Here we are again, folks! Out with the old! In with the new! Many of us have already reflected a bit about the past year and prepared one or more New Year’s Resolutions. What can we promise ourselves to start or stop doing on the first day of the year, that we’d truly stick with, once decided? (If you’re reading this after day 1 of any new year, you have my permission to start wherever you are!) Often New Year’s resolutions are about kicking a habit or improving our own lives in some way. In my efforts to support and inspire others, I love to throw out random alternative ideas. We can create New Year’s Resolutions from anything that sparks us! For instance, I enjoyed fashioning this poem (of sorts) with relevant rhyming words to suggest a wider view of resolutions. (Many of these serve to share impact beyond our...

What do I know about blogging?Is it talking? Teaching? Or Flogging? Meaning? Beaming?Or taking chances?(Staring glances into my life for all to see. Does someone care to see?)How do I express these thoughts? Too much? Too little? Without belittling anyone?Maybe something of universal interestwill spring lightly from my tongue before this day is done.I’ll give it a try, and don’t mind if I do.I hope I can engage a few of you with my ramblings, and hopes, and dreams (come true?)About creative life, artists’ strife, being wired, and (of course) staying inspired! A little creative imagery… by Paula C SnyderArtwork/Layout Created and Poetry/Article/Blog Written by Paula C Snyder © 2015 – All Rights Reserved

This poem is an excerpt from David Mezzapelle's new book, 10 Habits of Truly Optimistic People:  Stay Inspired A poem by Karen Lyons Kalmenson Stay inspiredwith open heartand eager mindfor you will see beautyin everything you find.The world will indeedbe a happier place,as you navigate thehills and valleyswith a smileupon yourface. Paula C Snyder, Staying Inspired blogger, was a published contributor of several articles in the first volume, Contagious Optimism, released in 2013 (pictured below). Visit The Contagious Optimism Book series website for more information, find local live events, purchase merchandise, and to have your own stories considered in future editions.

Here is how I introduce myself when performing for little ones: "My name is Grandma Paula.I once was a little girl. (My name is Grandma Paula.I once was a little girl.)My hair was brown and fuzzy,in ringlets and in curls,And when I sucked my thumb too much,My teeth looked like a squirrel's!When I got some braces.My teeth were pretty pearls.That's how Grandma Paulacame from a little girl. My name is Grandma Paula.  I once was a little girl.(My name is Grandma Paula.  I once was a little girl.)Then, I had a daughter.  (She was a little girl - of course.)And I had grand-daughters - A matching set of girls!I began to sing to them and they began to twirl.That's how Grandma Paula came from a little girl!" (c) 2013 Paula C Snyder aka Grandma Paula The song lyrics above are the very short explanation of how my alter-ego, Grandma Paula, came to...

A Singing Telegram?  Isn't that when someone dresses up in a silly costume, runs up to a designated person, sings "Happy Birthday" (or something else), and does something embarrassing for the fun of it? Do they still do that? Singing telegrams have been around since 1933. Per Wikipedia, they were first delivered by Western Union, as an attempt to make telegrams more popular and fun than the standard topics of urgent news: (like "Your uncle died. Stop. Funeral in 2 weeks. Stop...." - you get the idea). Telegrams were delivered in person. When telephones became a standard household service in the 1960s, in person telegrams fell off because people could call to talk to each other directly. Western Union suspended its singing telegram services about 1974, but independent companies continued to provide them.  The practice is still very much alive today.   So, what is a singing telegram?  People often imagine sending someone dressed up in costume...