Holidays are spaced for our benefit

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 24 November 2009 13:38

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done. Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung…. There’s nothing you can make that can’t be made. No one you can save that can’t be saved…. There’s nothing you can know that isn’t known. Nothing you can see that isn’t shown. Nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be…. All you need is love…love is all you need” —The Beatles



Holidays are spaced out deliberately, I believe, to pull us back together when we may be falling apart. Thanksgiving is perfectly timed.

Maybe it was a hot summer, too long, or was it too short? Then fall showed up dragging in the clouds and cold air. The days get shorter, a mild depression can start creeping in this time of...

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Common sense(s) ways of making memories

Written by Shelley Plett Wednesday, 11 November 2009 07:53

“Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” ~ Keri Russell

It’s time for a holiday revolution. Don’t panic over shopping, spending, eating and indulging. It’s time to stop worrying about doing and spending too much.

It’s time to do and spend MORE, with a couple of tweeks.

Spend more TIME using a common sense(s) approach to Christmas by seeing, smelling, hearing, tasting and feeling more. DO more to make it memorable and to secure those holiday traditions.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Even more than the day, it’s the two months prior, gearing up for Thanksgiving as the leaves fall and sliding through the festive holiday planning weeks of December. It should be magical. If...

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In these times, ‘Have a little faith’

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 10 November 2009 13:48

“Sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too—even when you’re in the dark. Even when you’re falling.” —Morrie Schwartz, quoted by Mitch Albom in “Tuesdays with Morrie”



It may go against all the rules of acceptance, but I usually judge a book by its cover. In this case, I am being literal. Actual books. Some book cover designs are more “open-able.”

They’re so simple.

This is the case for a group of books from journalist, sports guy and author Mitch Albom. His past four books are not much bigger than a 5x7 portrait and packaged like he hand-wrapped each one of them and...

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Here’s one way to surprise yourself

Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 27 October 2009 13:27

“To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.” —Leonard Bernsteine

 

In October 2007, Parents magazine reported on the importance of creative expression in kids. They said “…we all come into this world with the need to create. It’s in our genes, and the arts are the basic way we express that need. (Creativity) connects, clarifies, and enriches…it’s a way of being and thinking, teaching and parenting.”

That goes for adults, too. In that spirit, I’m putting out a reminder about NaNoWriMo. November is National Novel Writing Month and time for the 11th annual NaNoWriMo challenge to write a book, 50,000 words in 30 days. A manageable task with a few more double-shot espressos...

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