Say something that matters.
Welcome to my blog! Sometimes I’ll offer advice about public speaking. Maybe I’ll tell you a story. Or perhaps I’ll make you laugh, teach you something interesting, or help you think a bit differently on a topic. Please consider subscribing so you don’t miss any of my posts.

Children’s Books Published!
Say something that matters.
Welcome to my blog! Sometimes I’ll offer advice about public speaking. Maybe I’ll tell you a story. Or perhaps I’ll make you laugh, teach you something interesting, or help you think a bit differently on a topic. Please consider subscribing so you don’t miss any of my posts.
Lifted Up Blog

Choosing To Make The Call
I am not a police officer. And I know that. I am not a child protective services worker. And I know that. I am not a psychologist, a social worker, or a court-appointed child advocate. And I know that. What I am is a good mother who recognizes when...

Paying Attention On Purpose
People are amazed that Grace, my beagle, rarely barks. Beagles are infamous for being loud and constant barkers. In fact, when I Googled the subject, here are the most often asked questions on the topic: Do beagles bark more than other dogs? Do...

Actually, Life Is More Like This
One of the best-known lines from the movie Forrest Gump was this: “My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." I’m suggesting that life is more like a hydrangea bush. Bear with me. My disclaimer,...

Hook, Line, and Stinker
If you go online at all, I’m sure you’ve seen the hooks to get you to click on a story. You know…hooks like these: See for yourself why...

Life Changes In A Hurry
My friend Marlene came back from running errands yesterday to find her husband unresponsive in their front hall. As a nurse she was able to...

The Hostess With the Mostess
An episode of the old sitcom All in the Family had Edith very nervous about her role as hostess of a Tupperware party. She fretted about the...

Give Me Time to Adjust, OK?
Tomorrow is September 1st. Although we’re back to rather warm weather right now in northern Virginia, fall is not far behind. If you don’t believe...

Thoughts on Prayers
During my final year of commuting to work, I passed by the same young teen waiting for his school bus. He was a lone soul at that bus stop. The...

Say It Again, Sam
I received my weekly report card from Grammarly yesterday. If you don’t already know, Grammarly is (according to their own website) “an online...

Five Bucks, Two Hours, and Three Minutes
Legendary Stanford professor Tina Seelig posed the following assignment to teams of students in one of her classes: How profitably can a team run a...

Guilty As Charged
One of the questions on the VA application for a REAL ID is this: Have you ever been found guilty of a crime other than parking violations? The...