Month: April 2025

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably seen a thousand dreamy photos of Dubai – glittering skyscrapers, desert safaris, luxury shopping – and thought, “Is it really that amazing?”

Spoiler alert: It’s even better in person.

I recently got a chance to experience Dubai, and wow – it’s like a place where the future and the past live side by side. Whether you’re all about luxury, obsessed with culture, or want a trip you’ll never forget, Dubai delivers. Here’s why you need to put it on your travel list ASAP.

First Impressions: The City of Superlatives

When you land, you realize Dubai doesn’t do anything halfway. The tallest building in the world? Check (hello, Burj Khalifa!). Biggest mall? Yep (The Dubai Mall is a small city). Artificial islands shaped like a palm tree? Why not.

It’s big, bold, and beautiful everywhere you look, but it still feels welcoming.

Adventures in the Desert

One of my favorite days in Dubai was escaping the city and heading out into the desert.

Picture this: golden dunes as far as you can see, heart-pounding dunes bashing in a 4×4, and then a sunset so beautiful it didn’t look real. We ended the night at a desert camp with a traditional BBQ, camel rides, and stargazing – pure magic.

Old Meets New

What I love most about Dubai is how it seamlessly blends the old and the new.

One day, you’re sipping fancy coffee at a five-star hotel; the next, you’re wandering the narrow lanes of the Al Fahidi Historical District, exploring museums, and riding an abra (a traditional wooden boat) across Dubai Creek. It’s a reminder that this glitzy city still holds its roots close.

Food, Glorious Food

If you’re a foodie, just know: you’ll be in heaven. Thanks to its diverse population, Dubai’s food scene is a global mash-up.

One night, we had Lebanese grilled meats; the next, we were diving into spicy Indian curries. Of course, we made time for classic shawarma wraps grabbed from tiny roadside spots. Don’t even get me started on the sweet maqamat (little fried dough balls drizzled with date syrup) – dreamy.

Also read, 6 Must-Try Eating Tips for Your Visit to Budapest (or Anywhere Else).

Living That Luxe Life (Even on a Budget)

Dubai’s luxury reputation is honest – but you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy it.

You can splurge on a yacht cruise or a night at the Burj Al Arab, but you can also find excellent street food, affordable hotels, and free activities (like the Dubai Fountain show). It’s possible to live the Dubai dream without a millionaire’s budget.

Final Thoughts

Dubai is like nowhere else I’ve ever been – a city of dreams that somehow feels real.

It’s fast-paced but still soulful, glamorous, grounded, futuristic, and deeply connected to its traditions.

If you’re craving a destination packed with adventure, culture, shopping, fantastic food, and once-in-a-lifetime moments… trust me, Dubai must be on your radar.

I am already planning my next trip back on November 3, 2025. Join me on my 4th visit to Dubai if it’s on your bucket list as well.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Have you looked up Dubai as a possible travel destination? Which sights would you like to see? Would you take a trip there if you were in a group or do you prefer solo adventures?

Years ago, a client I’ll call Susan “confessed” to me that she’d eaten a bag of potato chips the night before her visit with me. She felt guilty and ashamed about blowing her diet which then spiraled into her feeling like a failure who could never lose weight, which led her down the path of hating her body, which then led to binge eating a box of cookies.

She joked that perhaps she should be sent to jail for not being able to follow the rules of her diet, but it wasn’t really funny.

When we talked about this, she realized that for decades she had been trapped in “diet culture mentality,” a mindset that promotes food restriction, equates beauty with a small body size, and promotes the idea that weight loss is a reflection of willpower and moral character.

It was also a mindset that did NOT help her lose the weight and keep it off.

Diet Mentality and Food

Susan shared that she lived in a constant state of deprivation and restriction. She lived in fear of letting go of being so rigid with her diet, believing that if she wasn’t strict about what she was eating, she would give into using food to feel better… to comfort, numb and distract herself. If she ate “good” food she was a good person. If she ate “bad” food, she was a bad person.

Diet Mentality and Emotions

The obsession over her food filled Susan with anxiety and fear. Using food to cope left her feeling guilty and ashamed of herself. She hid her binge eating well, knowing that if anyone found out what she was doing, she would be humiliated. Failure, guilt and shame were emotions she carried around like a heavy backpack she could never take off.

