This morning, I chatted with Robert Middleton for one of his Ordinary Visionary interviews. We both had a lot of fun, and I look forward to sharing the interview with you when Robert has it up on his YouTube channel in a few weeks.   For now, I invite you to listen to my podcast interview from September 2022 with the truly engaging Michael Vickers https://www.michaelvickers.com/ about how to free your authentic voice and find your power: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/5431c2b9-b181-4c1f-bb01-43cb57ae54a7   On a more personal note, I met with a colorectal surgeon mid-February, and we will attempt my reversal/reconnection surgery probably in July. I’m feeling well enough now to write and have online meetings and should be recovered enough from the next surgery to start teaching private voice students again in the fall. I’ve learned post-op recovery will do what it will do, regardless of what a good patient I am, but it doesn’t hurt to have a general time frame in mind! My calendar online will continue to be blocked off for medical leave through summer, but I will be available for consultations or other online meetings as needed – just email info@laurahandke.com  or call or text 503-409-0421.   This gem of an eBook takes you on an emotional journey with Abella, whose dream comes true the morning of her 9th birthday. Her best birthday present ever is a real, live horse! Yet, before the end of the day, Abella is an orphan who loses the ability to speak her truth and express herself. This eBook includes videos for vocal training. Fiction readers will love meeting Abella, and the friends and animals who help her regain her voice and uncover her strength and purpose. Speakers and singers looking to improve their vocal quality and longevity will love the vocal training videos! Abella’s lessons apply to all of us who at one time or another want to make our voices heard. Is it a fantasy fable? Or is it a book on vocal training? Lucky for us, How Abella Found Her Voice  is both. Purchase here: https://www.laurahandke.com/category/e-books   Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love,   Laura

I Dreamed of Nick and Sharon on Y&R, but I was Cast as a Cervidae Let me answer the obvious question first, in case you might have it. What is a Cervidae? It’s the family of deer – does, stags or bucks, and baby fawns. Apparently, there are about 60 breeds of deer. Now let me answer the second question, in case you might have it. Who are Nick and Sharon, and what the heck is Y&R? My friends , The Young and the Restless on CBS: https://www.cbs.com/shows/the_young_and_the_restless/ Before you deign to joke about your favorite voice teacher watching a soap opera (Gasp! It can’t be true!) know I honestly watch very little television, while I do adore movies. The only sitcom I’ve laughed at since Seinfeld is Life in Pieces https://www.cbs.com/shows/life-in-pieces/ , ironically also on CBS…and a former Y&R actor, Hunter King, is now on Life in Pieces… but I digress… I simply am not a big TV watcher, yet I’ve been following the goings-on in the fictional city of Genoa City, Wisconsin, at least once a week, since I was 15 years old. I don’t even want to do the math or pull out the calculator. I’ve watched Y&R for a very, very long time. Many of the same actors, from when I started watching, are playing the same characters now. The show is celebrating it’s 45th anniversary this year! How many TV shows last that long? Without Googling, can you name even one?  So, instead of making fun of daytime drama, I choose to celebrate Y&R’s anniversary. Now, onto my dream. I was sitting in a theatre, while a new play was starting. Sharon Case (who plays Sharon on Y&R) and Joshua Morrow (who plays Nick on Y&R) were doing a scene on a rough-hewn wooden bench on the stage. I didn’t yet know if I was cast in the play or not. Sharon wiggled her finger to me in a come-hither way, inviting me on stage. I felt grateful to have been invited. I climbed up the stairs, walked on-stage, and asked about my lines. It turns out I didn’t have any. I was to be cast as a deer, in a deer costume. I thought to myself, “I should probably take this job; it might be the best offer I’ll ever get,” even though my heart felt heavy and sad at the idea. I heard my first acting teacher, Jo’s, voice in my head. She said, “It hurts to experience yourself as less than you are, doesn’t it?” I climbed up on stage and realized a teenage boy would be much better in the role of deer, with the costume, than I would be. Then I woke up. A deer’s senses are very acute. Its vision is designed for clarity at a distance. It is especially effective at detecting contrasts and edges in dim light. Its hearing is equally acute. Anyone who has deer as a totem will find increasing ability to detect subtle movements and appearances. They will begin to hear what may not be said directly. When deer show up in your life it is time to be gentle with yourself and others. A new innocence and freshness is about to be awakened or born. There is going to be a gentle, enticing lure of new adventures. Ask yourself important questions. Are you trying to force things? Are others? Are you being too critical and uncaring of yourself? When deer show up there is an opportunity to express gentle love that will open new doors to adventure for you. -- Animal-Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small , Ted Andrews I absolutely love being a voice teacher and