Tanna Marshall

Are you getting enough hugs?

You may not realize it, but we need a certain amount of physical contact for our overall physical, mental and emotional well-being.

Babies will die if they don’t get enough physical touch and affection.

I’ve always been a hugger. I had very affectionate parents, and I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by affectionate people most of my life.

When I was at Capitol Records, we were like a family so there was a lot of hugging all the time, especially as our morning greeting.

After being laid off, there was a big drop in physical contact for me.

I was caring for my mom so fortunately, there was plenty of affection there.

And I have my husband, but our time together is limited to the weekends.

Just as important, if not more – cuddles with our fur babies🐾

Or a furry monster at Disneyland💙

Petting your dog or cat (or whatever critters are in your home) can relieve stress, lower blood pressure, and increase Oxytocin (the cuddle hormone, not the opioid drug😉)

There’s nothing like the unconditional love of an animal and the joy they exude just from being with you.

Affection from humans or critters provides a feeling of connection, being loved, belonging, and contentment – feelings we all crave.

If you don’t have pets or you’re in between fur babies like I am, get some surrogate pet love from your friends’ critters😻🐶🐴🐹

For years I’ve recommended to friends and clients who are not in a relationship to get plenty of hugs from loved ones, or get a massage.

Even if you’re not a hugger, a simple handshake, touch on the arm or being near someone you care about can be enough.

So, I’ll ask again – are you getting enough love/hugs/affection?

Remember that a hug is the gift that goes both ways – when you give one, you receive one💞

You can even just hug yourself😊

Notice how you feel when you up your affection quota - I'm sure your feeling of well-being will increase significantly.

I’m sending you a big virtual hug and wishing you a weekend full of love and affection🤗

Happy 4th of July weekend!❤️🤍💙

When I was younger, I had three requirements for July 4th:

🌭BBQ
😎Pool or beach
🎇Fireworks

And Twilight Zone marathon, much to my husband’s chagrin😊

I love this holiday because I love this country and I appreciate our freedom.

Unfortunately, things have become so strained and muddled that patriotism can sometimes feel unsafe.

So, I’m focusing on the fact that we are still land of the free, home of the brave.

It may not always feel like it these days, but that’s why we need to hold on to those ideals while things sort themselves out on the way to a brighter future.

Although I love my friends who hold different beliefs than I do, I will not discuss politics and create separation between us.

I choose to stay in appreciation of all the good that’s in my life and in the world – if you look for it, you will find it…

In other people, in good deeds being done, in expressions of love and compassion that happen every day.

We just need to make the effort of looking for it because it’s often hidden, buried or overshadowed by all the other stuff.

But the good stuff is always there, just like the sun that is always shining, even when it’s hidden by clouds.

Two good things I’m enjoying - our Heaven American flag tank and S’mores Cupcakes! 🧁

My suggestion for you this holiday – regardless of your beliefs – look for the good in your life and in others.

More importantly, be kind and be a source of love, positivity, appreciation and good vibes wherever you go.

That’s how we all can individually contribute to a better world💫

Enjoy your BBQ, pool or beach, fireworks, Twilight Zone or whatever you do to celebrate this weekend.
🌟

Do you fill your precious free time with more work, feeling like you need to stay productive?

On rare occasions that time becomes available, I often find myself distracted by other busyness.

Even when I set time aside for personal growth, other things pop up that I feel I should be doing instead.

We all do way too much “shoulding” all over ourselves.

Recently I’ve been asking myself why I get so easily distracted with busy work.

We all have so much going on and many of us are totally overwhelmed by daily life and everything going on in the world.

There’s a general feeling of unrest that I believe adds to the resistance to slow down to get quiet.

Our minds can be a scary and overwhelming place.

I used to be so good at devoting time to spiritual growth –

In my 20’s I would spend hours reading, listening to tapes, meditating…

But as life went on I got busier and more indoctrinated in the corporate mindset of working hard.

I was laid off from the corporate world 18 years ago this week, and although I now make my own schedule, I’m still recovering from that corporate mentality.

By Sunday I’m exhausted and I need a no-make-up-do-nothing day.

So what’s with the distractions?

Is it fear of doing deeper inner work and what might surface?

Maybe.

