Tips & Tricks

Contributed by Trish Stirling.  When I was a kid, I wanted to be either Madonna, David Bowie or Pippi Longstocking. To me, these were people who smashed social constructs, owned their eccentricities, and knew how to take up space. Me, I was shy, and was only comfortable when I remembered to be small, because that was how I had successfully gotten through life thus far. Another childhood hero of mine was Punky Brewster. If you weren’t around in the 80’s, Punky was a 9-year-old orphan who spoke loudly, wore colorful clothing, and wasn’t afraid of anything. She took up space and...

Declining a drink can be awkward and sometimes overwhelming. Parties, work events, book clubs, vacations...