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The animal world taught me alot about taking chances and making choices this week. In life, many of us only have one chance to do something and a short amount of time to make a choice about it. Chance, by definition is either a probability, an opportunity, a fortuitous situation or a risk.  Chances tend to pop up and then dissolve. We all face them in our lives and we all have to make choices around them that can make a small or large impact depending on the circumstance. This week, I’ll Have Another faced the chance to win the Triple Crown and

 I am giving myself a present. It doesn’t come in a blue box. It doesn’t cost a lot. You can take it anywhere and it is always with you. And, the best thing is that it very easy to share and give to others.  It’s The Present.  I read a quote recently on a friend’s Facebook page: “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why it is called The Present.” The words stuck in my head and found a home there.  I live in a world of planning, promoting and pitching new ideas to

“You look just like your mother,” someone told me last night at a party. “You sound just like your mother,” someone told me on when I answered the phone. “You are wearing purple, just like your mother,” people tell me whenever I wear her color. OMG! Am I turning into my mother? How many times have you asked yourself that question? More importantly, how do you feel about it? I have some friends who may smile at this question and others who may grimace. I used to grimace and now I smile.  I am spending Mother’s Day weekend visiting my mother and realize how lucky I

I am spending the weekend with another male and we are having a great time while my husband is taking a trip down memory lane at his high school reunion in a small corner of Connecticut. My Maltese dog, Chance, is the perfect companion. He adores me. He doesn’t criticize me or make snarky comments when I flub up in the kitchen. He makes me laugh with his funny faces. I can say whatever I want to him and not have him bark back or interrupt. He looks like he is trying really hard to understand every word I am saying with his little five pound body shaking.  He

This weekend is a double header in the Bible books: The Jewish holiday Passover and the Christian holiday Easter. I live among a family where both are slightly celebrated, albeit with some lightness of spirit and a religous ardor for eating and drinking versus reading from any books.  After attending a “sort of Seder”  last night with all the right symbolic foods, freshly homemade of course, and all the wrong examples for a traditional service – the youngest read the Four Questions from her IPad- I got up this sunny Spring morning and went online to refresh my memory about the stories of both Passover and Easter.   For

I recently attended the funeral of a longtime business colleague who died too soon of cancer. It was billed as a Celebration of His Life. Many of my former staff attended, and it was good to see them albeit for such a somber occasion. At the church the priest talked of baptism and Jesus and moving on; he poured water a few times into an urn. A woman quoted Emily Dickenson, a favorite poet of the deceased. I love the line “Because I could not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me.” We popped up and down and sang

March Is Women’s History Month, celebrating our milestones throughout time and measuring up where we are now.  Radio commmentator Rush Limbaugh kicked off Women’s Month by denouncing women’s efforts to have contraception covered by health insurance. His remarks were ugly and shocking. Just when you think women are making progress, some loud mouth pundit speaks up and you have to ask, “Are we really making progress?” Most insurance policies cover Viagra. So men’s erections are covered by health insurance enabling them to have more sex. But women have to pay up to protect themselves or pay the price of an unwanted pregnancy. I just don’t

After dealing with an abnormally high level of stress and frustration in the past 60 days, in a fit of rage last weekend I shouted to my husband, “Maybe I am just better off dead! Take the life insurance money! Pay the bills and start over without me!” As usual, when I start a round of outbursts, the result of stress, menopause and heredity, he just looked up calmly and said “Sure.” And then went back to whatever he was doing. By Tuesday, I had calmed down but my right arm was swollen, lumpy red and painful. Given my breast cancer history, swollen, lumpy and rashy anything is not a good

I am all about looking forward rather than looking back. But in the last few months circumstances have caused me to reflect back on my life as I pack up substantial pieces of it in order to make room for new opportunities. I have lived life well and have had incredible successes and experiences along the way. I have also hit pitfalls and challenges that made me think, “What should and could I have done differently if I could live my life over?” I did not have a life mentor. I wish I had. A big sister or brother, a business

Remember the days of 9 to 5? My Dad would leave for work at 8:30 a.m. after kissing me good bye.  He would come home at 5:30 p.m. and spend time with me and my mother, who also worked full time. We’d rehash the day’s activities, watch the  news at 6 and then sit down for dinner. When did you last experience a 9 to 5 day? Or are you a 24/7 person? Today, with technology, work days for many have become 24/7. Companies promote their 24/7 accessibility. Employees are expected to respond to emails 24/7. I recently met with a PR agency owner who talked about

I am the “List Queen.” I start the day with a mental “to do list.” I end the day with a written “to do list.” I end each year writing in my new year’s diary with a “review list” of my accomplisments. I start each year, also my birthday, with a “new year’s resolution list.” I have three sets of “bucket lists” on file: 1) what I want to experience 2) Where I want to travel 3) What I want to achieve- all before I die. At work I have multiple lists: 1) a master media list with contacts around the country, 2)   an extensive food and beverage

My birthday is coming up January 1st. I use this end of the year time period to take stock of my life and where I stand.  This year as part of my focus on re-purposing your life at any age, I have also spoken and advised both young women starting out and older women starting over.  Here is what I have learned: Physical age may have a number tied to it but spiritual and emotional age should not. We can accomplish anything we want at any age if we choose too, and many people have. I spent my 20s building my career, my 30s building my business and reputation