Tag Archives: how to live a better life

Seven Marketing Tricks That Need To End

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1. So Rich You Look Poor

Who thought to take a pair of jeans, rip gaping holes at the knees with lots of dangling threads and sell the jeans at ridiculous prices? Celebrities, the very rich ones, like to be seen wearing jeans with raggedy holes. I remember a time when people who wore jeans with holes carried tin cups and asked us if we could spare some change. Not anymore. You need to be quite wealthy to wear jeans with ripped holes in the knees. Don’t think you can gash holes in your Kirkland jeans from Costco. You have to have a designer label and have paid well over one-hundred dollars for your holey jeans to be authentic. read more

A River Runs Through It (on my birthday)

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“Jerry! Don’t do it!”

“Why not? I can make it. It’s not a problem.”

Jerry stopped our GMC Terrain and we sat in our car watching the melting snow flood the road ahead like a raging river. The runoff raced over the road, obstructing our path, then disappearing into a precipitous drop toward the swelling creek below. We didn’t see shortcuts or detours. If we wanted to continue on, we had to drive through the river. I, for one, did not want to travel through the top of a waterfall. One misstep and our car would be tumbling downward. read more

Serious Writer Anxiety

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In 2008, or maybe 2007, the instructor at a writing workshop I attended, said, “You’re not a serious writer unless you’re on Facebook.” Serious writers, she continued, need to make themselves more visible to potential readers.

I wanted to be serious about writing, so I signed up for Facebook.

On Facebook, people I barely knew wanted to be my friend. Who are you again? Confirm. Friends forever.

My new friends posted their vacation pictures on the sands of Waikiki or hiking in the woods. Pictures of smiling kids with the ocean or beautiful forest in the background lit up the screen. Some friends posted pictures of whatever they had prepared for dinner. read more

Five Tips For a Better Life (possibly even happier)

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1.Rename things. I’ve found that giving new names to ordinary things provides a positive outlook. It also gives new meaning and joy to your everyday world. This is how it works. Jerry and I have a den in our home. Den sounds crass to me. It’s where animals hide. Therefore, I renamed our den the Entertainment Room. Never mind it doesn’t have a popcorn machine. The Entertainment Room is a more enjoyable space to view my 32-inch TV than when we called it the den. We have a spare bedroom at our house, but we never call it a spare bedroom. It is my Writing Studio. We have an enclosed patio with floor to ceiling glass, but enclosed patio is not what we call it. It’s our Atrium, of course. We have a garbage can enclosure on the side of our house. I prefer to call it the Hideaway Retreat for Used Throwaways and Slightly Rotting Produce. You see what I mean? Renaming things gives you a new perspective on your life. By renaming things, you can upgrade your world into an amazing Shangri-la. read more

I Had Some Dreams, They Were Clouds in My Mint Melange Tea

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I have plenty of time before my flight, so I search for an empty table at the cozy, dimly-lit, seat-yourself restaurant inside the airport.

I plop down at the first vacant table I see. I’m not excited over the menu options of grease in various forms, to be washed down with expensive beer. It doesn’t matter. I have a spot to decompress after my search and seizure experience. My new metal hip had set off the TSA alarm as I traversed the security check. I was suddenly surrounded by TSA agents barking, “Stop. Take your shoes off. Kleenex? Out of your pocket.” So much for my pre-check status. read more