Tag: gifting

For St Patrick’s Day – Getting Grateful, Feeling Fortunate, Giving Luck

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It’s mid-March and I am finding quotes, cards and info-graphics about luck and good fortune popping up in my newsfeeds and inboxes almost daily. All understandable with St. Patricks Day imminently approaching, but it made me stop and think about the meaning of luck–or rather, it’s meaning to me. Some believe we make our own luck, others believe it’s being at the right place at the right time. The Roman philosopher Seneca said that luck was a combination of preparation and opportunity. I think it’s a bit different–although who am I to argue with a philosopher–I think luck has two primary vectors to those that believe in it:
1. How we view ourselves
2. How we view the world around us

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When You Can’t Give Stuff: Perspective On Giving

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It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here. I have two or three posts almost complete but for one reason or another I just have not felt ready to publish. I’d like to go into the details of my absence, but I can’t say too-too much except that I’ve had some personal / family-related things come up that needed to be addressed and so pretty much everything in my life went on hold except this situation and the bare essentials: work, kids, some sleep and if I do feed myself it’s erratic at best (I’m still noshing at midnight). I will say it’s not my husband or kids–they are all fine, knock wood–but it did give me time to think and reflect on what is truly important, especially in the spirit of “giving,” which is the context of this blog.

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Valentines Day: Gifts To Scratch That Itch

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It’s already Valentines Day, and as I pondered what to get my husband I wanted to consider some of the subtle nuances of our union…while still being playful and fun. We’re in our seventh year of marriage, and I’m not superstitious (ok, I’m not THAT superstitious) but best to be proactive. I was thinking a good idea might be to consider ideas that would scratch each others itch, so to speak… and heck, it would totally be a gift for the two of us if I did it right. I am a bit tardy posting this, so I can tell you I did in fact get him one of the items here–I won’t say which, that’s a bit intimate–but in case you’re in need of some last-minute ideas, a few of these are DIY friendly and pretty fast(ish).

Happy Valentines day. Xo

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Last Minute Gift Ideas That Are Totally Awesome

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Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It’s just a few more days before Christmas and I’ve got most of my shopping done, my cards are sent (we went digital this year), but I do have a few odds and ends to pick up still. Even though its kind of the last minute, that’s no reason to run to the nearest drugstore and get a Whitman’s sampler. I’ve come across some awesome ideas you should totally consider if you have anyone left on your list.

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Cyber Romance: Gift Ideas For A Virtual Boyfriend or Girlfriend

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20131026-100713.jpgI don’t quite get the idea of having a cyber-boyfriend or girlfriend. How do you “date” or have a romantic relationship with someone who you don’t physically see in person? Full disclosure, I also don’t fully trust the process of online dating for myself, but I never had to either… filtering and select a potential partner or love interest from a thumbnail and bio–especially considering the looming prospect that they could be totally scamming you (hello… ever watch Catfish?).

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Smart and Meaningful Reads

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Lead image courtesy of Anusorn P nachol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

I’ve been preparing for a work offsite event that is taking place this week. If you’ve ever been to one, you know these things tend to happen away from the regular office environment and can sometimes involve one or more overnights.

If you’ve ever planned one of these events, you’d also know that the organizing end can feel like simultaneously having a party and a performance review: it’s exciting, you want everyone to have a good time and you personally want to have chance to enjoy and get the most out of it.

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We All Need Comfort: Unicorn Gift Ideas

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my delightful and precious unicorn in her sweet pajamas

Growing up is tough business. You couldn’t pay me to go back to my middle or high school years. Navigating the social circles, fighting for my freedom, starting to find my voice, trying to shape who I am and where I fit in the world, meeting and losing friends, experiencing first love…and that’s before I’ve even started to tackle the accelerating homework and school pressure because college is just a few years away. Nope, I’m very happy to have survived that… The only thing that makes it worse is when there are bullies, “mean girls,” and tormentors amplifying the noise that already exists in an adolescents’ head. I had my fair share of experiences as a kid with these types of people–and it was agony–and I know from FB that most people have experienced it too.

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How To Get Away Without Going Away: Aka My 6th Anniversary

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Some highlights from this weekend: read on for the details

My wedding anniversary was coming up and I wanted to surprise my darling husband… Now, let me just say it’s impossible to surprise my husband. Ok, not impossible. I did it once. For his 39th birthday because I knew his 40th would be too obvious. I had a surprise dinner for him with a bunch of friends. But that was a few years ago. Never before or since.

Because its so hard to surprise him, trying to plan a gift involving travel is doubly challenging. So I hatched a plan…

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Rainbow Inspired Gifts For Pride

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Yesterday was Pride and it was in no way ordinary. Just days ago on June 26, 2013, The Supreme Court found DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) unconstitutional; and as we say in our house, love is love. My family and I have been privileged to witness many loving relationships of all types and make-ups–cultures, genders, nationalities–all of them perfect in their imperfections, beautiful in their real-ness as they perform an everyday ballet…

How strange it is that I never felt grandiose enough to make a judgement as to whether those couples had the human right to be together or not. Doesn’t that just sound absurd?

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Fathers Day Gift Ideas: Celebrating Dad

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My man with our kids at 16 Handles on the UWS

Father’s Day is a tough one for me. I’m torn. I can’t help but think of my Dad who is no longer here, but I’m also so blessed with a man in my life who is a loving husband and father to me and our children. But it’s more than that. My husband met us when I was newly divorced and my two children were three and five years, respectively. We were adjusting to a new life together and, personally, I was trying to find my way as a single mom, convinced that was what I needed to do…for myself and for my kids not wanting to make another mistake or “fail” again.

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