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<title>Carolina Fernandez - EzineArticles Expert Author</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Carolina_Fernandez</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:49:12 -0600</pubDate>
<image><title>Carolina Fernandez - EzineArticles Expert Author</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Carolina_Fernandez</link>
<url>http://EzineArticles.com/images/ea_logo.jpg</url>
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<language>en-us</language>
<copyright>Copyright 2012 EzineArticles.com - All Rights Reserved.</copyright>
<description><![CDATA[I work as a Registered Independent Advisor in Private Wealth Management. I hold the Series 7; Series 66 (63 and 65); Life, Accident and Health Insurance Licenses, including Long Term Care; and Alternative Investments and Guided Portfolio Management Certifications. I primarily work with Art & Entertainment professionals and entrepreneurs in the creative communities. My licenses are aligned with Source Capital Group, a boutique independent investment bank and brokerage headquartered in Westport, CT. Previously, I worked at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Merrill Lynch and Dupree & Co., a municipal bond house in Lexington, Kentucky, where I cut my teeth in the ... ]]></description>
<lastBuildDate>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:00:16 -0600</lastBuildDate>
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<title>Can Your Purse Hold Your Tool Belt?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6433047</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6433047</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:00:16 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[It seems that women are becoming increasingly comfortable in this role of House CEO, or, as I prefer to call her, "SheEO." After married couples, single women are the largest group of home buyers in the U.S. In this year, the number of women-headed households is expected to rise to nearly 31 million, representing about 28% of the U.S. total. Desiring to understand how things work, particularly in traditional male-dominated bastions like the corporate boardroom and the construction workroom, we women want to play in these same sandboxes and come out ahead.]]></description>
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<title>Long Term Care - Part 1: The Practical Implications of Caring for a Loved One</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6726536</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6726536</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:58:37 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As a Financial Advisor licensed in insurance, and certified in Long Term Care in particular, I knew, intellectually, that her situation was the one I had most feared, having heard dozens of horror stories from clients about their own family members and their lengthy illnesses. Everything I need to know about Long Term Care I did not learn by studying the manual. I learned it by taking care of my mother, along with my brother and sister, both of whom live considerably further away that I did.]]></description>
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<title>Trying to Break the Glass Ceiling? What Not to Wear</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6457610</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6457610</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:14:21 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In the end, allow yourself the joy that comes with the daily expression of your individual personality, creativity and femininity. Do not shy away from developing your unique style and flair for fashion. As long as the look is appropriate, you, too, are likely to find yourself happily exhibiting "what to wear." It's the "what not to wear" category that will trip you up every time.]]></description>
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<title>Why Escaping to the Beach Is Always a Good Idea</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6439546</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6439546</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 21 Jul 2011 10:28:23 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Across the country, Americans are wrestling with how to keep our summer vacations, a virtually sacred time in our family calendars, intact, while at the same time coping with rising costs of simply getting there, not to mention astounding unemployment numbers, falling home prices and increased volatility in the capital markets. But let's face it: we all know instinctively what scientists have been telling us for years. Taking a vacation provides enormous emotional and physical benefits.]]></description>
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<title>The Shifting Role of Higher Ed</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6433032</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6433032</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:04:20 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Indeed: the tide is shifting as students-and colleges and universities-recalculate the value of education in light of its bottom line. College tuition has risen by 440 percent over the last 25 years, more than four times the rate of inflation. As seriously as we are looking at the ramifications of supporting our children's desires to lay solid foundations for their futures, colleges and universities are recalibrating their curricula toward the job market, including tailoring academic programs towards the needs of those corporations who will likely hire them.]]></description>
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<title>Should Women Rule the Investment World?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6433004</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6433004</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:47:23 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[C'mon, Wall Street! Wake up and smell the Starbucks! Women have gained all of this financial and fiduciary responsibility but are not getting the information that they need in order to make sound financial decisions!]]></description>
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<title>Do You Know What You Own and Why You Own It?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6432986</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6432986</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:42:47 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The first serious question I ask new or prospective clients is "Do you know what you own and why you own it?" Most people are surprised by my question; unfortunately, almost no one is able to answer it accurately.]]></description>
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<title>He Says Florida, She Says Florida</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6432974</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6432974</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:21:45 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Seems like I'm not the only one thinking about where I want to retire. We Boomers are all thinking about it, if not arguing about it, all the time. It might be that we've just had enough of this long, hard winter Or it might be that we desire to flee to tax-advantaged states. A whopping 81% of us will move to more favorable cost of living areas. Many of us will move just to be closer to our grown kids and our grandchildren. Or to better healthcare. But one thing is clear: we are not staying put.]]></description>
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<title>Where Are Investors Going?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/6433052</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/6433052</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Jul 2011 10:12:19 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[This is your money. Carefully and cautiously consider your steps as you move in and out of assets down your own path towards financial independence. Independence generally comes with a price. In the case of financial independence, the price is financial literacy.]]></description>
