Wing On Wing Coaching

It's time for a Holiday Photo Session!

2008-12-12T08:09:00.000-08:00

My pets love the holidays in one way (presents; trips to family & friends), but they don't look forward to the photo sessions I put them through! I love to put holiday hats on them and get them to pose. I then use the photos online as well as make holiday cards and stationery from them.

Jam, my rescue Dane, had obviously never had anyone put a Santa hat on his head. After many frames, though, we got a keeper!

My Dane girl Bella is an old hand at posing for silly photos. I think she is getting a bit tired of the holiday costumes though, if the photo below is any indication. ;-)

Finally, I even got Pumpkin the kitty in on the action. She was NOT pleased at the prospect of wearing antlers on her head. But she finally resigned herself to the ordeal.

Face-to-Face Coaching!

2008-11-16T06:38:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, November 15th, I had the pleasure of participating in a women's health and wellness workshop in Romney, West Virginia, in Hampshire County in the northeastern part of the state. The event was very well-attended with more than 35 women spending the day learning about nutrition, health, exercise, etc. I was asked to give workshops on life coaching and I truly enjoyed giving mini coaching sessions to more than 15 interested people. Since the majority of my client contact these days is via telephone, it was nice to interact face-to-face with people for a change.

CHANGE

2008-11-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

I watched in awe on November 4th as we elected Barack Obama the new president of our country. Looking at the election in historical perspective makes it a most awe inspiring event.

Considering that Obama's campaign platform is based on change is also exciting from many perspectives, not the least of which involves people creating and achieving their goals in life. It's all about change. We have it whether we seek it or not, so why not learn to embrace it and make it work for us, not against us.

As we enter a new political era as Americans, I believe we will have a more enlightened leadership which will encourage us all to seek our true power. A power that has nothing to do with force or blame or coersion.

An inspired grassroots movement started from the ground up to help enable Obama be elected, and we can now look forward to him leading us from a place of vision. When we all meet in the middle, watch out world!

Mid-Term Frost!

2008-10-07T21:10:00.001-07:00

We had our first frost of the season up here on the mountain last night. Just in time for grading mid-term exams! Luckily I had covered up the tomato plants so they didn't freeze. Since it was such a cool, wet spring, my tomato plants have taken longer than usual to mature. Consequently, I have lots of large green tomatoes still to be harvested. I'm going to let them stay on the vines as long as I dare before bringing them in to finish ripening.

Harvesting Sunflowers

2008-09-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

I planted sunflower seeds for the first time this past spring, and wonder why I've never done it before! The flowers were enormous -- over 10 feet tall -- as they grew along the side yard that is fenced. They have brought such beauty and joy to the outdoors for the past three months and I'll be sure to have them every summer from now on.

The trick now is to figure out how to harvest the seeds. I have lots of huge flowerheads and, after researching online, realize that they aren't yet ripe since the seeds don't have any black stripes. As soon as they appear, though, I am going to cut off the heads and allow the seeds to dry and fall off. Then I'll boil them in water and roast them in the oven. It will be wonderful to have sunflower seeds on my salads this winter from the gorgeous flowers that brightened my summer.

Sunflowers are also the flower of my zodiac sign, which makes the fact that I have finally discovered the joy of growing them even more meaningful. The photo above is one of my flowers that I captured in the early morning just as the moon was setting.

My Website is Unveiled!!!

2008-09-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

WooHoo!!!! My website is finally ready as of today. Thanks to my designer Elisa Miller who designed it for me. She programmed it from scratch, using no templates. Elisa did the designing and I did the writing and photography. We are pretty proud of our online "baby" and I'm pleased to have it as an additional tool to help me in my marketing efforts to build my coaching practice.

Check it out at www.wingonwingcoaching.com

Well into the semester already

2008-08-29T06:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I completed teaching two weeks of classes at the college where I work. I was even asked to pick up a fourth class, taking over for a professor who is in hospital for an extended period. I've almost been able to memorize everyone's name. Oddly enough, I seem to remember the men's names before the women's. I need to figure out the reason for that one. Maybe because the guys in the class distinguish themselves sooner than the girls usually do. It's the distinctions about someone that enable me to remember their names.