Diet Mentality and Body Image

Because diet culture perpetuates unrealistic beauty standards, most women stuck in diet mentality are dissatisfied with their bodies. Susan constantly compared herself to others and this led to low self-esteem. Over time she found herself withdrawing from social activities, wearing clothes to hide her body, and refusing to be in photos.

If you can relate, you’re not alone.

Nearly every woman I know shares a similar story.

The Cost of “Diet Mentality” Is High

Unfortunately, we’ve all paid the price of diet mentality, including me.

• The pressure to constantly track, measure, and count every ounce of food we ingest.
• The heaviness of self-criticism, blame, and disgust we feel in our bodies.
• The hits to our self-esteem when we let the scale define our worthiness.
• Losing weight and gaining it back, because we can’t stick to our diets.

As a registered dietitian, the price was especially high. I was expected to know better, do better, be better.

After decades of being stuck in diet culture, and never getting results, I decided enough was enough.

There had to be more to the story of weight loss. And that’s when I realized weight loss is not really about the food.

Of course, nutrition is important, but the truth is that diets don’t work and diet culture doesn’t help.

The Key to Losing Weight Is Understanding WHY We Are Over-Eating

In other words, weight loss comes down to what we are THINKING and what we are FEELING.

Because no diet will work as long as we are being driven by our emotions and what’s going on in our heads.

From that moment on, I started learning everything I could about how to:

• Let go of the emotions that were causing my cravings and emotional eating – including the diet mentality emotions of guilt and shame!
• Let go of the negative beliefs that were sabotaging me – including the beliefs that I was a failure and not good enough.
• Rewire my brain to help me lose the weight and keep it off.

The Results Were Incredible

I lost the weight, and I’ve kept it off for years. And my clients are doing this too.

For the past 20 years, I’ve been teaching women how to lose the weight and keep it off. But not by going on another diet. I’ve been there, done that. Quite honestly, I will never do it again.

I refuse to be a part of a culture where we set women up for failure and make them feel bad about themselves by promoting diet culture.

Instead, I’m teaching them how to lose weight from a place of love and respect for themselves.

If you’re ready to lose the weight and keep it off weight without the disastrous effects of diet culture, I warmly invite you to watch my FREE class on Weight Loss Success.

Backed by over 20 years of research into the neuroscience, psychology, and mindset of weight, this FREE class will help you learn how to lose the physical weight – and the emotional weight – and keep it off.

Also read, Are You Tempted by Promises of Quick Weight Loss?

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What issues have you had with weight loss? Have you suffered from the culture of diet mentality?

The first time I held a musical instrument changed me. The tiny 12-bass accordion came down from the attic, unplayed since my mom was a child. A teacher named Mrs. Daniels suffered through my scales as I learned how to play and read the notes.

Then came Aunt Mary’s used spinet when she upgraded to an organ. Besides practicing 30 minutes every day, my sister and I were responsible for keeping the dark wood dust-free – no easy task on a busy hog farm.

Next came an instrument just for me: a well-played flute in a battered case, purchased second hand from a graduating flutist. We took it to our small-town music store for a tune-up, giving it a cleaner sound than any of the shiny new student flutes.

A Lifelong Skill

I had a chance to reminisce when a best friend invited me to her seventh-grade granddaughter’s orchestra concert. The talented young musician sits first chair violin and certainly had the most enthusiastic cheerleading section in the gymnasium. I realized how big a part music has played in my life and how teaching music to our children is an investment that, if they choose, becomes a gift for the rest of their lives.

Upon reaching high school and earning first chair, Mom and Dad said I could have a brand new flute. Instead, I chose to have my trusty friend replated with silver. We even tucked her in a new case before a special spring concert.

I had the flute spot in quartet; the tune was Chicago’s “Color My World.” Mom spent every minute before hand-stitching a sky-blue velvet dress. It had long sleeves, a good thing because it was mighty cold that year – so cold the hog water tanks froze the night of my concert. Dad wouldn’t be there for my moment in the spotlight.

Just before the quartet took the stage, I saw my mom stand up in the bleachers and wave. I followed her eyes to the door where Dad was coming in, all cleaned up in a suit and tie. I never felt so loved.

Never Too Late to Begin Again

Fast forward 50 years. I found the old flute in a trunk during a move. It made an awful sound. The pads were rotten and the silver plate worn. While it was in the shop for repairs, I learned of a flute choir that practiced and performed in a local church.