singer! I’m also an actor, when the right opportunity presents itself. Friends, I would not – repeat, not – turn down an opportunity for a six-week stint on Y&R. I’m ready to get down and dirty with a small role entangled between the Newman’s and the Abbot’s. Bring it on, CBS! Laura Handke’s Transformational Voice® therapy lessons are wonderful! She is a treasure trove of valuable information about voice, speaking, singing and acting. Laura guides you in understanding how your own voice “works” and provides easy practices to do between appointments. I want to thank Laura for being a very warm, encouraging, supportive vocal coach. I warmly recommend her. -Paivi PV Laura helped me find my truer voice. After just one lesson, I already feel more resonance, and more ease and comfortability in singing. Thank you. -Levi P I first met Laura a few years ago at a speaking event, where she lead one of the most fun and memorable workshops I have ever attended. More recently, I worked with her one-on-one to help me improve my vocal skills, both as a professional speaker as well as professional singer. She met me right at my level, and helped me tremendously. I am better on both fronts for working with her. I highly recommend Laura: Hire her for your next event, and she will WOW your attendees with her fun, interactive style, or work with her one-on-one to improve your own vocal skills! -Michelle M Please spread the love and pass this along to a friend! If you’re ready to bring your inner voice into the outer world, text or call 503.409.0421! I have four spaces open for private voice students – in person or on-line. Lake Oswego’s Transformational Voice® Teacher (Transformational Voice® is a registered trademark of Transformational Voice® Training Institute, LLC, and Linda Brice.), Laura

I hereby declare 2025 the year of self-nurturing.   I need it after the year I had in 2024! Perhaps you do, too.   Since my last hospitalization, I’ve begun a daily morning ritual that feeds my soul. It started in the hospital, shortly after my usual 4-5:00 am blood draw. That’s how a patient’s day begins in the hospital, as the doctors want to have the results prior to their morning rounds. Around the same time, if I was awake enough, the nurses would give me a “sponge bath” with the special body wipes designed to keep the area around my PICC line sterile. (A PICC line is a long, flexible tube that is inserted into a vein in the arm and ends in a large vein near the heart. It’s used for whatever fluids, blood or medications are in the IV or otherwise being injected.)   At home now, I’ve recovered enough strength and mobility I’m taking a mini-shower once or twice a week. The other days, I take a bag of wipes, my anti-perspirant, and a bottle of lotion into bed with me and give myself a morning sponge bath.   I’m not sure why this ritual has become so important to me. After wiping with the cloths, I gently and thoroughly massage lotion into all parts of my body I can reach, before getting out of my robe and dressed for the day. Having spent so much time on my back in bed over the last 9 months, I suppose nurturing myself in bed this way as the day begins feels healing. Like I’m taking care of myself, luxuriously. And like I’m making progress in my recovery (until the next surgery, anyway). I’ve been putting on makeup many days, and body spray or perfume.   This ritual won’t last indefinitely – it’s for now while I’m still spending a lot of time in bed, albeit now sitting moreso than laying supine, like I am right now with my laptop propped up on a pillow.   What rituals can you create, or are already doing, to nurture yourself in the new year? I’d love to hear in the blog comments!   Here are also a couple of simple and nurturing recipes for you to enjoy.   From Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home  ( https://www.moosewoodrestaurant.com/ )   BLACK BEAN SOUP   -10 sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil) -1 C boiling water -1 ½ C finely chopped onion -3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed -1 jalapeno chile, minced, or ¼ tsp cayenne -2 TBSP vegetable oil -1 tsp ground cumin -1/3 C water -1 large (28 oz) can undrained chopped tomatoes -2 cans (15 oz) undrained black beans -1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro -Additional water or tomato juice -Yogurt or sour cream   In a small bowl, cover the sundried tomatoes with the boiling water and set aside. In a soup pot, saute the onions, garlic and chili or cayenne in the oil for about five minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent. Add the cumin, 1/3 cup water, and the tomatoes. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add black beans and liquid and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally.   Drain, chop and add the softened sun-dried tomatoes. Cook 5-10 minutes longer. Stir in cilantro and remove from heat. Optional: puree half the soup in a blender and return to pot. Add additional water or tomato juice if soup is too thick.   Serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.   CORN SCONES   -1/4 C melted butter -1/2 C milk -2 TBSP brown sugar -1/2 C cornmeal -1 ½ C unbleached white flour -1/4 tsp salt -1 tsp baking powder -1/4 C currants   Preheat oven to 375. Mix milk and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Add melted butter. In separate bowl, combine cornmeal and flour. Sprinkle in salt and baking powder and thoroughly mix. Stir in currants. Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined.   On a floured board or countertop, press dough into an 8-inch circle about ¼ inch thick. Slice into eighths. Separate the eight wedges and place them on a baking sheet that is greased or covered with parchment paper. Bake 15-20 minutes, until puffed and golden.   Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love,   Laura

