The Key To Better Relationships: Stop & Refocus

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by Christie Perkins

A while back I prayed to find out what I needed to do to be a better mom (that was the gist of the prayer anyway). I wanted a little more mojo between us. Not that the kids and I had a bad relationship but I just wanted more relationship superglue before the teenage years hit. S A I L O R SC L U BYes, I wanted that uber connection-greed associated with moms and their midget genetic counterparts. A specific thought entered my mind:

…get off the computer when the boys get home.

Ah, yes.

Bingo. It was a good idea. I could see the benefit of this counsel. Sometimes those thoughts come and I shift my head back, turn my chin slightly to the side, and scrunch one eyebrow. That? That’s the answer? But not this time. This made perfect sense. Continue reading →

Wowzers! New Year’s Goals That Actually Work

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By Christie PErkins

new years goals

I love new starts. It’s why I love the roll over of a new year, daylight savings (yes, I’m one of the endangered few that actually likes daylight savings time), a new school year, St. Patricks Day, Sunday’s, a new bottle of shampoo or toothpaste.

Ah.

New starts are like de-junking the house. It’s our renewed effort to ditch shabby habits for new and improved habits. Often I make trite, tight, new goals to organize, improve health habits, and develop talents. Blah, blah, blah. Continue reading →

Dear Santa, I Want Hair!

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Christmas Wishes

by Christie Perkins

Dear Santa, I want Hair!Two years ago I sat on Santa’s lap.

I only wanted one gift: hair. Chemo treatments stole my beauty markers. It ate my eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair (hungry little guy). The mirror check resulted in a search and rescue for any kind of roughage. My eyes would slip all over my face and head until it landed on my sole survivor eyelash. One eyelash on each eye.

It looked stupid. Continue reading →

Good Night Kisses

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by Christie Perkins

Good Night KissesIt’s the same ritual every night. My internal clock alarms me it’s time for bed- but straight to bed is not the route I want.

Not yet.

I take a detour to the boys’ room and flip on the hall light. I’m not worried about waking them up because once they are asleep nothing disrupts their wonderland. Really, I turn the light on because there’s no use blowing kisses into a dark room, my aim may be off and the kiss would be wasted. Continue reading →

Making Spirits Bright

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by Christie Perkins

Tis the season for making spirits bright. The message is simple: Love, Laugh, Lift.

howperkyworks.com (4)LOVE. See the non-obvious beauty in others. The things that we like about people are easy to see and love. Get to know someone’s true beauty. The best way to do that is to knock down our judgments of others by thinking good things. When I was in 4th grade we read a book about a boy who could read people’s thoughts. I was gullible enough to think that maybe someone really did have that special power.

And it had me on-guard every time I was around people (though I never cared if spiders could hear my thoughts, still don’t care). Continue reading →

What are Your Unlikely Gratitude Candidates?

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by Christie perkins

Unlikely GratiIt’s a tradition to think about what we are thankful for this time of year. Often the things that we are thankful for are traced back to some reason that triggered our insight. We can rattle off the things that we are grateful for that have given us comfort in our lives. But what about those not so awesome moments. Here’s a few of my triggers for my gratitude. Check out these unlikely candidates: Continue reading →

Keys to a Successful Turkey Day

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 by Christie Perkins

5 Keys to a Successful ThanksgivingI love turkey day. I didn’t used to. Thanksgiving was a holiday that had a table full of delicious food and all I could think about was the stuffing. I hate stuffing. Someone would always try to get me to “just try it.”

I have tried it.

It’s exactly why I despise it. I don’t like marinated chicken broth bread. Ok, so I know that 99.967% of the population likes stuffing so this post is not coming on strong for anyone. In fact I probably dropped a few followers with the line “I hate stuffing.”

Forgive me. (Come on back now… if you eat it I’ll just avoid smelling your breath.) Continue reading →

How Food and Word Choices Affect How We Feel

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by Christie Perkins

ostella bistroEverything we say or do is a choice. As a nutritionist I understand the toll of what we put into our mouths on our body.

During my chemo treatments I was amazed at the power of the food on my overall well being. Even though I couldn’t taste what I wiggled down the food tube, I felt better when I ate better- when I ate foods from all of the food groups.

It was a simple choice that affected me as a whole. And even now with fully acting taste buds, I am more keenly aware of how my food choices affect me.

(And, boy, have I been flubbing that up lately. Who eats lemon bars for breakfast? Well, who besides my kids and I? Yep, bad mom moment.) Continue reading →

Gratitude Switcharoo: Give the Reason To Be Grateful

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by Christie PErkins

Don’t just look for a reason to be grateful, give someone the reason to be.

howperkyworks.com (3)Typically the month of November is a time we focus on all of the things that we are grateful for. I love it. It’s so nice to evaluate the good things in our lives. To recognize all those things that have been squished against our noses but somehow failed to see.

So typically we find reasons to be grateful. We list them on construction paper turkey feathers, die cut leaves, or more permanently- in our journals, etc. We display them somewhere (well, maybe not the journal that could be… intrusive) so we can remember all the goodness that life offers. Regardless, it’s a snazzy little thing that softens our complaint list in the month of November.

It’s nice. It’s needed. Continue reading →

If Pumpkins Can Smile, So Can You

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The Happy Pumpkin Parable

by Christie Perkins

So, I found this pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. He was smiling. No one got a hold of him and forced him to smile but by natures own undertaking he was sharing a genuine smile.

howperkyworks.com (2)A real, unforced, uncarved smile.

I just had to bring him home with me so I bought the little guy and I let his attitude rub off on me. Yes, I understand it is just a pumpkin. Not a thing with actual feelings, or moments of frazzle, bad attitudes, or glorious moments of pizzaz. I get that. But there was something magical about him.

His smile was catchy. He smiled when we fought, when we had a bad day, when the house was a mess; when my piano music was off beat. He wasn’t mocking he was just seeing the good when maybe I couldn’t.

I’m a fan of this genuine little pumpkin man.

Continue reading →