I didn’t remember any of my fingerings that first rehearsal. But the other flutists encouraged me, and my playing was passable by the Christmas concert. I noticed my husband sitting in the back of the church and waved. When I looked a couple numbers later, he was gone. He didn’t come back. I never felt so unloved. He’s my ex now.

Keep the Music Playing

The pandemic paused most live music. It’s tricky playing a flute wearing a mask. When the new leader of a local community band announced practices in the park, I was all in. Now, as a member of the Manatee Community Concert Band, we play a full concert schedule in Bradenton’s Neel Performing Arts Center. Members range in age from students to a kid in his 90s who sits with the trumpeteers.

It’s a thrill: walking out onto the shiny wooden stage in front of a packed house and waving to my own cheerleading section. Our backdrop is a towering 3,000-pipe organ. But that’s another story.

Also read, 4 Ways Music Feeds Our Spirit in Tough Times.

A Perpetual Gift

The gift of music has enriched my life more than any other gift. Some kids pick it up, but most won’t. I play music; my sister plays golf. We were both offered the same opportunities and are happy with our choices.

I am grateful I can read and play music and for that old flute in the battered case I was embarrassed to carry. I’m grateful to my mom for setting the 30-minute kitchen timer, for the blue velvet dress and for leaving me a little something when she departed so I could go buy my first new flute – a gift to myself for my 65th birthday, also the day of Mom’s Celebration of Life.

Thanks Mom and Dad for the gift of music. I’ll be grateful to my last toot.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What one gift from your childhood has been the most valuable to you? Has music played part in your life? In what ways?

Losing someone we love can be devastating. Our whole world seems to come to a standstill, while everything else keeps on moving. It can happen in an instant or may take years. It can be planned, unexpected, tragic, painful, or even a blessing, if someone we love is suffering. One thing for sure is that the death of a loved one happens to all of us at some point. How do you begin to pick up the pieces when you are going through one of the worst things that can happen to you? 

No One Size Fits All

If you read through some bereavement books, you may see that there is a process to grief. Whilst there are stages that many of us go through, each death is different. How can you compare the grief of losing your 90-year-old grandma in her sleep, to the tragic death of a child?

In truth, there is no exact way of grieving and any way you grieve is the right way. However, after working as a psychotherapist for 20 years, and also dealing with incredibly painful deaths on a personal level, I hope my experiences are able to help in some small way.

Take Your Time

There is no time limit to grief. Somehow, someway, you learn strategies to ease the pain and agony. You know that crying all day saps your energy, makes your head throb, burns your throat, stings your eyes, hurts your soul. Gradually, you learn to cry less.

If you need to sleep, just rest. Everything else can wait. Fill your body with as much nourishment as you can, accept help from others, be gentle on yourself. You are grieving… it is painful. It may take time but, little by little things will make you smile again, even when you think you will never be able to. Birds singing, the sun shining, kindness from a friend or stranger. Do not feel guilt; it is the way things should be. It is the nature of life that all living things must die.

Talk

Talk as often as you can. Speak to friends, family, a counsellor. Talk to the person who has died. My father died over 40 years ago, but I still talk to him. Personally, I feel that talking to the person I have lost helps me miss them just a little less. It is as though they are by my side, offering comfort.

As a society, we often shy away from talking about death, though it is the one thing we all know is certain. Talk to your loved ones, let them know your wishes and find out theirs. 

Never feel you are on your own, there will always be someone professional to speak to. There are charities such as Cruse Bereavement and The Samaritans who offer telephone support. Your doctor will also be able to talk to you or provide professional support.

Make Things a Little Easier

I know as I get older, I often think about how my family will be after I have died. I have put together a file which includes important paperwork, together with my wishes for a simple funeral. It will save them trying to second guess.

Personally, I have no fear of dying. I do not see death as the ultimate finish line, just another journey or adventure. It has helped to make losing those I love a little easier, picturing them enjoying themselves wherever they are. As though they are just in the next room. If I am right, we will all meet again, and if I am not, there is no-one to tell me I was wrong, but it has given me comfort.

Finally

For anyone reading this who is going through grief, I send you my love and a huge hug. I know it is not easy. In time to come, you will feel a little better, you will learn to live again, you will smile and, who knows, maybe one day find yourself laughing.

