The Educated Emotion

The Character of a Community If you've ever dabbled in culinary arts, you know that one of the key rules when introducing new flavors to recipes is retaining some of the original flavor. You can add all sorts of ingredients to the meatloaf...until it doesn't taste like "meatloaf" anymore. Once that occurs, you will start to offend tastebuds. Similarly, for many Memorial Day can be celebrated, observed, and honored in a host of ways. But, this year the Internet has drawn attention to the fact that we have lost much of the original flavor of Memorial Day. When I was a young girl, Memorial Day meant getting up early and attending the Memorial Day parade, visiting the grave site of fallen loved ones, followed by food and family. By the time I was a teenager, Memorial Day also included furniture sales and decorations. At some point, over the last twenty years, Memorial Day has become nothing more for some than a "Happy Memorial Day" status, hashtag, or ...

Friday will be my first day "officially" working in 2014, as I wanted a day to get my household back to normal before I start to push forward with professional goals for the New Year. A few weeks ago, I joined an effort to shed some light on local businesses through Shop Small Saturday, Buy Local Week, and Pinterest's Hometown Pins Competition. In an effort to be globally competitive and create a sustainable earth, sometimes we forget one of our first lessons: take care of home. The holiday season, and the sense of community we experienced, was a great reminder of how much buying power we each have every day. One of my "resolutions" is to patronize businesses that invest in the community I live whenever possible. Before I was an entrepreneur, I was a writer. So, I thought it'd be fitting to focus on my favorite writing spots in my hometown for my submission to Pinterest. Below, are my 2014 Picks for the best places to write in Ann Arbor. http:...

I wish you all a wonderful day, filled with gratitude, joy, and Thanksgiving. When I think about everything good and positive in my life, I can't help but to think of all the good  and positive people that I have come in contact with this year. I have been the beneficiary of many wise people, great clients, and advisers, and that is very humbling. There really is noone that does it alone. As we get ready for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday - here are 3 quick quotes and reminders from entrepreneurs, celebs and business owners that all businesses should remember to help us stay in the spirit of Thanksgiving: 1.  "Customers don't need us, we need them,"  Fred Meijer.  (via Facebook) 2. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to help people in need. You're all apart of it, and I'm so grateful. Happy Thanksgiving." ~— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) November 22, 2012  (via Twitter) 3.  "Thanksgiving is a mi...