I became a mom 35 years ago today. I was only 23 years old!  So it's hard to believe I was ever not a mom. 

The picture below does a poor job of showing how incredibly elated I was. Maybe I was a bit tired or a bit scared - probably a bit of both. 

Back then you did not find out the sex in advance and, truth be told, I wanted a little girl so badly. 

It sounds silly because, for your first, you'd think it wouldn't matter. But I so wanted a perfect little girl.... Obviously I knew deep down I'd love whatever came out, but I braced myself for a boy. 

I was over the moon when the doctor said it was a girl. They whisked her away to the neo-natal unit because she was 3 weeks early but I was never worried. I knew she was perfect and I knew my life would never be the same!!!

Happy Birthday Nikki Johnson!!!! Thanks for giving me the best job I've ever had!  And thanks for breaking me in before your sister arrived! 

Block party success!!! 

I just have to give major kudos to my hubby for an awesome neighborhood party we just hosted at our house.

I love how he loves people and takes the bull by the horns to make something happen. My whole life I've always been the DOER but sometimes you just want someone else to take the reins.

He planned this whole party. He asked me to do the flyer bc he's challenged with technology but he told me what to put on it.

Then he hand delivered the flyer to every single person. If they weren't home, he went back. He wanted them to have an in-person invite.

He never asked me what we should eat. He planned it all. He ordered it all. He paid for it all. And it was delicious!!!!

They all just left and they said over and over how wonderful it was that we got together and let's do it again soon.

It was an awesome time! But it's all because of him. And I love him for it. 

Now it's time to wine with my favorite guy!!!!

There are some things that are just so much a part of your life... they have made you who you are. This is the game of rugby for me and my hubby. 

Him as a player and me as a fan of men who play rugby. I don't know what it is about rugby players but I find them to be of a unique breed of man. 

Sexy. Strong. Friendly. Loyal. Fun. 

Such great qualities! Such great people!!!

My high school had a rugby team so it's been in my life since the mid 70s - a loooong time! I think I chose my college based on the number of cute rugby guys that were going there! Shows where my priorities were!!!!

I first laid eyes on my husband on the rugby field. I remember that moment so clearly. And that moment changed our lives forever. 

So here we are once again... Player and fan. He's with his buddies again. He's playing in an over 60s division. He's in his element. 

Who would have thought we'd still be here 40 years later?!!!  #rugbyisinourblood

I am so thankful that I am a good role model of healthy living for my grandchildren! 

In fact, I like to say that when I help a fellow Grandma, I am impacting 3 GENERATIONS!!!

How neat is that?!!! And by doing so, I am extending lives and helping families make more memories & do more active things together. 

I can't imagine missing out on doing fun stuff with my grandkids and I plan to be a part of their lives for a looooooong time! 

Thinking about you....

The you who I can help. 
The you who wants this but is skeptical. 
The you who has wanted to lose 10 pounds for 10 years.
The you who has no time. 
The you who is an overachiever. 
The you who wants more from your life. 
The you who likes the thought of helping others. 
The you who wants to matter in this world. 
The you who was meant for more. 
The you who is just like the old me. 

I may not know you now but I want to know you. I want to mentor you. I want to help you grow and develop into a mentally & physically, more fulfilled person. 

It's not too late. As long as you have a breath, it's never too late. 

I'm ready. Are you ready? 

Do you have obsessive traits?

I think it's interesting that obsession is generally frowned upon as a negative. When you hear someone is obsessed, what comes to mind? A crazy person who is out of control, right?

When I was a little girl, I had what I now know is OCD. It was not a thing then so even if I told anyone, no one would have done anything about it probably. And I eventually outgrew it - to a degree.

My mind was constantly consumed with really crazy thoughts, like making sure I didn't turn completely around, (if I turned around to the left, I had to quickly turn back to the right), I had to close my dresser drawers on an even number, I could not inhale in certain situations (if I didn't like someone or something, I had to exhale when I looked at it/them)... Kind of nutty, eh?

I kept these rituals and thoughts to myself although I did exhibit one I remember in particular: I asked my mother the same 3 questions every night before I went to bed. I even remember a couple of...

Do you believe in second chances? 

Do you believe in the kind where you take a chance on something that you failed at before?

Do you believe in the kind where you give someone else a second chance at being the person you knew they were capable of but failed you before? 

I do. I believe in both kinds. 

I want to believe that we all learn from our mistakes, that we get wiser and better with each failure. 

And that possibly, just possibly, we become more determined to succeed the next time we have that chance.

10 years ago, I made a second chance decision. It was super scary. I had voices in my head telling me it was too big of a risk, that it would only lead to heartache again.

But I had to choose to try. I have only one life to live and I didn't want my life to end with any what if's.

And then there was that gut thing... I had this feeling deep in my gut that it was meant to be. That my path was meant to lead back to him and his to mine.

And when the timing was right, it...

I’ve been reading a book called The Miracle Morning and I love it! I’ve learned a lot of things from this book so far and I’ve started to implement a few that have made a HUGE difference in my life this past week.

The first thing I do is meditate for 10 minutes. I’m using a guided meditation app that I downloaded to my phone because, if you're anything like me, I have a monkey mind which has a hard time being still. It's hard for me to concentrate and focus on meditation type behavior so the guided meditation really helps

Meditation forces me to free my mind from thoughts. I LOVE MY WORK and I usually jump right into it first thing but I’ve found that I need meditation to quiet my mind and prepare for the day ahead.

After my meditation, I do affirmations for about 5 minutes. I've done affirmations in the past but they've fallen by the wayside. As with many things, if you haven't really developed the habit, then you get busy and...

Today's lesson from Calm:

"One of the challenges of meditation is stopping and taking the time to do it. For many of us putting a pause on productivity is difficult. We love to feel like we're getting somewhere and accomplishing things. 

We've become addicted to visible progress; therefore sitting and meditating to some might appear to be inactive and unproductive. There's nothing further from the truth.

The daily rush against the clock creates the illusion that the more we do and the more we accomplish is what drives our success. This is a misinformed and counterintuitive belief. 

As we fill up every moment, we leave no space to observe what's going on in our minds and bodies. No opportunity for clarity or insight. No room for rest, recovery, or healing. Or for creativity and and new ideas to be born. 

So there is tremendous value in this time you're spending in stillness and non-doing."

I recently had a light bulb moment and I realized I've never really shared how Not Your Average Grandma came about. It's been sort of a long and winding road but before I start I have three questions:

• Have you spent a majority of your life focused on being the best mom, like THE BEST mom in the world?

• Have you spent another large portion of your life climbing the corporate ladder and trying to be the best, most fantastic worker in your company?

• Have you ever woken up one day and realized you're just not happy?

If that's you then you're the reason I created this page because that was me and I remember the day that it all changed: November 3, 2006.

It’s been 11 years ago so a lot has happened since then. I'm happy to tell you that I got unstuck! I've grown & changed a lot since that day so that was really my breaking point.

I went to my now ex-husband and I told him that I wanted to end our 25-year marriage. I must tell you that that was the most difficult,...