I trace my love of clocks and timekeepers to when I was very young, having received a Cinderella Watch & Music Box, which when wound up, and the little Cinderella figurine pirouetted on a stand to the loveliest music. The music box contained a girl’s watch with a yellow leather band and bold clock face which although pretty and feminine, was practical. Being so young, I had no particular need of keeping time so why a watch? I was fascinated with Cinderella and her costume, so I bemused myself with the music box and music. They only let me wear the watch to Church and on special occasions. I imagined…

Wondering if Kismet has taken some kind of wrong turn.  Some summer ago, I twiddled my fingers while sending out resumes, browsing the Internet and figuring out how to maintain my simple lifestyle. I kid you not. My needs are simple with a little fun thrown in.  Work, earn some money, continue working on my B.S., (even though some dared to tell me it’s too late and I’m too old), pay my bills and protect my credit. Oprah read Eat, Pray, Love and Women, Food and God back-to-back, while all I thought about was how ten years prior I was in exactly the same situation.  In what seems to me…

I seek to learn from any given experience without personally going through the hardship, the trauma or the adventure myself.  I call these FREE Life Lessons. So I play the game of “what if”, as my imagination wanders into unbeckoned territory.  I create my own edited versions of experiences, switching in myself and pretending what I would do if it were me.  I don’t have to have my heart broken, finances ruined or my feelings hurt if I can learn from an existing experience. How do you learn a lesson from someone else’s experience?  You try to imagine the outcome, the potential consequences and decide if you would ever want…

Everyone’s heard of the “gift that keeps on giving” that resonates with the ritual of giving which shows up this time of year. There is the kind of giving that hints at a value-added quality that perhaps, carries a deeper meaning – like the gift of a special piece of jewelry, a book, or a reward of significance celebrating a defining moment in a person’s life. Every time we look at, read or wear the gift, we remember who it came from and why. Many times, we are confronted with holiday games like Secret Santa or Dirty Harry to give a gift to someone and we are anxious how to…