Mountain View
Syracuse Woman Magazine
Syracuse Boat Tours: Central NY’s New Adventure
This summer, a new boat tour company has made its way onto the waters of the Seneca River and Onondaga Lake. Syracuse Boat Tours allows locals and visitors to gain an appreciation for the Syracuse area and the beauty that it has to offer. Annette Peters, the company’s owner, lived...
Lena McGuire: Making wise decisions on the road to success
Lena McGuire: Making wise decisions on the road to success. If there is a theme to Lena McGuire’s life, it would be about making good decisions. “You can have anything you want, but you can’t have everything. So, choose wisely,” she said. As the owner of...
Nourishing Our Aging Bodies
As we age, our bodies undergo significant changes that require us to rethink how we approach our health, particularly when it comes to diet and exercise. One of the most pressing challenges is sarcopenia, the gradual loss of muscle mass and strength that begins as early as our thirties and accelerates as we reach our fifties and beyond. However, the latest research has shown that maintaining sufficient muscle mass is more critical to longevity than simply achieving a healthy BMI. By making informed dietary choices and incorporating resistance training into our routines, we can slow this process, maintain our strength, independence, and overall well-being, and even enhance our lifespan.
Special Feature – The Ultimate Gift: Life
Organ donation is the ultimate gift. There is no cost, and it can be tremendously powerful. Without the organ donor, there is no story, no hope, no transplant. But when there is an organ donor, life springs from death, sorrow turns to hope, and a terrible loss becomes the ultimate gift.
Home décor – Holiday decorating made simple
As a mother with two adult children who live out of state, I take a different approach to holiday decorating in my home. I’ve begun to simplify and decorate more for my taste. Gone are the endless days of opening boxes and littering every surface with holly branches and tinsel. Now, I find myself drawn to more calming decorations, like white lights, soft candles, greenery, and single-color accents. The holidays are so much more enjoyable when they are no longer bookended with stressful decorating in the fall and days of packing and repacking in the New Year.
Inspire – Shelley Skellington: Inspired by her son’s memory to make a difference
Shelley Skellington is a survivor in more ways than one. Her son, Joseph, was born with a rare blood disorder and a cleft palate. He spent a lot of time in the hospital throughout his childhood. “I would cry on many occasions for the obstacles Joseph had to face with surgeries on his cleft palate, ear surgeries, and the blood disorder,” Shelley said. Through this, Joseph’s strength kept Shelley strong. “He would say, ‘Mama it’s going to be alright. We are strong,’ She shared.
Inspire – Rochele Clark: Building strong foundations for medicine’s future
Rochele ‘Shelly’ Clark has been a nursing professional for four decades, earning several awards and helping to establish the first neuroscience service line at Crouse Hospital over the course of her career. She has found a fulfilling career working in nearly every major hospital in Syracuse, but when she was a young person trying to decide her future career path, she never expected to become a nursing professional.
In His Own Words: Life After Ann Marie
It has been almost five years since my beloved wife, Ann Marie, passed away. It feels like five seconds ago that I was holding her when she took her last breath. It feels like 50 years since I have looked into those piercing blue eyes. It is September 7th as I sit down to quantify some thoughts on the passage of time and the evolution of grief and assimilation to a different reality. The date “the 7th” holds special meaning to me. We met on a 7th day, we were married on the 7th day and she died on the 7th day, so doing this today is appropriate.
Guest Commentary – Teal Circle: We are strong when we stand together
Search the word “survivor” in a dictionary and the top definitions are fairly black and white. Simply put, a survivor is described as someone who remains alive after coming close to death. Keep reading and you’ll find a bit more depth; survivors carry on despite hardship, cope well with difficulties and persevere through trauma.
Special Feature – The St. Agatha Foundation: Breast cancer victim leaves a lasting legacy
Kathy Mezzalingua remembers accompanying her late daughter, Laurie, a breast cancer patient, to one of her first chemotherapy appointments. As they waited to be called into a room for treatment, Laurie overheard another patient discussing how she was struggling to pay for her chemotherapy treatments and at the same time, cover her household expenses, including her groceries.