Dear Students, Friends and Colleagues, I’m glad and grateful to be writing this update, my first in months. I haven’t dropped off the proverbial face of the Earth or been traveling on an extended vacation. Rather, I got really sick with intestinal disease and am now recovering from major surgery. This health journey started back in April of 2023 when I first mentioned on-and-off abdominal pain to my doctor. For reasons I won’t get into here, it took well over a year before we had any kind of diagnosis or treatment plan. I had suspected diverticulitis because my father had suffered from it. Dad passed away in June while I was in the throes of the worst of the illness, and I was unable to fly to South Dakota for the memorial service and spending time with my family there. Heart-breaking. A December partial colonoscopy showed severe diverticulosis, pockets in the intestinal lining, which is common in the US and often asymptomatic. They were not able to complete the procedure because of intestinal narrowing, caused by the condition. A follow-up colonoscopy was also only partial. A CT scan initiated in the ER finally confirmed a highly infected case of diverticulitis with “angry” abscess in the colon. (A friend who experienced colitis, colon inflammation, and was hospitalized for it after a heat stroke, and has born children, said the colitis was more painful for her than childbirth.) Surgery to remove much of the colon with colostomy (“poop bag”, hopefully temporary) was done at the Providence hospital in Newberg September 18. The surgery was more complicated than expected because the infected abscess had attached to my uterus and another part of the intestine. I was in the hospital for two weeks, including two days in the ICU with 2 blood transfusions following a nasty secondary infection in the pelvic region. Other complicating factors have been a large, painful draining fecal mass in the rectum and need for catheter three different times thus far. My weight has dropped to 102 pounds. (To think many actresses and models can live on starvation diets to get this scrawny – give me 25, 35 more pounds!) That’s the short story, friends! It’s now over a month post-op. As difficult and challenging as this dark night of the soul (that’s truly what it feels like – there were times I simply wanted to give up on life) has been, I’ve also experienced gobs of grace. Like when I was scheduled to have yet another surgery in the hospital to drain the secondary infection, and it “magically” drained itself. The procedure was canceled at the last moment, after yet another pre-op CT scan. I received truly amazing care from the CNAs and nurses in the hospital. I learned to surrender and be “out of control” – more about that another time! My husband has been a phenomenal caretaker and my rock. And the support, prayers, visits, messages, calls, flowers and cards I’ve received from family and friends have left me feeling grateful and blessed, knowing I am loved. These are the blessings and miracles I remember while I’m learning to eat solid food again – enough to rebuild muscle tone and mass, walking up and down the hallway to regain stamina, or taking my first mini-shower with a shower chair. I should be ready to pick back up discussions with my new colleagues for the SPEAK UP! workshop by year end and resume teaching private students some time the first quarter of 2025, when I can hopefully resume most of the regular activities of daily living. However, the colostomy resection surgery will likely take place in a few months, and that will require a recuperation period as well. Until next time, I want to share a book gifted to me by the mother of one of my teenage voice students: SUPER GUT by William Davis, MD. I’m about halfway through it right now – this experience has left me with some issues concentrating on reading. There are a lot of other available resources regarding gut health, yet this book is as great a place to start as any and maybe better than many. Gut health is SO important – it impacts every area of health and the body. And I know from personal experience how painful gut issues can be, along with how challenging to diagnose and treat. I’m going to start working with a naturopath again to help restore my microbiome health as soon as I’m able to get out and about. God bless you and yours. Go make some music! Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love,

