“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving..”
—Mother Theresa—

Here come the holidays racing in
like they are being chased by a harried haint leftover from Halloween. Ready or not, in the next 55 days, most of us will run around inundated with mile-long to-do lists. Cleaning, decorating, traveling, cleaning, cooking, baking, shopping, cleaning, wrapping, partying…WHOA! I’m going to stop right there and give you permission to holiday differently this year. I don’t want you to be there (thinking if I can just get through the holidays), when you can be here (designing the holidays you desire).
Everything on that lofty list of to-dos I just rambled off can be enjoyable, but here’s a secret: even if that stuff doesn’t get done, you can still enjoy yourself this holiday season. You don’t have to define the “success” of your holidays by how clean your house is, how awe-inspiring your decor is, how many presents you buy for people, or if you burned the turkey (or forgot to unthaw it!) In fact, tell me three things you got for Christmas last year.

I know it’s that time of year to be extra thankful, but it seems like the humbug is already trying to take root in my holiday happiness, and it’s all due to pumpkin spice haters.

I don’t care if you don’t like pumpkin spice. All I ask is that you don’t care if I do. But that seems to be a problem for a lot of people. They can’t seem to enjoy their flavors, and live with the fact that some people choose pumpkin spice.

I happen to be a lover of pretty much anything pumpkin, especially when it comes to pie, bread, cookies, coffee or general desserts. Those pumpkin rolls, constructed of pumpkin bread rolled up with a thick layer of cream cheese, are so insanely delicious they should be against the law. And pumpkin cheesecake, O.M.G. thank you Cheesecake Factory for not listening to “those people” who say abhorrent things like “it’s too early for pumpkin spice.”

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” —Anaïs Nin

I’ve done it again. Put myself in a position to stress and worry. As the founder of Pink and Paisley Magazines, I have a passion for people and connecting them with each other to benefit both sides. I love putting people together, so much so, we used to do an article called Mix and Match. We would have a single man and a single woman go on a date, along with our writer, who was perfect for this assignment. Sometimes it was a match, and sometimes not so much, but it was always fun—though risky—and made for great reading, too.

In my passion to connect people, Pink has become the events leader for women in our area, and this is where my stress comes in. When people look at things from the outside, it all usually appears easy; and one would think after doing them for so many years that it is easy. Granted, we have gotten the due diligence of our events down to a science, but where the uneasiness comes in is the part out of our control: Will anyone come?

By now, unless you read a magazine from back to front like me, you know this month’s theme is #FightLikeAGirl. Throughout almost every page, we have honored those who have fought like a girl to overcome obstacles and illnesses. We have also encouraged you to fight like a girl when necessary. However, I’m going to put the brakes on it as we come to the end of this month’s issue. Of course, I’m not going to undo what we have already done, but I’m going to point out a few things us women do sometimes when we #FightLikeAGirl that is not in our best interest and need to come to a stop.

“If you’re going to change a habit, you must be the treatment.”
—Dr. Wayne Dyer—

One of my favorite quotes in the whole wide world is “Change your attitude, change your world.” I have lived by this quote for probably 15 years, and I think I have a good attitude about most things. However, this month’s theme is about healthy habits, not attitude, so when I stopped to deeply think about habits—both good and bad—I realized my favorite quote works just as well when adapted to “Change your habits, change your world!”