A giant THANK YOU

Happy New Year

2008 is too close and I’m still enjoying the holiday. Many parties to go to, friends to talk to for the seasonal catch up and a flurry of busyness to complete those works in progress before 2007 ends fill these last days.

Let me take the time to say THANK YOU for your support for the Smart Woman’s Club. Your notes, calls and thoughts bring me great happiness and excitement. I so appreciate the time you take from your busy day to let me know what’s going on. Please keep it up.

For you may 2008 to be the best year you’ve ever had. Although it’s inevitable that curves will come your way my wish is that they turn into rainbows like this one seen over the Atlantic Ocean.

It followed one of those violent summer thunder storms. You know the kind that are sudden downpours and send you for the closest cover and drenched anyway.

Storms, curves and the like are always followed by calm, well deserved and appreciated.

You are most appreciated.

WHAT A WEEK THAT WAS!

This past week (Sept 2- 8) was probably the most amazing week I’ve experienced in this journey called life.

Sunday, Sept. 2 was my birthday …a BIG one. At a picnic I was presented with a cake with “Happy Birthday Smokie” in blue on white icing. It was also adorned with BIG blue roses and the usual green leaves. That was a first on a white cake with blue roses! That was followed by the Happy Birthday song which sounded more like a funeral dirge. All the hugs and laughs told me I was very much alive!

My friend Babs took me to dinner. We don’t talk or see each other like we used to. It was really special to be with her and talk girl talk. It was a reminder that friends are most important.

On Thursday night I passed Haagen Dazs on the way to a meeting. You know what happened. During the meeting Haagen Dazs was on my mind. I couldn’t wait for the meeting to end and get an ice cream cone. The meeting finally ended. Would you believe that the ice cream store was closed?!

Not to be foiled on the way home I took the route that passed Baskin-Robins. My mouth is really watering now. As I approached the store I noticed the store and sign weren’t lit up. It’s about 9:15 pm and prime time for it to be open. “Guess I’m not supposed to get ice cream tonight” I say sadly. Then I notice flashing blue lights and many police cars around the store. Something was amiss for sure.

On the 11 PM news I learned why. The store had been robbed and the robber was shot!

This is the spooky part. If I hadn’t spent time moaning about Haagen Dazs being closed with friends, I’d probably could’ve been at the Baskin Robins store about robbery time. I say Thank God for small favors like delays.

On Friday to celebrate my birthday my daughter Kat took me to see Hairspray. It’s pure entertainment and a real toe tapper. It’s set in the 60’s, about the time I was in high school. The funny old cars were too familiar. The music I knew intimately. I even tried to have big hair and certainly used more than my share of super duper sticky hair spray to hold my straight locks as big as possible.

In one scene Nicole Kidman is putting on a hot pink brocade dress with a matching coat. It was really fancy. Actually it was beautiful.

I wore a dress exactly like it to lots of debutante parties my second year of college! And my daughter wore it on Halloween some years later!

Yes indeed, what a week it was.

Labor Day without labor

Labor Day weekend is closer than I want. It's the last hoorah of the summer ... that time when life is different.

Summer's my favorite season. It's about a freedom ... from routines like school and endless networking events and meetings that fill the calendar. There's a lightness in the air - even in scorching heat. Foods are different - fresh vegetables right out of the garden, veggie stands on street corners, hard crabs to pick on newspapers. Scorching heat means wearing fewer clothes. Pass a swimming pool and listen to the squeals of children as they jump and splash in the water.

You can probably find me at my 'waterfront' office ... up to my waist in the pool with my work papers spread on the deck. You get the idea how much I love summer.
Summer's end is near for this year with Labor Day.

Labor Day is strictly American. The federal government started it in 1882 from a desire the Central Labor Union had for a day off for the "working man". It wasn't too long ago that most businesses were closed that day, even gas stations and theatres.

Now it's business as usual. Sales are everywhere. Back to school shopping and new back packs fill carts. Family and friends gather to play, relax, travel, and have their last fling before getting back to fall and its routine.

Labor sounds arduous, hard, and downright unpleasant. Labor Day is coming.

So here's an idea. Being open minded is a trait of smart women so read on.

What would a laborless Labor Day look like? Is it even possible? The things we do because we love to do them can take labor right out of the picture. Here are some radical thoughts on a laborless Labor Day.