Dear Students, Friends and Colleagues, I don’t know about you, but 2024 has been a year full of surprises for me. And they haven’t all been necessarily pleasant. I’m propped up in bed writing this message on my laptop after another stay in the hospital, this time for three weeks. First, it was an incredibly painful bowel obstruction, followed by an equally unpleasant perforation in the small intestine, which led to an emergency second major surgery. Then, infected abscesses in the pelvic region, which necessitated yet another surgery for insertion of a drain tube. Whew! Thanksgiving week I had an NG tube stuck down my throat into my stomach and was limited to ice chips, then liquid only for several days after tube removal. Once I could eat solid food again, it was thankfully scrumptious. The chicken salad was one of my favorites; I ordered it several times in my total five weeks of hospitalization. The Saturday I was discharged, my weight was 89.1 pounds. Which is a bit horrifying, frankly. Here I am with my superhero husband, St. George, and one of my favorite CNAs, Hannah. Now for a pleasant surprise… See that vase with roses I am holding? That was a present from Jose, my friend in housekeeping. He made a point of bringing this precious gift by room #207 the Friday before I went home. He hand-crafted those beauties, including painting every individual petal. And…he signed it. I cried when he gave it to me. “No llores” (don’t cry!), he said in Spanish. When I told her about it, my nurse, Jane, cried too. I cry every time I tell this story. I’m crying right now. Happy tears of gratitude. My amazing home health care nurses have resumed visiting me here twice weekly, and I am feeling well enough again to write this update. I still have no idea when I’ll be able to resume teaching and will be having another surgery in a few months for the ostomy reversal/reattachment. I will contact those of you I’m working with on business projects separately. In the meantime, I would love to hear about your favorite Christmas and other holiday traditions in the blog comments. Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of year. My family went to the First Presbyterian church in Raymond, South Dakota, a town of now 58 people. That’s an increase of five since 2020! I was raised on a farm 11 miles from that tiny town. I was always an angel in the Christmas Eve pageant, and loved the role, ouchy wings and itchy halo and all. I was able to sing and loved the traditional holiday carols. We had our rehearsal the same day “Santa” came to town on the one main road, tossing out – from the back of a pickup truck – bags of candy and fruit for we children. Then, we went caroling, and the “town ladies” passed out their homemade candy, like Mrs. Herther’s divinity. The Christmas Eve service was, to me, heartfully reverent, especially at the end when the lights were dimmed, and the candles were passed out, being lit from one person in a pew to the next. A hush fell over the church, and I truly felt the presence of God, just like I did walking through the hills close to our house with Lucy the dog, or riding on the back of my horse, Princess. My mother came from a family of nine children, and Christmas Day was always at our house. Mom decorated, and we always had a Christmas tree, with presents either under the tree or on the fireplace hearth. Before long, the aunts, uncles, and cousins started showing up. All the women in my family are great cooks, so the food was always delicious and plentiful. We cousins would sled and toboggan on the hill beyond the shelterbelt, and come in to Dad’s home-churned vanilla ice cream and Mom’s homemade hot fudge sauce. Then we’d play ping pong on the table in the basement. Later, I would often knock out a few tunes on the piano, and some of the relatives would come in to sing with me. The whole experience, year after year, was Norman Rockwell-esque. This year will be much quieter. Before closing, on a completely different note, here’s that recipe I promised back in May. TACO SEASONING -1 TBSP chili powder -1 ½ tsp cumin -1 tsp+ salt -1 tsp pepper -1/2 tsp paprika -1/4 tsp onion powder -1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes -1/4+ tsp oregano -cayenne pepper to taste God bless you and yours throughout the remainder of 2024. Enjoy some holiday surprises and go make some music! Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love, Laura

https://youtu.be/V0luvZ-TlkQ My newsletter didn’t go out as usual last Friday because I was on a road trip to the Midwest! My uber awesome niece, Claire, got married at a lovely venue (http://www.thebarnatdunvilla.com/) in Pelican Rapids, MN on May 21st, which just so happens to be my husband’s birthday. We decided to hit the road instead of the airports and airplanes this time. The wedding was beautiful and we had a chance to spend quality time with a lot of my family members, and see some breathtaking scenery along the way. Another highlight was having a personal tour of the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center right on the campus of my alma mater, South Dakota State University. It is a world class facility along the lines of Carnegie Hall in New York. Just walking into the theatre gave me goosebumps. We also spent many hours in the car, and along the way I noticed my already tight pecs were getting painfully more so. Tight pectoral muscles are common now because of the way we live, often hunched over our cell phone or other devices. I’m at the piano keyboard when I teach voice, and at the computer keyboard when I write. That’s a good chunk of my life! If you have tight pecs, too, here’s an exercise (53-second video demonstration above) given to me by a prior voice student, massage therapist Don Beatty. Check it out – it will help! After she is tragically orphaned, young Abella loses the ability to speak her truth and express herself. She is sent to live with a reclusive uncle she’s never met, and her only friend is her horse. Abella endures heartbreak, loneliness and questions who she truly is inside. Eventually, she meets friends and animals who help her not only regain her voice, but also uncover her strength and purpose. Purchase How Abella Found her Voice for $4.95 here: https://laurahandke.com/product/how-abella-found-her-voice-e-book/ Please spread the love and pass this along to a friend! Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love, Laura

