Lifelong learning, physical and mental health, having a sense of PURPOSE and achievement, and overall wellness. These are all vital to a healthy life at ALL stages of life! Wellness does not just entail nutrition and exercise, there really is so much more to it. And thank goodness, because just the IDEA of nutrition and exercise can be more than some people can handle so they immediately feel deflated. Let’s think out of the box for a minute. What about learning a new SKILL, taking up a new hobby, finally doing something on your “bucket list”? Enjoying a newfound sense of achievement can help you to REGAIN your sense of purpose while improving your physical and mental health.

Mama P’s homemade zucchini bread is second to none! Turn your zucchini bounty into the most delicious zucchini bread you’ve ever experienced! Each moist, cakey slice is immersed with full-bodied sweetness, flecked with zucchini, and infused with just the right amount of cinnamon. Your tastebuds will thank you!

This Roasted Tomato & Garlic Marinara sauce with fresh tomatoes is a simple way to preserve fresh, ripe tomatoes at their peak and bring out their natural flavor. With this easy recipe, you simply roast the tomatoes with just a few basic ingredients to make the most delicious homemade marinara sauce.

Let’s face it, life is HECTIC! It seems like there is rarely a free moment to just relax. When it comes to holidays, well, that can not only be OVERWHELMING and nerve racking, it can be almost impossible to get everyone together. Everyone has their "place to go” for each holiday and a lot of people become the ROPE in a major tug-of-war event with families on his side and her side - everyone wants you at the same time! You become emotionally and physically exhausted and may even dread or RESENT holidays because of it.

We all encounter storms in our lives. Nobody is immune to them. But how we RESPOND to those storms . . . well that’s our choice. Completely. TOTALLY. Nobody can force you to stand in the rain and get soaking wet. Nobody can force you to dance in the storm or rainfall of life. There always has been and always will be storms. But there also always has been and always will be bright, sunny, warm days. We have to take the good with the bad, the sunshine with the rain. Unless we experience the rain and storms, we can’t fully APPRECIATE the sunshine.

This marinade is so versatile and full of flavor - you can use it on chicken, pork, beef, seafood, vegetables, or even tofu! This Mexican marinade is spicy and tangy with a touch of heat. Want more heat? Add a teaspoon of crushed red pepper!

This is one of those recipes you definitely want to keep. It is so easy to put together and freezes really well too! So make a big batch and keep it on hand because it is absolutely amazing!

“How To Draw 101 Cute Stuff For Kids: Simple and Easy Step-by-Step Guide Book to Draw Everything like Animals, Gift, Avocado and more with Cute Style”

I bought this for my 6 year old granddaughter who started taking a real interest in drawing. She absolutely loves it!

What I really like about this drawing book is that it guides you from the first part of the picture to draw all the way to the finished product using arrows. There are also some pages in the book to use as backgrounds for your pictures. It is so beautifully put together, I absolutely love this! I also bought her the “Drawing Paper Booklets” (below) to go with her book.

A goal, according to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, is “the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result”. We all have goals, right? Or are they just DREAMS? Do they have your full mental investment? Goals take time and, let’s face it, the world is in such a hurry to get . . . NOWHERE. Our lives are so rushed, so full of demands from all directions. There’s no time for a personal goal. That would take too much EFFORT. That’s just absurd! At least for me, it's the goals I have that keep me going, that keep me FOCUSED. If you don’t have a goal, you could spend your life running around that darn hamster wheel and getting nowhere. Just running, running, running and never making any progress. You’d just wear yourself out, physically and mentally.

SIMPLICITY ~ “the state of being simple, uncomplicated, or uncompounded” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). SOPHISTICATION ~ having a refined knowledge of the ways of the world cultivated especially through wide experience” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Those two terms seem to be CONTRADICTORY which makes having them intertwined even more impressive.

“A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it, it just blooms.” ~ Zin Shin

I like to COMPARE - prices, brands, what shirts go best with a pair of pants, different colors of lipstick, and on and on. But then, if I’m not careful, I start comparing MYSELF to others. I think we all are guilty of comparing ourselves to others, but I feel that women especially have a hard time with it! Why? I think a big part of it has to do with society telling us we should look a certain way and if we don’t we are “less than”. I’ll bet those SAME women we are comparing ourselves to also compare themselves to others. It’s a VICIOUS cycle! Why do we fall into that trap? When we start comparing our looks or situations, or lives in general to someone else, we start down that dark ROAD of loneliness that seems to have no end.