Health + Wellness

Four Days Instead of Three Weeks: What a Teenage Dancer Taught Me About Treating the Whole System

Every dancer knows the sentence. "Take the week off, then we'll see."I wrote that note myself recently — for my own daughter. She'd started having low back pain with the things dancers can't avoid: walking, leg extensions, high kicks. There's an old joke in this profession that treating your own family never goes well, and I'd normally agree. But she was hurting, and I know what the standard path looks like from here. A week out of class. Then a week or two of modifications, standing off to the...

Arts + Culture

How Learning Music Helps Heal and Strengthen the Brain

How Learning Music Helps Heal and Strengthen the BrainBy Todd Parks, Owner and Founder, New Song School of the Arts What happens inside the brain when someone sits down at a piano, picks up a guitar, plays the drums, or begins to sing?Far more than most of us realize.Learning music requires the brain to listen, remember, anticipate, coordinate movement, recognize patterns, process emotion, solve problems, and make adjustments, often within fractions of a second. Few activities ask so many...

Finance + Legal Services

Do You Have a Strategy or Just a Schedule?

Ask a small business owner about their plan for the year, and most will describe a list of things they want to get done. More clients. A new hire. Better cash flow. Those are goals - and goals are good - but they are not a strategy. Strategy requires knowing where you stand before you decide where to go.If you have ever asked yourself how to stop reacting to financial problems and start planning ahead, a SWOT analysis is one of the most practical places to start. It does not require a consultant...

Finance + Legal Services

Next Year Starts Now. Why Every Small Business Owner Needs a Budget.

Budget is one of those words that makes small business owners uncomfortable. It sounds corporate. It sounds like extra work. It sounds like something you build once and ignore when reality does not cooperate.None of that is true when it is done right. A budget is simply your best thinking, written down, about what the next 12 months should look like. And for a small business owner trying to stop reacting to financial problems and start planning ahead, it is the most valuable document you will...

Life + Culture

Nonprofit of the Month

The TWU Career Boutique: An Investment in Student Success Article by Nicole A. Sonkur, M.S., CCSP | Photography by Courtesy of TWU Career Boutique Imagine stepping into your dream job interview knowing that you look like a million bucks without having spent a single dime getting there. That’s the reality for students at Texas Woman’s University (TWU), where becoming interview ready goes beyond basic resume advice. At the TWU Career Boutique, housed in the Career Connections Center, students...

Life + Culture

First Responders of the Month

Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1 Provides More than Medical Care Article by Valerie Merrick | Photography by Courtesy of Denton ESD Recently, Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1 went above and beyond for a local resident. Capital Joshua Esquivel recalls, “We were at the station when a community member walked in and asked if we could check her vital signs because she wasn't feeling well. As we do with any walk-in medical call, we notified Denton County Dispatch and...

Home + Design

Fall Décor

From Heirloom Pumpkins to Garden Roses, Natural Textures and Layering Create a Cozy Autumn Retreat Article by Jessica Crandall Lawrence | Photography by Savanna Romano “And, all at once, summer collapsed into fall.” Oscar Wilde once penned these sentimental words that so aptly describe this late summer season. The beautiful surrender of nature that occurs in September will soon give way to deep fall colors and fascinating textures. From fallen pinecones to prickly straw bales, the outside...

Beauty

Time To Shine

Beauty starts inside. When we love ourselves, we care for ourselves. Inner Radiance Wellness and Aesthetics brings intention toward finding your own inner radiance. Article by Ken G. Crawford | Photography by TinTin Wynn Photography & Films What does it mean to live a “good life”? Theologians, philosophers, and artists have chased this question for eons. Two foundational questions are “What do I want for my own life?” and “What impact do I want to have in the world?” In this new chapter of her...

Home + Design

Make It Durable, Make It Different

The Perfect Flooring Solution for Stylish Interiors Article by Valerie Merrick Flooring is a major part of any home and living space. From children crawling around to a family game of Twister or a retiree using assistive walking devices, home flooring supports every step at home. Sometimes flooring obviously needs a change, such as after an appliance flood. Other times, flooring simply becomes outdated as colors and styles shift. Choosing flooring is a big decision, both because of how visible...

Shopping

Workin’ It

Young Professional Fashion Fit for the Perfect Pitch to the Happiest Hour Article by Roxanne Carne | Photography by Adeline Merrick: Merrick Multimedia Call it the One-Piece Rule: one of this fall's most popular fashion trends, and also the smartest way to get dressed while somehow still being the simplest. Instead of piecing together five brand-new looks from scratch, real style now hinges on a single, deliberate anchor - one bold piece, worn with confidence, everything else kept quiet around...