Featured WIRL of the Moment

Reality – What It’s Really Like

Reality – What It’s Really Like

This post is part of a series titled, “A-B-Cs – What It’s Really Like”. Each week a new letter and its word will be revealed. Each word’s explanation will illustrate significant personal meaning, application and ultimately demonstrate, What It’s Really Like… Back in 1998 MTV debuted the reality TV s... Read More »

Previously Featured WIRLs

Setting Big, Scary Goals

I have always been very goal oriented. I LOVE setting goals and reaching them. One thing that we often talk about in Thirty-One is setting goals. Those big, scary goals. You know the ones I’m talking about, the goals that you have in the back of your mind but make you incredibly nervous to write down or say aloud. I’m very lucky to have a group of other Directors that I chat with daily. Last year ... Read More »

Work Life Balance

By “Work/Life Balance” You Must Mean: All Work, Bye Bye Life, and No Balance

Since becoming a mom, I’ve learned that there are NOT enough hours in a day. Many people often wish for “super powers” and mine would be the ability to survive without sleep! I actually hate going up to bed at night. Why do we NEED to do this!? There are so many more “productive” things I could be doing instead of laying down in a bed for 7-8 hours doing NOTHING resti... Read More »

Red Is My Favorite Color… But Not On My Skin

Red Is My Favorite Color… But Not On My Skin

  My blemishes are only skin deep. My skin won’t stop me because…. I hate it, but It’s mine. It’s the only one I’ll ever have. I have extremely sensitive skin. My hair touches my neck, and I break out in blotchy red spots. Wearing a necklace?  Blotchy red spots. Give someone a hug? You guessed it! Blotchy red spots! Recently I went to Hawaii to see family. While ... Read More »

When Flying Makes You Ask: Are You Serious?

When Flying Makes You Ask: Are You Serious?

Recently I flew to Hawaii for spring break to go see my family. While on the eleven hour flight I noticed some things that made me ask, “Are you serious?”. On the flight from Charlotte to Dallas, nothing went wrong. Everything seemed fine. I assumed that the next flight would be the same way. I assumed wrong. On the flight from Dallas to Kahului, I sat horizontal from a couple from New... Read More »

Type 1 Diabetes

Stronger Because Of It

My oldest daughter, MJ, has type I diabetes.  I don’t write about it frequently although it is very much ingrained in our daily lives, but nowadays life just rolls along without much incident as far as the disease goes. I can’t figure out how something that drives me nuts multiple times a day and has a good bit of control over some of the function of our days has become sort of ho-hum ... Read More »

Premature Baby Preeclampsia | WIRL Project

Leaving Your Baby at the Hospital – Two Weeks as a NICU Mom

15 Days. Fifteen days that felt like an eternity. Having a child in the NICU is a long, emotional roller coaster that nothing can prepare you for. Luckily, my story is a good one, and we now have a healthy 19 month old. However, I’ll never get back those minutes, those hours that I could not hold him, I could not kiss him. I wasn’t the first, second, or probably even the third person to hold my so... Read More »

Shut Up and Dance With Me | WIRL Project

Shut Up and Dance with Me – How to Lead and How to Follow

Ah, Summer. Season of weddings and first dances. For some, learning the perfect dance can be just as beneficial and effective as premarital counseling. For me, this one activity became an object lesson in how to lead and how to follow – on and off the dance floor. There we were in the middle of the dance floor, learning the box step and trying to remember the fancy add-ons we had learned the lesso... Read More »