With a plethora of live music events happening locally, it’s a rare occasion for me to venture elsewhere. However, when my son’s idol, the very inspiration for his college degree, announced a visit to the Blue Note in Napa, I had little excuse not to go with him. For locals, the Blue Note is the go-to spot for some of the most exceptional artists and musicians touring the United States. And on thi…

If you live in Lake County, you find fewer and fewer reasons to leave unless you have to. And when you leave for any reason, you might be a little like me and eager to return. We truly have a slice of paradise. But there is one thing we don’t have: the ocean. Trips to the ocean and the redwoods are two of the biggest reasons for our family to leave Lake County from time to time. Luckily the coast …

It is an unmatched sound that most of us have heard many times before. Its reverberating music fills the ear and body with notes high so high they prick the ears and so low they shake the ground. Collectively, its delicious music brings a full-body encounter. Nothing quite compares to an organ’s music, but absolutely nothing compares to listening to it in a cathedral. Welcome to the monthly organ …

My Blue Zones journey is far from slowing down. But I’ll be perfectly honest with you: the Power 9 principle of Move Naturally has had me stumped for the past year or so. But that’s because I was looking at all wrong. Let me explain.  A year ago, I had been working twelve- to fourteen-hour days since the previous August. Thankfully, it was only for a season and not a long-term situation. But the …

Well, it’s that time of year again. We’re either still fully committed to our New Year’s resolutions, we get to them when we think about it, or we just don’t get to it at all (We can live with the guilt just fine, thank you.) Or maybe you're the one who is already living out your fullest potential! Wherever you are in the spectrum, have hope; this isn’t a diet article! The Bloom has partnered with…

Well, I thought we’d get the “diet” out of the way when I tell you about my two-year Blue Zone journey with food–one of the Power 9 principles. Two things that I love about the Blue Zones are that it’s carb-friendly and loves wine. Whew, that was a close one! First of all, this is a lifestyle, not a diet. Instead of forcing you to remove carbs or drink shakes, Blue Zones encourages increasing your…

Have you held a baby? Do you remember that feeling of wonder and amazement at the miracle of new life? And did you think of all the possibilities that baby could do when they grew up? I have with every baby I’ve ever held. Never once did the thought cross my mind that one day this baby would be a serial killer, rapist, or thief. I might have had concerns for their environment, such as whether they…

It seems that the world is getting worse and worse every day–no, every minute of every day, especially when we read or watch the news. It’s always bad, bad, bad. That is my main complaint about the news today. The truth is, there isn’t really more bad news happening in the world than there is good. There can’t be because governments all over the world would collapse if there were constant war, cr…

I’ve often wondered why the saying, “The West Coast is the best coast.”  I remember going to Washington, DC, our capital, not the state where I was born. I was young and madly in love: he, my soul mate and soon-to-be lover, husband, and always-best friend. We discovered we both loved Enya, the artist, and bought all the CDs we could find for our future home together. I saw Les Miserables for the …