Mikelle and I feel compelled to write about life with a disability, not just the challenges but the opportunities, the friendships, the innovations, and the brilliance of our communities in action as we share our everyday life living with a disability. With a little more information, motivation, we hope to share how our life is shining beautiful and maybe help you to shine beautiful, too.

Summer Reflections By Taylor Mason

       Summer is full of fun in the Shining Beautiful home. It’s afternoons at the pool, ice cream with friends, long drives along the front range and as many Starbucks frappuccinos as our stomachs can handle. It is also a season of change and this summer in particular is

Mikelle Shows Us All to Set Goals

Why put on running shoes and hustle out the door AGAIN today? I mean seriously, I ran yesterday, I should be off the hook for today! Well, that means I sit down at the computer for hours on end to work on more career skills, which also does not sound

From Flab to Fab; the Mikelle Workout

From Flab to Fab, Abs Not Included the Mikelle Workout By Taylor Mason (Roommate, Friend and known for her frequent new hair styles) Every day is a new adventure when you’re hanging out with Mikelle. During the summer months there are plenty of road trips, visits with friends, volleyball games

Key Elements of Creativity in Supported Employment

How do You Get from Here to There? The first part of this series on X-treme Creativity focused on frustration and the desire for improving job development activities and results. In this segment, we zero in on the key element necessary for creativity to flourish. Grab a piece of paper

Planting the Seeds of Success in Supported Employment

  For quite some time, I have been wondering like many of you just how we can jump start supported employment for people with disabilities. Some states have more job placements than others but search for jobs with more hours and financial reward for the supported employee. Other states find

Tales of the Divine Ms. M

Newsletter 3   Click the link above to read all about what’s been happening so far this spring at the Shining Beautiful! See who Mikelle has been hanging out with and what big things are still to come. Happy Spring!

We Got a Bite Out of the Apple

We Got a Bite Out of the Apple Ron Ustach, a Senior Engineer and the Western States Government Sales Representative with Apple Computers, recently blew into Denver on a strong March wind. This, his second visit to the Mile High City, followed his meeting with the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council

Headphones Just Went Social

Finally, a smart device for the music (or should I say muzik) industry! The music industry has just become more connected with social media – this one finally taking an innovative approach. Instead of trying to reinvent MySpace (good luck Justin) or create yet another half-hearted socially connected software with

Turn Branding to Familiarity for Small Business Start-Up Success!

Big corporations use the fancy term called “branding” and “brand awareness”. The goal is the same as it is as a small business owner trying to make a name for yourself: familiarity. The customer MUST become familiar with your business. Community building works towards the same goal, where you watch

Building a City Rich with Inclusive Communities

On a cool, winter evening in late February, a few dozen  young, urban professionals gathered at the newest location of Lime, an upscale Mexican restaurant at the downtown Denver Pavilions’ plaza located on the 16th Street Mall in the center of Denver.  They gathered to focus on building a rich,

Dating Guidelines For the Cautious

We all need a little guidance now and then, especially when it comes to finding someone special enough to date. These guidelines were written with you in mind. They’re lessons I’ve had to learn the hard way. I share them in the hopes that some of you can be spared