When I do spend time doing inner work – which is equally if not more important than any outer work – it feeds my soul in ways I can’t put into words.

We’re so programmed to be busy all the time and exhaustion is rewarded as being productive.

So this takes some reprogramming.

And ironically, I’m “working” on that😉

I bet you can relate.

Do you have a hard time allowing yourself to slow down and do something that feeds your soul?

Staying aware of how we spend our time and allowing more space for what fulfills us is essential.

Celebrating exhaustion will not add joy – or years – to your life.

Let’s remember the importance of reconnecting with ourselves and rediscovering what we need.

Figure out what feeds your soul and allow more time for that.

That is the most important work any of us will ever do.

Enjoy your weekend🌟

Happy Father’s Day weekend!💙

I once saw a sign that read:

“Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Daddy.”

That was my father, Bob - and although he’s been gone for 23 years, I still consider myself a Daddy’s Girl💖

I mentioned many of his wonderful qualities in my previous message about Peace Officers, but obviously I want to celebrate him for Father’s Day.

He was an incredibly generous and affectionate father, and I always felt loved, adored and safe.

I know part of that was because I was an unexpected surprise. (My parents didn’t like when I referred to myself as an “accident”)

I believe one aspect of my life purpose was to give back and take care of them at the end of their lives.

My father had been having various health issues and was in and out of the hospital and rehab facilities for several years.

When things finally calmed down for him, my mom had a freak accident and lost the sight in her left eye.

I did my best to be there for both of them through all of that.

Then in 2003, I fractured my foot and was staying with my parents because it was too difficult to get up and down the stairs of my apartment building on crutches.

While I was there, my father’s health took a turn, and we knew we were approaching the end. He declined treatment and opted to stay comfortable at home.

How fortunate I was to have the opportunity to spend every day with him the last few weeks of his life.

It was during that time he asked me to move in with my mom to take care of her after he was gone.

Of course I had to honor his dying wishes, and I’m so glad I did.

I’m grateful I was able to give back to Daddy at the end of his life and continue that by caring for Mom for the remainder of her life, making her feel as safe, loved, comfortable, and happy as possible.

When you have parents who have done so much for you, how can you repay them other than living the best life you can, inspired by their example?

I aim to do that every day.

I wish that every girl has a Daddy as wonderful as mine and always feels his love, even beyond this life.

Enjoy your weekend🌟

Time to celebrate Pride Month!🌈

I’ve always had great love for the LGBTQ+ community. My first gay friend was my manager in the flower shop where I worked right out of high school. Another store manager was trans and taught me to make rose arrangement and huge bows – which I still make for gifts today. 🎀

I have many gay friends and I’ve had lots of gay “boyfriends”💗

My closest friend was Marty from Capitol Records. We lost Marty to aids in 1992 – I was devastated and cried non-stop for six months. I still miss him.

He could make me laugh like no one else. We loved going dancing at The Crush Bar in Hollywood and it was so much fun being out and not being bothered by other guys because we looked like a couple.

Every year Marty and I would have “Christmas Awareness Day” right after Thanksgiving – we would drive around looking for early holiday décor and visit Christmas tree lots and enjoy the evergreen scent.

I’m honored and grateful that I got to buy Marty’s last Christmas tree for him.

The stigma around aids is so hurtful to those afflicted so I made a point of touching Marty during my last few visits with him in the hospital.

His very judgmental mother was there during one of those visits and she looked horrified when I kissed him on the cheek before I left.

I’m so glad I did – that was the last time I saw him.

I get very upset with the misinformation that is out there – I know people who have opinions and judgments based solely on what they’ve heard without any real-life experiences of actually knowing or interacting with anyone in the community.

These people just want to live their lives in a way that feels authentic to them and love who they want to love.

I care what kind of person someone is and what is in their heart – if there is love, I’m in. Nothing else matters.

I’m excited to honor the community with the line of Pride products we created for the Heaven store!🏳️‍🌈 www.Heaven4Ever.com

Love who you want to love, be who you want to be and be proud of who you are🌈

Love is love – go out and love the good souls who deserve to be celebrated❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Enjoy your weekend🌟

This weekend is my husband Brad’s birthday!🎉

He’s done so much to influence pop culture, but beyond that, he is the most loving, kind, generous man you will ever meet.

