Along with a simple "gift" of a reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from me to you, dear friends, I would like to share a few of my fondest Holiday traditions of my family. These are the memories that stay with us, and really tug at our heart strings every holiday season.  I think we also do our best to keep those traditions alive, while adding new ones as our families grow and diversify. There is no greater joy than sharing, meshing, and melding the past traditions and activities to make the present all the more joyful and exciting! Share your spark of joy and traditions so we can celebrate this blessed and joyful time together! Email me at [email protected] and perhaps we can vicariously experience your traditions and joy and just make this holiday season the most loving and special yet!! Merry Christmas, Blessed Yule, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!  Ho, Ho, Ho, Kari :-) 

Every time I turn on the radio or TV, I am catching tunes of the holidays, and those tunes and the sentiment shared always puts a smile on my face. I love this time of year for all the holiday trimmings, the festive music, the chaotic shopping and the brightly colored lights that dress up so many houses around the neighborhood.  All of that in one neat little package called December!  And, it just oozes joy, and anticipation of fun gatherings and celebrations with friends and family.   It is a most magical and blessed time of the year, for most of us.  Those that are not as fortunate also deserve a serving of joy and hope. So, I would encourage all that read this blog to give a small gift that would benefit someone less fortunate.  Donate some food to a local food bank or neighborhood church's food drive, maybe even take some pet food to a no-kill shelter or even donate a few warm sweaters or coats to a homeless shelter. I know all of these gifts of love and hope would be greatly appreciated in the grand scheme of things. Traditions, family, sharing love, hope and joy...these are all the things that come to the forefront of our lives this time of year.  I would ask you share those joys, your family traditions & activities you do each year, and celebrations of the season that are special, and sacred, and that warms your hearts with me, and I will share them this month, on the podcast, so we can all enjoy the beauty of the season, together!  Email me at [email protected], or better yet, tell your story in a voice message (link below), and I'll share your joyful story, in your own voice. That would make it all the more special, personal and we will feel that love, joy and hope directly. Thanks for listening, reading and letting me into your heart to share my Sparks of Joy!  Namaste, Kari

I hope this podcast helps us all to pay attention to those subtle moments that really can (and do) spark a bit of joy, happiness and thankfulness in our everyday activities. I know it may seem a bit sappy to bring up being thankful, in November, but, well, it is the season!  Perhaps recognizing and paying attention to those little sparks will add up to that moment of reflection of something positive and bring out a smile.  Since starting up this podcast, I have had so many of those subtle sparks of joy, and that truly does a great job at keeping my spirits happy and positive. And I really love that feeling...almost peaceful and yet just a wee bit energized, and eager to discover more of the same. Challenging oneself, especially in an area of our lives that we feel 100% confident in, can be especially energizing, exceptional and a great broadening of personal abilities. Like my taking on a new type of bookkeeping client!  This week I started up with J & T's Copper Penny Bar, owned by Jamie & Tommy, long-time personal friends of mine.  I am excited and honored to be brought into the "family" and I am looking forward to a roaring good time, as well as a positive and prosperous adventure with them. Stop in and see what fun entertainment Jamie has planned, something different every night! And, I must say, Tommy is the coolest of the cool bar tenders around!  They're located at 107th Ave & Peoria, in Sun City AZ. Tell them Kari sent you, to experience and share many sparks of joy!  Share any of your subtle sparks of joy by emailing me at [email protected] or leave a voice message, link below.  I'll be happy to share, if you like, and spread the joy!! Until next time, Namaste, Kari

It's here!! All Hallow's Eve!  Halloween!  I can't wait til the Trick or Treaters come to my door in their costumes and chants of "Trick or Treat"!  I'm sure there will be lots of princesses and super heroes, and maybe even a few mummies and vampires!!  Oh! What fun we will have after darkness falls upon the land. It is also a time to honor those that have crossed over and left this earthly plane.  I honor Samhain, others might celebrate Dia de los Muertos, some may honor their dead on All Saints' Day or All Souls' Day, but whatever day it is, It is a time to remember our ancestors, share a meal and enjoy the fruits of an abundant harvest.  Now would also be the time to prepare for the cold winter ahead. I enjoy this season for the cooler days, and the colors of fall, and a cup of pumpkin spiced coffee. 😊🎃 I'd love to hear what your favorite thing is about this turn of the wheel, this season. It's also the start of the holiday season, and I love getting ready for the gift-giving and the parties and the gatherings of friends and family!  There is so much to be thankful for, and so much love and laughter to share, and what a perfect time to enjoy the company of our loved ones! Do you have any special or unique holiday traditions you'd like to share?  Sharing brings so much joy to those we share with, as well as those who are doing the sharing, wouldn't you agree? :-) Send me your sparks of joy to [email protected] or leave a voice message (link below), and maybe we can add your holiday ideas to our calendars too. Let's sparkle!  Happy Halloween & Namaste, Kari

