• Bottled Memories

    For many years, a coke bottle from the 1998 Nagano Olympics sat on my mantle. In a curio cabinet I kept a bottle of water from the Jordan River.  I didn’t keep these in my home because I was an avid bottle collector, nor for the value of the contents inside. I kept the bottles because of the memories associated with them. A dear friend…

  • The Final Horseman

    A sure-fire way to hurt your marriage is to engage in stonewalling. This is the final horseman that Gottman uses as a predictor for divorce.  Stonewalling is when we build a wall and refuse to let others inside. We often do this by making comments such as “I don’t want to talk about it; Enough,” or “End of story.”  When we cut others off and…

  • It’s Not My Fault…

    A couple of months ago I began writing about the four horsemen that threaten to destroy marriages according to researcher, John Gottman.  Life has been so busy that my good intentions of doing this 4-part series in a month was delayed.  The third “horseman” that wants to kill your marriage is defensiveness. We are all guilty of this one. “It’s not my fault.” A wife…

  • It’s All About the View

    Fall is my favorite time of year for hiking. I love seeing all the colors on the trees as well as the cooler temperatures. It is the best time for climbing a mountain — not too hot and not too cold. Many times I stand at the bottom of a mountain and wonder if I can ever make it to the top. Depending on the…

  • No Sugar Please…

    Today is my 30th day going sugar free! In the past month I’ve eaten no sugar and very, very little carbohydrates.  When I started I wondered how I’d ever survive.  Now that the days have passed, I don’t even miss it.  When I think of celebrating, I want to continue on this journey.  Not only do I feel better physically than I have in a…