He is always there for me and all his friends, who all consider him very loyal.

This year he’s been dealing with the affairs of a friend who’s had health challenges and shifting living situations. It’s been extremely taxing on Brad mentally, emotionally and physically, but he continues to show up and do all he can.

That’s the kind of man he is.

Probably why my father told me before he died to be with Brad whether or not we got married😉

When people ask me, “What does your husband do?”

A better question would be, “What doesn’t he do?”

He deserves recognition for all he has created that often gets overlooked, unacknowledged or credit given to others (which really pi**es me off) -

✨Founder of the popular Paper Moon greeting card company
✨ Creator of the popular Heaven store (Back online! www.Heaven4Ever.com)
✨Top-selling author of the art books Phonographics, Fame, Fame 2, The Blue Book
✨Curator of the popular gallery shows “Brad Benedict’s Sideshow” from 1988 to 2008
✨Music Producer of hundreds of compilations for Capitol Records including the Grammy award winning Ultra-Lounge series, Grammy nominated Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and the critically acclaimed holiday album “Christmas Eve” (Cover art painted by Brad😊)
✨Annie award nominee as composer for the Cartoon Network series “Squirrel Boy”
✨Producer of the critically acclaimed cabaret show, “Under the Covers with Savi”

He truly is a Creative Genius and a remarkable man.

Aside from all that, he loves me more than I ever imagined anyone would.

Who knew when I was buying Paper Moon cards and shopping at the Heaven store in the 1980’s that I would marry the man behind it all?

I’m so grateful for Brad and our friendship of 38 years and 28 years together.

So, Happy Birthday to the Love of My Life💝

Wishing you loyal friends and a love as wonderful as Brad💕

I hope you’re celebrating something wonderful this weekend, too🌟

Some of you know I healed myself of lupus in 2008 after being diagnosed at 15 and living with it for 27 years.

After a bad flare up at 18 and a week on drugs that made me feel horrible, I wanted a better way to stay healthy - so began my journey into the world of holistic health and natural healing.

The severe arthritis I experienced as a teenager drastically subsided over the years, yet I still was fatigued much of the time, so I clung to lupus as my excuse to rest.

I believed that if I didn’t have a chronic illness, people would think I’m lazy and unproductive.

The last element necessary was mental and emotional – being willing to release the lupus.

When I finally did, I felt the shift, got tested and – I was healed!

I moved forward feeling so powerful, believing I would always have great energy, all the time.

That was not the case.

But I powered through even when I was tired and often exhausted because…I am HEALTHY!

So I aim to remember:

Even though I no longer have lupus, I acknowledge without judgement that there is still fatigue and sometimes even a little stiffness.

I can disregard any perceived judgement from others about resting.

Being tired or having pain doesn’t mean I failed at healing myself - it means I’m human.

I’ve had a lot of people around me who are very tired these days.

I tell them what I tell my clients and friends –

Just do your best…

And remember that your best will be different on different days.

Same with our bodies.

One thing that has always helped me is the sun.

The heat alleviated painful arthritis and still makes me feel good while getting my Vitamin D😎

Try a little time outside, enjoying nature and absorbing the sun’s healing rays. (Responsibly😉)

Are you hard on yourself, worrying that others may be judging you?

Just for today, be kind to yourself, however you are feeling, and let it be OK.

As Wayne Dyer said, “What others think of you is none of your business.”

So when I need to rest – as many of us do since the world is exhausting right now – I’m getting better at giving myself permission to take that rest without worrying about what others think.

I hope you will too.

Enjoy your weekend🌟

I love affirmations – I’ve been doing them since I discovered Louise Hay in 1988.

They are all over my house, and I repeat them to myself all the time.

One of my favorite forms of enjoying affirmations is in items around my home –

…My front door mat
..My bathroom mirror
…My toilet rug
…My kitchen dish towel
…My back door mat
..My car

All great reminders for me and those around me to keep our thoughts positive and vibes high.

Do you have positive statements around to help you stay in a good frame of mind?

It’s so easy to get pulled off track by all the negativity around us every day, so we need things to support a good attitude and lift our spirits – even make us laugh.

One of the easiest ways is to have positive messages where you can see them regularly.

