In the Mix with Aaliyah Miller

Karim and Billy  When I was a kid everything felt like it took forever. Not anymore. Most days, I feel like time flies. This past week Karim and I celebrated our one-year anniversary of adopting Billy. Although it's been a year it doesn't feel like it. I remember the day we met Billy and he visited for a play date with us. An hour into the visit I knew we were going to keep him. As he made his way through the house sniffing it from corner to corner and wagging his tail, my gut said, "He's the dog for us and we're the owner's for him." Happy to report I was right. When I come home for work feeling sluggish and tired, he cheers me up. He always greets Karim and I with excitement, high energy and his big brown eyes warm up whatever room he is in.  This first-year with Billy has been a year of adjustment and learning. He continues to surprise us. Here are three things that I've learned and just wanted to share: You can teach an old dog new ...

How time flies. It was just a few weeks ago that Karim and I were enjoying our travels to Amsterdam and Germany. It was a lovely trip. A much needed vacation or as the Europeans say, "holiday." Our travels blessed me with the opportunity to reconnect with Erica, a friend from high school and attend our friends, Coco and Jens' wedding.  The trip is filled with memories I will cherish. One of the reasons I really enjoyed my latest trip is due to my travel agent. Shout out to  Travel by Simon ? Yes,they still exist. Your probably saying that's so 1980s. Well, the 80s did have their highlights. It brought us Purple Rain, the royal wedding of Princess Diane and Prince Charles and the fall of the Berlin Wall. While having a travel agent may seem like a throwback to the past, you can't beat the customer service he or she will provide, that is when you have a great one like I do. He was there to help me out before, during, and after I booked the reip. I recognize...

Was Bruce Jenner’s interview with Diane Sawyer a game changer for the transgender community? I’ve been asking myself that question since I’ve seen the headlines. I can’t definitely say yes or no. Although I didn’t watch the much anticipated interview I’ve been following the media coverage leading up to it as well as the post-coverage. What's a positive take away? People are talking about transgender issues. Since 2013, Google has seen a spike in the interest over headlines that include the term transgender. While some may not like this new attention, it also doesn’t seem to be an issue going away easily either. The narrative is slowly changing, but a negative takeaway is that mainstream media coverage still has too many conversations filled with ridicule and disgust towards transgendered individuals. There remains a lack of empathy and education about transgender individuals. As a society we need to stop ignoring the “pink elephant” in the room and pretending t...

While we love to share and praise each other in social media the space has also proven to be an effective tool where "hateration" spreads like wild fire. "Public shaming" aka #socialshaming via social media is taking hold in a big way. Granted it's not really a new phenomenon. We have plenty of examples from history. One example that comes to mind is Nathanial Hawthorne's novel, " The Scarlett Letter ." I even think the crucifixion of Jesus can be considered an example too.   However, thanks to social and our 24-7  news cycle, public shaming on social media has the power to take an everyday person an make them an instant celebrity, potentially black list the person, make them a pariah, and in some cases ruin their professional life as well as their personal relationships. All this takes place within 24 hours or less. Yikes. A recent victim to an instantaneous rise and fall would be Trevor Noah , last week the South African comedian was getting...

History has many lessons to teach us if we take the time to reflect and seek an understanding. The national observation of Women's History Month comes to a close after today. During March we pay tribute to women and acknowledge their influence in shaping the nation. Women continue to add to America's narrative and that is something we must remember and celebrate the other 11 months of the year.  With a focus on women's history I'm pleased to share an interview with Molly MacGregor, the executive director and co-founder of the National Women's History’s (NWHP) Project . The organization recognizes and celebrates the diverse and historic accomplishments of women by providing informational services and educational and promotional materials. The enduring goal of the NWHP is to “make history” accurate by continuing to recognize and celebrate women’s authentic contributions through its current and future projects.     Q: Why did you co-found the National W...

This past Sunday, the Hartford Courant published, " Are We Coming or Going? " It was the cover story of the opinion section. I finally read the piece today. I myself am a proud "Nutmegger," but I wanted to see how my fellow residents viewed the state of Connecticut. I wasn't that surprised by the commentary but it did reinforce how I thought people were feeling with their love and hate relationship of the state. In a nutshell here are where the people's gain and pain points with Connecticut. Pro-Connecticut residents pointed to benefits such as: A great landscape Arts and culture Good schools Entertainment options Critical Connecticut residents pointed out drawbacks such as: High taxes Lack of job creation Utility costs Bad public transportation Bad schools Who's right? As I went back over the comments, I saw myself agreeing with both perspectives. I identified with both points-of-views.  Connecticut has good schools, some ...

I look forward to having different experiences.  While some individuals may prefer a routine that doesn't deviate from their usual patterns and practices, I like to experience different things because it helps shape my world view. I'm at my best when I'm able to see life from multiple perspectives, which helps me to be more empathetic to others. These past two weekends I had the opportunity to hit the road and enjoy activities I wouldn't normally do. Two weeks ago I attended the Philadelphia Flower Show (PHS) with my mom and sister. This past weekend I attended 2015 PAXEast  (PAX) with my husband and his friends. I don't think you can get much more different than gardening and gaming, but some things I learned from checking out these two events is that they have more in common than the letter g.  Here are five take aways I thought were worth sharing. Commonalities Between PHS and PAX Both events displayed creativity and innovation in their respected fi...