Fall Comes to an End

Mark it up as our busiest fall yet!  With the majority of our ten children in the age group where they are involved in sports, we certainly were on the run these past few months. Here’s a photo from the Nikko’s football banquet as we end out that season. But never to worry, the boys have already had basketball try-outs for the next set of games.

What do I say?  Bring it on!  I love it.

Fitness in 15 Minutes

When you only have 15 minutes to get a workout in – do it!  Here are a few things to work in when you feel like you have no time to work out.

• Take a quick walk.
• Do a few sets of lunges or squats.
• Add arm movements (hold weights, bicep curls) into your walk.
• Take the stairs (a few times in a row to get a nice pace going)
• Isometrics for those times you can’t get away from your desk. While sitting you can squeeze your buttocks, hold and release.
• While at the stove making dinner, do back leg lifts to shape up your back side or do calf raises.
• Jot down those exercises you want to do on an index card and slip it in your purse. When the 15 minute clock starts ticking, you’re ready to go with your quick routine.

What an Honor

I just wanted to share how honored I am to be among the twelve women nominated for this year’s Hellenic Spirit Athena Awards for outstanding women of St. Louis. To be noted as a strong role model for other women is humbling. I just wanted to share with you how grateful I am for this nod from such a wonderful organization. All proceeds benefit the University of Missouri-St. Louis Scholarship Fund.

The other inspiring and honored women are shown here.

Attitude of Gratitude: Set the Example

In this season of Thanksgiving, I’ve been really taking in those around me and how they express their appreciation for others throughout their days. What I’m noticing is that people are often just rude to others. The “thank you” is missing. I then find myself over compensating for those in the grocery line in front of me or for those tables around me a lunch who mistreat their waitress by showering them with a seemingly excessive amount of “thank yous.”

What is even worse, is that I’m seeing that this lack of gratitude is rubbing off on our children. I see parents ignoring others and then the disheartening response of their children as they too lose the gratitude and pick up the attitude. They expect things rather than appreciate them.

Along those same lines, I hate to see the loss of the handwritten note. I have my children sit down and write thank you notes a few times a year for birthdays, Christmas gifts and other special occasions or unique situations. It’s becoming a lost art in today’s fast-paced world where sending off an email or text is faster and easier. And for those reasons it’s even more thoughtful to sit down and take pen to paper, address and stamp a note of appreciation to someone. I challenge you, as the parent, to take on a new attitude this month – and this year, that is of gratitude. It’s not your child’s fault if they don’t show appreciation for others.  The responsiblity is yours.

Teach your child to write thank you notes.  Show by example how to be gracious and appreciative of those who make your day easier – at the store, the car wash, the restaurant, the teachers who help your kid get to the bus or carpool pick up, the older sibling who helped you by running an errand, your husband or friend, the list goes on and on…

Take on the attitude of gratitude. You’ll be thankful you did.