So many times I find myself in the middle of a project, getting more frustrated by the minute, because I just can't quite seem to get "it" done! I have noticed, though, as soon as the weather changes to the more mild temperatures, my energy level shifts into high gear!  That is the time I feel compelled to blast through all those unfinished projects and get them done! This past month, especially, has been a month of completions, and I couldn't be more thrilled to clear some of those projects off my To Do list! A big project, a few years in the making, has been getting through my Reiki Healing training.  I think I will put a lot of the 'blame' on the pandemic issues for stretching this whole project out 2 years longer than it should have been.  I will also count my blessings for the push of urgency I was in that was the impetus to me actually completing not only to Reiki 3 & Master, but also to add to my Healing skill set, Reiki Master Distance Healer and Reiki Crystal Healer. All of this was exactly what I was guided and directed to do, in order for me to formulate the next chapter of my Energy Healing calling. To put it simply, I will be contributing to getting this planet back on a more positive survival & healing mind set. I intend to help get this place back on track to move out of the Fear band, and back into a more loving and positive reality.  There are many working on this very mission, and now I can "step up" & take my place right next to them.  This idea, this action, this purpose is my greatest spark of joy, and I am sharing it, many times over every day. A new project I took up this last week was strictly for fun, and turned to be a hoot for me!  Teaching myself new things is not a foreign idea for me, as I have learned many things by doing my own research and "hands on" training.  This week, I decided to learn how to carve a pumpkin!  I have always carved pumpkins at Halloween, Jack-o-Lantern style, put an LED candle in it so it would glow for the Trick-or-Treaters. This year I want to actually carve the pumpkin, and make it glow through the pattern I have created. My first tries were not great! LOL However, I did carve out something more than just a triangle eyes, nose and teeth type of Jack-o-Lantern. I will try a few more techniques between now and Halloween, with the hope that I will show some sort of expertise at sculpting a pumpkin!  I'll keep ya'll posted... Email me at [email protected], or leave me a voice message (link below).  I'd love to hear about your accomplishments & pumpkin carving adventures. Until the next time....Namaste Kari

This is an experiment!  I recorded this podcast while driving in my car, and edited it completely on the Anchor app, I wanted to see just how a podcast might turn out, while working out an episode based on the inspiration I had while driving to Winslow, AZ.  Yep! "That" Winslow AZ! Just five little lines out a song written by Glenn Frey & Jackson Browne, inspired a small town in AZ to dedicate a park commemorating the corner Glenn Frye stood on, watching a girl drive by in a flat bed Ford (Credits to the Eagles song, "Take it Easy", 1972) This visit inspired me, too, to create an adventure out a work related road trip.  There are so many small towns in AZ that are great inspiration for adventure and just plain fun to explore.  These kinds of adventures are a marvelous source of so many sparks of joy for me.  I love traveling around AZ, and checking out the landmarks that make each area unique and special.  I have seen, and explored, the majestic Grand Canyon, the Red Rock mountains and vortexes of Sedona, Indian ruins at places like Montezuma's Castle & Tuzigoot Pueblo Ruins & old ghost towns like Jerome and Tombstone. There are so many other fun places to explore, here in AZ, and everywhere on this big, beautiful planet.   Have you explored around your home town, state and/or country?  What sparks of joy would you like to share of your adventures?  Email me at [email protected], or leave me a voice message (link below).  I'd love to explore with you some of your favorite places and hear about your road trip adventures. Until the next time....Namaste Kari

I don't know about you, but I love October!  The temperatures are getting milder, the evenings are starting to feel so refreshing and crisp with cool breezes blowing and Halloween is just around the corner!  And, this girl loves Halloween!  I love getting the ghoulish ghostie decorations out and turning my home into quite the witch's den! Getting ready for the trick-or-treaters is a favorite activity of mine, too.  I always try to set the scene to be a little festive, and a little bit spooky, in anticipation of the kids coming to visit this "ole witch" on All Hallows Eve! Muhahahahaha Why do I go to all the trouble to create that Halloween, ghost & goblin, spooky & just a tad creepy event at my home, you might ask? Well, some of my favorite memories I have, as a kid and then a mom with a kid, are around the holiday season, starting with Halloween!  I love the creative mood I get into and I love watching the kids enjoying coming to my door to get their treats.  I really just want to keep a tradition, a really fun one at that, alive, and being passed on to generations to come. All of this is created in the spirit of fun, and from a place of love and happy memories that I just want to share.  No judgement and certainly no negative message attached to the effort, just good, plain fun!  And, who doesn't like dressing up as a ghost, a spooky witch, a werewolf, or perhaps a princess and beg the neighbors for a treat??  For me, Halloween is just the start of the holiday season.  It is so full of so many sparks of joy to be shared and "carried on" by our kids, and then their kids, and so on!  This always begins for me on Oct 1st, to be enjoyed right up to the 31st, Halloween. Share your Halloween sparks of joy, or any holiday memories of your traditions, and I will joyfully share them on the podcast. (with your permission, of course). Email me at [email protected] or leave me a voice message (link below), and let's create those sparks of holiday joy together. Happy memories & happy holidays 🎃, Kari

Empower yourself! Yeah, I know, easier said than done, right? But it is easy enough to do if done one bit at a time.  Acknowledging we have the ability to make the choices we feel are best for ourselves is probably one of the first steps.  This particularly applies to how we might choose to react to something that has happened to us, or that we might create for ourselves. It doesn't matter if that reaction is positive or negative, as much as how we deal with those.  We can choose to dwell on the negative, rant about the issue and/or stay stuck in that frustration, anger and irritation. However, we also have the freedom to decide to move out of that negative and find something positive in that event. There might also be a lesson to learn from it, and even perhaps to share those lessons with another.  I do believe we can learn from those experiences exactly what works for us in bringing, and keeping, joy in our lives.  I am not saying you will be 'happy, happy, joy, joy' every day, all the time, but it is an encouraging idea to think we can tip the scale in that direction, if we only choose to.  We can make lemonade out of the lemons life hands to us, but we have to choose to add the sweet so we don't have just bitter lemon water.  I would love to hear your sparks of joy, especially when you have turned around that negative to a positive! Email me at [email protected], or leave a voice message (link below), and I'll share it on the next podcast. I look forward to lots of Sparks of Joy! Namaste, Kari

Have you ever met a celebrity? Perhaps you have someone, in your personal day-to-day happenings, that you feel is of a small degree of celebrity status.  I believe that sometimes that is an evaluation that is just in our minds, that we designate that status to the people we admire, or feel joy, when we have the random occasion of seeing them.  Or maybe it is a Secret Admirer type of viewpoint!  I really couldn't pin it down, except to say I have assigned many people in my life's travels a status of being a celebrity, to me! When I find myself smiling simple because I notice them, or maybe they have noticed me, I am inclined to put them in that category of non-judgmental admiration. I know nothing of them, except what I might have noticed in passing.  That's ok, too, as it truly is a spark of joy to share that admiration toward an otherwise perfect stranger. Today, we have happy trees in our front yard! I'm happy, and I would bet the trees are happy, too, because now they have a forever home!  I can't wait for the months to pass, as they grow tall and blossom leaves and flowers! This is yet another wonderful spark of joy this week! Share your sparks of joy, who's your secret admired celebrity or what makes you smile and glow with happiness around your home, won't you? Email me at [email protected] or leave a voice message (link below), and I'll share it on my next podcast. (with your permission, of course) Thanks for listening, Namaste,  Kari 😊🤩

We spend our time going through every day routines, whether they are work-related, family-related or just a personal "to-do" list. We are basically creatures of habit, and don't care much to having those routines up-ended by circumstances that are out of our control.  But, at any given time, that is exactly what is going to happen. How we deal with those "interruptions" will certainly re-set our attitude and energy level for that time.  So, we have a choice to turn these interruptions into something positive, even if it's only to add it to the to-do list and then experience that feeling of accomplishment when we can check it off as a "Done".  I would much rather take on those little hiccups as a lesson to learn or maybe even an adventure to explore and grow from. In either case, there is that spark of joy happening when I can acknowledge that I went with the flow, and got it all done. Sometimes those unexpected moments, that break us out of our routines, turn out to be rewarding in so many surprising ways. The Tarot card I mentioned in the podcast should have been "The Ace of Wands", with reference to the quote "Forget the big bang - I can create a universe with this tiny spark." (reference: A Steampunk Tarot by Barbara Moore) And, I will say again, that tiny spark can be our sparks of joy, creating a universe of love and light, filled with adventures. Email me at [email protected] to share your sparks of joy, or leave a voice message at the link below.  With your permission, I'll share them, and we can fill the universe with lots of joy! Thanks for spending these few moments with me. Namaste, Kari ❤️