When I was newly married to my first husband in 1997, he bought me a dishwasher for my birthday.  I was furious.  Yes, I was washing dishes by hand because we didn't have a dishwasher.

Every Thanksgiving, I see a myriad of blogs and articles on Gratitude because many people think that the key to happiness is gratitude. And then, there are the cyncial people like myself that believe it takes a helluva lot more than just "gratitude" to be happy!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my asshole neighbors and how my husband and I have been (and still are) the targets of a bullying and harassment campaign by our neighbors over a roofing issue that my husband has spent countless hours trying to fix.

I've been the President of my condo association for over a year and a half. I never thought I'd go from touring worldwide as a comedian to condo association President. Still, here I am living the dream, doing my best to protect my property investment and everyone else's. 97% of my residents are absolutely fantastic.

Doug and I moved from a split-level condo into a 2nd-floor condo two years ago. I was having trouble navigating the constant steps of living in a split-level condo, not knowing my thyroid was in crisis mode as I had not yet been diagnosed with Hashimoto's hypothyroidism. We intended for this condo to be a short-term housing solution until we could build our dream home.

Our beloved golf cart of three years needed serious help. The paint was chipping off, the support for the back seat was broken, and we blew out the Bluetooth speakers. It rattled and shook when we drove it. The estimate to fix it was $6000, or we could buy a fully loaded new one with a warranty for $9000. We opted to get a new one.

A few years back, I had a friend who wondered why she wasn't meeting any single guy. On a whim, I checked out her Facebook page. She had the following memes posted:

A few weeks ago, I went on a vacation with several of our friends, and one of the ladies bought some wooden race cars and fairy light kits for anyone who wanted to do them. Memories of all the arts and crafts projects I did as a child came flooding back. I was an only child, and my mother was always looking for ways for me to entertain myself. I remember doing paint-by-number kits, making pot holders with a weaving loom, various jewelry-making devices, a pottery wheel, and building rockets and car models.

If you want to master a sport, you have to consistently practice the skills to excel at that sport. If you're going to master an art form, you have to consistently practice the skills to excel at that art form. If you want to master happiness, you need to consistently practice the skills to excel at being happy!

Yesterday was Doug's and my first wedding anniversary. We have been stressed getting another condo ready for Airbnb, so we decided a weekend getaway would do us some good.  

I had to put down our glo betta fish, Macauley, Monday night. Doug and I found him in an abandoned house two years ago, floating around in a dirty little aquarium. Doug was listing the house and was so busy taking pictures that he didn't even notice the aquarium sitting on the kitchen counter. I did, looked in, and saw the sweet little neon yellow guy with big black eyes staring back up at me. I don't know how long he'd been there.

2024 is looking amazing! I was selected to teach my Comedy Writing for Stage Hypnotists at the Performing Hypnosis Summit in February. In July, I'll teach my first 3-Day Certification of The Hilarity And Hypnosis Approach (HAHA!). This class is truly the culmination of my life's work as a comedian and a hypnotist.