We’re heading into the busiest vacation month of the year, especially for those of us in the northeast.  Whether you’re heading to the shore or the mountains, with family or with friends, it’s important to make the best of your time away. Today we are more connected than ever before making it difficult to remember a time when heading to a beach house or vacation home truly meant disconnecting from the hassle and bustle of life. Your parents were not pulled away to check email or take one quick call from the office.   They were on vacation and somehow it could all wait until they returned. Can you do the same?  Can you truly disconnect? Staycation or vacation – I’ve got a little challenge for you. Disconnect from it all. From email, the news, social media and your … [Read more...]

I’m not sure if it’s because I spent most of my birthdays as a child wishing my friends weren’t on vacation so they could come to my party or that I had to share a birthday treat the last week of school with all the other kids who had summer birthdays, but as an adult I have thoroughly enjoyed celebrating my birthday.   Adults will take any excuse to enjoy a summer evening out sipping cocktails as the sun sets.  To me, birthdays are about honoring this precious life, celebrating all that you’ve accomplished, and looking excitedly at the year ahead.   It’s not about how old you are, but rather it's about celebrating the start of a whole new year. I believe Oprah said it best, “I’m starting to think that the best way to look at aging is to see it as an opportunity to leave what didn’t … [Read more...]

As a child I hated 5-minute jobs. My father was notorious for saying that everything was a 5-minute job. If my sisters and I complained about doing the dishes or taking out the trash or putting our clothes away, my father would always respond with, “Hey, kid, it’s only a 5-minute job.” And overtime it became a joke, but what I realize is you really can get a lot done in 5 minutes if you’re focused. This paradigm of “It’s a 5-minute job” has followed me into my adult life. When I’m exhausted but a long to-do list is still haunting me, I often hear my father’s voice, “Hey, kid, it’s only a 5-minute job,” and suddenly the list becomes manageable. Working through those last few 5-minute jobs sets me up for a much better night’s sleep and day ahead. Even more importantly, I use this … [Read more...]

Last Thursday a dream came true for me. I filmed my first training series for melanietoner.com with a professional photographer. I nervously prepared for 3 weeks. What to wear. What to say. I had been dreaming about this day for a long time. It was finally here, and I didn’t want to mess up. What you may not know is I dream of flooding melanietoner.com with valuable, resourceful, inspiring videos that will empower women to live meaningful, authentic lives. I’m a recovering perfectionist. Therefore, while I could shoot these videos with my iPhone for free as I have done in the past. I had the desire to take my videos to the next level. They needed to be more professional. But I didn’t have the resources or the time to learn how. That’s when a miracle happened. I won a filming … [Read more...]

I have to admit lately I’ve been in a little funk. I chose to sit in the funky space for a couple weeks to really learn and discover what it was about and where it came from, so I can be sure that when it happens again I’ll bounce back faster.  This weekend I watched Pastor Joel Osteen on Oprah’s Life Class share how powerful our “I am” statements can be. They have the power to bring us what we do or don’t want. In that moment I realized I was creating my turmoil and stress. More importantly, I had the power to change it and to do it quickly. He says, “What follows I am will come looking for you.” WOW, that is powerful. Most of us are walking around saying.... I am fat. I am broke. I am tired. I am lonely. I am ugly. I am not good enough. You get the picture, so I won’t run … [Read more...]

If you could have anything in the whole world, what would it be?  What do you dream about?  If anything were possible, what would you hope for? I often find that adults have a difficult time dreaming and sharing dreams.  They are caught up in the day to day routine and have lost sight of dreaming.   I’m not sure if it’s because most people give up on their dreams before they come true or they lost hope because of what other grumpy adults have told them to believe. Either way, it’s a choice.  And I choose to dream and dream big!  I write, in detail, what I’m dreaming about or what I desire.  Some come true and others don’t.  At the time a dream doesn’t always make much sense, but I come to understand it when a piece of the dream unfolds in my life.  Have you forgotten how to … [Read more...]

Yes.  Sure.  Absolutely.  Definitely.  I’ve got it.  Yep.  No problem.  Certainly.  Indeed.  Of course.  For sure.  Sign me up. As you can see, there are plenty of ways to say YES, but it doesn’t mean you have to and chances are you really can’t afford to.  Women especially over commit our time and our energy.  Whether you feel the pressure to say yes or you truly think you can handle just one more commitment, the reality is we’re all doing too much and too often it’s at the expense of our health. We are over programed, over stimulated, and over committed. And the result…we’re missing it all.  Yep, that’s right, you’re missing it all.  Because you’re too busy thinking about the next items to check off your to-do list, you’re not focused on the task at hand.  When it comes to our … [Read more...]