Let’s talk about reading. I’ll admit right upfront I’m a avid reader, usually logging more than 50 books per year. I’ve always thought if I could have a superpower, I would want to be able to teleport like Samantha in Bewitched. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to snap your fingers and be in Paris for lunch and back in the Lowcountry by suppertime? But if I could have a second superpower, I want to be able to hold a book to my head and it soak into my brain with full understanding in under a minute. My to-be-read list would never be backlogged!

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 20 years and 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!”

Binge Watch & Scroll:
Binge watching and scrolling actually starts with an A—addiction. Aha, they got you! We’re all doing it, and it’s killing us. It’s also stealing joy, quality of life and sleep! Tons of people literally stay up all night binge watching a series or scrolling reel after reel. It’s an epidemic. I’m not sure how we all got hooked, probably because one show starts immediately after the one before it finishes or those powerful algorithms. Somehow, the fact remains that we can stop, get a great night’s sleep, and resume right where we left off during our next free time slot eludes our brains. Thus, we binge watch and scroll…for hours on end.

Are you ready for February—the month saturated in pink and red, filled with hearts, chocolates, flowers, cards…and love.

Just as January is the month we all want to jumpstart our workout routines, projects and goals, let’s make February the month to ignite a renewal of love—of yourself, of your significant other, of your family and friends and of the world.

As such, I declare February the month to re-engage! We all understand what it means to get engaged—to pledge oneself. So, let’s pledge to get re-engaged with our lives, our community, our hearts, our blessings—all of it.

It’s only January, and I’m already saying enough is enough.
But when is enough actually enough? 
I’m not sure how it happens that certain words gain popularity and become annoying, overused, misused and sometimes, just plain cringy. For example, I cannot stand to hear the  term “baby bump”.
To me, it is completely degrading and makes my skin crawl.

Last year, there was a fad of saying “six-seven”. I didn’t know it existed until grown adults said it over and over at a family Christmas gathering this year. This may be a record, because it made me roll my eyes the very first time I heard it, mainly because of the accompanying hand gestures and the complete irrelevance and lack of value. It was and is an archetype for a waste of words, and that is why it is the No.1 banished word of 2026. In other words, it is done. Never say it again.