A lot of people ask, “What does it mean to get in your own way?” I glare at them like they’re from another planet. How can you not know? It’s like slamming a door and then trying to walk through it. As I’ve gotten older, I know better. I’ve learned not to act impulsively…

My mother had a birthday ritual for my three sisters and me as we were growing up. On our birthday morning, we would wake up to a corsage on our desk and a birthday card. A new outfit, carefully chosen, would be waiting for us in preparation to face the day. Our favorite lunch…

In this age of instant gratification, where a meal can be summoned with a tap on a screen, I often forget the simple pleasure of being in my kitchen. I find myself standing before the fridge, lost in the glow of its light, or bypassing the stove altogether, opting for the convenience…

This time of year we assess and reassess who we are, what we’ve done, and what we want. We review our dreams and measure them against where we are now. This reflection often throws me into the spin cycle – the drama of focusing on what I lack…

Jackie O epitomized elegance. She wore tweed suits, carried a Gucci bag, before Gucci became a household name, and topped it all off with her iconic pillbox hats. Growing up in suburbia, the adult women I knew all loved Jackie O. They worked…

Gaining and losing weight has been a battle for me from my earliest memories. I inherited my maternal grandparents’ genes, Polish through and through. Their stocky builds ensure a strong legacy of survival. My grandfather was a baker…

Remember when being in the 90th percentile was a bragging right? Scoring 96% on a math test? I used to walk around like a boss, knowing I was 96% above average, 96% closer to hitting the target. Triumph was mine for the taking. But let me tell you, when I had a heart…

I had the chance to visit the original Starbucks on Pike Place in Seattle. It looks nothing like the chain I have come to rely upon. Yet the formula is the same. My drip coffee is filled to the brim. I have to pour out coffee to make “room”…

Whoops, I did it again. I got totally out of shape. Not partly, not a little, my whole body. My hamstrings, my calves, my shoulders and my biceps, my core muscles, my ankles and feet, and well my entire balance is off-balance. It’s hard for me to bend…

In my house, my command center is on the sitting side of the kitchen peninsula. The smooth white countertop is almost three feet wide and wraps in a U-shape around my entire kitchen, tethered to the rear wall of my house next to the back door…