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Philadelphia’s 2018 Flower Show Just Adds Water
“Flowers rewrite soil, water and sunshine into petal’d poetry – Terri Guillemets Story, photos by Sharon Kozden There’s just something so wrong about attending the Philadelphia Flower Show on March 2nd, while the single most bad-ass storm of winter, 2018 had its ‘old man’ expressing rage like rarely before. A 30-year resident of Philadelphia stated it was the worst he’d seen in his entire time there. And that’s all I’m going to say about it because, let’s face it, we none of us want to recall its downright meanness. We’d much rather enter the Pennsylvania Convention Center and meander about, while waxing hopeful about spring being eminent. Agreed? Seems this…
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Explore Spiritually Uplifting Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona
Photos, story by Cassie Hepler When you move out west and your high school friend suggests a weekend birthday escape to Page, Arizona, the only answer is hell, yeah! The drive from Phoenix should only take about 4 hours but in my world of scrambling to get out the door early on a Thursday, I had my Google maps set to no highways and it took me like 6 hours, past some sort of water dam around twisting, winding roads and snow capped mountains. I had no clue where I was, barely had cell service as I was on the phone working out transitioning the blog URL names and Google…
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Eat and Drink Your Face Off in San Antonio, Texas While Exploring the City
Photos, story by Cassie Hepler When the tourism board for Visit San Antonio, Texas invites you on a press trip, you go. Especially when it’s a culinary tour and the itinerary includes eating, exploring (hey, that sounds familiar), sleeping, wining and dining at some of the best spots that this massive city has to offer (its the 7th largest city in the U.S. while Philly is 5th). The night before the scheduled 4 a.m. flight from Philly by Southwest (hint: never agree to early flights while having spotty reception in the Poconos the previous week), I was bouncing around from back to back events and packed at 8 p.m. the night…
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Recharge Your Energy Battery With Reiki Near Washington Square
Photos, story by Cassie Hepler Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy. It literally means “universal life energy”. So remember that day that was 50 mph whipping, freezing winds and rain? That’s the tundra we trudged through for this story. And by…
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Back in Almost Full Action from Scoliosis Fusion Surgery
Photos, story by Cassie Hepler I would say at this point, 6 months from scoliosis fusion surgery I am about 90 percent healed. The numbness above my right butt cheek has shrunk down even more and it is not numb anymore on the right front of my pelvis. Dr. Heller said it will continue to go away until I forget about it altogether. I can’t imagine ever forgetting it completely. However, I’m sure there will be vacation days of travel and wonder ahead that will keep my mind occupied on the beauty of the world. I am also officially allowed to twist 25 percent now which certainly makes driving and…
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Scoliosis Fusion Surgery and Scars Only Make Me Stronger
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler You know it’s funny. I didn’t know how having scoliosis surgery would effect my modeling and acting career. But surprisingly it only made it – and me – stronger. Apparently everyone is not a shallow Hollywood jerk face we are all lead to believe. People barely notice the scars and if they do, a simple retouch in Photoshop or Lightroom clears them up in one fell swoop. As humans, we are not perfect. It is our imperfections that make us beautiful. Since healing from surgery, I feel like a new, better version of myself. The kind of person who doesn’t take crap from anyone and…
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On The Mend: Healing and Feeling Fine From Scoliosis Fusion Surgery
Photos, story by Cassie Hepler From the last post I made, I have progressed so much it is actually unbelievable sometimes. Since the first physical therapy session at Novacare in Bala Cynwyd in April, I have been making “double progress” as my physical therapist Chip said. The last time I went, I got yelled at for trying to do a plank on my own at the gym because I’m “not ready yet”. However, I can now do a plank with ease at 20 second intervals. The next challenge? Working back up to side planks which used to be easy for me to continue to straighten out the fusion (I still…
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Dinosaur Bones and Big Eats at the Philadelphia Restaurant Festival
Story, photos by Elizabeth Coffey As one walks around the Academy of Natural Sciences, the scent of delicious food in the air, it’s difficult not to do one’s best Tyrannosaurus Rex impression. I, the casual omnivore on the prowl, walked into 2016’s Philadelphia Restaurant Festival with anxious anticipation, looking forward to all of the delights that would dance upon my tongue that evening. In front of the bones of one the late Cretaceous period’s biggest meat eaters was Modelo serving up some of its best brews; a dark beer, a light beer, and a beer infused with tomato. Deeper inside the museum, local restaurants and establishments put their best food…
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I Am Now Part Robot! Scoliosis Fusion Surgery a Bionic Success
Story, photos by Cassie Hepler Well, it is now almost 2 months since I was sliced and diced at Jefferson Hospital on Feb. 12, 2016 around 9 a.m. Three days before surgery, I was told by my employer to use up my vacation days and then go on unemployment. So much for that plan of being supported and having nothing to worry about but recovery. But this is the rhythm of my life. My life has never been easy and deep down, I had a feeling it was too good to be true. Too late to file for any disability claim, I just focused on the task at hand: mentally and…
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Explore a Fragrant Portrait of History at This Year’s Philadelphia Flower Show
Photos / Story By Jill Beckel Spring has sprung at the annual Philadelphia Flower Show which has opened in all its splendor at the Philadelphia Convention Center. This year’s Flower Show theme is Explore America, marking 100 years of the National Park Service. It “celebrates the centennial of the National Park Service and our country’s majestic natural landscapes, rich history, and vibrant culture.” If you missed last year’s flower show, the theme was “Celebrate the Movies” for comparison. The Flower Show celebrates an amazing world of great gardening and design that dates back to 1829. Each year, acres of gorgeous gardens and outrageous floral arrangements come together for the world’s largest indoor flower exhibition. The…