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<title>Playing Like a Champion</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3734392</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3734392</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:14:02 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Sometimes we play hurt through life events that just do not make any sense to us. Events that seemingly came out of nowhere and yet, have wound up having the most profound impact on our lives. It is not the playing hurt that separates you from me or from anyone else. We are all playing hurt to one degree or another. It's how you choose to play when you play hurt that separates you from the pact.]]></description>
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<title>Living on Purpose</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/3553980</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/3553980</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:29:08 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I strive to align myself daily with my values and goals, and to regularly review my written record of them. By so doing, it seems that I am able to walk down my path with more passion and purpose. That people enter my path and provide wisdom and aid when I need it the most. That I am more able to stay on track and to live more authentically.]]></description>
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<title>What Mom Really Wants For Mother's Day - A Little Something</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2326543</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2326543</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 12 May 2009 09:24:41 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[There were countless years when all I really wanted was a nap. Then some when the thought of a restaurant dinner out-no cooking, serving or cleaning up-was our family's little Mother's Day ritual. But our favorite "Mother's Day restaurant" closed when the economy headed south, and, frankly, the idea of spending all that money to feed our large brood just doesn't turn me on this year. No. Not this year. ]]></description>
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<title>Recalibrating - What 2009 is Teaching All of Us</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/2095582</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/2095582</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:17:59 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[2009 is going to be about recalibrating. For whether you realize you are doing it or not, you are changing something about the way you do things. It's our new reality. And so we better smile and make the best of it.]]></description>
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<title>What Women Really Want - Beyond Budgets and Botox</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1969742</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1969742</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:28:33 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A plastic surgeon, she told me that she'd been giving a lot of thought to the comments of her female patients. She was more intimately involved with them than most docs. And she found herself talking with them a lot, as one might expect a female doc to do, and hearing five resounding themes.]]></description>
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<title>Surprised by Joy in Vermont</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1641679</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1641679</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:56:42 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[You only have a few weeks - or days - left to find joy in fall's foliage. While you might be witnessing it in your own neighborhood, or perhaps have even driven somewhere close to home to see it in all of its glory, I can practically guarantee that you will not fully experience it unless you visit Vermont.]]></description>
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<title>Stretch Forth Thy Hand</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1641704</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1641704</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:24:48 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Entertaining requires lifting your spirits in order to lift those of your guests. It means taking your mind off your troubles and seeking to make everyone around you at ease. Of laughing, of extending, of reaching beyond your comfort zone when breaking bread with complete strangers whom you have worked for since dawn in order to create an evening to remember.]]></description>
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<title>How to Cope When Life Comes at You</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1516457</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1516457</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2008 08:49:35 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[We all need coping mechanisms for when life comes at us. Be it a health scare or a horrifying diagnosis, loss of job or loss of spouse, wayward child or ailing elderly parent, when life comes at us hard, we need to sort things out.]]></description>
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<title>What's the Difference Between a Hockey Mom and a Rocket Mom?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1479783</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1479783</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:09:50 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[This time of year finds me re-thinking my A-game. Now here's where Palin fits in. She's not just a hockey mom. She's a rocket mom of the nth degree. And she gives us plenty of tips on just how to get our A-game on the docket now that Labor Day and beach excursions are behind us.]]></description>
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<title>Yearnings For Home</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1318181</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1318181</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:54:48 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[But it is this thing we call home that is the most important thing of all. Not the physical home to be sure. Homes come and homes go. Upholstery fades and the china breaks. But the substance of home remains embedded into our cores in a way that can not easily be forgotten or ignored. It is the smells. The visuals. The colors. The accents.]]></description>
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<title>Swimming For My Kid - and Maybe Yours Too</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1318174</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1318174</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:52:30 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Perhaps you too, can take part in something large. Relay for Life or a Triathalon perhaps. Something much larger than yourself. In honor of someone you love, as well as the thousands whom you will never even meet. The sacrifice will prove exhilarating. Meaningful. Very real.]]></description>
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<title>Cabinet Crazed - To Glaze or Not to Glaze - That Is The ($64M) Question</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1148047</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1148047</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2008 16:18:01 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Selecting kitchen cabinets. It will arguably be your most pressing design-and budget- dilemma, coming in a slight second to the drama of selecting your kitchen designer, interior designer, builder or architect for the project. ]]></description>
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<title>Countertop Controversies - Carrying the Weight of Your Heaviest Kitchen Decision on Your Overburdene</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1148035</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1148035</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2008 16:17:29 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Are you thinking about enrolling in a 12 Step Granite Recovery program? Know every granite pattern by first and last name? Memorized every vein?]]></description>
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<title>Sloweth Down</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1105357</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1105357</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 02 May 2008 08:42:29 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I'm going to adopt a "sloweth down" modus operandi. Not mentally. I like thinking quickly. But certainly physically. I'm going to make a deliberate effort to drive slower. Walk slower. Eat slower. To stop and note beauty more often. ]]></description>
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<title>Broom Consciousness In a Dust Buster World</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/1105332</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/1105332</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:15:34 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Sometimes we need to develop a broom-sweeping consciousness because we live in a Dust Buster world. We need to free out minds of the noise of phone-mail and beeping emails. Of iPods and Blackberrys. We need to get silent. Sweep our floors. Or iron our pillowcases. Oil our countertops.  ]]></description>
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<title>I'm Dreaming of a Green Christmas</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/891312</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/891312</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:18:50 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I have been forced to adopt a simpler approach to the Holidays. And so I have weeded out the frivolous from the essentials; trimmed my gift list; abandoned some earlier-treasured rituals; and adopted a "green" approach to help me accomplish all of the above while simultaneously helping preserve our planet.   ]]></description>
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<title>Spinning Your Holiday Web</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/876501</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/876501</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:47:20 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Webs get spun. And then they blow away and need to be spun yet again. With different threads. Different patterns. One not more beautiful than another necessarily. Just different. ]]></description>
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<title>An Enchanted Holiday</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/852196</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/852196</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:23:48 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Grab your spouse or your kid or your girlfriend or your colleague. And go see Enchanted. And vow to bring even a tiny piece of the movie back with you for those who move in and out of your life.   ]]></description>
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<title>Whacked on the Head by Beauty</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/818783</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/818783</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:39:54 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Robust reds. Brilliant golds. Burnt oranges. Crystal-clear blue skies. This scene-trees on fire set against gorgeous cerulean-blesses me every day when I drive up my hill towards home. ]]></description>
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<title>One Tiny Stamp</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/809514</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/809514</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:22:49 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Service comes with a price. Sacrifices to families and to jobs. To spouses and to personal exercise routines. We know that we are helping others, and that without our efforts, the job may not get done at all, let alone get done well. And these things are, indeed, necessary for communities to function at their best. ]]></description>
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<title>Keeping Up With Your Dog</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/751358</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/751358</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 27 Sep 2007 13:14:44 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[When we both admitted the extent to which our dogs received grooming attention, I laughed - "My dog gets better grooming than I do!" to which she responded - "Oh, not mine! I take really good care of myself!"]]></description>
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<title>Ruling Your Roost</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/747455</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/747455</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:30:18 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Those of us rocket moms (and dads!) who have clear ideas-and distinct roadmaps-of how we'd like to nurture, guide and train our kids... indeed, we've proactively planned and thought about the kinds of childhoods we want our kids to have... will sometimes be at seemingly complete odds with others who either have different visions... or who have not yet taken the time to sort out parenting's many, distinct nuances in the various cycles of the job. ]]></description>
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<title>Beating the Back-to-School Blues</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/725497</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/725497</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:34:13 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[More than the start of a New Year, the beginning of the school year causes me pause. And anxiety. The demands are palpable. Anxiety hits full force and I physically feel it: my chest pounds, palms sweat, stomach flip flops. And while I don't personally get into a full-blown funk, I always feel the blues to one degree or another. ]]></description>
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<title>Renovating the Heart of the Home</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/572524</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/572524</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 22 May 2007 08:48:46 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Somewhere between the eighties and the start of the new millennium, we collectively (as a nation) decided that a completely remodeled, bells-and-whistle-loaded kitchen would be the benchmark for a good house. ]]></description>
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<title>Mirror Mirror on the Wall</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/560195</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/560195</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2007 15:54:31 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Freshly-scrubbed skin remains a virtue as well as a sign of health and vitality. Rosy-colored cheeks always win over paleness, as do bright, sparking eyes and clean, clear teeth. Indeed, the impact of physical attractiveness, of cleanliness and vitality, cannot be denied in our culture as well as of those around the globe. ]]></description>
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<title>You Want Me to Do What?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/560185</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/560185</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2007 15:18:23 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If you ever feel "Twas but for the grace of God I go," you are not alone. While not doormats, we certainly are the glue that holds our families together.]]></description>
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<title>It's What Mom Really Wants for Mother's Day</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/559463</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/559463</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 May 2007 07:24:15 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[What mom really wants for Mother's Day is for you to be her mind-reader. To know before she even asks for it what it is she really wants. 

]]></description>
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<title>Defrizzling the Frazzle</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/512831</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/512831</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Apr 2007 13:59:17 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Families are moving too fast these days. Speeding through life from one activity to another with hardly a thought as to what we're doing for whom and why. I am as guilty as the next mom: rocket mom or alpha mom or stay-at-home mom or working mom or single mom or married mom. Step-mom or Stepford mom. We're moving too fast.   ]]></description>
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<title>Hello Miss Sunshine</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/512823</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/512823</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Apr 2007 13:25:14 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[My plea this week is simple: Live as if you believe in the hopes and promises of spring. ]]></description>
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<title>No Big Deal</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/512821</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/512821</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Apr 2007 13:10:13 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[As you go through these years carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, I hope that someone - your spouse or your kids or your parents or your best friend - will give you grace. Let you get through the messes without being too hard on yourself. ]]></description>
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<title>Daring to Be You or Why Lime Green is My Black</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/484874</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/484874</guid>
<pubDate>Sun, 11 Mar 2007 19:04:34 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Daring to do your own thing - to be different - takes some guts. But it gets easier as you get older. You just don't care what other people think as much as you used to! Sticking your neck out to express a dissenting opinion, wearing clothes that buck the industry standard, or rearing your kids in ways that make you seem like an odd duck are all part of living life creatively. Wearing green cords instead of blue jeans. ]]></description>
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<title>Nagymama's Hungarian Chicken Soup for Your Family's Soul</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/452361</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/452361</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2007 06:24:10 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Fewer aromas fill up your home better. Fewer memories of your children's home could be stronger than the ones this will create. Try to keep a pot of this going for the rest of the winter. I am trying to do the same ]]></description>
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<title>Playing Hurt</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/452366</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/452366</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 13 Feb 2007 06:19:12 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Most of us are carrying around a burden or two every
day. Illness. Separation. Prodigal children.
Brokenness. It is not the playing hurt that separates
you from me. We are all playing hurt. Daily, to one
degree or another. Playing joyfully while playing hurt
is the most difficult thing in the world to do. 
]]></description>
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<title>Whipping Your House into New Year's Shape</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/430500</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/430500</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:26:25 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Hypothetically or for real, it's time to at least start thinking of de-constructing your home's Holiday wonderland. Time to throw out the gingerbread houses and un-eaten cookies. Time to put all of those hard-to-find-home-for gifts away. Time to read the Christmas cards one last time and organize the photos. ]]></description>
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<title>Rocket Mom Takes on Winter Old Wives Tales</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/413428</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/413428</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jan 2007 06:56:10 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[But it got me thinking, once my head stopped pounding that is, about all of those old wives tales that your mom and mine--and our grandmothers, too--told us when we were little kids. About keeping colds and flu's at bay. Believe it or not, some of them are true and some of them are just plain silly.]]></description>
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<title>Simplify Simplify Simplify</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/413426</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/413426</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jan 2007 06:25:10 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[This Simplify Simplify Simplify thing might sound harsh...but life seems quite short to me these days. So I have officially changed course and I am giving you official license to do the same. ]]></description>
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<title>On Spread</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/372486</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/372486</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Nov 2006 03:35:41 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I've been giving much thought lately to "spread," or to the impact I'm having on those around me. Most days find me frustrated that I don't have very much of it, feeling that once I'm gone, my legacy won't be large enough, that enough lives won't have been positively affected by my having been here, and that I won't have had the effect that I always hoped I would have had.  

]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Writing Your Way through the Holidays</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/372448</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/372448</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Nov 2006 03:33:31 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Make a plan. Stick to your plan. And write write write.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Minding Your Manners</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/372497</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/372497</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Nov 2006 03:24:44 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Little things count. And minding one's manners--one of those littlest things of all--is one of those little things that counts the most.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Celebrating Traditions-or Why Hosting a Quinceanera is a Grand Thing</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/372505</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/372505</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Nov 2006 03:21:46 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[And I stopped and thought about how these traditions come and stay. About how generations of children have celebrated religious heritages with bar/bat mitzvahs and christenings and baptism parties; about how American girls have Sweet Sixteen's and how Latin girls have Quince's. About weddings. And how these events occur just once in a lifetime. Once or twice in a family. 


]]></description>
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<item>
<title>The Pluck Factor</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/372501</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/372501</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Nov 2006 03:14:45 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Strong-minded people serve as tremendous inspirations for me. When life throws you a curve ball, a U-turn, a disappointment or an unpleasant surprise, the outcome will oftentimes be greatly dependent on the way in which you handle yourself during those times.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>7 Must-Do's for Fall</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/372491</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/372491</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Nov 2006 03:08:42 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The rush of back-to-school has taken a backseat when other stuff hits: parent-teacher conferences, Fall recitals, and soccer and football practices every other day. We're anxious to regain equilibrium. To get perspective before the anxiety-provoking Holiday rush. To catch your breath, delight your senses and enjoy the company of family and friends in the beauty of this season we're finding ourselves in. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>What's Your Story?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/316365</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/316365</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Oct 2006 06:06:55 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[What's your story? If someone had to work on your epitaph, what would they write? If you sat twenty of your closest friends and associates around a table to distill your story into a handful of words, what would they be? Do your everyday activities reflect the real you? Do your friendships help you to become the person you feel destined to become? Is your work life representative of your life work? If you had to choose just one word to define you, would you be able to come up with one?]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Something to Wake Up For</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/316359</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/316359</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 03 Oct 2006 06:04:54 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Want glowing skin? Sparkling eyes? A youthful bounce to your step? Longevity? Vitality? Find something to wake up for. Be it your own kids or your spouse, your neighborhood or your elected officials, worldwide hunger or inexcusable illiteracy: get involved! It'll help you put that foot on the floor every morning and encourage you to truly get up and at 'em. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Reconnecting</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/302692</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/302692</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 19 Sep 2006 09:32:27 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Children grow and reconnections to their life-shaping forces and faces must be re-kindled. Keeping relationships alive provides nourishment for our souls. Refreshment for our spirits. Continuation of ideals. Succession of friendships.   

]]></description>
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<item>
<title>If the Devil Wears Prada, Can a Rocket Mom Wear Jimmy Choo's?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/296459</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/296459</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 12 Sep 2006 06:07:31 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[If the devil wears Prada, can a Rocket Mom wear Jimmy Choo's? Can she--no, should she--wear Kate Spade to pick up the kids from the bus-stop, Ralph to the grocery store and Lilly for supper on the terrace? Can a Rocket Mom facing four college tuitions allow herself the indulgence of thousand-dollar Manolo's?!?

]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Ordinary Souls, Extraordinary Acts</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/208859</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/208859</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 30 May 2006 11:14:35 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[An Memorial Day article honoring those who fight for our freedoms.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Going the Distance</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/202983</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/202983</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 22 May 2006 14:06:39 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Without a doubt, the last few weeks of school are amongst the busiest in the calendar year. Graduations, recitals, concerts, sporting competitions and final exams all exert undue influence over the time and energy of students and parents alike]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Infusing Heart into the Hearth of the Home</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/198170</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/198170</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 15 May 2006 11:10:10 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I'd like to think that some kitchens stand--from decades of use or from recent renovation--where roasts are basted and hearts are repaired. Where bills are paid and where lunchboxes are packed. Where we value the notion of nurturing: through meals and through conversation. With preparation along with presentation. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>What Mom Really Wants for Mother's Day</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/192827</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/192827</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 08 May 2006 06:22:05 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[So I felt confident that, with the "what I really wanted concert" behind me and a possible mani/pedi ahead of me, that the week leading up to Mother's Day would be smooth sailing. And then a flyer poked out of the newspaper and a gadget caught my eye...]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Keeping the Train on Track</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/188773</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/188773</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 02 May 2006 06:36:27 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[One thing I know for sure: mastery commands respect. As does consistency. Perseverance. Persistence. Stick-to-it-ive-ness. We reward singers who make it all the way on American Idol and athletes who make it to the Olympics. ]]></description>
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<title>Very Talented</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/184725</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/184725</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 25 Apr 2006 05:53:53 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[We can all aspire to be Very Talented. And Very Wonderful, too. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>It's Not About the Bunnies</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/176303</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/176303</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 11 Apr 2006 05:34:54 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Go ahead and splurge on chocolate and on baskets. On flowers for your home or in a new outfit or on travel. This is a time for celebration, to be sure, come Easter Day. But allow yourself in the next few days, to internalize the conflict of Holy Week. It is one time of year when your internal struggle should be palpable.]]></description>
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<title>Weighing In On Spring</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/171893</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/171893</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 03 Apr 2006 16:46:03 -0500</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Bathing suit season is upon us, whether we like it--or care--or not. Perhaps as we struggle through "the anorexic challenge" before our nation's young girls--as well as our collective desires to be tan and thin and able to fit into a bikini (or one-piece or heck, even a pair of shorts), we can get a grip by getting our arms around the situation...and around our own daughter's shoulders.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>The Surprise Factor</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/168200</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/168200</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 27 Mar 2006 13:42:54 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Life is mostly all about process. But sometimes it's about the actual performance. And the surprises that come with it. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Fighting March Madness Fully-Armed</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/164510</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/164510</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 21 Mar 2006 04:52:43 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Motherhood brings with it a near-constant feeling of unsettled-ness. Of never really feeling like you've truly got it all together. Because just when you finally make it past one hurdle you've got another one staring you in the face.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Wiping Out</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/161087</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/161087</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 14 Mar 2006 08:04:54 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Wiping out is all part of the deal if you want to play at all. If you step into the arena, you're going to wipe out sooner or later. It's not wiping out that separates you from the rest of the world. It's how you wipe yourself off after you wipe out.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>7 Lessons I Learned from Bunny</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/157216</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/157216</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Mar 2006 21:54:28 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The success and elevation of the likes of Bunny Williams's (and Martha Stewart's, Rachel Ray's and others' for that matter) work on the homefront certainly seals the fact that women everywhere are yearning for domestic direction.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Fluff the Magic Dragon</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/152730</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/152730</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 27 Feb 2006 06:29:03 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A significant date in the secular world will converge with a significant date in the religious world to give me significant pause. April 15th stamps the due date for tax collection and March 1 will mark--literally--those of us who honor Ash Wednesday. 

]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Mary's Response</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/147296</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/147296</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:56:00 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[To fathom the response of Mary is to capture one of the most powerful messages of Christmas. 

]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Giving Away</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/147324</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/147324</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2006 13:27:08 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Friends have cautioned me--particularly this year, what with Nick's leukemia and almost-daily three-hour round-trips to the clinic where he receives chemotherapy--that this would be a good year to not be overly involved in preparations for Christmas. Not to "not do" Christmas... for how could a Christian ignore one of the holiest days of the year? ]]></description>
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<title>Getting Hearts and Hands Ready for the Holidays</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/147244</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/147244</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2006 12:44:11 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Many people refrain from practicing generosity to those outside
their small circle of concern because of the lack of money with
which to do so. But inexpensive gifts can be handmade for pennies if we will only stretch our imaginations and put our hands--and those of our children--to good use.
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Angels Unawares</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/147284</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/147284</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2006 12:11:35 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Be not forgetful to entertain strangers this holiday! Invite them into your world. And you will be delighted to find-as I have in both my moments of "horrible judgment" as well as in my moments of complete transparency-that God puts people into your path to make your journey not just more bearable, but more enjoyable, too. Angels unaware. Each one of them.

]]></description>
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<title>Overlooked Blessings</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/146089</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/146089</guid>
<pubDate>Thu, 16 Feb 2006 08:57:38 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[But during this past week, I came across the phrase "overlooked blessings," although I cannot recall where I read it or to whom it should be attributed. Nonetheless, the phrase has certainly stirred up more emotion than has the notion of "counting my blessings." For it is profoundly more thought-provoking to conjure up blessings that have been there all along but for one reason or another have gone unrecognized. To all of a sudden be alert to hidden treasures which we've taken for granted. Never counted. To be startled by the diamonds in our own backyard, the jewels in our own children's crowns, and the pearls around our own mothers' necks. 

]]></description>
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<title>Surprised by Beauty</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/146063</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/146063</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 19:54:29 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[And then the oboist, a highschooler I had never met before, with
a bandana covering her hair and too-many earrings covering her
left ear, came in, followed by the clarinetist, to create
extraordinary beauty. And I just sat there, with tears rolling
down my cheeks, an uncontrollable reaction to witnessing
magnificence.
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>On Connectedness</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/146055</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/146055</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 19:04:28 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[We are, each and every one of us, in this life struggle together, like tiny separate dots...just waiting to be connected.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Motherpie and Applehood</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145994</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145994</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 17:48:13 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Scarecrows have taken their stands against lighting posts; wheelbarrows hold fresh-picked bounty; and roadside stands offer cider, caramel apples, and home-baked pumpkin pies.Ahh!!! Fall is finally here!
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Archiving Our Families</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145987</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145987</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 17:35:03 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[A couple of weeks ago, a dear reader emailed me for help on documenting her family's life and history. For several generations, we knew this as "stuffing pictures in shoe boxes." If we were super-organized, we used photo albums. Today, we call this "scrapbooking." 

]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Going Out On a Limb</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145889</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145889</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:59:14 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Travel has always offered one of the foolproof ways to nurture creative genius. Whether your trip is planned to the nth degree or designed for infinite opportunities for serendipity, go out on a limb and watch your creative spirits sour! 

]]></description>
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<title>Crowning Him King for a Day</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145905</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145905</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:58:23 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Let's hope that fathers everywhere understand the unique role they play in our lives, in the lives of their children, and in today's culture at large. Let's hope that on Father's Day, father's everywhere felt special. That they know, deep down inside, that their efforts on our behalf are fully acknowledged, truly appreciated, and deeply cherished. 
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Celebrations of Spring</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145872</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145872</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:58:01 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Spring is here! It's time to make final preparations so that the joy of the season is fully evident in your families and in your homes.

]]></description>
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<title>You Gotta Laugh</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145973</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145973</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:33:53 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Impressions do mean a lot and first impressions mean even more. But where, exactly, do you draw the line? Do we need to wear make-up when we drive the kids to school in the morning or meet the other moms at the bus stop? When we make a quick trip to the grocery to pick up the milk? Or run into the pharmacy to grab a readied prescription? 
]]></description>
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<title>Growing in My Garden</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145886</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145886</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:32:13 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[People grow in gardens. And growing in love and joy is, after all, what growing in one's garden is all about.

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<item>
<title>A Mom Grows Up</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145874</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145874</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:22:03 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[I brought to my other kids' sporting events exhaustion,
frustration, and apprehension. But for this fourth and youngest,
I was able to bring pure unadulterated delight. And that, for me, is growth.
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Celebrating the &quot;Day of Deliverance&quot;</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145907</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145907</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:21:25 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Celebrating July 4th with solemn acts of devotion has never been ingrained into my thinking about the day.  
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Making a Mother's Day Memory</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145879</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145879</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:21:06 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[So just how can we celebrate Mother's Day as a holiday with those we love--and yet honor the wishes of its founder? How can we encourage others to express loving sentiments to us--rather than encourage them to purchase loving sentiments? And where does chocolate fit into the Mother's Day equation for crying out loud?!?
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Getting Back Your Groove</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145912</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145912</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:15:27 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[In trying to get back our groove, I am trying to put myself into my kids' heads. I find myself consciously disengaging from the mindset of planning my New Year (writing down goals, hosting some parties, and celebrating with friends) and trying to put myself into their shoes by remembering what it was like each and every year of my own childhood on that "First Day of School"...or the official start of their New Year. 
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>A Day to Remember</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145887</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145887</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:10:14 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[We have taken a day set aside to honor our heroes and turned it into one big, happy, American playdate.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>The Cost of Beauty</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145882</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145882</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:06:12 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The cost of beauty can never be measured by the price of stuff anyway.  


]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Shakin' Things Up</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145862</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145862</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 15:50:55 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Life is all about shakin' things up. If we don't shake 'em up voluntarily it seems that life shakes things up for us. Whether we're ready for the shakin' up or not.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Spring is in the Air!</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/145868</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/145868</guid>
<pubDate>Wed, 15 Feb 2006 15:03:58 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[While it certainly hasn't left much evidence here in New
England-no crocuses popping up, no morning birds waking me up, no T's and capri's showing up-there are sure signs that Spring has, indeed, arrived. The snow has melted. New life is on its way!

]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Simple Love Acts</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/144486</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/144486</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 13 Feb 2006 13:24:35 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Frankly, I've never been one to fall wholeheartedly into the whole Valentine's Day ritual. Don't buy my hubby silk boxers with little hearts all over them; don't question our marriage if he walks in the door sans roses. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Playing Hurt</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/140591</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/140591</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2006 13:49:31 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Playing hurt is never as much fun as playing pain-free. Not in football nor in tennis nor in life. But playing hurt is something that, every now and then, we are forced to play. And sometimes through it, but certainly in the end, we'll see the beauty in strength.]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Be There and Be Glad</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/139328</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/139328</guid>
<pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2006 17:48:27 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Enjoying life, living wisely and well, and infusing it with pleasantness certainly means living with integrity. It means building character. Growing through pain and suffering. But it also means allowing the tiniest, simplest acts of everyday living to be enjoyed with clarity. With gladness. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Creative Thinking in the Midst of the Mundane</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/136929</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/136929</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2006 06:59:13 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[The mundane--oftentimes dreadful--realities of motherhood have been with moms since time began, and likely will stay with us for, well, the rest of our lives. There's no sense despairing, no need to wring your hands, no time for wishing them away. But take heart. There are tricks to conquering the mundane to keep you from going completely insane. ]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Climbing the Learning Curve</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/136931</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/136931</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2006 06:53:15 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Our learning curve is steep. That there are no overnight successes in motherhood. That getting a handle on the scope of the job takes more energy, more understanding, more strength, more passion...and requires more sleep!....that we ever dreamed possible.
]]></description>
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<item>
<title>Keeping the Spirit</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/136928</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/136928</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2006 06:10:13 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Keeping the spirit of the holidays after the holidays have clearly passed is one of the challenges of being a Rocket Mom. Ice-skating in cold air brings oxygen to the brain, rosy cheeks, laughter, friends, bonding with my kids, and a sense of community in this New England town of mine. Looking like a fool when I fall? Black-and-blue reminders of my middle age? Bruises to my ego? Well...that's all part of motherhood.

]]></description>
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<item>
<title>The Ultimate in Creativity</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/136941</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/136941</guid>
<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2006 06:09:19 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Your benchmark in excellent motherhood is not simply intellectual advancement or creative achievement. You have the responsibility of nurturing their hearts and souls so that they are fully prepared to meet the world head on, offering along the way their unique perspective and God-given talents so that all the world will benefit. ]]></description>
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<title>Moving Beyond the Fundamentals</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/136938</link>
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<pubDate>Tue, 31 Jan 2006 06:05:17 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[Motherhood is not a science. It's an art. Release your own style. Your own technique. Dare to paint your days with your own fresh, bold stroke.
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<title>Be My Valentine</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/136911</link>
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<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2006 20:49:03 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[This holiday has existed since Pope Gelasius officially declared it a Christian holiday in 496 A.D. to honor St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers. But let's face it: whether it is celebrated with religious significance in your family or not, this holiday comes with certain expectations.]]></description>
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<title>Valentine's Day is Almost Here-But Should We Even Bother?</title>
<link>http://EzineArticles.com/136906</link>
<guid>http://EzineArticles.com/136906</guid>
<pubDate>Mon, 30 Jan 2006 19:30:13 -0600</pubDate>
<description><![CDATA[One of the flower-candy-greeting card-industry holidays is almost upon us. Aside from lining their coffers with millions of dollars, your lover practically relies on it for getting attention, romance and sentimental gifts. But should we, as consumers, even bother?

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