You may not want to have your personal affirmations up where others can see them – I get it. I’m very private with that stuff too. It can be uncomfortable when people ask, “What’s that?”

We never need to explain anything we’re doing to make ourselves feel better, but if we sense skepticism, condescension or negativity from others about it, it can defeat the purpose and make us feel embarrassed, silly or defensive.

That does not contribute to our good mood.

So it’s fine to keep your positive practices to yourself and let others benefit from the great energy you exude because of all the inner work and behind-the-scenes actions you take.

Although I’m very private with my affirmations, I do like some things to be visible and hopefully make someone’s day a little brighter.✨

I like that my guests, mail carrier and delivery people get a reminder to check their energy.

And that anyone driving behind me gets a reminder to Relax, that they are enough - and a wish for something good to happen to them today.

So for those who don’t use affirmations or have positive reminders around them, my intention is to make them feel good and bring some joy to their day😊

I hope this does that for you💗

Wishing you a weekend of positive thoughts and good vibes🌟

Today is Peace Officers Memorial Day – meaningful to me since my father was a policeman.

I know there are a lot of mixed emotions about the police these days, but my father was a good one, and he understood there were some bad ones too.

He joined the LAPD in 1948. I once asked him why he became a policeman since his goal was to be an accountant after WWII while attending college on the GI bill at USC and Occidental.

He said because he needed to support a wife and kids.

Translation: My mom dated a lot so he needed a career ASAP to marry her before someone else did.

I love the photos of him with my proud grandparents just after joining LAPD, in a newspaper article my Grandma saved, and with the child they found out “rabbit hunting”.

I admire him even more for committing to a career that he did not love, but one where he always did his best.

His professional photos are so telling – the first from 1948 then 1958 – you can see the change in him.

My parents were older when I was born – Mom was 38 and Daddy was 45 – so when he took me to the police station when I was 2 years old, someone thought I was his granddaughter and he never brought me back😟

He retired the minute he was eligible in 1975 when I was 9 – he was so happy to have his freedom after being of service for so many years.

And I was fortunate to have him so available to me growing up.

I was always proud to have him as my father, not just for the years he devoted to public service with the right attitude and a good heart, but because he was a kind, generous and honorable man.

I know that many people get scared or nervous when they see police, but when I see them, I feel appreciation and safety. Like all of us, they’re doing their best.👮‍♂️

Whatever your thoughts or feelings about peace officers, I wish you nothing but positive experiences with the good ones like my father.

Sending love and gratitude to all law enforcement, past and present., especially my Daddy💗

Enjoy your weekend🌟

Happy Mother’s Day Weekend!🌹

This can be a charged weekend for some, a sad one for others and indifferent for a few.

I appreciate that certain business ask if you’d like to opt out of Mother’s Day promos if it’s triggering for you in any way.

I was fortunate to have an amazing mother. She loved being a mother and she loved children – she shared that love with hundreds of little ones as a nursery school teacher of 3-year-olds for 33 years.

She was always there for me and was incredibly supportive with whatever I was dealing with. (My father too – I’ll be sharing a similar message for Father’s Day in June😊)

One thing I realized in recent years…

She didn’t share a lot of verbal wisdom in the form of meaningful insights or advice about life.

But she was always full of love, praise and appreciation – that was mutual – I always made of point of letting my parents know how much I loved and appreciated them for all they did for me.

They did a LOT for me.

They were more demonstrative than verbal in their shared wisdom and that was more than enough.

I have a special letter from my parents, delivered during a senior retreat in high school.

Mom had difficulty with spelling (I usually helped her😉) so writing this letter was a challenge practically and emotionally, which made it that much more special. My Daddy added his own little message at the end❤️

This letter helped me understand my parents’ love language early on.

I do remember one valuable piece of advice from my mom -

✨Always rub upward when applying moisturizer to your face and neck.✨

I’ve been following her advice ever since and I feel it’s been beneficial😊

Having Mom’s love and affection were always the biggest gift, along with spending so much time together during her final years as her caregiver💖

Wisdom doesn’t always come in the form of words – sometimes just as quiet love and affection.

However you are spending Mother’s Day this weekend, I wish you love and fond memories.

Enjoy your weekend💗