Creating Sparks That Last & All Things Relationships

And Personal Reflection Instagram: @meganruthphotography_ downloaded via Unsplash Earlier this week, I witnessed the first turning of yellow leaves heralding the start of autumn. Wait!! I wailed, I'm not ready. This made me take stock: Why was I not ready? I've known all my life that summer segues into autumn. So why am I not ready? @primipil via Unsplash Personal reflection leads to change It's the same for our seasons in life. Personal reflection changes with each stage of life. Relationship boundaries shapeshift according to our status, commitment and amount of time together, i.e. child-raising years compared to empty-nester years, or career peaks versus slowing down your workload. That brings me to today's discussion. Personal reflection corresponds directly to our evolving boundaries. And if the people in our lives are not (or cannot be) in sync with our changing parameters, then we need to speak our mind so they can either level up or respect our growth. When we w...

Do you choose a word of the year? It doesn't always stay in the fore front of my mind when I have selected a word for the year but it certainly helps me stay focused on my projects. Image above embodies: Propel/Focus/In-Sync What is your word or phrase for 2023? The reason I've chosen 'PROPEL' as my word, is it's very definition to: push, move or drive something forwards. To push, move or drive through barriers or obstacles. To spur or drive into a particular situation. I mean, it's an exact proposal for living, right? Life can throw obstacles our way and it is our own business to maneuver our way around them and keep moving forwards . That is the ultimate secret to SUCCESS, but remember… Success looks different for everyone   To keep my writing career successfully moving forwards, I am changing course into fiction this year. Truth be told, my upcoming release is based on true events, so I like to think of it as factual fiction. Have you read any great examples ...

Enclosed: 3 Fun and Free Ideas  Elora and the Nutcracker at Windsor Castle, U.K 2011 World Trip (If that's you in the background with a cup of coffee,  "Hi and apologies; I wasn't able to edit you out haha.") Hopefully your Holiday shopping frenzy is over and you can start thinking of ways to unwind - or at the very least, grab 10 minutes to relax by yourself or with your fave humans. I've put together some great ideas that are free and fun for you to take some time out and catch your breath. 👌 Easy dates that can include family or just you and your partner:  Tap Here for Date Ideas:   👌 If it's an evening of sweet serenades with your love that you need, I've got you covered with this cruisy tunes playlist:  Have a listen here: 👌 For longer term ideas, sign up for our free   once-a-month at-home date ideas throughout 2023 that’ll help intensify your feelings for your partner - even after several decades together!  Sign Up here: Most of all remember...

The Year of The Couple 2023 Is going to be The Year of The Couple.  Well, in my world anyway. Every now and then I embark on an experiment that’ll inject some torque into the engine that drives our relationships. And this time, it’s a blueprint, or plan of action, which I’ve called Romance and Wrinkles. Romance and Wrinkles Sign Up Form Join in for once-a-month emails from me.  Each month I’ll introduce an experience to enhance your perception of your partner for the better. Each experience will be face-to-face so you can observe each other closely: facial expressions, eye contact, emotional response. Don’t worry if this sounds intense, they are all fun, lighthearted and above-board engaging opportunities. To the best of my ability, they will also be screen-free. 💟 If you’re on the fence and would like to no more, please comment below. And if you prefer, there is also an email link on the sign-up form for questions. Tap the link ➡️  Find the sign-up form here: My husban...

Learn From It My favourite thing to do is learn from my mistakes. Seriously. I love nothing better than to analyze a situation, how it went wrong, what went wrong and how to make it better. Note: I intentionally did not say 'how to fix it' because 'fixing it' denotes that something is broken. WE ARE NOT BROKEN, WE ARE HUMAN and humans are complex. And I think we all know by now, that no relationship is without its problems 100% of the time. So back to 'Love is a Crush' - it's essentially an emotion of intense infatuation that either rapidly evolves into a deeper emotion of care and affection, or not. Of course, I'm referring to romantic relationships because we can all acknowledge that we have the capacity to encompass dynamics of love such as parents, children, siblings, friends and family outside of a romantic relationship. I've spent nearly 4 decades married to my husband. 4 Decades!! I'm sure you can imagine some of the changes we would have ...

No running in circles required If, like me, you're wondering how on earth the holidays are almost upon us, you're in the right place. Crazy isn't it that we say this same thing every year and yet every year, we have the same 365 days to prepare for it. But life happens, stuff gets in the way and we just. get. busy! So here are my no-nonsense tips to surviving the holidays and keeping your relationships intact, whether with your children, parents, friends, colleagues or spouse (or your cat, dog or mouse 😼🐶🐭). Be still - I'm serious. Stop, breathe - really breathe - like deep into-the-belly breaths. Take just 10 minutes to do what you love -  Don't have 10 minutes? Pick up the phone and call a trusted human to relieve you of your busyness for 10 minutes. If they care for you at all, they'll do it and you can return the favour when they need it. Don't know what you love to do? Jot the first 3 things that come to mind and start there. Move your body - I c...

In Conversation with Author Pat Backley Photo credit:  Pat Backley Pat’s memoir  From There To Here (With An Awful Lot In Between) is sprinkled with her positive outlook and quotes to live by. Here is one such quote that really stood out to me: Whatever life throws at you, never give up. Just learn to adapt and change. You’ll hear more of her passion and positivity shine through as you listen to our chat here: Relationships and Resilience   And if you have any questions for Pat, let’s hear them in the comments. She is a font of inspiration! You’ll find all of her books, both fiction and nonfiction on her website:  Pat Backley - Author Connect with Pat on the socials at the following links: Instagram   Facebook LinkedIn Twitter And I’ll leave you with one last quote from Pat that will inspire you to live the life you dream of: Life can be tough, but try to keep smiling through the tears. When you get knocked down, get up and carry on…You never know what’s around...