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. […]
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 […]
Broken yolks and de-escalative laughter.

This morning I asked Darren to flip my fried eggs for me because 1) I wanted my yolks to remain intact, 2) I was too scared I would break them, and 3) he is notoriously much, much better than me at anything having to do with the stove. (The oven I have mastered – but […]
Sky Blue and Black – and why regret can work in our favor.

One of my very favorite songs in the whole wide world is filled with reflective lyrics about someone who has let the love of his life slip out of his hands. And now he spends his time thinking of all the ‘if only’ scenarios that he thinks could have preserved their love. Regretting. “… I’d […]
Subarus – and avoiding distress.

I just bought a brand new Subaru and part of me feels more at home than it has for a while. When I got married 4 years ago, I quickly purchased a bigger non-Subaru SUV because I think I felt like I needed to spread my wings and be someone ‘new’? After all, I […]
The Outsiders and Where You Belong.

(photo cred: @davidburnettfoto) When I was 16 years old, and finally able to drive myself, I discovered two of my to-this-day favorite things: Going to the movies, and The Outsiders. I didn’t know it then, but going to a movie – in a movie theatre – allowed my brain a distraction from the constant […]
4 Quitting Questions.

School is getting out next week in my neck of the woods and my teenage clients, for the most part, are thrilled! About a fourth of my client-base are teenagers and almost every one of them is most looking forward to not having to do math over the summer. Perhaps you know a teenage […]
Girls State – and cutting those apron strings.

My Mom – and Dad, if he were here – would tell you that out of all their children, I was the one most tightly ‘holding on to my Mom’s apron strings’ when I was little. To say I didn’t like to be away from them is a bit of an understatement. In those pre-cell […]
Following arrows – and Clyde Tombaugh.

In my research this week, I serendipitously came across the story of a man named Clyde Tombaugh. I hope you know who he is, but I have a feeling that, like me before a few days ago, you don’t. I will tell you what he’s known for, I promise. But first I want to […]