The blackberry gets left on the desk. Do for a whole day what brings you pleasure and makes your heart sing. Plant yourself in a cozy chair and read that book you bought too long ago. Take the easel in the pasture and paint all day. Spend the day with friends and family. Go to a place you haven't been before. Talk to friends you've been meaning to call.

With your open mind what would your laborless Labor Day look like?

The Smart Woman's Club would love to celebrate your laborless Labor Day with our members. Just let me know your comments, plans and ideas on a Labor Day without labor. Send them to smokie@smartwomansclub.com or put them on here on our blog.

Smart women make smart choices. Have a fun, safe Labor Day holiday.

There was news.

Last night there was news that brought back memories.

When I was in college at VCU, all the pictures of China were dreamy. There was always a haze over everything, making it a magical place that maybe Disney created. The mountains were tall with a river curving through them and a moon hanging romantically at just the right place. It was a mystical place like no other.

Those pictures flooded my memory as I looked at artists' renderings of the same mystical scenes when I was in China in 2005. On the small cruise ship going down the Yanghtze River every view from the windows and top deck was covered with that same filmy haze. It was like wearing foggy lenses. For 3 days I went down the river, passing ferries, coal barges and funny looking boats. Modern cities loomed on the top of ridges, replacing the villages where people lived for generations. Locks near the Three Gorges Dam, an engineering marvel, facilitated getting to the next port.

I felt like I was in one of those filmy pictures! Being a romantic at heart, it did look dreamy and romantic. The truth is that it was anything but dreamy and romantic. It was air pollution!

The water itself was green and looked good to my untrained eye. Knowing that the air was dirty and knowing that there are few, if any, environmental controls on businesses there, I guessed the river was probably dirty, too.

The news last night was about the Yahngtze River. My ears perked up only to hear more news. The river is so dirty that it is deemed to cause cancer! Cancerous was the word used.

How can something that looks so romantic be so toxic? It is the source of water for tons of people! The news made me sad.

An extreme makeover requires a new mirror!

Today is a really big day. A big project is complete and ready for prime time! Find it at http://thewomaninthemirror.com.

Over a year ago I accepted a challenge to write about the woman in the mirror... who, not what, I saw when I looked in the mirror. It sounded easy. Have you ever looked at your reflection to see more than your hair color or to put on your makeup? To see your soul, your essence?

I have to tell you that the unplucked eyebrows, chin hairs and facial creases were all I saw for several months. Certainly room for a makeover there. Just a few thoughts were jotted down lest I forget them and nothing else came. Then I saw what was possible on the web and I knew where the project could go. But I needed to finish writing the woman in the mirror.

One sleepless night I gave in to nudgings from above. Literally I sat in front of a mirror with pen and paper to write what came, not expecting much. And I was in a huff to get it over with, too, so I could go back to bed. Would you believe that one glance at my bitchy reflection and the words came so quickly that I couldn't write fast enough. The woman in the mirror took over. She showed up fully and totally engaged as if to say "Honey, I'm in charge. Get over your huff." And the project took on its own life, much to my surprise.

Morgan Sobel wrote the music with an acoustic guitar after reading the words. Photos taken on travels were selected to fit the text and music. The flash movie was done!

And now it's on the web, bringing a respite to harried women. It's your private movie, your mini vacation to restore you and your soul. It's there to remind you that you are a magnificent creature, doing fabulous things. And you're not alone. There is always a presence bigger than you to help.

Go to http://www.thewomaninthemirror.com for your extreme makeover. Remember your girl firends. They want a makeover too so pass the link to them.

Today is really a big day. The Woman in the Mirror has arrived.

Happy 400th Anniversary, America!

