Association Of Catholic Bloggers

In the early 2000s, when I first began to uncover my own ADHD, I came across an invaluable list of  50 tips for managing Attention Deficit  from Drs. Ed Hallowell and John Ratey.  I still have my original copy of the list printed off from the World Wide Web (see below), with all my notes jotted along the margins. In today's blog, I am sharing not only their life-changing advice but also  my personal experience with Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity disorder  and how I used these suggestions to transform my life. Educate yourself “Perhaps the single most powerful treatment for ADD is understanding ADD in the first place. Read books. Talk with professionals. Talk with other adults who have ADD. You'll be able to design your own treatment to fit your own version of ADD.” (Hallowell & Ratey) Nonfiction is my preferred reading . Ironically, the origins for this preference most likely comes from living with ADHD. When I start to read fiction, my mind wanders; someti

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADHD) can present many challenges in completing one's education, holding down a job and maintaining personal relationships. I would know because in the course of my life with ADHD I've struggled in each area.  Although I remained undiagnosed until my early thirties, I am happy to share it is not too late to identify those challenges and make the necessary challenges to not only cope but succeed. My strategy has been to tackle one at a time. This required being brutally honest with myself, seeking the counsel of a trusted friend, and conducting lots of research to formulate a plan for change.  Most importantly, it required a humbling of myself and instead of continuing to blame God for my circumstance, to trust He had a plan for my good in allowing ADHD in my life. Excuse Me Are You Listening? Building meaningful personal relationships can be incredibly difficult when you are so stimulated by your surrounding environ

A Seeking Heart with Allison Gingras on Breadbox Media - is an 'on-air' book club - finding the best spiritual reading and sharing it with listeners as if we are friends around my kitchen table with a cup of our favorite brew!  On these episodes, I spent time looking at some of the challenges in our lives - family (everyone is related to or friends with an  Eeyore !); finances (shared another miraculous prayer answer); parenting and health issues.   To listen or for more podcasts visit :   ReconciledToYou  

My biggest issue.  I want everything to be a PIECE OF CAKE - or a yummy gluten-free cupcake as my case may be. When I first opened the  Navigating Your Finances God's Way  small group study back on February 21st, my subconscious expectation was to have  all my financial woes  FIXED by time I reached Lesson 10!  Well, we are only on Lesson 8, and I can attest that many of our fiscal problems still exist.   We still live paycheck to paycheck, we still occasionally need a boost from our lone credit card to make our ends meet, I still do not have a steady stream of income, and our cars are still both on their last leg.   I paint such  a pretty picture every week  don't I!  Well, that comes from some years in marketing and others in human resources - you always give the negative 'strokes' before launching into the positive. IT will not be the quick fix ... READ MORE of how we are pulling ourselves out of debt All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2016

Our money problems did not start overnight.  They built overtime.  Every decision held a consequence, yet we were blissfully unaware as we spent and then after the debt had built, we continued to be blissfully unwilling to change - and consciously choose to ignore it ( Problem #1 ). To figure out where we are going, first we need to look at how we got here.  Kevin and I met when we were in high school and began dating his freshmen year in college (my junior year of high school).  We were married 5 years later, while I was still in college.  We were 21 and 23, and absolutely clueless on how to manage finances ( Problem #2 ).  I had embraced the 1980's with great zeal -- amassing over 15 credit cards (mostly of the store variety) by time I was 20 years old ( Problem #3 ).   Kevin was unaware of most of them ( Problem #4 ).  We were both hard workers but underemployed ( Problem #5 ).   So what now? Where do we start to reclaim our lives? ... read more  All Rights Reserved,

Teresa of Avila understood that humour helps us cope with difficult situations. Supposedly after a donkey threw her into a cold stream, Teresa stood in her heavy,dripping wet, medieval habit and yelled at God, “If this is the way You treat Your friends, no wonder You have so few” A word of wisdom  from St. Teresa for when we are crying over unanswered prayers, “There are more tears shed over answered  prayers  than over unanswered prayers.” St. Teresa “Pray, Hope, and Don’t Worry”  -St. Pio of Pietrelcino “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” -St. Francis “Tribulation is a gift from God – one that he especially gives His special friends.”  -St. Thomas More read more>