I know it’s been quite some time since you’ve heard from me, but all I can say is that it’s been quite a year! In May of this year, I announced to the world via Facebook, that I had been diagnosed with Hashimoto's, a form of hypnothyroidism. A friend of mine told me of all the illnesses anyone could get, at least mine had a cool name! After being officially diagnosed with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in April, I have spent the better part of the last 6 months focusing on healing my body, naturally. I had to make many adjustments in my schedule to accommodate my new health regimen, but the time and effort was well worth it. My follow up blood work came back, and I am feeling the best I've felt in years.

Maybe you haven’t missed my newsletter for the last 2 weeks, but I have! I’ve been insanely busy these past few weeks. I’m not complaining…but sometimes it gets in the way of writing my blog. I added teaching two, 6 week courses to my schedule. The courses are 2 hours each, so by the time I prepare what I’m going to teach, teach, and then edit the videos of what I just taught…I’ve lost about 10 hours a week that was normally used for marketing, writing, and planning. Those two weeks I was at or near a full client load. The little spare time I have left used to prepare us for another move.

In 7 weeks, we’re moving…again. After living in 2 places for about a year, we moved to our current home full-time in October. We combined two complete households back in October, thinking we had done the right thing for us...but instead, we find ourselves frustrated with our situation.

The thought of having to move all over again is daunting. But the thought of living 24/7 in a home in a poorly designed home for us is worse.

So…I missed blogging last week. Not because I didn’t wanna…I just over overbooked and over-worked myself. And then I found myself having to make an important decision.

Years ago, I created a rate a date spreadsheet to help me decide who was good for me to date and who wasn’t. Yes, I could’ve blindly followed my gut instinct, but that seemed to get me into more trouble than not. The last time I used the rate a date spreadsheet was when I met Doug, now fiancee. By following a criteria I had set for myself and then sticking to the numbers, I found myself a pretty decent soul mate. My life significantly improved since he’s been in it.

"Sometimes, you just have to kick some ass and take names." ~George D Kanaan

When I was about 11-12 years old, I was being bullied. I told my dad about it. He shared with me how he grew up with a bum leg due to polio, making him a target for bullies as a result. Thanks to being on crutches for much of his young life, his arms were very strong so he was able to defend himself most of the time. He explained that he never earned the friendship of his bullies, but he did earn their respect and they eventually left him alone. He ended our conversation with "Sometimes, you just have to kick some ass and take names. Do what you gotta do and defend yourself."

So, this might be one of those blog posts for myself again. While I think I do an amazing job for my clients with hypnosis, every now and then I come across a personal situation that throws my unconscious mind into a downward spiral. I tell my clients, “There’s a reason why brain surgeons don’t operate on themselves. There’s a reason why dentists don’t do their own root canals. Neither one has enough perspective on the issue.” I needed a little help on this one!

2021 is wrapping up, and the beginning of 2022 is just days away. Congratulate yourself on all your accomplishments in 2021, whether 2022 was a breeze or your toughest year ever. All that matters is you got through it, so celebrate your successes and be proud!

While you’re in this positive state of mind, let’s use this week to set some REAL and REALISTIC goals for 2022. I’m all about helping my clients live the life they’ve always dreamed about, so here are a few goal setting worksheets you can use to set a path for success yourself regardless of your goal.

I was at a Christmas party this past week, and one of my friends broke down and started crying. She is having a tough time this holiday season. She’s reached out to her children and they have not returned her calls. She asks herself, “Why don’t they call me?” “Why are they being this way?” “Why don’t they want me in their lives?” Maybe her kids are ungrateful and selfish brats, and maybe they’re perfectly justified in their actions because they view her as a horrible mother. Whatever the reasons are, she’s asking herself the wrong questions.

I’m tired of Covid. There, I said it. After two years of masks, vaccines, quarantines, and “science,” we are no closer to “flattening the curve” than we are to seeing Dolly Parton wear an AA bra. I’m not going to quote all kinds of life and death stats, survival percentage rates, and why you should or should not get vaccinated. Nor am I going to recommend taking supplements, losing weight, quitting smoking, or any of those other things your doctor would tell you. You’ve formed your opinions about Covid, and so have I.

Every year, my boyfriend Doug decorates our house with Christmas lights. It’s not quite the over-the-top caliber of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but it is amazing display. Doug has enjoyed doing Christmas lights for years. He uses a special computer program that coordinates music and dancing lights. The music is projected through a small speaker so you can hear the display if you’re in front of it, but he also uses an FM tuner so you can hear the music should you decide to stay in your car to watch. Over the years of doing this, Doug has programmed 90 minutes of music for the lights to “dance” to. Each minute of music takes about 4 hours to program.

The life I am living right now is very different from the life I had less than 6 months ago. And that’s very different from the life I had a year ago. And that’s very different from the life I had 2 years ago, 5 years ago, and 10 years ago.

I’ve had to make some tough choices about the direction my life was going in, and I’ve made them. I had to say “goodbye for now” to several activities I enjoyed, in order to spend that time learning new ways to do what I do better and to communicate that with the world. I still have a lot of learning to do.

The other night, I read a Facebook post from a couple I know, announcing that after 37 years of marriage, they are separating. I met this couple 13 years ago through the Swinger-Verse, and to say that they are a “power couple” in the world of swinging would not do them justice. For decades, this couple has planned events attended by thousands of people all over the world. They have hosted more large scale swinger events than just about anyone else in the world. These two have been the largest proponents of the swinger lifestyle, not just because they own a business that caters to sexually adventurous adults, but because they found swinging to be a positive, healthy way of life, and they still do.