Day Five of my journey toward better health and wellness — As part of the 10-day health and wellness experience I’m participating in, we receive daily emails with tips on how to improve our lives. Today’s message was about mixing up our patterns and trying something in a brand-new way. The goal? …

Day Four of my journey toward greater health and wellness I’ve never been a good sleeper. When I was little, my mom suggested an exercise to help me fall asleep. She’d say, “Lie flat on your back and say goodnight to each of your body parts, one at a time…

Day Three of my journey toward better health and wellness Today I’m thinking about water. To be honest, the challenge to drink a half gallon every day didn’t scare me, even when I misread The Experience email and thought that it said a full gallon instead of half. I consume…

Day Two of my journey toward better health and wellness. “Sit still,” my mom used to tell me. And I could do that. No matter where I was — the dinner table, the back of our Chevy Caprice, the front seat of the grocery cart. …

Day One of my journey toward better health and wellness. This morning I began a challenge presented by my favorite yoga studio. “The Experience,” they call it, and it involves a 10-day focus on various practices designed to help you “feel your best.” I participated in something similar years ago…

A few tips on accessing discounted theater seats in New York City. — Every time I visit my daughter in New York I learn something new about how to survive in a city that’s immensely more populated than the town I live in and infinitely more expensive. During my last trip, I discovered what not to do when seeking transportation from the airport…

Benefitting from other people’s opinions while keeping them in perspective. — Feedback is important, especially if you’re writing a novel and hope to have it published someday. No matter how hard you try, there’s always going to be something you can’t catch on your own and a second set of eyes is critical to the successful completion of a fully polished…

They’re not for everyone, but are they for you? — If you’re debating whether to attend one of the many writers’ conferences that seem to be flooding the internet right now, my quick answer would be: IT DEPENDS. I went to one recently in Cincinnati called “How to Get Published,” organized by Writing Day Workshops. Was it worth my time…

And how this mother-of-the-bride is trying hard to embrace change. — The first thing I did when I got engaged in 1989 was purchase a copy of Emily Post’s Complete Book of Wedding Etiquette. Originally published in 1982 and now in its 6th edition, it has long been considered a go-to guide for anyone planning a wedding. …