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Don’t whine about it. Don’t cry about it. Figure it out. Just because you have a big problem doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the world. Everybody has problems. Everybody you meet today in every place you go has problems that are just as scary to them as your problems are to you. The hard truth about tough problem is that there aren’t any easy answers. There isn’t one thing you can do to magically make your problems go away. You have to figure it out. And figuring it out takes time. And focus. Emotional courage too. And while it’s scary to not know what you want to know right away, you have more chances to figure it out now than ever before in the history of problems. Access to answers has never been more readily available than right now. Access to experts that can solve your specific problem can be found more easily than ever before. Figuring it out though is something you have to do. It’s your commitment that makes the difference. How c...

On a bitter cold Friday night more than 100 fans attended a presentation and book signing sponsored by the Lake Forest Book Store. We all came out to the Vernon Area Public Library in Lincolnshire, IL to meet author Melanie Benjamin. Her current book is historical fiction about Anne Morrow Lindbergh titled “ The Aviator’s Wife .” My friend Susan and I (with my service puppy in training “West” see his tab if you are not already familiar with him) took seats about six rows back and took off some of the layers of our winter clothes. I was quite happy to have West, my personal foot warmer laying in front of me. This event was held after the regular hours of the library and at the beginning of the presentation the room was not quite warm enough for me. A library employee gave a brief but enthusiastic introduction and Melanie Benjamin stepped to the podium. Melanie is attractive and animated with strawberry blond hair and a near constant smile. I hesitate to desc...

  Are you looking for a job?  Have you met someone new?  Would you like to shine in your children’s eyes?   If someone googled your name, what would they find?  Would you like the person the internet portrays?  If so, kudos to you.  You have probably been true to yourself and said and done things that do not leave you with regrets.  If not, then hopefully you have learned from any regrettable quote or deed and are ready to move on to more positive things. Google your own name.  Then google the name of someone you hold in high regard.  Did you learn new things (good, bad or neutral) about your friend?  Did you see something in your friend’s history that you would like to see on your own history?   Keep in mind that there are big accomplishments and small accomplishments and that some of these are attainable and some may not be.  I have some very intelligent friends who are involved in research.  I...

I have received so much spam from this company that I am now anti-christian louboutin.  I would NEVER buy their products. I’m not one to participate in boycotts generally.  Instead, I much prefer to accentuate the positive and patronize a business because of the good things they do.  But, multiple spam notices per day has caused me to think poorly of this company.  There are many, many other companies that make the same products so I choose not to buy from them. Read more at: choicesfundraising.com Boycott spammer

I have received so much spam from this company that I am now anti-christian louboutin.  I would NEVER buy their products. I’m not one to participate in boycotts generally.  Instead, I much prefer to accentuate the positive and patronize a business because of the good things they do.  But, multiple spam notices per day has caused me to think poorly of this company.  There are many, many other companies that make the same products so I choose not to buy from them. Boycott spammer

To those of you who foolishly keep submitting spam, know that there are tools in place to block you.  Your totally unrelated, self promoting posts will not be seen.  How sad that you are so desperate to make a sale that you try to add posts to a site about volunteering and charities. To those disguised as someone being helpful by offering ways to increase traffic on this site, soliciting on a blog is not the correct way to make contact.  To be blunt, I would not have faith in anyone who isn’t intelligent enough to send information properly. Repeated attempts from the same source may yield unpleasant, negative results.  This is in no way a threat.  This merely points out the obvious fact that you are responsible for your actions.  Granted, many of these are generated by software programs but there is a source so far from untraceable.  I  have a strong sense of right and wrong as well as a stubborn streak.  Combine that wit...

Sometimes people surprise you, sometimes not. Best-selling author Jennifer Chiavarini was exactly as I expected. Jennifer has received high praise for her thorough research and accurate depictions in her historical fiction books. Having listened to many of her books where she nailed the woven personalities, joys and conflicts of a groups of women, I knew Jennifer would be smart, articulate and congenial. I was one of about 60 people who attended Jennifer Chiavarini’s book signing at Anderson Bookshop in downtown Naperville, IL. Jennifer was touring to promote her most recent book “Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival.” This is Jennifer’s 23rd book. I thought I was going to be late. I had given myself adequate time but then found the downtown had streets closed due to construction. My GPS got me through by recalculating several times. It was one thing to get there, another to locate a legal parking spot, but I made it. I entered the store with my service puppy, West and was...

Sometimes people surprise you, sometimes not. Best-selling author Jennifer Chiavarini was exactly as I expected. Jennifer has received high praise for her thorough research and accurate depictions in her historical fiction books. Having listened to many of her books where she nailed the woven personalities, joys and conflicts of a groups of women, I knew Jennifer would be smart, articulate and congenial. I was one of about 60 people who attended Jennifer Chiavarini’s book signing at Anderson Bookshop in downtown Naperville, IL. Jennifer was touring to promote her most recent book “Mrs. Lincoln’s Rival.” This is Jennifer’s 23rd book. I thought I was going to be late. I had given myself adequate time but then found the downtown had streets closed due to construction. My GPS got me through by recalculating several times. It was one thing to get there, another to locate a legal parking spot, but I made it. I entered the store with my service puppy, West and was...