As I wrote above, take your time, but if you find the strength, perhaps you could use your experience to help others. Grief is something we are all likely to experience in our lives, so there is always a need for kind compassionate people to provide support and comfort. You know how important a kindly word, or even a smile, can be.

Questions to Reflect on:

How do you deal with grief? Have you made a file for your family? Have you used your own experience to help others?

My mother had a birthday ritual for my three sisters and me as we were growing up. On our birthday morning, we would wake up to a corsage on our desk and a birthday card. A new outfit, carefully chosen, would be waiting for us in preparation to face the day. Our favorite lunch items were packed, and we got to choose what we ate for dinner. Cake and candles, presents and songs – it was a full production.

The Birthday Magic

I remember feeling so special on my birthdays; as if the day existed just for me. That bubble of excitement, that warm cocoon of care, surrounded me completely. It wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I realized – outside of that house, in the real world – my birthday was just another day. That bubble had popped.

No corsage, no curated moments, just me, facing the world, tackling work, my daughter’s schedule, my dating or friendship woes. Sure, I still chose something special or new to wear on that day, and when Facebook finally got into full swing (when I was about 40-ish), all those happy birthday messages actually did mean something. It felt like a tiny resurgence of that birthday magic.

As the Years Went By, Things Shifted

It wasn’t about me anymore. It was about my daughter. Her birthdays. Her excitement. A simple dinner out with friends or a birthday tea replaced lavish all-night celebrations. Over the years, my mother still meticulously picked out a birthday card for me. Inside, usually a crisp $100 bill. Her handwriting was neat and purposeful, the color of the envelope almost more important than the card – pink, yellow, blue, lavender. There were years when we always made time to celebrate together, and then, slowly, that faded too.

At some point, she started mailing the card with a check instead, but she always held out hope for an in-person visit – the ones that became further and further apart, for reasons too complicated and personal to explain here.

I don’t remember the exact year it changed. The moment I noticed things were… different.

This year, the envelope was pink. The word “MoM” was crossed out, and my name was written above it. Inside was a $50 check.

And now, I’m left with a decision – do I cash the check, or do I let it sit in a drawer for eternity?

Three Lessons I Didn’t See Coming

The Rituals That Shape Us Don’t Last Forever, But Their Imprint Does

The corsage, the new outfit, the thoughtfulness – those things aren’t my reality anymore. But they’re ingrained in me. And, in my way, I’ve passed that feeling along to my daughter. The rituals may change, but the intent behind them stays.

Time Changes Everything, Even the Things We Swore It Wouldn’t

I’m sure, in my mother’s mind, there was a reason. Maybe she was testing the waters, seeing if I’d notice. Maybe she simply forgot. Most likely, taking care of her 96-year-old husband who become homebound in the last few months, she just didn’t have the time or energy to get it together for my card.

Either way, the unspoken message was clear: things are different now.

Love Is Often Measured in Small, Unspoken Ways

It’s easy to get caught up in the loss – the faded traditions, the dwindling celebrations. But that pink envelope? That crossed-out name? It was still a card. Still a check. Still my mother, in her own way, marking the day. Maybe not in the way I wished, but in the way she could.

It’s Not About the Money

I could make this about my card being an afterthought. The money. The amount. The meaning behind the change: is she hurting for money or does she care about me less? But what I really need to ask myself is: what do I want my birthdays to feel like now? What’s the version of a corsage-and-card that makes sense to me? And, what does feeling seen look like now?

Maybe it’s not about corsages or cards anymore. Maybe it’s a text that makes me laugh. A quiet moment to myself. A dinner I didn’t have to cook. Or even just someone remembering without a social media reminder.

I don’t need a party at my age. I need connection. Intention. Maybe just a sign that someone still sees the little girl who once woke up to a corsage – and knows she’s still in there.

And maybe, on some level, that pink envelope with the name crossed out, was just what I needed.

What’s Next?

Celebrate when you can. Set rituals for you and your loved ones. And when the time is right, disregard and come up with new ways to celebrate, remember, and love.

Also read, 6 Creative Birthday Gifts for Women Over 60 That Won’t Clutter Up the House.

Let’s Talk:

Did you have a birthday ritual growing up? What was it? How did it shift as the years progressed? What birthday ritual did you create with your children/grandchildren?