a mother's love.

Wow. I sent out an email for my photography business and I received a response from my friend, Joni, a vet with whom I had the good fortune to meet and become friends with when Butkus joined the family in 1994. Joni stuck through all my obsessive worrying and problems with that damn dog for most of Butkus' life. I would bring Butkus with me and visit her whenever we were at PetsMart (the site of her practice), and we shared our stories about life, dogs, and the real dogs in our lives.

Joni's son was eight when we became friends. She had already been divorced from his dad for a couple years, and this kid STRUGGLED. Not just with the divorce, but with life. He was always getting into stuff he shouldn't: running away, shoplifting, and later on experimenting with alcohol and drugs. Every time I would talk to Joni, she would have a new story about the latest "adventure," with her wild child. I was amazed by her. She was steadfast and true to this kid, loved him, unconditionally and completely, though it had to be so hard a lot of the time. She remained patient and kept trying to get him the help he so desperately needed.

She never gave up on him.

Joni emailed me this morning to tell me she had lost her son a drug overdose. During our conversation later today, she told me it happened just last month. And that he had a two-year-old son who is in a terrible situation in his own right. She cried so hard, her love still as generous as it had been during his all-too-short life. I tried to reassure her that she had indeed tried so hard to help him; she welcomed the words I had for her.

I know a mom's love for her child cannot ever be measured in a way that makes sense, but the love Joni had for her son was truly amazing. Please keep her in your prayers, and hug your kid tonight, for all the things they are, and for being everything to you.

really cool websites.

I spend way too much time on the computer. I realize that. Everyone who knows me knows that. But it makes me feel connected, if not by voice, then by words, to those of you I would talk to five times a day if I could.

Sometimes my time spent on the Internet is not all lost. There are some really cool websites out there and I would love to share a few of my favorites. Feel free to check them out, and let me know what you think! I would love to hear your suggestions as well!

www.postsecret.com Every Sunday, PostSecret shares postcards sent in by people all over the world, sharing bizarre, unusual, touching and sometimes really close-to-home secrets. It's voyeuristic and fascinating. I love it!

www.first30days.com I found this site by accident, and it helps you address a variety of issues by breaking it down with advice, inspiration and support over a 30-day period, followed by daily emails. Quick read and actually very inspiring!

www.timharlow.com Parkview's Pastor Tim Harlow is awesome! i love listening to what he has to say and he has a blog, too.

www.fatwallet.com This site has links with kickbacks to online stores, so if you do a lot of shopping online, sign up at FatWallet, and you can get a percentage back for your purchase by linking through their site. I always go there first to see if the store I shop at is listed!

www.mysistersgreatidea.etsy.com This is Chrissy and my etsy store, where we sometimes sell our crafty stuff. You can link to all of etsy through our store, and check out amazing handcrafted everything!

That's it for now. Have a great night!

we did it.

It was a busy weekend, even by my standards. But the highlight was without a doubt, participating in the triathlon again. Talk about feeling you accomplished something! Even without being psyched about it, it was really awesome. A beautiful day in downtown Chicago, my mom and dad and girls cheering me along, feeling the team spirit with Patti and Bill (well not really Bill, but what did I expect?) The beer afterward tasted great, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Patti reminded me to re-read the blog and start believing what I write. I know what to say, and I know what I should be thinking. Sunday I felt like I took a giant step forward toward healthy and happy again. I am feeling so much better about who I am and where I am headed. And I hope all of you are too!

Let's list a goal, an achievable goal here... for the next month.

In the next month, I will ...

Fill in the blank. I will be reading your comments and encourage you all to feel good about yourself, whatever it takes.

Here's mine:

In the next month, I will visit Weight Watchers and follow the program to the best of my ability and see what happens.

Now, YOU!

the chicago triathlon.

I am swimming almost a mile in the Chicago Tri Sunday in a relay with Patti, and my friend Bill, who stepped in when Chrissy couldn't make it in from Denver this summer to run. It's Patti and my third year and while neither of us is particularly gung-ho about it this year, we are doing it, for better or for worse. Bill promises not to have a grabber during his 10K run, and so all is well.

I was so aggravated yesterday and it was one of those days where going to the gym is the last thing I wanted to do. But I wanted to get a mile in the pool in this week and I had a 5PM appointment with my torturess (aka my trainer) Arnell, so I hauled my big butt into the car with the complaining (loudly) girls and went.

I hauled ass in the pool, swimming a mile in 31 minutes, thinking of Michael Phelps the entire way and trying to mimic the form I had watched so carefully during the Olympics. And then I thought about the 41-year-old Olympic swimmer, Dara Torres, and how awesome she must feel to be at the height of her sport in her 40s.

