Tag Archives: new orleans

More Positive Thoughts for Your Day

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At times, we all get bogged down in negativity or difficult situations. Here are some more positive statements to meditate upon and perhaps inspire you to a better, more productive and happy frame of mind. The thoughts you chose to think and believe right now are creating your future. These thoughts form your experiences tomorrow, next week, and next year. Louise L. Hay The things that matter most in this world are those that carry no price tag, for they can neither be bought nor sold at any price. Suze Orman When life presents more challenges than you can handle, … Continue reading →

Hollywood Do-gooders Strike Again

Can you image walking across the stage at your high school graduation and locking eyes with actress Sandra Bullock? That’s exactly what happened to some unsuspecting New Orleans high school seniors just a few days ago. Bullock and her husband Jesse James sat in the front row to witness 191 students receive their diplomas. The students make up the first graduating class from Warren Easton High School since Hurricane Katrina nearly leveled it in 2005. According to the school’s principal, Bullock donated more than $100,000 to the school and provided more than two dozen $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors. School … Continue reading →

Musicians To The Rescue

It’s considered one of the country’s premier musical events, but many of the hottest acts performing at this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival weren’t wielding microphones and trumpets; rather they were grabbing paintbrushes and swinging hammers in a part of the city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Last night on the news I watched one of my girlhood crushes, Harry Connick Jr., trimming a bedroom window with fresh paint. Meanwhile, another shot showed R&B heartthrob John Legend washing clothes as part of a free mobile laundry service for families still living in federally issued trailers in hard-hit St. … Continue reading →

Jane Austen’s Guide to Dating – Lauren Henderson

Being a huge Jane Austen fan, I snatched up this book as soon as I saw it. What a fun read! The author goes through each of Jane Austen’s books, takes an in-depth look at each character and how they interact with each other, and provides for the reader a list of do’s and don’ts for the dating world. I’m married, quite happily so, but still found the book wonderfully entertaining. Chapter One is called, “If You Like Someone, Make It Clear That You Do.” The author gives us the example of Henry and Catherine in “Northanger Abbey,” then tells … Continue reading →

History of Mardi Gras

I found it funny that when I moved to San Diego, California – one of the biggest melting pots in America – that Mardi Gras was no big deal. In fact, some people I worked with didn’t even know what it was. I couldn’t even fathom that. After all, being raised in the South, Mardi Gras was a “holiday” I was aware of each year. Of course, living in Memphis was not like being in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, but you could still find King Cakes in the grocery store and there was always someone running around town with … Continue reading →

Literacy Series: Programs and Projects that Support Literacy

We all know how important literacy is, and we know that there are programs available to help us with our individual needs, but how do we find them? I ran an Internet search for “literacy programs” last night and was pleased and inspired by what I found – page after page of resources. I’d like to share some of them with you. First is the Literacy Directory. When you click on this link, you’ll see a form. Just click on your town and state, and the directory will connect you with literacy programs right in your area. It just doesn’t … Continue reading →

Cleaning up our act

Not too many of us made it through childhood and adolescence without being told on numerous occasions to clean up our room. Most of us hated it! But, in hindsight, when our mothers hounded us to “clean up our act” they were unknowingly giving us a gift. A gift that we can use to our advantage for the rest of our lives. So how can cleaning up our room in adolescence have an effect on our later lives? Read on… Although we most probably rebelled at being asked repeatedly to clean our rooms, there was more going on than just … Continue reading →

Dating Advice

You will get lots of dating advice and most of it is given with the best of intentions. Still, you’ll find a good deal of it to be worthless, if not damaging. Even though we offer advice here, I still recommend that you weigh it against your own thoughts and feelings. Never take advice, no matter how good it might sound, as the final word on any subject. Ultimately, you have to decide what is right for you. On that note, perhaps a better title for this article would be “dating suggestions.” I don’t want to tell people what to … Continue reading →

Smash those irrational beliefs (2)

Today we continue on from Smashing those irrational beliefs (1) and look at more limiting ways in which the things we think about ourselves and the world around us work to our disadvantage. In the last blog, we looked at a host of irrational beliefs and the truths that lie behind them. Today we’ll look at more: Irrational belief: My life should be a happy one without any major problems or worries. I am angry, disappointed and/or depressed when things go wrong. Truth: Unfortunate events can happen at any time, to any one. No-one is immune from life’s traumas, including … Continue reading →

Lift your spirits with a “Happy Box”

Sometimes the world does not seem such a wonderful place; the skies are gloomy and so are you. Your problems seem overwhelming at present and you are enveloped in a cloak of doom and unhappiness. This is when you need to get out your “Happy Box” and do a serious reality check (and have some fun besides!) So what is a “Happy Box”? The concept of a “Happy Box” is often used for patients suffering from chronic or terminal illnesses, and is simply a collection of all the bits and pieces of your life that have brought you joy and … Continue reading →