The first place I ever publicly sang, outside of school, was in the First Presbyterian Church, Raymond, South Dakota, population now 53. Raymond is 11 miles from the farm I grew up on, and I always loved singing in church and being an angel in the Christmas Eve. service – ouchy wings, itchy halo and all. Yes, I grew up in a house on the prairie, although it wasn’t all that little. More like medium size. I read every book Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote and was so excited when the TV Show aired for the first time! My younger readers and students may not remember Little House on the Prairie, yet many may be newly introduced because of the re-runs on channels like Peacock. https://www.peacocktv.com/ Your voice isn’t about just physical vocalization; it’s about how your most heartfelt values are expressed from your inner voice through your outer voice. That should be easy, right? I’ve found it to be more complex. Have you ever purchased a piece of clothing you really love, then read the tag and wondered if it was made in China or India by child laborers? https://laurahandke.com/simply-authentic-your-soul-voice-is-calling-an-introduction-to-visionary-nasreen-sheikh/ Perhaps you’ve heard people use a racial slur and didn’t know how to respond. When I was young, a close family member told me that birds of different varieties don’t interbreed, so why should humans? Even though I didn’t have an understanding of racism at such a young age, I knew in my heart that was crazy talk. Michael Landon put such themes into his scripts and onto our television sets starting in September of 1974 with Little House on the Prairie. The hardship of pioneer prairie life. Bigotry. Division amongst town people. Bullying. The stuff I can’t believe we’re still dealing with today in 2022. Yet I’m still rewatching the episodes, because somewhere in them is hope. There’s usually a happy ending, yes, but hope is different than a happy ending. Hope means you believe what caused the problem in the first place can change. That’s how I think about it, anyway. I was so impressed with Karen Grassle’s memoir, Bright Lights, Prairie Dust https://karengrassle.net/ that I wrote her a personal snail mail letter. And I heard back. I was thrilled! These are the notes I received. Whether you sing or not, speak publicly or not, write books or not, I encourage you to keep taking on new challenges, as Karen Grassle said to me. And I encourage you to read her book! Thanks, “Ma.” After she is tragically orphaned, young Abella loses the ability to speak her truth and express herself. She is sent to live with a reclusive uncle she’s never met, and her only friend is her horse. Abella endures heartbreak, loneliness and questions who she truly is inside. Eventually, she meets friends and animals who help her not only regain her voice, but also uncover her strength and purpose. Purchase How Abella Found her Voice for $4.95 here: https://laurahandke.com/product/how-abella-found-her-voice-e-book/ Please spread the love and pass this along to a friend! Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love, Laura

I went to Albertson’s today for a few grocery items. I love it when the grocery list is small, unlike when I’m preparing for a dinner party. You get in and out quickly, and the bill is a heck of a lot less. I’m putting a 15-bean soup with homemade vegetable broth and some sliced spicy sausage in the crock pot tomorrow morning, and plan to make a loaf of easy artisan bread to go with it for dinner tomorrow night. There was another item I also needed – SHAKE ‘N BAKE. Sometimes when George and I want an easy dinner, we’ll make chicken strips with SHAKE ‘N BAKE, put some frozen French fries in the oven, and whip up a quick salad. (Perhaps not the healthiest of meals, but better than SpaghettiO’s with Texas toast and chocolate cake, right?) But the store was out of Chicken SHAKE ‘N BAKE. Or so it first appeared. I peered onto the top shelf and saw one lone box, with a wrinkle in it, nearly to the back. I didn’t want the generic brand. Standing on my tip-toes, I tried using the generic box to knock over the SHAKE ‘N BAKE one and pull it closer to me. (I’m 5’, 6”.) I couldn’t reach it. I looked across the aisle and found a syrup bottle. That was taller. And it didn’t work either. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw a tall, Black figure perpendicular to me pushing his grocery cart forward and not going down the same aisle. “I can get help!” I thought. I put the syrup bottle back and went to look for the African American man. And then I thought, well, I should probably ask a tall store employee, or any employee who can get a stepstool or something. There was only one tall employee and he was busy checking people out. All of the employees were busy. So when I found the customer in the freezer aisle, I went ahead and approached him. Perhaps it’s just my imagination, but I wonder if African Americans keep to themselves in Albertson’s, and other stores around here, because of a reluctance to make direct eye contact with people. I found I needed to directly approach the man. Who was probably somewhere around 6’, 4” and, ahem, very