The Resolute Woman

Category: Joy

  • Cleopatra wasn’t Elizabeth Taylor

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    resolutewoman
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    I recently finished reading the book Cleopatra—A Life by Stacy Schiff. I learned that Cleopatra probably spoke nine languages, including Hebrew and Troglodyte, an Ethiopian tongue that Herodotus said was “unlike that of any other people; it sounds like the screeching of bats.” I learned that she was well educated and that she benefited from…

  • Take time to look at the clouds

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    I plopped down in my seat, pulled out my book and started reading while the rest of the passengers filed into the airplane. I probably wouldn’t have taken my eyes off my good book until the stewardess inquired about what I wanted to drink, but I suddenly heard an excited, small voice ask, “Are we…

  • Do you need to repack your bags?

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    resolutewoman
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    While I was in New Mexico recently visiting my brother, I read an article in the Albuquerque Journal about a lecture by Richard Leider, author of Repacking Your Bags: Lighten Your Load for the Rest of Your Life. I like Leider’s metaphor, which originated when he was on a walking safari and a tribal elder,…

  • Be nice to your spouse

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    resolutewoman
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    My husband Jerry came home recently with a question: “What’s the worst thing you can do to upset your plans for a financially secure retirement?” I hesitated. I knew he had been reading about retirement planning, and I knew that I hadn’t been reading about retirement planning. How was I supposed to know the answer?…

  • Gift from the Sea

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    Because I’m feeling a little harried this week, I was thinking about our last blog post and about how it’s important to take mini-vacations. It suddenly occurred to me that I  don’t want a mini-vacation. I would like to take a long vacation! It’s not going to happen. Instead, I started looking for a little…

  • “I wandered lonely as a cloud”

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    resolutewoman
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    Fayteen’s  recent blog post about how we all need to take mini-vacations throughout the year reminded me of one of my mother’s favorite poems. Wordsworth begins:  “I wandered lonely as a cloud/That floats on high o’er vales and hills,/When all at once I saw a crowd,/A host of golden daffodils….” He ends with these lines:…

  • Do you gulp or sip?

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    resolutewoman
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    My brother James classifies people into two groups—gulpers or sippers. He started thinking about gulpers and sippers during the 1970s when he was in college. He had a roommate who finished his homework and then spent most of his time hanging out at their apartment. He was, James explains, a sipper. James’ next roommate was…

  • Our magnificent chocolate cake

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    The newspaper photograph inspired my husband Jerry. After we both had admired the photo of the tall buttermilk chocolate cake, covered with a thick coating of rich chocolate frosting, we decided to make it for our daughter’s birthday. I am happy to report that the cake came out of the oven looking perfect. The icing…

  • Fun Plus Easy Ways to Lose Weight

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    resolutewoman
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    When I read the headline on the magazine at the grocery store, I shook my head. Fun plus easy ways to lose weight? Fayteen has lost 29 pounds this year, and she looks great. But she’s the first one to tell you that it hasn’t been much fun and it hasn’t been easy. Of course,…

  • Feeling happy?

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    resolutewoman
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    I was hurrying just a bit to mail a package at the post office when I noticed the man standing behind me. He was talking on his cell phone, and I suddenly felt annoyed about his “noise pollution.” Because I was tired and I had had a busy day, it didn’t take much to make…