Overview:

Spotlight:
For author Kizzy K. Johnson, the idea of coffee and the way people communicate inspired her to write a book, “Coffee Shop Therapist: Sound Advice For Life’s Spills.” “I'm all about showing people how to begin the conversations they tend to avoid,” says Kizzy.

The book takes taboos, stigmas and controversial topics head on, one story at a time. Each story begins with someone unsure of how to approach a sensitive topic and ends with Kizzy showing them how to face it, tell the truth and get the truth. Sometimes it’s blunt, and sometimes it’s even messy but it’s always necessary.

Follow the author as she gives advice on issues like Open-Relationships, Homosexuality, Addiction and Adultery. After reading “Coffee Shop Therapist; Sound Advice for Life’s Spills” you’ll be able to wipe up your own life spills. Everyone has had to either avoid or face one or more of the topics discussed in this book. If you want to stop avoiding them, stop feeling ashamed, stop feeling unsure or confused on how to approach them then “Coffee Shop Therapist: Sound Advice for Life’s Spills” shows you how to do just that.


Coffee Shop Therapist: Sound Advice for Life’s Spills is more than just an “advice” book, it’s a “how to get past it all” book. This book is filled with witty, candid and heart-felt stories of people seeking Kizzy’s advice.The author takes us on a journey as she converses with strangers, friends and family on how to move past pain, admit their insecurities, take accountability for their actions and realize what true communication is.





Guest Post:
1. Knowing Your Lover’s Conversation Type is just as important as knowing your blood type. Your lover’s conversation type will impact the frequency and depth of any conversation you have with him/her. Knowing their conversation type will help you have more fulfilling conversations.

2. Space Jam is strictly prohibited. Sometimes when we have things we want our lovers to share, we are persistent, sometimes to the point of nagging. Do not do that; give your lover their space. If they want to talk, they will. All you can do is be supportive by letting them know you are there to listen when they are ready. . You cannot make people talk, so do not try.

3. Pay attention to the proverbial mood ring. It may not be as easy as looking down at a finger and knowing their mood but it is worth investing the time in learning the signs of your lover’s different moods. Pay attention to their behavior, their words, and the body language before jumping into a discussion. Do not try discussing additions to the house when he/she is visibly upset about something else.

4. Stop rolling your neck and eyes, grow up why do not you. No one ever had a productive heartfelt conversation when they felt they were being attached by judgment or sarcasm. There is a time and place for everything and if you want to have meaningful communication with your lover, remove these two.

5. Leave sleeping dogs where they lie. Do not bring up past hurt, pain, or transgressions. If you have talked about a past action of indiscretion, do not bring it up in your present. You should

Catherine MacDonald graduated from the University of the Pacific with a B.A. in English and a Minor in Communication Arts. She earned a Masters in Education from the University of Nevada, Reno. A former school teacher, she owns and operates several small businesses with her husband. She was the vice-president of the Romance Writers of Nevada before it disbanded in 2002. Her published works include The Jeweled Path, Divine Diva, Comstock Rose, Road Queens, Coming Home, and The Way. She is a Reiki Master Teacher who has pursued the Diva trail for over twenty years and she urges everyone to empower their life by accessing their own power and creating the life they deserve at www.supernovel.com/blog.

They lurk behind your front door. They try and seduce you at the refrigerator. They call and demand your time, and you,

In a memoir of missteps and misdeeds, Deanna Nowadnick writes of the hugeness of God's love and faithfulness. Reframing life in God's grace, she discovers an indescribable, indefinable, inexplicable love that has encircled her without fail through joyous, sad, cringe-worthy, heartwarming, forgettable, memorable moments in life.

I found myself relating to Deanna's life, and I am sure others will too. It is very well written, and honest. I really enjoyed her honesty in this book; she puts her life right out there good and bad. I enjoyed knowing that I

This is the first self-help book that I have read in years. I don’t normally read too many books of this genre, but this one did sound good to me. Though it was a good book and made sense in many areas it took me a very long time to get through it as it references more to business, at least that is how I read it. I do believe this book would be great for people who have a career or just starting out in the corporate world. Business, careers, corporate life is really not my forte as far as reading material goes.

I did not get into the book as I thought I would, and as many others did or will. I do appreciate the fact that the second part of the book was supposed to be about family and relationships that are outside of business, I did not read that, that was the case. Christensen still gave examples from the business perspective. Family life examples would have been more appropriate for me.

I did take away from the book the fact that my family and any of my relationships come before career and money. Actually for me God comes first, then my family, friends, co-workers etc.

Disclaimer: I received this book free for an honest un-biased review.

The Funny, Broken, Love of Parenting

I click open a Facebook message. A friend has sent me a word search and tells me to let my eyes fall onto the image and take note of the first three words that I see. These are the words that best describe me, she promises.

I shrug, take a sip of coffee, and glance at it. “Funny,” “broken,” and “love” are my words.

When I close the message, I’m tempted for a moment to try again. What other words are hidden in that tangle of letters? Maybe on my second try, my eyes will land on a combination such as “smart,” “attractive,” and “successful.” (That would be nice.)

I don’t give it another try, though. The words I read the first time are just right considering how I’ve been spending my days for the past several months, thinking and writing about the family in which I am the wife and the mother and about my family of origin, where my story began.

Funny, broken, love - sounds like family.

MOMumental: Adventures in the Messy Art of Raising a Family is about my own missteps and small victories as a mother. Over the years, after beginning my parenting journey – as so many of us do – staggering under the weight of the expectations I had for myself, I’ve loosened up. I’ve come to learn that none of us is perfect. We all fail, misunderstand our kids sometimes, and mess up in countless ways. In MOMumental, I share stories of some of my “epic fails” as a mom.

The dire messages that flash on the computer or television screen that warn what a mother absolutely must or must not do no longer hold me tightly in their grasp. I now look at myself – and at other mothers – with less judgment, knowing that we all work it out, there is no manual for motherhood, and that the most important thing in raising kids is to be authentically connected with them. (And a person can do that whether she serves microwaved macaroni and cheese to her kids for lunch every day or gives them homemade bread and a sampling of organic greens from her vegetable garden. Whether or not she homeschools them, uses “the family bed,” or exposes them to Mozart by the time they are six days old.)

I hope in sharing my own personal – and often quite cringe-worthy – story in MOMumental, other parents will show themselves, and other parents, more grace as we raise our children.

To me, those three words – funny, broken, and love – are great ones to reflect on when I think about the gift of family. To be able to enjoy our kids, repair our relationships with them when needed, and most of to love our children like crazy covers a multitude of parental crimes and misdemeanors.

Wishing you all the best in your own messy family-making adventures!