Baker’s Chocolate and my DNA.
One of my favorite things to do is bake recipes from Depression or War-era America. I know it sounds kind of strange, but I love the creativity of it. Bacon fat instead of butter in a sugar cookie? Ok! Vinegar instead of milk in a chocolate cake? Sure! Mayonnaise instead of eggs in brownies? Let’s […]
Your Own Personal Order of Difficulty.
During the majority of my lengthy career in education, I, like many teachers and counselors you know, had a second job. One of them was a brief stint with a prestigious company offering high-end ACT prep classes. It was taught in a building in the heart of downtown and when I drove by that building […]
Efficacy and “Question Coleen.”
Recently I had a client tell me that she thought she’d done a disservice to her teenager. “She’s so used to me fixing everything for her that now she can’t figure out how to do it on her own. I can see so clearly that it’s my fault,” she told me. I decided to tell […]
Fortune Cookies and Optimistic Action.
Please pick a number between 1 and 10. Really. Pick it. Got it?? Ok, now kindly hold on to it for a moment. When I retired from education about a year and a half ago, my tribe of girlfriends threw me a brunch. It was so kind of them. I decided I wanted to […]
Tragedy or Inconvenience? Your answer matters.
I distinctly remember a day many years ago when, as I was turning my car into the parking lot of my apartment complex, I was hit by a16-year-old driver who was coming home from getting her driver’s license. My car was drivable but now in need of repair. The girl was visibly upset and ticketed […]
Josh, the Jazz, and some Collective Group Effort
I want you to picture the person in your life who is the most die-hard of die-hard sports fans. My brain immediately goes to my Dad’s brother, Jeff. Do you have yours? Ok. Now ten times that level of fandom. Seriously. That’s my friend, Josh. And he just got some news that I am […]
7 Things You Can Do To Live An Amazing Life (Sally’s Version).
A few of you may have heard the story of Daniel Seddiqui, the USC graduate in Economics who – after having 40 job applications rejected – took a novel approach to doing something about it. He decided to load up his jeep and try 50 different jobs in 50 different states – a week each. […]
Fake Guilt and Misplaced Action.
Lately I’ve been paying attention to how many times clients say something about feeling guilty. “I feel guilty that I’m not doing more with my time….” “She makes me feel guilty when I don’t visit her…..” “I shouldn’t have to feel guilty when I go to the gym….” You get the idea. But is guilt […]
Protective Factors Checklist.
In counseling vernacular, there is a term thrown around that I have had on my mind a lot lately: Protective Factors. Protective Factors are probably exactly what you’re imagining – factors that protect people in times of challenge and increase their resiliency. The more protective factors one has, the greater the likelihood that they […]
15 fights … and fogging.
In my “I’m-getting-kinda-old” lifetime of study, experience, and very (un)scientific research, I’ve found 15 things that can be stumbling blocks in marriage/dating/partner relationships. In no particular order, they are: These unsurprisingly common issues also produce unsurprisingly common arguments, discussions, and fights. And someone in these unsurprisingly common arguments, discussions, or fights often resorts to the […]
