• 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…

    Read More
  • 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…

    Read More
  • 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…

    Read More
  • 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,…

    Read More
  • 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…

    Read More