Hi friends! August was a good reading month for me. I feel like I had a good mix of the types of books I read (some steamy, some suspenseful, some just downright charming). If you are looking for some must read books, check out my August 2018 Must Read Books recommendations and reviews below!

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Sometimes the thought of changing the world is overwhelming. How can my one small act of giving or kindness make a difference? Can buying someones coffee or complimenting a stranger really do much in the whole scheme of things? I’d like to think yes….

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Have you ever been overwhelmed by the time and effort it can take to change the world? You observe friends on life changing mission trips, organizations building shelters and schools, celebrities raising millions of dollars for those in need, etc. and you think “Wow, I’d really like to change the world but I just don’t have the                    (insert: time, money, resources) to pull it off.”

Friends, I’m here to challenge you to consider changing what you think it might take to make a difference in the world. Grand gestures are nice and do make an impact, but so can sharing small acts of kindness and caring around your own community. It doesn’t take a lot of time, money or resources to make a difference in the lives of others. We can make a huge impact by simply showing people that we #CareEnough thorough small acts. …

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A year before I met my husband, I sat down and wrote a list of all the things I wanted in a spouse. I had a series of relationships prior, including a crushing, failed marriage, that really forced me to take stock in what I wanted my future to look like. I wanted my next serious relationship to last, but I wasn’t going to settle for someone who didn’t fully meet everything I wanted in a husband. I was done settling and ready to find that person who I knew…absolutely knew… fully and easily fit into the space I had in my heart for someone.

A few weeks ago I was doing some cleaning and decluttering and in the back of my jewelry drawer, I found some folded up pieces of notebook paper. When I pulled the paper out, I realized it was my “list” I had created 17+ years ago, outlining the 40 things I wanted in a husband. The funny thing is, I’ve never once shared this list with my husband, even though up until the day we got married, I had a mental checklist going on in my head, always amazed at how well he stood up to it.

So, as part of the Hallmark “Put Your Heart to Paper” initiative, I’ve decided to share some of the things I love about Nick. These things just so happen to correspond with “the list”…and still stand true, a thousand times over. What words would you use if you couldn’t use “I Love You”? Think beyond those three little words, and express your love by putting your heart to paper. For some ideas, read what the writers over at Hallmark would say. But for now… to my husband…and my list of 36 things (combined some of them) I wanted in a husband:…

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How many of you have mini-me’s in your children? You know, maybe not a payback child, per se, but one where you seem to know their every move before it happens because you pretty much were the same person as a child.

Kelly is that kid for me. It’s crazy how much my life as a child and her life now are alike. I have always noticed it, but notice it more now that she is entering the age I was when I moved to the town where I met my best and oldest childhood friends. Watching her grow is like getting to replay my own childhood all over again.

One of my best friends from childhood and I had a special language we spoke. Kelly and one of her best friends speak a special language, with an accent and everything. One of my best friends from childhood and I used to dance with the vacuum, and play school or house every chance we could get… Kelly and one of her best friends are the same.

I love re-living these memories through her and her friends. And each time I do, I want nothing more than to reach out to my friends and reminisce. “Remember that time…?” “Hey, do you remember how we used to…” and on and on.

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I am the youngest of 5 kids, which I thought until recently made me a little more sensitive to Leah’s plight as the baby of the family. Let’s face it…we all know that many times the family baby is the one treated a tad more special and given a little more leniency.

I’m here to tell you that it’s because by the time the baby of the family comes around, the parents are simply tired and worn out. So yes, I say yes to Leah way more often than I may have Jacob because it’s just easier. I would have freaked out if Jacob didn’t have 3 healthy square meals a day… and may or may not turn a blind eye when Leah grabs a bag of chips out of the pantry for breakfast. Sometimes it’s just easier.

The hard part about being the baby of the family is that often times, traditions, celebrations, and more are way less than they were for the first or even subsequent children. For example, we went every single year to breakfast with Santa when Jacob was younger. Leah, in her precious 5 years, has had breakfast with Santa one time. All together now…”poor baby of the family”….

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The holiday season, especially, seems to be prime time for sharing family recipes. Loved ones gather together, over food, and before the end of the day someone is saying “Those were so good! Can I have the recipe?”

My late Aunt Dee used to bring the best cookies to our holiday celebrations. They were round sugar cookies with a thin, white icing and decorated with green leaves and red hot holly berries. We all loved them, but my sister Kathy was the biggest fan. Every holiday she would ask my Aunt for the recipe and every holiday my Aunt would deny her request, saying “It’s a secret family recipe”….

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Maybe it’s because the oldest “kid” on our block left us for college this year…

Or that my son no longer wants to dress up for Halloween…

Or that our group of “kids” at our annual Halloween “Boo in the Bubble” neighborhood party is dwindling more and more each year…

But I’m feeling so wistful lately.

The neighborhood is growing up.

I see our neighborhood changing form…

In the lower voices that emit from our basement where the kids hangout.

In the increase in number of cars in the driveways, because those babies we once knew are driving now!

In the homecoming dresses, the dates being had, in the fewer bubbles being blown and driveways being covered with chalk, replaced by makeup, sports and cell phones….

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