The New Year is my favorite holiday. I love the reflection and finality of the year before, and the freshness of a chance to improve, grow and change. I take as much time as I can the week between Christmas and New Year to think about what I am letting go of, and what I truly want to bring into my life in the next year. I invite you to do the same. What you sow now, you will reap during the next year. Here are some simple ways to wrap up the year and get focused for the year ahead:

Look back through old day planners and calendars. For each month, take note of your big accomplishments and/or events in each of the following areas of your life: health, career, family, social, spiritual, financial, ............

We're in the final 15 days of 2011. Hard to believe the year is at an end. But as we're all bustling to get holiday celebrations underway, it's important to take some time out and reflect on what this past year has meant to you, and what you would like for your 2012.

If you're like most people these days, your holiday budget  is probably a little tighter this year. Don't let that stop you from fully enjoying the Spirit of the Season, Mamas! Here are a few tips to find easy, affordable ways to get your holiday groove on!

1. Fill the house with holiday music

2. Hot cocoa. Need I say more? Make it nice, with marshmallows. Or make it naughty and spike it. Drink it in a special holiday mug

3. Take a walk around your neighborhood and enjoy the lights and decorations

4. Pop popcorn and watch some holiday classics. Rent or do a swap with friends

5. Simmer some cinnamon sticks, orange slices and cloves to fill the house with holiday ...

With Thanksgiving just a day away, some of you may be feeling uneasy about upcoming family and social events. As much fun and happiness the holidays usually bring, if you are divorced (especially if this is your first year divorced) this time of year may also mean additional stress, anxiety and confusion – particularly about how to get through the awkward comments and questions that naturally come up during social events. Here are three communication tips that will help you sail through your conversations powerfully, gracefully and with ease.

1. Set better boundaries. Let’s face it Ladies, we women are not the best at setting boundaries. Saying ‘no’ and setting healthy ...
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One such person is Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame. Colonel Sanders didn't start out rich or young or with a network of people behind him. His company wasn't handed down to him, and he didn't have an MBA or even any start-up capital. What he did have was a tasty chicken recipe and some serious determination.

At age 65, after receiving his first Social Security check for around 100 dollars, he set out to 'give away' his chicken recipe in exchange for a small percentage of profit on every piece of chicken sold.........

You can clear all the logistical, legal, financial and parenting hurdles that come along with a divorce... and you can still be overwhelmed with heartbreak. That's because your emotional self is different than all other aspects of your divorce, and it's on a timeline all of it's own.

There are a lot of ways to feel better. Some women wait for the slow passage of time. You know these women... they're the ones who, years later, are still blaming their ex and their divorce for the state of their life. They are bitter, not better. Other women decide to anesthetize their pain with food, alcohol, unhealthy relationships, etc. - habits that don't add any value to their lives. For .........

Did you know you're leaking? Right now? As you read this? You are. We all are. And I'm not talking about bladder control. : ) I'm talking about small energetic leaks we all have, which we are mostly unaware of, which can add up to a BIG drains on our psyches. Things like agreeing to do something you really don't want to do. Or putting up with the broken toilet seat. Or the messy closet you keep swearing you'll get to. Or tolerating a relationship that is no longer in your best interest. These are the kinds of things that bog us down and make us unhappy.

One of my clients this week was struggling with feeling frustrated, angry and somewhat depressed. She assumed it was ......

I had the pleasure of attending an amazing workshop this past weekend. It was 'The Next Action Program', developed and taught by my brilliant business coach Marianne Emma Jeff, who is the founder & lead coach of Women's Business Momentum Center in Los Angeles.

It was fabulous. I'm still glowing. I was saturated with new ideas and inspiring ways I could reach-out and help even more Solo Mamas. As I worked through the day, I was reminded of something very powerful: many of the same strategies used by successful businesses also apply to our personal lives. By developing a 'life-vision' statement; creating a personal mission statement; and outlining personal standards, Solo Mamas can build a blueprint for .........

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase" ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Any mom who has ever been divorced is very familiar with 'What Now?' times - those moments when life throws a curve ball and we feel like we're standing alone on a ledge - when we honestly don't know what the next move is. Yikes! Those are our 'What Now' times. Life as a divorced mom is full of them: a sudden financial crunch; a change in custody; a sudden illness - big things that can scare us to death and leave us wondering how we will ever get through.

The truth is no one gets through life without a few 'What Nows', but ...