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The Thank-You Project Book: A Gratitude Roadmap and a Giveaway!

    The Thank-You Project by Nancy Davis Kho Three years ago almost to the day, I received a letter from my friend Nancy. She described the letter as a way to mark her 50th birthday, by thanking the people, places, and things that helped her live a blessed life. I describe that letter as a masterful connect-the-dots of our friendship; one rendered with such care and craftsmanship, that I still get choked up to see the pattern of us, revealed. “What I love most about this joyful, life-affirming guide is that it feels like a letter… Read More »The Thank-You Project Book: A Gratitude Roadmap and a Giveaway!

    My Lawn, My Anxiety Shire. A podcast. An invitation.

      This summer I signed up for Robin Wise’s Finding Your Voice online writing course with guest teacher Emily McDowell. We get a photo prompt every other day, totaling 28 prompts. I hold myself accountable to every prompt, writing both fiction and non. Occasionally, I share one on the medias. My Anxiety Shire The lawn never dries in back. All summer the rain and humidity gets trapped in its Rapunzel tresses, breeding mosquitoes and anxiety. You can mow a dry lawn in 45 minutes. You can zone out and enjoy the back and forth motion, the… Read More »My Lawn, My Anxiety Shire. A podcast. An invitation.

      A Tip Jar for Me

        Kid behaviors like fighting, whining, BackTalk (TM my Dad) and neglecting chores clamor for my husband and my attention on a loop. Too often we fail to recognize all the positive steps and good decisions our boys make. Thanks to an idea from my therapist mom, years ago we began using a tip jar as an incentive for our kids, and a reminder for ourselves to acknowledge their progress. The tip jar Caring gestures, good attitudes, generosity, cooperation– any and all of it earns a poker chip in the jar. When they fill the jar… Read More »A Tip Jar for Me

        Thrive With Brava and Me (This Friday May 10th)

          If you want to get your work out there – on stage, in a gallery setting, for a community event (fundraiser festival, reunion, etc) –  you need no formal training, nor invitation. You need not be a creative professional nor event planner. If you have passion for your idea, that’s what you need. Support and practical tips help. That’s where I come in! I spent much of the last decade coaching women with no directing/producing experience how to direct/produce their own LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER shows, and directed/produced dozens of various events myself. Join me… Read More »Thrive With Brava and Me (This Friday May 10th)

          Ugly Sound Time

            Every two weeks I go see my voice coach Abby. We do things like shout vowels across the room, impersonate Cher, and pretend to squeeze grapefruits under our armpits while belting GOODBYE TO BLUEBERRY PIE. It’s often ugly, embarrassing, and always always awesome. Laughter and trust make it possible, because I know Abby believes in me, plus she rules at both coaching and singing. Hire only talented instructors who believe in you. Ask my family and/or neighbors about the practicing sounds. No, don’t. There’s a reason I don’t subscribe to NextDoor. You know how much… Read More »Ugly Sound Time

            A puzzle piece, a ring, a riddle

              I crouch over a treasure chest, in a ship-wrecked themed escape room, with six other grown women. Tensions run tepid; no one wants to look like a dumb dumb among coworkers. Yet, only a dumb dumb could take themselves too seriously while rummaging around the set of what appears to be a middle school production for Pirates of The Madisonian, minus an audience. I find clues! First, I unearth a puzzle piece from a wash bin of swashbuckler clothes. Later, I pluck a pouch containing a wedding ring from the treasure chest; both hidden in places… Read More »A puzzle piece, a ring, a riddle

              Wonder, not worry: A curiosity practice for those with zero chill

                Call it worrying, call it anxiety, call it impatience– even when life feels pretty great and the work/life trains run mostly smoothly, my brain reverts back to station NO CHILL. Some people find their way out of a stress vortex through gratitude practice. Often when I count my blessings (which I do! frequently!!) I nose-dive into all I should do with those blessings; realistic sane things like keeping my family plus the entire world safe and loved forever… I feel so grateful for my healthy happy parents, and so so lucky for my kind husband… Read More »Wonder, not worry: A curiosity practice for those with zero chill

                Back to Before

                  I. Ever “after” Born out of the combination of full-time parenting and part-time self-employment, the twin approaches of get it going and good enough take me far . Yet in my mad dash toward done or “after,” I’ve often lacked the patience to buckle down and dive into the minutia of “before” where rich learning occurs; the kind that builds muscle and depth. Rediscovering singing in 2018 infused me with energy and joy. Despite not having sung on stage for 20 years, I didn’t hire a director or a vocal coach for my one-woman show in June. I… Read More »Back to Before

                  10 Lessons From 10 Years Creating Online and off

                    In college I majored in the Pretend Arts, and aimed to pretend other people’s words, professionally. Directing, producing, and writing my own material scared the character shoes off of me. Enter, life. In my thirties parenting made me a daily director and producer. I took charge of the most unreliable cast ever known; one who constantly put props in their mouths, pooped in their costumes, fell asleep on the job, were notoriously unreliable taking direction, and had less than stageworthy diction fank you vewy much. Then the internet made me a writer. Because perfectionists can’t… Read More »10 Lessons From 10 Years Creating Online and off

                    THEN AND NOW #ThenAndNowKids and #CPTC

                      This post is sponsored by the Center for Parent and Teen Communication; a new resource for every parent navigating the teen years THEN You bravely delivered your pacifiers to the pediatrician’s office “for the new babies” a little before you were ready. We spent hours on vacation patiently building an intricate toy space shuttle, only to realize we had to deconstruct it to get it home on the airplane. You and your brother used our king-sized bed for a trampoline, and I tried to make sure you didn’t fall on your heads.   NOW You… Read More »THEN AND NOW #ThenAndNowKids and #CPTC