Ladies, spring is in the air! As I prepare for the spring edition of 5ive for Women, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge our own “Rays of Grace” upcoming graduation. Will you please indulge me as I use this forum as an open letter to my very own amazing Grace? Dear Grace, I am on two committees helping to get ready for your all-night graduation party. With every meeting  and every discussion, your fast-approaching graduation becomes more of a reality. Your official status as a young adult has me simply blown away. I thought I was going …

As 2016 draws to a close, I have so much to be grateful for. As the New Year approaches, many of us will plot goals and make plans for the year. Ladies, I’m just trying to get through the week here. Plans for 2017 have not yet begun. Even still, amidst the hurry and the haste, I have experienced grace and focused on gratitude. Sadly, we received some horrific news this fall. My dear cousin and her husband were killed after being struck by a driver in a head-on collision. I am filled with overwhelming grief, but so grateful for …

As 2016 draws to a close, I have so much to be grateful for. As the New Year approaches, many of us will plot goals and make plans for the year. Ladies, I’m just trying to get through the week here. Plans for 2017 have not yet begun. Even still, amidst the hurry and the haste, I have experienced grace and focused on gratitude. DOWNLOAD THIS ISSUE BELOW TO READ MORE! [ in this issue] (16) Kindness of Strangers (18) Lessons from My Clan (24) Living Well with Dementia (26) Big Bennies in Forgiving (30) Cupping (32) The Gift of …

Christy Brickner has a full plate, with several roles: wife, mother of four, student, activity leader, volunteer, to name a few. Like countless Chippewa Valley women, Christy strives to cultivate equilibrium among her obligations and passions. No matter what, she knows that a balanced diet of the five Fs—faith, family, friends, fitness, and finance—leads to a more enriched life. Click the magazine below to read what Christy has to say about faith, family, friends, fitness, and finance on PAGE 10:

Recently, National Public Radio aired a news segment on Otzi, the 5,000-year-old frozen man discovered in the Italian Alps in 1991. Otzi has received a lot of attention, since he was the best-preserved “mummy” scientists have ever recovered. At the time of his death, this iceman was wearing a hide coat, skin leggings, a loincloth, fur hat, and hay-stuffed shoes. While extensive research has been carried out on the mummified corpse, scientists had been unable to identify the various animal skins due to their advanced state of decomposition. Thanks to recent advances in DNA testing, researchers have now identified the …

I’m one month into senior year. It’s weird how fast time goes. A lot of days, I still feel like a freshman; yet, in less than eight months, I will be walking across the stage to receive my diploma. Recently, I have been thinking about how I’m really going to miss my school years. Most of my favorite moments are just the fun conversations with people who at times know me better than I know myself. On top of that, here are a few of my favorite memories . . . Click the magazine below to read the rest of …

Ready or not, here come the holidays, ladies! My favorite time of the year inevitably gets me thinking: Am I where I want to be? This year, I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone. I hoped for a new experience to stretch me physically and mentally. Maybe a Tough Mudder® or even a mini triathlon? I even contemplated art classes. Well, the phone rang and I was presented with an opportunity surpassing any challenge I could have ever dreamed up. After some very creative salesmanship, I heard myself agreeing to participate in Dancing with the Eau Claire …

(Soup image credit: Diana Dolzhikova/Shutterstock) Happy fall! This is a great time of year, especially for us Midwesterners. Fall colors, fall temperatures, fall sports, and the harvest are some of my favorites. I really am an Iowa farm girl at heart. This is a perfect time of year for soups for lunch or dinner. My friend Angie gave me this soup recipe. And since we are blessed to live in a great area for apples, I am sharing one of my mother’s Apple Crisp recipes. Please visit our Facebook page to share your favorite fall recipes. Bon Appétit, Lanette Click …

Ready or not, here come the holidays, ladies! My favorite time of the year inevitably gets me thinking: Am I where I want to be? This year, I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone. DOWNLOAD THIS ISSUE BELOW TO READ MORE!   Cover photo credit: Deromi, Lukas Gojda/Shutterstock           [ in this issue] (14) Goblins and Gourds (16) The Story Lady (18) Primo Pooch (20) Scarfapalooza (22) Warming Up for Fall (24) 8 Holiday Fare Food Swaps (26) Holidays & Pets (28) Turning on the Olympic Power (30) Can Tai Chi Really be Easy? (32) Career Development …

Kitchens are one of my favorite rooms to organize when assisting my clients. Why, you ask? Excluding the bedroom (because of the hours we spend sleeping), the kitchen is the most frequented room in our home. We spend a lot of time in our kitchens. If this room is unorganized—or if the organization isn’t tailored to how the cook uses it—we may be sending valuable kitchen time right down the drain. Click the magazine below to learn Nancy Rothwell’s Seven Steps to an Organized Kitchen on PAGE 32: