The rainbow after the storm. (DALL-E generated.) It all started slowly and innocently enough, like the first drops of a rainstorm. I mean, it’s only natural for things in life to break sometimes, and need fixing and maintenance, right? Routine dental cleanings sometimes lead to fillings or reveal the need for root canals and crowns. It’s not just me. The older people (and pets) get, the more extra medical attention they need. Appliances and parts of the house also get older and start to wear out. Cars need to be kept in good working order. But after a few weeks these demands usually let up a ..read more

            Call it what you will — The Law of Circulation, Feng Shui, The Principle-of-Not-Getting-Your-Lights-Turned-Off-Because-You-Forgot-to-Pay-the-Bill — money ebbs and flows and takes on a life of its own. Managing money is like raising children who act up, demanding negative attention if they aren’t getting enough positive attention. Whether you think you’re rich or poor — well, that’s part of the problem, isn’t it? What we think and feel and believe about money has a huge effect on how we deal with it. I’ve had “poor” clients who live with a scarcity men ..read more

Witch Hill (The Salem Martyr) painting by Thomas Satterwhite Noble 1869 Yikes! Witches? Really? Well, suspected and accused in court, yes! Convicted and hanged, thankfully not! In which I fall down the rabbit hole of finding out that one of my ancestors was accused of witchcraft in 1667 Connecticut. Click To Tweet . The Connecticut Witch Trials You’ve no doubt heard about the Salem Witch Trials in 1692-3 Massachusetts. But what about the Connecticut Witch Trials that predated them by 30 years? Yeah, me neither. Hartford Founders Monument The Salem trials were more numerous and better publ ..read more

January 29, 1994 press conference in Leslie Abramson’s law office. 30 years ago this week, in late January 1994, both juries were declared hopelessly deadlocked in the first Menendez brothers murder trial. Who knew that 30 years later they would still be behind bars? Who knew that 30 years later the Menendez brothers would still be behind bars? Enough is enough! Set them free. Click To Tweet Two Hung Juries I always say Erik’s that jury deliberated for a month — rather than reporting days or hours — because that’s how much of our lives was spent on it. The trial (including a month of jury se ..read more

As a professional organizer it was part of my job to help people find ways to remember stuff: Where are my keys? Where does this go? How do I remember tasks? Why do I forget appointments? Why can I never find the remote? Together, we created solutions and systems ala takeaways #2, 8, 9 in the list below. Often they worry that forgetting things is a sign of Alzheimer’s. So, one time I wrote a blog post called “No, you don’t have Alzheimer’s!” Then I got a client who was worried about getting the dreaded disease on the basis that it ran in her family. Oops. I didn’t want to be flippant about ..read more

“World’s most accurate pie chart.” Creator unknown. (Click image to see the earliest use of this chart that I could find.) If you know me at all, you know I love flow charts, graphics, and cartoons! I also love when people send them to me. I don’t care if they’re graphs, pie charts, or Venn diagrams. Sometimes I’ve seen them before, but you never know — what if I haven’t? I love flow charts, graphics, and cartoons! These days, the simpler the better. Here are some of my favorites. Click To Tweet Sharing on social media It’s been a while since I’ve added to this album, but I used to post one ..read more

I don’t know what I’m “preaching” about here, but this Jumbotron photo from NAPO2014 cracks me up! Dear Readers: I hope you enjoy this refreshed post from 2016.   I was helping a long-time virtual coaching client with email maintenance, teaching her about Inbox Zero, and I admitted that mine was currently more like Inbox 200. In fact, as I continued to say, I don’t do anything (maintenance-wise)  every day. She was relieved to hear it.     Is it backsliding if you skip a day on purpose? Maybe you've just found your sweet spot. Click To Tweet Clients seem to enjoy it when ..read more

I always get excited as the year comes to a close. What will the New Year bring? Sometimes it brings fun challenges like the ones I have gathered here for your consideration. Is this the year you will start telling the stories of your photos, family, and things? Are you ready to start telling the stories of your photos, family, and things? Here are some prompts and challenges to help you get started. Click To Tweet As featured in the 2023 Family Tree Magazine and The Photo Managers holiday gift guides. If you’ve read my book, What’s a Photo Without the Story? How to Create Your Family Legac ..read more

Books make terrific gifts, don’t they? Well, not all of them. Some books make better gifts than others. I think we all know to consider the recipient’s taste and whether or not they enjoy reading. Otherwise,  a book might quickly become clutter. But there are other considerations. Like what? Take mine, for example: Hung Jury: The Diary of a Menendez Juror This glimpse inside one of the most famous trials of the 1990’s makes an ideal gift for: Menendez supporters True crime buffs Lawyers Those who study juries Teenage girls (or so I’ve heard) Caution: Many people who believed the prosec ..read more

Albuquerque Journal, Saturday, Nov. 20, 1993   Menendez supporters all know how much the prosecution-biased media influenced public perception of the case during the four years preceding the actual first trial, during both trials, and in the decades since. (You can Google famous examples such as the John Malkovich and Rob Schneider Saturday Night Live sketch and videos of Jay Leno making fun of them on The Tonight Show.) Hence the still-pervasive, but false, greedy-rich-kids narrative. The brothers are the butt of jokes (and are still imprisoned) to this day — thirty years later — as a ..read more