Scientists have proof that carbohydrates are addictive. They include, all sugars, breads, pasta, rice, corn, beans and potatoes. Because they are addictive, they come to mind way more often than the thought of a spinach leaf or a stalk of celery does. A carb-thought turns into a carb-excuse like: “Just this once,” or “Oh, well, it’s been a while since I’ve had French Fries,” or “Hey it‘s my birthday or his birthday or the neighborhood party.” The carb-excuse turns into carb-consumption. Ultimately, the carb-thought turns into carb-consumption.

The solution is so simple because you’re so smart! There are two parts to the solution. One is metal and one is physical and you can do them both at the same time or separately.

1. If your home is immaculate and running like a well-oiled clock.

2. Your family begs to help with household chores.

3. You’re happy with your weight.

4. You’re wealthy and debt free.

5. You have a team of professional housecleaners who come and clean daily.

6. You are ecstatic with your marriage.

7. Okay, I thought of another one, you’re never late.

If these reasons aren’t yours, read more. Disorganization affects every area of your life; your finances, your health, your relationships, your stress level and I’m sure you can think of more ways it affects your life.

A Little Organization Goes a Long Way

Get organized just enough to please you. That's your goal. The only reason to get organized is so that life doesn’t get in the way of YOU. When you’re disorganized, you let life run you as you stomp out fires caused by your disorganization. But a little organization goes a long way. Just getting in the habit of looking at your calendar every evening and then again in the morning will increase your level of organization tenfold!

What can be discouraging is trying to get organized when you’re in a huge mess and you don’t know
where to start. That’s like trying to waterski under water. If you’ve ever waterskied you know getting up is the part that takes the most effort, but once you’re on top of the water that’s when the fun begins. It’s exactly the same with being organized in your life. Once you’ve established just a few good habits and you get into a routine that serves you, you’ll glide along with ease. It’s the establishing part that takes a little extra effort. 

Where Should You Start?

If you'll look closely, you'll see a woman with outstretched arms, greeting her morning with profound gratitude. Either that or the police are out of the shot with guns and a megaphone saying, "Arms up! You're under arrest."

It seems it was just a few years ago when my sister and I were on Regis first time. My we were skinnier then!!!

Do you like to be on the receiving end of a surprise?

A “little” surprise is like being outside on a chilly, spring morning without a coat when the sun pops out from behind a big cloud and warms your back. Like Mother Nature executing one of her random acts of kindness. Here's a trio of daffodils getting their little backs warmed. Just getting this photo from my photographer husband was a little surprise that made me smile!

Most people don't like those big deal birthday bombshells where you walk into your house and the whole neighborhood yells “surprise,” or those horrid surprises on your credit card statement, right after Christmas. 

Ask everyone in the family, "What one thing could I do to help you be happy?"

This blog is about the times when your husband comes home from work with a single rose for you or your child surprises you by doing a chore you didn’t ask him or her to do.

If you thought to yourself, ‘Ha, Carl’d never come home with a single rose for me,’ or Jenny wouldn’t lift a finger if I didn’t ask her to, maybe you need to ask yourself when was the last time you surprised Carl or helped Jenny with a chore?

Do you have friends you rarely see, but when you do it’s like you’ve never been apart? Dianna, my best friend in high school, was such a person. When we graduated, she moved to California and we saw each other once every 10 years.