This is a fairly big weekend for memories and fun in Canfield

September 5, 2026

Holy hell, it’s Canfield Fair weekend. If you grew up around here, those words alone probably unlocked a flood of memories. Funny thing is, we all experienced the fair differently. Heck, even the same person experiences it differently depending on the stage of life they’re in. As a little girl, the Canfield Fair was pure magic. It was the animals that somehow smelled both terrible and wonderful at the same time. It was pony rides that made me feel like I was in a parade. It was cotton candy that disappeared before you even realized you’d eaten it. Candy apples — which, for ...

People sometimes enjoy being creatures of habit

August 29, 2026

The other day, my oldest son and I did something that, in hindsight, probably disrupted the entire ecosystem of our church. First, let me set the stage. I rarely go to Sunday Mass. If I can choose, I’m a Saturday evening person. It’s become a tradition I genuinely enjoy with my mom and her dear friend. We go, we catch up afterward, and it’s become just as much about spending time together as it is about the service itself. Second — and this may be the bigger miracle — my teenage son willingly came with me on a random Sunday that wasn’t Christmas, Easter or accompanied ...

The perfect Fourth of July that wasn’t

August 22, 2026

I know we’re well past the Fourth of July. Most of us have already shifted gears into back-to-school shopping, thinking about the Canfield Fair and making plans for Labor Day weekend. Yet here I am writing about something that feels like it happened eons ago. Maybe that’s exactly why. Some moments deserve to be revisited because what matters never truly disappears. It simply changes form. Kind of like rain. Water evaporates after a storm, rises into the clouds and eventually finds its way back to the earth. It never really leaves. It just continues the cycle, reminding us that ...

The dial-up approach to improving your health

August 15, 2026

Let me start by saying this: By no means should you take anything I say after this sentence as an absolute. I am not a doctor. I am not a dietitian. I am not a nutritionist. I am nothing more than an avid Googler, podcast listener and someone with my own experiences. That said, I think a lot about health. Probably because, like many of you, I’ve spent years trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Right now, we’re living in the world of GLP-1s. Whether you love them, hate them, are considering them, or are already using them, they have changed the conversation ...

I wasn’t loafing, but I did learn a lesson for $83

August 8, 2026

Well, not to cut straight to it, but I’ve never been one to beat around the bush. It’s probably why, when I speak at events, my presentations are usually under 10 minutes. That’s about my attention span when listening to someone else’s monologue anyway. Now, teach me something? Start a conversation? Ask me a question? Good luck getting me to stop talking. So, I guess I contradicted myself already. Anyway ... I didn’t do it. I did not make enough money selling banana bread to cover my bill. As startup businesses go, though, I’d actually call it a success. I didn’t ...

Complacency and the banana bread experiment

August 1, 2026

Have you ever thought about trying something? Not something fun like kayaking or skydiving — although I would argue what I’m about to tell you is just as exciting and exhilarating. At least to me. This story is also why it can be a little dangerous to be around me when you speak your dreams out loud. You see, I have a bad habit of finding ways to make things happen. I’ve matured enough over the years not to do it for other people. Someone once told me, “You can deliver the mail, but it’s not your job to open it.” That lesson took me a while to learn but I stick to it like ...