good-looking. The conversation went something like this. Me: May I please ask you a huge favor? (Smile.) Him: Yes. (Smile.) What is it you’re looking for? Me: A tall person! (Smile.) I’m trying to get this box of SHAKE ‘N BAKE off of the top shelf and I can’t reach it. It’s in the flour aisle. I was trying to use a syrup bottle to get it and it didn’t work. Him: Oh, I’m sure we can do much better than that. You don’t need to be using a syrup bottle. We walked to the flour and baking aisle together. Me: It was the last one. It turns out it wasn’t the last one; there were three! I opted for two. Me: Thank you so much! Him: You’re very welcome. Me: You’re the best! Him: Happy to help. Why am I writing about this? Well, a couple of reasons… Since moving here in 2007, I have found Lake Oswego to be an open and easy town to live in, whether interacting with people who have multi-million dollar homes facing the lake, or in the more forested area with less expensive homes like where I live in the Lake Grove area. Yet Lake Oswego also has a history of racism I’ve only recently become aware of. I see few people of color in Lake Oswego. In Albertson’s today I saw only two people of color. The Black man I approached, and the Black man who often works in the bakery. I spoke with a dear friend of mine, a voice student who is African American, before I published this. Could it be that Black people are less likely to make direct eye contact in a public place filled with mostly white people because of a history of systemic racism? That makes me sad. And it makes me angry. It makes me wonder what I can do to help change things so that everyone in a grocery store, or anywhere else, is comfortable making direct eye contact with others, if that’s what they want to do. There is one thing any of us can do. If we observe racist behavior, we can use our voices to call it out…that is not okay; stop it! The other reason I’m writing about this experience is that it brought about joy for two strangers in a grocery store to randomly meet and give and receive help. It was fun. And that has nothing to do with race or culture, just humanity. After she is tragically orphaned, young Abella loses the ability to speak her truth and express herself. She is sent to live with a reclusive uncle she’s never met, and her only friend is her horse. Abella endures heartbreak, loneliness and questions who she truly is inside. Eventually, she meets friends and animals who help her not only regain her voice, but also uncover her strength and purpose. Purchase How Abella Found her Voice for $4.95 here: https://laurahandke.com/product/how-abella-found-her-voice-e-book/ Please spread the love and pass this along to a friend! Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love, Laura

I met with a good friend recently, a woman I know because she works for my alma mater, South Dakota State University. Over coffee, grapes, crackers, cheese and brownies, this friend and I had quite a lively conversation. Her job is taking care of people who donate large sums of money to SDSU and make sure their legacy is living on in the way that they want it to, to make an impact or a change. There is substantial risk and commitment involved with going to college and getting student loans. My friend shared several amazing stories and examples illustrating just how important donor money is and the incredible amount of good these funds can do. I don’t recall at what point in the conversation I found myself saying, “I’ve learned that when you jump, the net appears.” (Whoever originally was quoted saying something like that could be anyone from John Burroughs to Les Brown; I don’t know for sure.) My friend responded saying, “Wow, we are wired differently!” I put some thought into what she said after our conversation. Here’s what I came up with in case you might find it helpful. I think my friend has a dream job that she’s fully suited to. She has a sense of diplomacy that inspires me. I’ve known only two people who have that highly-tuned sense of being able to help people understand each other with no-one feeling offended. It’s a true gift. But are we really wired differently? I wonder if we have simply wired ourselves differently. I was wired to get good grades in school, to go to college and graduate, and then get a good job and a good retirement account. It was assumed I’d marry and have children. I think my mother was wired to expect me to marry a farmer the next acre over so we could get together for coffee every day. The road of re-wiring hasn’t always been easy. My first breaking the apron strings was a summer in Orlando, Florida when I cried in the shower at 3:00 am getting up for that bakery job at Pantry Pride every morning, I was so homesick. I later found a job with a later day shift at a steak house that suited me better. That summer away changed me. Relationships change us. So do jobs. I’ve heard people come home from trips to other countries changed. One friend recently told me she was never the same after a trip to Uganda, and that she left part of her heart in Africa. I encourage you to Google “brain plasticity.” (Wikipedia: Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned. ) You’ll find pages of neuroscientific studies on how neuroplasticity works and why it's important. Another monumental change in how I’m personally wired came about because of my first Wishweaving Circle or mastermind group, M to the 6th Power, formed in 1999. Being a