As we were driving up to Montana from Utah last week to stay over Memorial weekend at our friends cabin I put a talk on for all of us in the car to listen to by stress expert and comedian Loretta Laroche. She was talking about how often we tend to awfulize and catastrophize things …

My husband and I spent our Memorial Weekend up in Dillon, Montana at a friend’s cabin.  It was my first time in Dillon and I was amazed at how incredibly beautiful it was.  Our friend’s cabin sits on a pond at the confluence of two rivers with mountains in the distance. It truly was breathtakingly …

It’s difficult to put into words the profound gratitude and respect I have for all those who gave their lives defending God, religion, freedom, peace, and family. May we never forget the tremendous sacrifice they made: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

“The needs of the spirit are as crucial to health as those individual organs which make up the body.”   -Florence Nightingale Isolation is a word many have become all too familiar with during this pandemic, especially for those who aren’t able to be in quarantine with loved ones. And as much as we might have …

With things slowly starting to re-open here in Utah again our family is anxiously awaiting the reopening of our beloved Lake Powell. We can’t wait for the marina to get back up and operational again as we are all longing to be able to take a trip on our houseboat again. Our Lake Powell vacations …

My grandmother passed away back in November of 2007.  She was one of my dearest friends.  Before she passed away she took the time to write her life history for me and for my children, and their children, and so on.  I could share many thoughts on why recording your life history is so important …

We told ourselves it was a good idea at the time.  Two of my girlfriends and I were on a trip to New York City several years ago when we decided to order the Quattro Cookie Sundae at Planet Hollywood in Time Square for dessert. What was delivered to our table was a GINORMOUS ice …

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”  -Unknown Diamonds are made under pressure…  which is really to say – no pressure, no diamonds.  No Diamonds??!!  Frankly just typing the words “no diamonds” makes me break into a cold sweat… A …

Do you want to know why wearing a mask is sexy? I’ll tell you because I just learned why myself today in a meeting with the Governor where he shared these stats with me: If a COVID CARRIER IS NOT wearing a mask and YOU ARE then the probability of you getting covid is 70%. …

“Don’t let today’s disappointments cast a shadow on tomorrow’s dreams.” ~Unknown Life is full of curve balls that are bound to come up and mess up our best laid plans. It’s a part of life that cannot be stopped from happening. Unexpectedly loved ones pass away, family members fall ill, injuries occur, vehicles break down, …

Life is too short, Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness. Laugh when you can, Apologize when you should, And let go of what you can’t change. Love deeply and forgive quickly. Take chances.  Give everything And have no regrets. Life is too short to be unhappy. You have to take the good with the …

Today was one of those days where you are bombarded with things from the moment you wake up until 1am the next morning without so much as a two minute break. My day was absolutely packed today and as I sit here writing this at 1am its all I can do to keep my eyes …

There are no words to adequately express the tender feelings I have toward my Mother on Mother’s Day. She gave birth to and raised ten children, doing so much of the time alone because my Dad’s job required him to travel significantly. Not only that but my Dads work required our family be moved every …

“How people treat you is their Karma, how you react is yours.” – Wayne Dyer So often in life we find ourselves in situations where someone does something to us that is hurtful, unkind, ungrateful, unfair, unwarranted, dishonest, or a myriad of other mean things that hurt us or make us feel bad.  And often …

Work / Life Balance – it’s the eternal struggle we all strive for but never seem to feel like we have right. I really love the talk given by Coca Cola CEO Brian Dyson back in 1996 at a Georgia Tech commencement ceremony where he shared his analogy of the five balls we are all …

Living in the Washington D.C. area in high school I was all about music groups like Erasure, The Cure, O.M.D., Depeche Mode, and the Smith’s.  Then my family moved to the Nashville Tennessee area during my Junior year of high school and I couldn’t help but fall in love with country too. I still remember …

The most influential man in my life turned 82 years old over the weekend. That man is my Father, Gerald Rees.  He is my rock, my exemplar, my advisor, my hero, and my friend. He taught me that that I am capable of doing anything I set my mind to if I am willing to …

We’ve all spent the last few months hearing pretty much nothing but bad news…from the coronavirus pandemic, to earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires, severe storms, stock market crashes, cancelled graduations, and on and on and on…with every news station full of stories of gloom and doom is it really that surprising that people are struggling with feelings …

With all that’s going on currently with COVID-19 the words of this talk which shares some universal regrets that dying patients have gives us much to consider about how we ought to look at things. It’s a talk given by one of my favorite speakers, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, titled “Of Regrets and Resolutions” and here …

I wrote an article on Forbes.com called “Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself“. It’s a message worth resharing: I was standing in the security line at an airport when a TSA worker came walking alongside the line yelling out in an animated way, “No liquids, no aerosols, no gels or creams on the airplane…You better …

Today is National Superhero Day, a day to honor those who serve and protect while fighting evil.  My personal favorite superhero is Wonder Woman. I watched every episode of the original TV series back in the 70’s when I was a little girl.  And I knew that when I grew up I wanted to be …

Today I was really bummed out because it was my Mother’s 78th birthday and we couldn’t be with her even though she lives only fifteen minutes away.  With the quarantine we could only stand on her front porch singing Happy Birthday to her through the glass and then leave a cake an balloons on her …

Last Friday we held a College Graduation Commencement Ceremony in our home for my daughter Ashley Anderson Hill to present her with her Bachelor’s Degree in Entrepreneurial Management from Brigham Young University. Being that she was the only student graduating she gave the valedictorian speech. Her speech was so inspiring I asked her if I …

In yesterday’s blog I shared that my daughter Ashley graduates from BYU tomorrow (Friday April 24th 2020).  I also shared the thoughts she wrote about the things she learned from her college experience. Today I thought it fitting for me to share a parent’s thoughts to a child that’s graduating, so here are my thoughts: …

My daughter Ashley is graduating this Friday from Brigham Young University (go BYU Cougars!) with her Bachelor’s Degree in Entrepreneurial Management. I’m so proud of her!  Not just for graduating but for the incredible person she is.  A few days ago on social media Ashley shared the following thoughts about her college experience – after …

“Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat.”  – Laura Ingalls Wilder I’ve been so focused on getting my home organized the last few weeks that I had forgotten how good it feels just to step outside and feel the sunshine on your face. After another long day of working inside …

Today as I was going through cabinets and organizing things I pulled out my box I keep of handwritten notes and cards people have written to me over the years and I began reading a few of them.  What an awesome way to boost your emotional well-being! Let’s face it – if someone asked you …

 “Spring cleaning isn’t just about sorting through things, and getting rid of clutter. It’s about taking stock of who you are. It’s a chance to redefine yourself, to change expectations, and to remember that it’s never too late to recapture who you were, or to aim for who you want to be.”  -unknown One positive …

It’s amazing how much stuff you are able to throw away after you’ve allowed it to sit I a pile for several years first….  I say that because I just spent my entire day going through stacks and stacks…and stacks…of papers that have been piling up for years, and when I realized how many of …

It was probably ten years ago when someone sent me an article titled “How To Be Awesome”.  It didn’t list the name of the person who wrote the article but it read: HOW TO BE AWESOME “Being awesome, quite literally, means to elicit awe. Awe is not something people express much these days. So to …