Target the Stars Blog

I'm just a mom in Minneapolis who had a really tough year. I don't know anyone at Genesight. I'm not paid by them. I just want to spread the word that genetic testing for dangers and efficacy of psychiatric medication is NOW AVAILABLE AND SHOULD BE USED before starting any new medications. _________________________________ Update: February 10, 2018 In the news today: Las Vegas shooter had anti-anxiety medication in his system. I'm not surprised. https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/09/us/stephen-paddock-autopsy-las-vegas/index.html _______________________ This was written right after LA School Shooting February 1. Yet again, another school shooting....and nobody's talking about the shooter's brain health...they're focused on gun control (which of course IS much needed!!!!) But so is brain health. Please read the following articles and watch the videos that are rarely highlighted in the news because we're so busy fighting for or against gun con

I'm just a mom in Minneapolis who had a really tough year. I don't know anyone at Genesight. I'm not paid by them. I just want to spread the word that genetic testing for dangers and efficacy of psychiatric medication is NOW AVAILABLE AND SHOULD BE USED before starting any new medications. IF we had known about GeneSight a year ago, our family could have been saved from a lot of emotional pain and financial strain. Maybe this post will save your family from that kind of pain. We had a family member who had not one, but two adverse reactions to different anti-depressants and now that they have taken this test, we know which additional medications to avoid and/or try. This family member avoided medication for as long as possible, years...trying counseling, diet, exercise, and environmental changes to deal with severe anxiety and depression. When this family member finally wasn't functioning at all (going to school or work), she tried a very commonly used a

Once upon a time...I almost built a patio, pergola, and horizontal fence by myself. And, then, I actually built a hanging planter, by myself. I purchased a round hole saw drill attachment for my neighbor's drill. It took a lot of work and it was the only time I used cedar wood. I drilled five holes, used some rope, and stuck in 15 pots full of herbs. The grill is right next to it and it was so awesome to be able to have the kids just pluck off the herbs they wanted to add to anything we grilled and our outdoor meals. Check out my patio , pergola , and horizontal fence stories.  

Once upon a time, I really wanted a new fence. One that wouldn't potentially kill my kids with a tetanus infection or gauge their eyes out. I called around and got a few estimates to have our old 1940s metal backyard fence removed and replaced by one of those vinyl 6 foot vertical jobbies. After I stood up from my fainting couch after receiving the holy-crap-it-really-can't-cost-the-same-as-a-whole-year-at-community-college rate, I found myself pacing the lumber section at Menards, over and over, day after day.  I Pinterested and decided only a horizontal fence would do. I studied, I researched and then it rained. And it rained. And it rained. And I got so sick of the rain, that I went outside and started pulling one the old metal fence posts out of the ground. To my surprise, it wasn't cemented into the ground and with the days of rain, the ground had become soft and I was able to rip out the whole fence by myself. I got a little sore and started wearing wrist bands. 

Once upon a time, I spent way too much time on Pinterest and got it in my head that my life would not be complete until I had a pergola in my backyard. So, I got to work making my life complete. I guess this story really starts with how  I almost built a patio by myself . Gave husband heartburn, lured neighbors and teen daughter into helping me, gained some upper body strength, yada, yada, yada. But, first I called Gopher State One Call to make sure I wouldn't blow up the house or electrocute myself.  I rented an auger...dug some holes, bought some big ass posts, cemented them in the ground....and then gave up and hired a local guy named Niles to finish the job. We used his truck to buy the overhead horizontal planks. He bolted them in and screwed the cross boards to make sure no one got decapitated....and then I drilled in a little metal thing-a-ma-jig and hung up a really cheap hammock off of amazon.com and stuck it between two of the posts. Check out how I almost built a

 Once upon a time, I wanted a patio...I mean, not just the slapped down bricks with broken down wooden steps, a real patio. So, I went out and got estimates, went into shock at the cost, and then slowly, VERY slowly, started to make my own patio.  First I removed all of the old bricks I had placed directly onto the dirt about two years ago. I figured out how big I wanted to patio to be and started digging. WAIT!  I called Gopher State One Call  first to make sure I knew exactly where the gas and electric lines were buried....and then I started digging and then I dug and dug for several weeks and I thought I had almost dug a hole to China, when I stopped to measure, I had only dug about two inches down. I used my little red wheelbarrow to move the bricks and stack them around the perimeter I deemed to be my dream-sized patio. Then, I got it in my head I wanted to build a pergola. This is about when my husband's chronic heartburn symptoms started.  I rented an auger from some guy

Our little 1947 bathroom is literally the size of a photo booth, so I used photo booth pictures to decorate it. Highlighting pictures from the 40s/50s and even before, I found and printed pictures from both sides of our family going back a few generations so my children see pictures of their young and very in-love grandparents, great grandparents, and even great great grandparents. The black photo frames are from our local dollar store. The shower curtain was purchased used at a thrift store. And the wine less than a total of $50 for a brand new look. Here are some pictures to inspire you.

I created this guided meditation a few years ago for a grad school class I teach.  Enjoy!