HAPPY 400TH ANNIVERSARY, AMERICA!
The mayor of Hamilton Bermuda kissed my hand! It all started for the adventure. It was Saturday, May 12, a lovely humid day like we get in Richmond, with plans to pay bills and plant flowers bought last week.
Pictures in the morning paper of the 400th anniversary celebration in Jamestown caught my eye. It’s just 60 miles away – an easy 1 hour drive. Plus Bruce Hornsby is performing at 6:30! A quick website search with info and directions and I was in! Several phone calls to friends to share the adventure were fruitless. Quickly plants and bills were done and I was off.
It really was an easy drive to the lot to get my ticket and catch the shuttle to the biggest, oldest anniversary I’ll ever attend. As I boarded big yellow school bus driven by Miss Pierce, I stopped while a mother wrote her cell phone number on her 5 yr. old daughter’s hand. A 30 minute ride delivered me to the park.
The Jamestown Festival Park is large and very well done. Signs are everywhere as is security. My folding chair didn’t pass security so on the table in security it went to be left behind. My industrial backpack and camera, recovered from their trek through Africa, did get pass security.
Now I’m in the festival. The park is huge, the pace is easy, the language is English and dollars are changed 1 for 1 for scrip, the only currency that gets food and brews. This is too easy.
Exhibits are everywhere. Numerous activities are plentiful for all ages. My walk-about took me to the VIP area where I saw a church friend. He introduces me to a tall handsome black man wearing Bermuda shorts, high socks and navy blazer. It’s J. Michael ( I forget his last name), the mayor of Hamilton, Bermuda. And that’s how I was kissed by the mayor from Bermuda. I’ll add he has great legs, too.
A native American Indian taco (how native is a taco?) snack later and more wandering took me to a large tent where 5 guys are in kilts. They have great legs, too. Be still my heart. Rain poured from the threatening skies as I sat under cover and looked at the great scenery all the while tapping my foot to the rhythm of their Irish jigs.
The skies dry and it’s Bruce time. He opened with the National Anthem – piano only. He was magnificent. He really loves his work – his eyes sparkle and he and his Noisemakers jam at each note. One of my favs was “With a big stick he’s swinging at the dirt”. All golfers understand that one. The drummer, guitarists, saxophonist….all of them have a blast. It’s contagious because the audience caught it too. Even the sour ladies, sitting in front of me, wearing bad sequin ball caps and yellow name tags identifying them as part of Sunshine Tours caught the fun and smiled a time or two.
As luck would have it, Billy, a young man from Richmond, sat next to me. We were kindred spirits. We clapped, high-fived, hollered, laughed and loved every note and word together.
Ricky Skaggs was just as good as Bruce. The fiddles and bluegrass were wonderful. Many big screens were around so seeing the stage was very easy and the camera shots were excellent. Naturally some artistic one I captured. Too soon it was time to leave.
A short walk to the shuttle was just right to stretch. My beach chair that failed security was right where I left it! Happy day!
Again luck would have it that the big screens were visible from the shuttle stop so I saw Chaka Khan too.
What a party! Happy 400th Anniversary, America!

P. S. Math was never my forte in school. However, if 2007 is the 400th anniversary of the settling in Jamestown in 1607, does that mean that the Pilgrims hadn’t even thought about leaving their mother country? Again, I say, Happy 400th Anniversary, America.

Tragedy at Tech

The events of April 16 at Virginia Tech have shaken me to my bones and soul. It was just a few years ago that my beautiful daughter was left with her important belongings in her dorm room at West A J.
Her joy at beginning this new chapter in her life as a college freshman overshadowed my sadness (it's a mother thing with their babies) as she left the nest and security of home. Her roommate situation wasn't the best that first year. She learned to cope and made fast and solid life-long friends. That was only 1 way her education was more than academic. On a Parents Weekend, while waiting to meet her in the lobby at West A J, I glanced down the hall to see her boyfriend emerge from her dorm room. So my education continued.
Her graduation was a glorious finale to all of the experiences and education that make up college. Virginia Tech had done its job of preparing her for the big real world.
There were times of great celebration and times of angst and concern. But never was there concern for her physical safety from other students. We both grew during those Tech years to be forever changed by another life passage.
Today everyone at Virginia Tech is experiencing something never experienced before...an event that is unfathomable. The cruel crazy real world showed up, touching and forever changing Virginia Tech and people around the world. School officials continue to lead in spite of their grief and shock. Too many lives have been turned upside down and shattered. Information is fragmented at best. Attempts to make reason out of the shootings are futile at best. To blame, to find fault is natural and fills the air waves. As a client said "Today we're all Hokies whether we went to school there or not. "
My prayers are for comfort for the hurting, healing for those harmed and injured, safety for all and an understanding that transcends the insanity of April 16. May the healing begin.