ShoalsWoman Stories
Shoals Woman of the Year: The Finalists
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:01:03 pm
Donna Akins is quick to deflect praise for herself onto others. “I have a fabulous staff,” she says. “They make me look good. It takes a team approach. You know what they say about ‘it takes a village’ is true.” Akins is director of Arc of the Shoals, a nonprofit organization that provides services to adults with intellectual disabilities. Akins...
Christmas tug-of-war
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:12:36 pm
Christmas carols make it sound so simple.
“There’s no place like home for the holidays.” “I’ll be home for Christmas.” “Santa Claus is coming to town.”
But what place? Whose home? What town?
How can couples merge holiday traditions?
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:12:49 pm
A tradition is traditional because it has been meaningful to someone for a long time. So, your new family’s traditions are precious to them. In all your planning, don’t plan OUT your newfound “folks;” plan them IN. Allocating time is an art form, but if your new in-laws know they’ve been “planned in,” the amount of time you spend will not be as...
Clergy talk about good books
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:01:12 pm
The Good Book takes pride of place on the bookshelves of local Christian clergy. More often than not, there is more than one translation of the Bible not just on the bookshelf, but scattered around the home and office.
Houses good enough to eat
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:01:27 pm
Everyone knows the story of Hansel and Gretel, two children famous for getting lost and leaving a bread-crumb trail through the forest. Little did the Grimm brothers know that their creative storytelling would include the debut of one of Christmas’ most popular icons — the gingerbread house.
Giving thanks
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:01:28 pm
If you are reading this, you have more than one reason to be grateful.
You can see. Your eyes (perhaps with a little help from an optometrist) can focus on the words and images.
You can read. You view more than a jumble of nonsensical letters. You can look at, comprehend and analyze these sentences and ideas.
And that’s a wrap …
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:01:31 pm
Are you in a gift-wrapping rut? Tired of using the same old paper and bows year after year?
Visions of sugarplums
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:01:34 pm
Let’s see: Saving time and money by doing all your Christmas shopping in one spot ... supporting local businesses ... discovering new businesses ... helping your community ... having fun.
’Tis the season for feasts and frenzy
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:01:37 pm
The joyous season of shimmering lights, inspirational celebrations, much loved holiday music and gift giving has arrived once again. For most of us, the holidays have become a time of excessive feasting and frenzy. Thanksgiving will be the kickoff meal. We’ll spend several days preparing our family’s favorite dishes, making enough food for a...
Treat yourself during holidays
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:01:41 pm
The holidays can be a time of loneliness for the single again, especially your first one. I know. I’ve been there. But there is one huge perk to being alone during the holidays: You finally get what you want for Christmas.
More ShoalsWoman Stories
Finding the right gifts
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:04:11 pm
It’s happened to us all: That nagging feeling you get during the holiday season that, despite all the checking and double-
checking you’ve done, you’ve managed to forget someone important on your gift-giving list — a teacher, gardener or caregiver, perhaps.
Try these savory side dishes
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:04:46 pm
Back in the day our grandmothers, and maybe even our mothers, we prepared holiday meals from what came out of the garden — even in December — or perhaps we popped open those jars of July butter beans and frozen blocks of August cream corn. It hasn’t been so many generations that Americans have been too busy to prepare meals from scratch, or so...
To protect and serve
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:04:57 pm
Lori Jett loves to help people.
That, however, might not be the first thought folks have when they find themselves on the other end of a radar gun.
Bargains hide in unlikely places
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:04:55 pm
Shoals shoppers are smart. We know the tricks to getting the most style for our money. We know where the best buys are hiding and the cutest clothes can be found.
A bumpy road
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:05:06 pm
In the wee hours of the morning, when most Shoals residents are asleep in their beds, Emma Walker often can be found at her mother’s kitchen table, sharing a pot of coffee.
At your service
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:05:17 pm
This is a very rewarding job,” Shanna Smith says. “For some of the children, we are the only sunshine in a gloomy day. We might provide the only hot meal they have the entire day.”
Battling time
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:05:09 pm
There aren’t many idle hours in Marsha Moore’s day.
“My work day is two-part — the hours spent performing my job, and then the ‘second’ shift at home,” said Moore, 43.
Her day begins about 5:45 a.m. and usually ends about 11 p.m.
A life-changing experience
Oct, 28, 2008 Last Updated:04:58 pm
Having a child is a life-changing experience for a woman.
Timing made it even more so for Mandy Berry. “I had to grow up pretty fast,” said Berry, 25.
Berry had just begun a new job when daughter Lilly, now 3, was born.
