Night Night

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Lisa Hoffman

I’ve prided myself in consciously becoming a morning person. I’ve developed and practiced a routine to help me be successful at getting up early and starting my day positively.

My Bed: Evie at the foot, Aubrey on the left, me hogging the duvet in the middle, and the 9 1/2 inches on the right is left for Craig.

One strategy to set yourself up for success is to begin the night before.

We all know a good parent needs to put predictable patterns into their child’s evening routine. There is dinner, bath, tooth brushing, stories, maybe a night-night song, and lights off.

Well, it’s the same with us grown-ups. Why do so many people fall asleep on the couch watching TV or lay in bed watching TikTok on their phone? I would be a mess if I did either of these activities! Continue reading →

Make It Interesting

Posted on September 19, 2023 by Lisa Hoffman

As a teacher myself, you would think perhaps that I wanted to be a teacher because I was inspired by all the wonderful teachers I had growing up–not so much.

Well, maybe I was inspired by one very special teacher–nope.

As a matter of fact, I went to the counseling center in college to figure out what to major in. I scored the highest in my affinity to careers in education or as a YWCA/YMCA director. I was maybe not inspired, but at least open to education because of shows like Electric Company, ZOOM, and Hodgepodge Lodge. Learning could be fun…

When I explored the education options more specifically, I thought of teaching elementary education standing at a big chalkboard and kids sitting at desks in rows. Arghhh.

Continue reading →

Time Heals?

Posted on September 13, 2023 by Lisa Hoffman

“Time heals all wounds”…I’ve given some thought to this famous quote and decided that it is a harmful “old wives” tale.

My perspective is based on personal experience. Having lived more than a half-century. I have a wealth of experiences under my belt that have harmed, hurt, or negatively influenced me in one way or another.

What I can say for time, with regard to healing emotional pain is that it serves two purposes. but falls short in one major way… Continue reading →

I Feel Good

Posted on September 8, 2023 by Lisa Hoffman

I can choose to be happy.

It all started when I was a child. Every Saturday, Michelle and I would do our housekeeping chores. But we would have additional cleaning responsibilities if we were having guests or before holidays. During those times, mom would be present and I remember these times well.

She would explain the importance and urgency of the chores. I think my sister and I were low on the continuum of “buy-in”. Then to encourage us, before turning us loose, Mom would always, always say, “Alright girls, let’s get this house cleaned up…and let’s have fun!”

I don’t think this actually worked in my child’s mind, but it has affected me deeply in adulthood.

You see, I know I get to choose my happiness–or not. It all depends on the thoughts I purposefully think.

Let me explain. Continue reading →

Spiritual Sagittarius

Posted on August 29, 2023 by Lisa Hoffman

My birthday is in mid-December, which makes me a Sagittarius.

Although I was a child in the 70s, I was really too young to be into the zodiac. As a child, I would occasionally read my horoscope in the paper, but the predictions always seemed vague and random. For example, my horoscope for today says this: Continue reading →

Could Not, Would Not

Posted on August 24, 2023 by Lisa Hoffman

I don’t remember not being able to swim. This doesn’t mean that I could swim in deep water. It only means that I didn’t drown in a kiddy pool. My Aunt Judy claims that this is because she (a swim instructor) taught me to swim before I could even walk. Judy says this was called “drown proofing”. But, of course, this doesn’t mean I can remember that–but it might explain my natural confidence in the water.

As far as remembering the learning process, I do remember taking lessons at the local YMCA. I started in level 1-Polliwogs. I thought it was silly that some kids had to practice putting their faces in the water and blowing bubbles. Jumping up and down in the shallow water was fun. We called this “doing bobs” And I was seriously motivated to make it all the way through the levels… Polliwogs, Guppies, Minnows, Fish, Flying Fish, Sharks.

The only glitch in the process was diving. We all know that diving is NOT swimming. I believe that I got stuck somewhere in the level progression because I could not, would not do a back dive. Continue reading →

Always Moving Forward

Posted on August 18, 2023 by Lisa Hoffman

My ex-husband, Tom, played the guitar. He began playing after High School–taught himself. He was a natural musician as was his father. Going into college, he was a music major. Vocal jazz was his passion. But the thing that is important here is that he began taking finger-picking lessons when he was in his late 20s. This whole idea was absolutely foreign to me. He was a grown-ass adult, an accountant who just loved to play guitar. He didn’t even play in the band at church anymore. But he wanted the routine, the commitment, and the accountability that taking lessons from a guitar teacher gave him. Continue reading →

Always Moving Forward

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Lisa Hoffman

If you could be any age, what would you pick?

Isn’t this such a “writer’s group” question? Well yeah. We sat down to get into it and discovered that you could look at the topic from a dozen different angles. Here are three alternatives that immediately popped into my head: Continue reading →

Road Trip to Graceland

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Lisa Hoffman

It was the spring of 1996. Tom and I took a creativity class together based on Julia Cameron’s book, “The Artist’s Way”. Not only did we develop a writing habit, but we also made our first dream boards, learned a basic sun salutation practice, and played around with dying fabric.

Not only did we expand our repertoire of self-discovery tools, but we also met some creative and adventurous people. Dave and Paul were two young men in our class. They had wanderlust and brought up the idea of a road trip to Graceland. Continue reading →

The Magic of Jewelry Making

Posted on July 21, 2023 by Lisa Hoffman

I’ve had hobbies come and go. When I was a child, I would get craft kits as gifts. I created holiday ornaments that I painted and glued together. In Jr. High, I took lessons to play the guitar. I practiced for about 2 years but my progress was not impressive. I took up Caligraphy at one point and got special nib-tipped pens and bottles of ink. However, I only completed a single page of practice in my lesson book.

The Magic of Jewelry Making One hobby that had a longer life than most was jewelry making. I made necklaces, bracelets, and earrings…lots of earrings.

I enjoyed all the parts of the process.

Walking into a bead shop is a lot like being a child walking into an old-time confectionary. You just stand there and drool. Where do you begin? Every tool, doodad, charm, bead, and book held so much…potential. Continue reading →