• Amazing People,  Best Thing Ever,  Favorite Things,  Food,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  I've Got Mad Skillz,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  Skydeck Chicago,  Travels

    Life In The Fast Lane Surely Make You Lose Your Mind

    July 30, 2015

    It just hit me on Tuesday evening, right after I dropped Liz and her middle daughter off at the airport (how much I hate goodbyes could be a whole other post, ugh), how much I had done/accomplished/enjoyed in two weeks. It made me dizzy, and perhaps piled on more exhaustion, on top of my exhaustion. It also made me smile. The last two weeks of July just might have been the busiest two weeks of my entire life, but I’m not complaining. It was a blast. First there was the BlogHer conference in NYC. I went into it exhausted; the weeks leading up to conference weekend are crazed for our…

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  • Amazing People,  Best Thing Ever,  Favorite Things,  Food,  Friends,  My Friends Have Mad Skillz,  My Kid Has Mad Skillz,  Proud Moments,  Something That Could Change Your Life,  Travels

    My LTYM Travel Season, By The Numbers

    May 11, 2015

    Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and it also happened to be the last day of the 2015 LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER season. Each year I have driven to see some other shows, not only because I like hearing the stories live but also because I like to see how other cities do things (every city, while having to stick to certain national guidelines, creates a show that reflects their community), and it’s a way for me to support my fellow producers and meet up (on their own turf) with some of the teams I’ve coached as the LTYM National New Cities Mentor. This year, Jim was slightly astonished when I told…

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  • Best Thing Ever,  Favorite Things,  Friends,  Fun in Chicago,  Pretty Pictures,  Travels

    Wait, What Day Is This Again?

    April 15, 2015

    And the month, please? Well, I’m kidding about the month part. I know exactly what month it is (April), because I’m in the thick of LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER season. I am seriously having trouble keeping track of the days, though. (I just looked; it’s Wednesday. In case you also wondered.) I just returned from a whirlwind trip to New York City (for the LTYM book launch) and New Jersey (to visit my other family) and I had all kinds of fun being completely relaxed and in a state of recharge, especially at this moment (Sunday afternoon) at this place (the beach in Seaside Heights) with my sistuh from anuthuh…

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  • Pretty Pictures,  Travels

    Better Three And A Half Years Late Than Never…

    March 5, 2015

    I’ve spent hours and hours (and hours) over the past few days organizing, deleting, and consolidating all of the files on my old laptop in preparation for transferring everything over to my new laptop. Adequately describing the enormity of that job is another blog post all by itself, so I’ll save it. In going through my folders and folders (and folders) of pictures, I was able to see, all in one place, how many trips I’ve taken over the past few years. (Counting my blessings for the ability to travel, by the way. SO LUCKY.) I revisit some of those trips via my pictures regularly (the 2010 Germany trip, cruises,…

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  • Travels

    Travel Itch

    February 9, 2015

    I’m getting a little squirmy because it’s been absolutely forever since I’ve gone anywhere. OKAY, it’s been two weeks since we went to Wisconsin to move D into his new place. I don’t count that as traveling, though. It’s actually been two months since the last time I went somewhere that “counts” as traveling, and that was a pretty awesome trip to Miami (pretty sure I’m still hungover) and then a five-day cruise to the Bahamas. I shouldn’t complain, because most of you are likely thinking “Geez, it’s been a year (or two, or five, or whatever) since I’ve gotten out of town!” but I’m complaining anyway. These days I’ve…

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  • Blessings,  Friends,  Jim Has Mad Skillz,  Travels

    Apparently My Word For 2014 Was “Travel”.

    December 31, 2014

    This time last year I noticed many of my friends picking “a word for 2014”, something they would live by or strive for. I didn’t join in but it all worked out. As it turned out my word, “Travel”, found its way to me. While thinking about what kind of 2014 wrap-up post I wanted to write, what stuck out the most was how much travel I did this year. In fact, without even looking at my calendar to count days properly I figured out off the top of my head that I was away from my home for between six and eight weeks. That’s a lot of time living…

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  • Travels

    It’s Better In The Bahamas

    December 13, 2014

    Jim and I just returned from a five-day cruise to the Bahamas. I wish we were still on said cruise to the Bahamas, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end. While we re-acclimate to our lives here at home, enjoy this picture—one of my favorite shots from the trip— and a little list I made in my head on the way home. What I Will Miss About The Cruise: 1. Not having to make my own dinner 2. Not having to make my own bed 3. Not having to clean my own bathroom 4. Not having to do dishes 5. Fun, delicious drinks that are made with…

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  • Pretty Pictures,  Random Thoughts,  Travels

    This Is South Beach.

    December 7, 2014

    South Beach is enjoying umbrella drinks at one o’clock in the afternoon. And two o’clock. And three o’clock, if you want. It’s Ocean Drive, jam-packed with restaurants on one side and the beach on the other. It’s pulsating beats, scantily-clad dancing girls (and boys). It’s people working out on the sand. And making out on the sand. It’s cruising in flashy cars—Jaguars, BMWs, Rolls Royces, Cadillacs—while valets try to get you to park in front of their restaurants because they know people will follow. It’s cameras and cell phones everywhere, taking pictures of those cars and scantily-clad dancing girls (and boys). It’s drummers randomly setting up on the beach, whipping…

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  • Amazing People,  Best Thing Ever,  Family Fun,  Something That Could Change Your Life,  Travels

    Neverland

    December 5, 2014

    This was originally going to be a Throwback Thursday post but as it turns out, yesterday was a crazy work day and two things happened since then which will help this be a better post. It’s all good. First, last night, many of my friends were watching “Peter Pan Live” on NBC, which is something I probably would have tuned into if our antenna would allow the Peacock Network, but it doesn’t and so I lived vicariously through everyone else. I enjoyed reading everyone’s tweets and Facebook posts, and thought fondly about Peter, Tinkerbell, and the rest. It’s a great story. Second, this morning, I overheard part of a conversation…

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  • Best Thing Ever,  Blessings,  Friends,  Travels

    Jersey Girls

    October 28, 2014

    If we’re connected on Facebook or if you follow me on Instagram, you know that I just returned from a week in New Jersey with my sistuh-from-anuthuh-muthuh, Liz. You know that we had a blast whether we were just hanging out at the house with the entire family or gallivanting, just the two of us, down the Jersey Shore, from Seaside Heights all the way south to Cape May. What you don’t know is that I did not open my laptop for six days. Six. Days. Other than while on the cruise our family enjoyed last summer when I didn’t have the choice (because I left it home), I have…

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