A Visual Explosion of Color
We attended a small church in Kailua and have never loved any Lent or Easter as much as I did with this community. I've never been to a church before or after that had more meaningful Holy Week services. Each year they put up a burned and beat up cross where the Christmas tree typically stood. The cross was truly an old rugged cross, a reminder of the season and all that Jesus would ultimately do for us. On Easter morning the cross was covered in chicken wire and we were all invited to bring a flower from our gardens or we could even buy them. Before the service, we all attached our fresh or even paper flowers to the cross, a visual explosion of color representing new birth and joy. Here's a picture of me next to the cross the last Easter before the wreck. It's hard looking at [...]
Morning Blend Milwaukee
The Spring Puppy Pawty continues. Next stop? Milwaukee! I'll be the next guest on the sofa for their pet segment to talk about my book and also about rescuing dogs. I'll hopefully have time to talk about raising funds for Second Chance North and 2nd Chance Shelter. The funny thing is that this channel is not aired in my market but I'll post a link here and also on my website afterwards. Milwaukee is the largest market in Wisconsin. 50% of all of my Amazon sales will be donated to 2nd Chance Shelter along with sales from the four book signings this month and my birthday fundraiser. Last month my friend Anita Roach Bluhm helped to facilitate a grant to them for $250.00 from Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group. My goal is to donate $1,000 so hopefully this will help. And I am really hoping I have a good hair [...]
National Mom and Pop Business Owner Day
Today is National Mom and Pop Business Owner Day. I just accepted a position this year and I'll be an adjunct professor at Fox Valley Technical College here in Appleton and Oshkosh. I'll be teaching a thirty hour workshop for people who want to start a business or already have a business but want to grow to the next level. I love business and marketing and helping people to see the possible in what they thought was impossible. One of the ways to succeed in business, and there are lots of good things, but one of the best is to understand the power of ask. People want you to be successful in your business. They usually don't understand how they can help, but sometimes it really is as simple as asking as long as the ask is realistic and relevant and something someone can do. Today I am asking anyone [...]
Shops and Stories
We’ve lived in Wisconsin for six years. I could fill pages with what I miss about Hawaii, but it wouldn’t change anything. Mountains and oceans would not magically appear, there would not be an abundance [...]
Kiss Me I’m Irish!
I used to hate St. Patrick's Day growing up. I attended a Catholic school and we had a ton of Irish or part Irish kids and they gave me such grief every year. One year [...]
No Winter Lasts Forever
I came into this whole gardening thing kicking and screaming. I moved from Hawaii, the land of flamboyant and wildly amazing tropical flowers. We thought we had closed on a house in January and we [...]