THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK:

We're not gonna lie, post-holiday has been rough. How can it not be? But there's always a price to pay for a really good charcuterie board.

That's always been one of my favorite sayings. (And anyone who knows me well enough, knows that I love old quotes and sayings.) I first heard this one many years ago. And then I found out there was a book with that title! That particular quote just seems to sum everything up, especially when I'm in conversation with myself and the conversation seems to be going on for too long. Just wrap it up Johanna. Stop dissecting the details.

If we think back to a time when we were feeling down or depressed, how did the body feel? Was it full of energy? Probably not.

We are such cowards when it comes to speaking up, but so much damage is done when we don’t. How come we keep repeating this bad behaviour? Why didn’t we learn to deal with issues instead of avoiding them?

It encourages me to take care with each week, to live it wisely, to spend it carefully, and to cherish every marble.

Deliciously decadent squares that are best eaten - anytime!

What guided me through it was some random advice that would become my life mantra. I can hear the words like it was yesterday: They were spoken quietly:  “I don’t know why this burden has been placed on you.  We can only have faith that things will turn out as they are supposed to.  What you can do is 'Bloom where you are planted' and 'Trust in the journey'." 

Women are just eternal reservoirs of energy. You want to know why? Because we feel we have to be. We can talk to a friend on the phone, do laundry, prepare dinner, respond to emails, open snail mail, and all this after eight hours on the job.

Why is it that the people who are the least supportive and accepting are often the ones we most want to please and gain acceptance from?

I’ve embraced the strange and discarded the invisible. I love pink and sparkles, diamonds and frou-frou bits; I think having a facial and getting my nails done means it’s a perfect day. I have a Mohawk with razor tattoos cut into the side of my head. I wear heavy boots with pretty skirts, and Pippi Longstocking pink and black socks with combat shorts.

I eliminated all the “whites” — flour, rice, sugar and bread products — for three reasons...

Sometimes we play nice and abandon ourselves because we are worried about being seen as mean or selfish, so we don’t speak up or take action, but continue to accuse and judge the other person.

Feeling a little feminist, are we? In a previous editorial, I made a statement that I still stand by: "If every position of leadership and decision-making were occupied by a woman, we’d have the problems of the world solved in a week."

We grew up with the rhyme, 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me', yet life keeps teaching us otherwise. Words shape the human heart. And the heart is complex and tender, at its best when it is honoured rather than handled carelessly.

But now it was time to crank it up a notch and get our bongo on.

... and commented that she did not get a sugar high or a bloated feeling afterwards.

If you are not working any more, either by choice, retirement or other reasons, have you ever asked yourself, “would I still be able to capably do my job?”

I am often left waiting for people. There I sit alone at a coffee shop, at an office building, or waiting for the phone to ring for a pre-planned phone call at my home office.

I will not lie. The pain of a broken heart is agonizing and debilitating. I am struggling, struggling with what some consider uncomplicated: walking without crying, putting in a full day’s work, settling into a routine and being in the company of many.

So here’s the nasty fact. Many of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals... that have been scientifically proven to affect health (like phthalates) are also present in our personal care products. The nastiest of all the chemicals are the preservatives and the fragrances.