Cover Story – Dr. Christine Allen: On leading a purpose-filled life
Have you ever felt as if you don’t have a purpose? Have you ever felt like you’re not living up to your potential? Or maybe you’re content but you’re always open to growing and changing? If so, you’re like a lot of the people and companies Chris Allen coaches. As a workplace psychologist/executive and team coach, and the president of Insight Business Works, she helps organizations become healthy in ways that are right for them. She assists them in finding purpose, improving communication, becoming more eco-conscious, more diverse and inclusive at the executive level, which helps companies and individuals thrive. Chris works with leaders to help them answer the question: “How can you show up in your integrity as your best self?”
Out & About: Lavender Blue, the je ne sais quoi of Cazenovia, celebrates 20 years in business
Two hundred years ago, 74 Albany St. was a bar and a trading post. Twenty years ago this past July, the building became home to the much loved, world-class boutique filled with all things French, Lavender Blue. Over the years, co-owners Judith Warburton and Eileen Lowe have learned a lot...
Inspire: True Companions – Four Retired Nurses Talk Saving Lives and Staying Friends
The 1950s were a time when women were expected to be a secretary, a teacher, or a nurse. They had a modicum of choice, and what they chose to do with that choice was up to them–but how could a woman possibly live up to her potential with so few options? Just ask four Syracuse women who decided to become nurses: Maggie Bovard, Ellen Canella, Barbara Connolly, and Joanne Whelan. Their choice led them to a lifetime of service together while nurturing a true friendship that has withstood the test of time.
Inspire: Angela McCarthy – Keeping fit, both physically and mentally
Success depends on your backbone, not your wishbone. This is a quote that Angela McCarthy has lived by her whole life. Part of Angela’s inspiration to live a healthy lifestyle has been her family. Growing up, she watched her mom struggle with weight management, high blood pressure, and other health problems. Other members of the maternal side of her family experienced heart disease at an early age and obesity. “It wasn’t a healthy way to live, and that’s what I saw growing up,” Angela shared.
Cover: Ellen Somers – Giving your brain a boost, SJFS Assistant Director focuses on cognitive health
When she was 13 years old, Ellen Somers volunteered to visit with the elderly residents of a nearby nursing home. As she spent time interacting with them, she began to observe varying degrees of memory loss, and that experience stayed with her long after she left home for college. “I’ve...
Special feature: Healing by helping others to heal – Betsy Cusumano launches The Cus Foundation
Betsy Cusumano’s world changed forever in the fall of 2022 when her husband Tom, also known as “Cus,” unexpectedly took his life. “He never suffered from any mental health issues. He was the most even-keeled person you could meet, so it really blindsided us,” said Betsy, who lives in the town of Clay, within the Baldwinsville school district.
WBOC Leading Lady: Dr. Tina Chee – A more focused approach to medicine
When Dr. Tina Chee started her practice with Up Design Primary Care, she wanted to enhance the collaborative journey between the patient and the physician. Building her business with a philosophy focusing on better health through lifestyle habits, Dr. Chee aims to help people live healthier lives. “What I’m interested...
Inspire: Mary Pat Speno – Dance school director reflects on 40 years of teaching
After 40 years of owning the Syracuse School of Dance and acting as the artistic director of the Syracuse Contemporary Dance Company, Mary Pat Speno is retiring. Over the years, the school has expanded the different dance styles offered to students, but the school has remained dedicated to offering classes to all who want to learn how to dance. In her career, Mary Pat has helped thousands of students of all ages and levels of talent find artistic expression through dance, many of those students becoming life-long dancers themselves.
Inspire: Dr. Ellyn Riley, Ph.D. – Researching communication and human connection
Ellyn Riley has been investigating tough questions her whole life – some about the intersections of science, people, and family, some about her career and what it means to be a woman in the sciences. While the answers weren’t always easy to find, they led her to who she is today, an associate professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) at Syracuse University and the founding director of a lab investigating aphasia, a lesser-known language disorder in which people struggle with word finding and comprehension. Throughout her journey, she has dedicated her life to communication and human connection, and it’s that kind of dedication that we can all learn from and be inspired by.
Cover – Cydney Johnson: Following in Father’s Footsteps, Namesake Champions Youth, Education in Syracuse
First and/or middle names can be familial or historical, reflecting one’s identity and place in the world. A given name can be deeply personal and help shape a child’s profound sense of self and belonging. So imagine a young girl growing up perplexed that friends – even teachers...
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