member of this group completely altered my vision of what’s possible and my own personal potential. Now I always have some sort of Wishweaving Circle in place. For tips on how to start your own group, or even to look into joining mine, read here: https://laurahandke.com/the-power-of-a-wishweavers-circle-aka-mastermind-group/. How are you wired? Do you like how you’re wired? If not, take heart knowing that you and your brain are perfectly capable of and suited for re-wiring! After she is tragically orphaned, young Abella loses the ability to speak her truth and express herself. She is sent to live with a reclusive uncle she’s never met, and her only friend is her horse. Abella endures heartbreak, loneliness and questions who she truly is inside. Eventually, she meets friends and animals who help her not only regain her voice, but also uncover her strength and purpose. Purchase How Abella Found her Voice for $4.95 here: https://laurahandke.com/product/how-abella-found-her-voice-e-book/ Please spread the love and pass this along to a friend! Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love, Laura

My husband and I went to DSW Shoes last weekend because George needed a new pair of sandals to wear on the kite-flying field. The store was busy that day; I’ll estimate 25 people were waiting in line for the four registers where cashiers were checking people out. Ahead of us in line were two women; one probably in her late 30’s and the other in her early 20’s. The elder of the two had several tattoos on her face, including one of a tear drop near one of her eyes. The tattooed woman leaned over and quietly said something to the other, then they both walked briskly out of the store carrying three boxes filled with shoes, a backpack, and other merchandise. It took a moment for my brain to register what my eyes were witnessing – a theft in broad daylight in front of something like 30 other people. I said to George, “I can’t believe I just saw that. What should we do?! Why didn’t I do anything?” It occurred to me I could have LOUDLY said, “Excuse me?! Are you seriously walking out of this store without paying for your merchandise?!” George went over to one of the cashiers and told him what had just happened. I grew up on a farm in South Dakota; the closest town, Raymond—population now 53—was 11 miles away. Therefore, as you can imagine, I know next to nothing about gang culture. On the drive home, my husband pointed out that the woman’s facial tattoos likely symbolized gang affiliation. If you Google tear-drop facial tattoos like I did, you’ll find the meaning can be anything from prison time, committing a murder while in prison or being raped in prison…to solidarity with someone in prison, grieving the loss of a loved one or seeking revenge on behalf of a murdered friend. Growing up where and when I did, there were no gangs, and almost no violent crimes against humans. Most farmers had guns they used regularly for hunting and shooting animals who threatened the garden or crops (which, by the way, always bothered me). I grew up trusting virtually everyone unless someone gave me a reason not to. A random internet search tells me that in the year 1972 the population of the entire state of South Dakota was 679,000 and that 8 murders and 106 robberies were committed in the state that year. After that shoe-shopping excursion last weekend, the foundation of my feeling safe in the world was shaken. Either of the thieves may have been armed and opened fire in the store on the heels of yet another American school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and a much less publicized March attack by extremists in Somalia that wiped out 60 lives. When I walked into a store next, I felt scared for the first time in my life. I realize how blessed I was to grow up in an environment where I didn’t need to fear for my safety or life going to school or to a mall. Or going to bed at night or walking out my front door. How do any of us live in a world where we can’t take for granted that we’ll be kept from harm’s way? We never really could. Any of us could be hit by the proverbial bus, smashed in our cars, fall getting out of the shower, or be diagnosed with a fatal disease right now, today. Rather than be depressed by the possibilities, even though I may feel fear walking into a store for the immediate future, I want to share an unexpected inspiration I received from a dental hygienist a couple years ago. This is the kind of simple daily practice that can change the way any of us approach life. I don’t recall how the topic came up, but with the time-frame, it probably had something to do with COVID and how it has so negatively impacted everyone on our precious planet. Every morning when she wakes up and opens the blinds, this dental hygienist looks outside and says “Hello, World!” When she closes the blinds to go to sleep at night, she says, “Goodnight, World!” I can’t think of any better way to welcome the world without fear, express gratitude for being here, and set yourself up for a fantastic day wherein you can freely express your voice. I’m going to try it. Why don’t you join me, and let me know your experience on the blog?! After she is tragically orphaned, young Abella loses the ability to speak her truth and express herself. She is sent to live with a reclusive uncle she’s never met, and her only friend is her horse. Abella endures heartbreak, loneliness and questions who she truly is inside. Eventually, she meets friends and animals who help her not only regain her voice, but also uncover her strength and purpose. Purchase How Abella Found her Voice for $4.95 here: https://laurahandke.com/product/how-abella-found-her-voice-e-book/ Please spread the love and pass this along to a friend! Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love, Laura

