By Susan | January 21, 2010
“We are all taught to speak. Only 50% of our population is taught to listen.” ~ Marilyn Shannon
What’s that old saying? We are given two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we speak? Too bad no one seems to practice that! I heard a very thought-provoking presentation by [...]
By Susan | December 15, 2009
Giving gifts during the holiday can be a wonderful custom, full of fun and memories. But it can sometimes cause extreme stress due to lack of time and, in this economy, lack of money. But using a little imagination and maybe a little time, can turn this holiday tradition back into the thing it was [...]
By Susan | December 14, 2009
He was tall with blond hair topped in a long crew cut, and he flashed the biggest grin I had ever seen. His drawl proclaimed “southern boy” before he could even finish 5 words. When he first came (okay, swaggered) into my store last year, dressed in his Raleigh Fire Department uniform, my first thought [...]
By Susan | December 11, 2009
The baby smiles as the morning light hits her face, warming her skin, which smells sweet from her bath. She is picked up and cuddled; her coos bring smiles to her mother’s face.
The baby cries alone in her crib, her miserable wails ignored as her teenage mother, who dropped out of high school, watches [...]
Posted in Shopping | Tagged Social justice |
By Susan | December 2, 2009
One of my favorite movies is “Same Time Next Year”, a funny, touching moving about a couple who only see each other once a year for a weekend tryst. The movie chronicles the decades they spend together, 3 days at a time, and the changes their lives go through.
In a funny way, I live that [...]
By Susan | November 10, 2009
As a new business owner competing in a challenging economic climate with big box stores with multi-million dollar advertising budgets, it is easy to feel a bit like David in a share of mind battle with Goliath. So I joined a local initiative called Shop Local Raleigh which is encouraging folks to support independent stores [...]
By Susan | November 2, 2009
In this season of materialism and stress, it is important to put things into
perspective. Consider focusing on one of these each day in the month
of November. And maybe you will find that it lasts longer than one month!
Allow others to be right
Be content with what you have
Count your blessings
Dream
Examine your motives
Forgive
Go out into [...]
By Susan | October 13, 2009
Back in the day, colleges sent out letters to inform students whether they had been accepted. The thickness of the envelope told you whether it was a “yes” (additional forms to fill out and probably the instructions for turning over your life’s savings ;-), or a “no” (really, how many words does it take to [...]