While in the planning stages of Choices Fundraising Support, I attended my first business network meeting. I was inspired by the positive responses I received when sharing my plans. People asked how they could help. I smiled as I appreciated the community spirit and said I needed to talk to a website designer. I was given two names by several people. The experts recommended were Brent Allan and Scot Gallup. I received a phone call from Brent Allan the following day. I explained some of my needs and he suggested we meet. I further explained that Choices Fundraising Support is a platform to help non-profits thrive and that I had absolutely no income, thus would not have money to pay for services. Brent cheerfully said that was ok, he would be happy to meet with me. At first, I thought he was motivated to meet with me because of my ideas. While this may be partially true, Brent meets with people because he is a giving and caring person. He is also extremely smart and knows that value of g...

West and I were out an about a few days ago. We went to the library, the grocery store and then to JoAnn Fabric where an employee enthusiastically greeted me. She said she was hoping I would come in because she had a question about service animals. She asked if monkeys could be service animals. She asked this because a customer had come in with not one, but two monkeys and said they were her service animals. Oh my! No. Here in the US, monkeys are not recognized as service animals. The law allows for only dogs and miniature horses to be service animals. It was wrong for someone to misrepresent her monkeys as service animals. It is also illegal and disrespectful to people with disabilities. Why the confusion? Well, at one time monkeys were considered for service animals. They are smart, have dexterity and strength and are an appropriate size. However, monkeys are messy and generally speaking do not have the personality to be a service animal. Another thing that is causing confusion are s...

West and I were out an about a few days ago. We went to the library, the grocery store and then to JoAnn Fabric where an employee enthusiastically greeted me. She said she was hoping I would come in because she had a question about service animals. She asked if monkeys could be service animals. She asked this because a customer had come in with not one, but two monkeys and said they were her service animals. Oh my! No. Here in the US, monkeys are not recognized as service animals. The law allows for only dogs and miniature horses to be service animals. It was wrong for someone to misrepresent her monkeys as service animals. It is also illegal and disrespectful to people with disabilities. Why the confusion? Well, at one time monkeys were considered for service animals. They are smart, have dexterity and strength and are an appropriate size. However, monkeys are messy and generally speaking do not have the personality to be a service animal. Another thing that is causing confusion are s...

Words have power and so words set to music can have even more influence.  Right now I have the song, “From a Distance” in my head.  I love the message about how you may dislike (possibly hate) something until you get close and see just what it is.  I’m relating this to how I grew up with large dogs (OK huge.  We had Newfoundland dogs) and never cared for small dogs. I did not “get” the little dog attraction.  In fairness, this was partially influenced by the comments owners of small dogs would say about my big dog.  People would actually say “That’s a big dog” as if I was clueless.  Some would suggest that my sweet, inherently gently dog would eat their dog which is not only preposterous but down right insulting.  And, my least favorite “That’s not a dog it’s a horse.”  This would cause me to suppress the voice inside my head from telling the person that my dog was a real...

This evening I will be home with my husband and our dogs.  This is our choice.  Going out on New Year’s Eve is just not us.  But to all of you who are heading out, have fun and be safe. The days of making resolutions are behind us.  I’ve made resolutions.  Some were broken some were kept and over the years I have made changes in my life to be the person of substance that I want to be.  At the same time, I accept the things that I don’t necessarily like about myself but that are never going to change and don’t really have to.  I have a solid foundation.  I am not neat.  I am not “naturally” organized.  I’m not thin and don’t have a flair for dancing.  Oh well…  Being described as nice, caring, thoughtful, giving, polite, creative and nice (yes, I did list that twice and proud of it) are more meaningful to me. If you make a New Year’s Resolution, please consider what is ...

We all have miss-matched socks. It’s the way it is. We wear socks in pairs and yet after we put them through the wash, we find some that we can’t seem to match. For years I have set these aside in the bag of mismatched socks. I associate the song from Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Island of Misfit Toys with this bag of mismatched socks. Periodically, I take out the bag and successfully play match maker and another well-known song pops into my mind. Eventually I admit that some will never be matched. I use them for cleaning projects before tossing them. One winter evening I took off my boots and realized that I had worn two different socks all day. These were high quality wool socks, one tan and white, the other grey and white. In the dim light of the morning they had appeared to match. That night I teased my husband about this since he had been the one to pair them up incorrectly. We both laughed and agreed that having warm feet mattered more than having them match. Since t...

Last summer I met a lovely woman at a girl’s night out. She was about ten years older than me and as I listened to her and watched her, I thought how I would like to be like her. She was trim and fit. She had an elegance and grace about her. She was my idea of a true lady. Sadly, last week I heard she was missing. Soon after I learned that she had taken her own life. I barely knew her but both felt bad for her and her family and was angered by this. She appeared to have it all. I wondered if something had happened, if something had changed. The more I thought about this the more I considered that she may have been suffering but that it did not show. And I wondered how many people walk around with their invisible pain, purposefully hiding it from others. I have many unanswered questions. Did she feel ashamed? How long did she carry this burden? How many people knew her and were unaware of what she was going through. How do loved ones deal with such a death? Losing someone is diffic...

HandsOn Suburban Chicago ( HOSC)  provided assistance at the opening of a Multi-Agency Resource Center  (MARC ) in Diamond City, Illinois on Dec 2, 2013. The purpose of the center is to make it easier for people effected by the  November  17th tornadoes to access disaster-related relief services and information. The MARC brought representatives from more than 35 [...] HandsOn Suburban Chicago Helps Open Multi-Agency Resource Center