In Oregon’s Willamette Valley we’re in our third week of temps reaching into the high 80’s, 90’s, and over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the less I enjoy hot weather. It makes me feel listless. Also, we vocalists need to stay hydrated! So, here’s Lake Oswego’s Transformational Voice® Teacher’s impromptu list of 7 ways to beat the heat this August. 1. Walk early. Get out to walk early in the morning. Air-conditioning is a wonderful invention, but days on end of no connection with Mother Nature makes some of us (me) cranky. So, this night owl is managing to get up earlier to go outside and walk earlier. 2. Stay hydrated. The internet tells me (so it must be true, right?) that huge numbers of people are chronically dehydrated and often don’t know it. Dehydration is not good for speakers, singers, or anyone else. If you don’t normally drink enough water, add some flavor to it. I adore lemon in my water. And I especially adore flavored sparkling water over ice with lemon or lime. My most recent purchase was a 12-pack of Trader Joe’s pineapple-flavored bubbly water on sale for $3.49. One of the women in my Wishweavers mastermind circle, Sidra, loves her kitchen gadget (https://idrinkproducts.com/) that carbonates water and other beverages. 3. Cool off in water. Speaking of water, if you have a pool or nearby lake or ocean, awesome. I can drive to the Oregon coast (where it’s much cooler) in an hour and 45 minutes, something I’ve deeply appreciated since moving to Oregon from Arizona in 1990. If not, get creative. I ran across my neighbor, Mike, walking his chocolate lab, Jazzy, last week. He had just gotten one of those kiddy pools for Jazzy and she loved it. He climbed in with her and Mike loved it, too! Why not?! 4. Eat cold food. I love to cook a couple of times a week, but when it’s hot outside, not so much. Get creative with cold food, like salads. Chop up some romaine lettuce, bell pepper, tomato, cucumber, and toss on some baby spinach leaves. Maybe grate a little carrot or add green peas. For my last chef salad, I added a hard-boiled egg, a bit of diced ham and cheddar cheese, and topped it with a drizzle of both Catalina and blue cheese dressing. SO delicious on a hot day! 5. Enjoy watermelon. Yes, what about watermelon? This watermelon salad recipe (https://www.loveandlemons.com/watermelon-salad/) is more elaborate than those I’ve made in the past, and it looks spectacular. Did you know you can add watermelon to vanilla ice cream for a yummy shake? Seriously, try it – it’s  wonderful. Just don’t add extra liquid because the watermelon provides plenty. Personally, I don’t mind a slightly runny shake. 6. Be quietly creative. In the middle of a heat-wave may not be the best time to start a new dance class. But it might be the very best time to pull out a sketch pad and pencils, or use karaoke videos on YouTube to sing out the songs you loved in high school and college. (I’ve been doing that!) 7. Experience gratitude. If you live in a house with air-conditioning, like I do, remember that many people across our globe don’t have that luxury. I’m grateful for my little Vornado fan that blows on me quietly at night when I’m in bed. There you go, your voice teacher’s hacks for beating the heat! Enjoy your August until I show up in your inbox again in two weeks. Thanks for allowing me space there. After she is tragically orphaned, young Abella loses the ability to speak her truth and express herself. She is sent to live with a reclusive uncle she’s never met, and her only friend is her horse. Abella endures heartbreak, loneliness and questions who she truly is inside. Eventually, she meets friends and animals who help her not only regain her voice, but also uncover her strength and purpose. Purchase How Abella Found her Voice for $4.95 here: https://laurahandke.com/product/how-abella-found-her-voice-e-book/ Please spread the love and pass this along to a friend! Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love, Laura

It’s an average, ordinary Monday, yet I just got home from having the most fun I’ve had in a while. When was the last time you sang for fun? Sometimes, as a voice teacher, I forget how awesome it is to sing just for fun! Here are photos of my first time ever rehearsing with a band, Ten O’Clock Hill. I’ll share more news as we’re getting closer to recording a fun little blues song I wrote. Sing for fun this week, ‘eh? And because we’re still in the middle of a heat wave here – a reminder about the summer of the cold socks. https://laurahandke.com/?s=summer+of+the+cold+socks After she is tragically orphaned, young Abella loses the ability to speak her truth and express herself. She is sent to live with a reclusive uncle she’s never met, and her only friend is her horse. Abella endures heartbreak, loneliness and questions who she truly is inside. Eventually, she meets friends and animals who help her not only regain her voice, but also uncover her strength and purpose. Purchase How Abella Found her Voice for $4.95 here: Please spread the love and pass this along to a friend! Love Your Voice & Voice Your Love, Laura