It was an enlightening swim for me, and I left the pool in much better spirits then when I arrived, and eagerly met up with Arnell for 30 minutes of tough love and circuit training.

We can be at the top of our game in our 40s, too. It doesn't have to be the Olympics, but anything you want it to be. Whether it's being a mom, a corporate executive (or both) a Girl Scout leader, a swimmer, runner, biker, crafter, whatever. Choose something and do it with all your heart, and with the passion it deserves and just see what happens.

Life is way to short to do anything halfway, so choose wisely. And while you are at it, I recommend 31 minutes a day spent walking, running, meditating, journaling or any form of thought (mine's in the pool) about the person you want to be and all that you have to be thankful for.

You'll be glad you did.

first day of school.

And they're off!

The gun has sounded and the girls jumped on the school bus (a half hour apart!) to go to school this morning.

Most notable? Becky didn't "feel cute." Enough. Wow! Is this what happens in fourth grade? She didn't like her hair, which I had to fix with a curling iron. Me and hair, it's just not my thing. But she stopped crying at least. Then the clothes. $300 spent on new clothes and she had nothing to wear.

Oh. my. Golly. What do I have to look forward to in Junior High?

I need to watch how I talk about myself around them. It's so easy to say negative things about myself, and about how I look, etc., that I sometimes forget about the two young, impressionable women who hear me. Any more ideas for building the self-esteem that makes them "feel cute," regardless of the day? They don't seem to believe me when I tell them myself...

Hope your school year is off to a wonderful start, filled with new adventures, new friends and great experiences ahead. Good luck!

my lia sophia sisters.

I had my monthly meeting last night with my lia sophia team. At every meeting, women are asked to come up to share stuff with the group, whether you are new to the team or have been in the business a while. One woman, brand new to the business, stood in the front of the room and shared some of her ideas.

She was totally stoked about starting with lia sophia. She looked at all of us and said how great it was to be in a room full of women; bright, creative women, who are all trying their best to make their businesses a success. Most important, she said, was the way we all support each other. Which we do. I feel very little competition among the advisors on my team, but always a whole lotta love and support!

She looked out at the crowd of 50 or so and told us how great we are... how amazing we are and how happy she was to have found us.

We applauded her, and in turn, applauded ourselves and each other.

Because we are amazing! Take a few minutes to think of everything you accomplished in the past 48 hours. And you are still breathing.

Then pat yourself on the back and call your best friend and tell her she is amazing too.

Everyone needs to hear that once in a while.

so here's the deal.

I almost, almost named this blog "Vermanada."

I'll explain later, but mostly I thought it would be too difficult to remember. So here we are at www.allmysoulssisters.blogspot.com. The blog came into being at about 7:22AM this morning as I packed my dishwasher in my pajamas.

It is a combination of several seeds planted in my overactive brain and imagination for the past couple years. First, "Vermanada."

Vermanada is a place created by my best friend Patti and I during one of our girl trips to either N'awlins or SamandTonio. I can't remember which. It is a fictional place where best friends live with their kids only, a commune-like setting to escape to when they finally ditch their husband because he is too annoying, and are able to live peacefully among the sisterhood, happily ever after, with the person they would like to spend the rest of their lives with, their best friend. The name is a combination of Vermont and Canada, which at the time, were the only two places legally allowing same-sex unions.

Then, fast-forward a couple years. I am divorced (surprise!) and one of my other friends, Deb, says during one of walks around the park near her home,"Wouldn't it be great to have a place where women, in Mokena, but anywhere, really, could go and ask a question or advice, and other women could help them out by offering advice and suggestions?" She pointed out that my friend Cathy and I have a divorce and daughters in common, so we are able to relate and help each other when a problem comes up related to our situation. Deb said, "But maybe other women, not necessarily divorced, could offer that same kind of support. Because somewhere, someone else has had to be in the same situation sometime."

I agree.

Then there was Parkview's Pastor Tim's (PT's) August sermons about the book of Ruth in the Bible, and the provident hand of God, Divine Intervention (DI), and how He is constantly and gently leading us in the direction we need to go in life.

Last night I was reading Redbook, with my two daughters snuggling me out of my big bed, and there was an article on blogging. It was the same vein: blogs that have gained momentum in helping women with advice, or support, or just by making them feel not-so-quite-alone on any given day.

And then, my own DI, in my kitchen at 7:22AM. I am blessed with constant DI. You probably are too, so if you think you're not, you are just not paying close enough attention.

So, here's the blog and we'll see where it goes. It's something that I need to do and I welcome your comments, suggestions and contributions as together we can laugh, cry and be each other's sisters of the soul.

Pass the word. It will be a great ride.