Last week I was involved in a car accident. Thank God, no one was hurt; only my pride. See the accident was my fault. Once I made sure the passengers in the other car were fine, we immediately pulled out paper and pens to exchange insurance information. The young lady commented, “I sure am glad you have insurance.” “Yes, I have good insurance,” I replied. Or so I thought. Little did I know that my insurance was not “all that.” This experience taught me a valuable lesson; I need to fully understand the type of insurance we have and the details of the coverage provided. Long story short, we were not happy with the way our insurance company seemed to be trying to avoid paying a fair settlement to the other party. We try to always treat people the way we want to be treated, and we did not find their actions acceptable.
Does spring-fever have you itching to make some changes to your surroundings? I certainly have the itch. The first free weekend that I have, I plan to paint my front door. I would describe its current color as an awful poop-brown, but soon it will be vibrant orange, earthy green, or crisp white. Although I am having trouble deciding, I am not too worried about it because I know that even if I get the paint on the door and don’t like the color, I can easily repaint it. Paint is one of the least expensive and fastest ways to transform a room from boring to exciting. But wait, you do know that paint should not be limited to only the walls, right?? Here are a few new ways to use paint that you may not have yet considered.
Earlier today I had a wonderful lunch date with an inspiring woman who is a mother of two adult children. I was telling her how my three children and I went on a bike riding adventure that led us to discover interesting trails and new routes through our city. Before we knew it (about an hour and a half later), the children and I had traveled about six miles or so. A couple of my babies were getting kind of tired, so we stopped for a lunch break. By the time we were ready to hop back onto our bikes; my husband called and offered to come pick us up. “YES, please!” was my answer. He got there and we loaded all the bikes into the minivan and rode off. 
The other day I went into my daughter’s closet and found clothes scattered all over the floor. Most of the clothes were dirty, but some were clean and they were all mixed in together. Needless to say, mama was hot (and not in the good way)! When I asked my daughter about this big mess, she did not have a suitable answer-there really was none. She had already been warned about the consequences of not putting her clothes away properly. This time I was really fed up. My solution to her wardrobe mismanagement? It was two-fold: First I decided to make her wear the same outfit to school for the rest of the week. My goal was to help her understand that it was a privilege to have more than one outfit to wear to school-and that it should not be taken for granted. Second, I decided that she probably really had more than she needed (it’s called the too-much-stuff-syndrome)-it was time for an intervention.
Food for the soul… a statement that if applied correctly delivers the necessary comfort of blending one’s appetites for indulgence with a satisfaction that pleasantly arrives when an emphasis is placed on social change and the celebration of diversity. 
Last week while seeking inspiration for my upcoming article, I asked my ten-year-old daughter, Arianna, for help. “What should I write about, Ari?” Arianna, who takes great pride in her overflowing arsenal of knowledge, gave her usual quick response, “I know mommy! You should write about the delicious smoothies you make us!” 