Although I'll have lots of work with all the classes (two essay writing classes and two communications/speech classes) it will be good to have a paycheck again. I dubbed the summer that is coming to a close my "Summer of Plenty" to indicate that I already have plenty, so don't need more money. It worked for the months I needed to, but I have another mouth to feed now (my new adopted Dane Jam) so being able to make deposits into my accounts instead of withdrawals is very welcome.

House Guest

2008-08-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

For the past week, we have had the pleasure of a wonderful houseguest, a friend I've had since 1984. (YIKES!!!) Jennie and I met each other in a beach house in Bethany Beach, Delaware, where we both bought a share in a house with a number of other YUPPIES from the Washington, D.C., area. After all these years including marriages made and dissolved, changes in jobs and careers, and moves from one country to another, we have managed to maintain our friendship.

Keeping friends when you don't stay in one place for long is difficult. Having e-mail makes it easier to stay in touch with people you no longer see, but it isn't the same as having regular face-to-face contact. Oddly enough, now that I've been in one place for a number of years, I am also located in a place where I don't meet new people that frequently. That's why maintaining contact -- both via e-mail and in person -- is so important to me.

Jennie returned last night to her home outside Washington, D.C., but we are already planning our next get together!

Last Day of "Freedom"!

2008-08-18T14:47:00.000-07:00

Classes start tomorrow. I think the university starts way too soon here. Classes shouldn't begin until September at the earliest! Having to start back to classes makes the summer end too soon, plus the classrooms are always bloody hot. Ah well. I just keep thinking about the paychecks. :-)

I'll be teaching three classes again this semester. Two sections of Communication 100/104 which is basic human communications with an emphasis on public speaking, and one section of English 101 which is how to write nonfiction essays. Even though I must get used to awakening with the alarm clock once again, I actually am looking forward to meeting all my new students. I believe we have all been drawn together for a reason, and I learn as much from my students in some ways, as they learn from me.

Success at last!

2008-08-17T10:31:00.001-07:00

I've been trying for two days to get my Photobucket slideshow to post here to Blogger with no success. A few minutes ago I finally got it to work by trying a new perspective. HMMMMMMM I had been working from the Blogger side to get the links from Photobucket to post. When I went to Photobucket and found the hidden commands, I could then directly post the slidehow to Blogger. Quite a lesson, in more ways than one.

Don't forget to vote in this week's poll to the right. Your votes and comments are welcomed.

Scenes From Our Life

2008-08-17T10:18:00.001-07:00

Farmer's Markets are one of the best parts of summer

2008-08-16T11:21:00.001-07:00

We have a lovely farmer's market in Romney, a nearby town. It is open every Saturday morning from early June until September and has been growing every year. More and more local farmers and venders are setting up free booths to sell the fruits of their labor.

This morning was a gorgeous day and my friend Diana and I set out at 9 a.m. to see what we could buy to stock our larder for the week. I bought fresh eggplants, lima beans, tomatoes, blackberries, potatoes, squash, onions, and jalapeno peppers. I also bought a locally grown, organic chicken that I plan to roast next week using a new honey and curry recipe.

Eating locally grown goods feels right as it is not only green, but supports the local economy.

Peaceful Warrior

2008-08-15T18:27:00.001-07:00

I choose not to have TV reception where I live, although it's rather easy to avoid since I'd have to make additions to the satellite which is now only setup to connect me to the Internet. I enjoy watching videos, though, and am a 5-discs-at-a-time customer of Netflix!

Tonight I watched a wonderful film called Peaceful Warrior. I really didn't have any expectations for the movie, so was surprised when it touched me so much. It is a movie version of the book Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman. It's the story of how he started on his path to self discovery while he was an Olympic team hopeful gymnast at UC Berkley and had a serious accident while riding his motorcyle which threatened to make further gymnastics impossible. I was most impressed with the character played by Nick Nolte as his "Socrates" and discovered in the special features that Nolte appears to have discovered his own spiritual path that parallels the one Millman is on.

Highly recommend the film and will have to tell my clients about it as well!

Welcome to the Wonderful World of Blogging!

2008-08-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

At 11:28 EST on August 11, 2008, I created this Blog. Intended as a place for my musings on the mountain, and as an enhancement to my professional life coaching practice, I will post on this Blog as often as the need strikes me.

Now, on to complete my Wing On Wing Coaching website text!