A report by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Research recently named the “happiest cities” in our nation. The state of Louisiana won the jackpot on joy with four happiest places out of 10: Lafayette (#3), Baton Rouge (#5), Shreveport (#7) and Houma (#8). Other states high on happiness, depending on which of the lists you read, include: Virginia (Charlottesville and Richmond) and Texas (Houston and Corpus Christi). My own back yard, New York City, was lowest on the totem pole of the happy poll. It seems the “city that never sleeps” and the “crossroads of the world” has a lot
Read more →Summer is when everyone likes to let their hair down and bare their bodies. Off come the business suits and on go the bathing suits, shorts and sandals. Some people simply forgo bathing suits for birthday suits and drop their inhibitions along with their clothes. Nudity is receiving plenty of exposure these days. There are nudist-focused television reality shows, including TLC’s “Buying Naked,” VH1’s “Dating Naked,” and Discovery Channel’s “Naked and Afraid.” http://nypost.com/2014/06/26/welcome-to-the-brave-nude-world-of-reality-tv/ Dov Charney, CEO of American Apparel, was relieved of his corporate duties for his corporeal naked dance video that went viral http://nypost.com/2014/06/20/american-apparel-ceo-stars-in-bizarre-naked-dancing-video/ Tennis stars Venus Williams and Tomas Berdych are photographed
Read more →My Dad left this world November 2, 2009. I saved a few emails that he always wrote in CAPS. I told him “Dad, when you send emails in CAPS it means you are SHOUTING.” He responded, “I am deaf in one ear. That’s why I shout, even in emails.” But I wish I could still hear his voice. When people leave you sometimes it’s their voice you find you miss deeply. I miss Dad’s soothing voice when I was having a panic attack, his encouraging voice when I was pitching new business, and his commanding voice when it was time to “march
Read more →Recently at a restaurant, the dinner conversation drifted to the topic of friendship. One of the women at the table said that she noticed a few of her friends had “unfriended” her on Facebook. These were not virtual friends; they were people she had known and socialized with over the years with real “face time” rather than just Facebook. We discussed how some friends stay constant and others drift in and out of your life. Some are seasonal friends; you connect for ski trips or at the beach. Some are friends by location; you hang out with them at them
Read more →I am thrilled to report that “Getting Things Off My Chest: A Survivor’s Guide to Staying Fearless & Fabulous in the Face of Breast Cancer” is recipient of the 2014 International Book Award for Cancer-Health topics. The award was announced May 21 by American Book Fest. My goal writing this book was to help women stay focused and confident at a time when it feels like cancer is taking over their lives. Winning this award is bittersweet: It took having breast cancer myself and losing a dear friend to the disease to give me the experience and inspiration to write Getting Things
Read more →This month around the nation, dignitaries and celebrities are sharing words of wisdom to eager graduates at high school, college, and university commencements. I am still waiting for my invitation to speak. But, if I were asked, here is an abbreviated version of what I would say. I call it “Six Degrees of Education.” 1. Your Education never ends. It evolves. What you have learned until today is just that and no more. Realize you may need to go back to school, take more courses and be open to new ideas to remain relevant and on top of change. Degrees
Read more →“Why didn’t you have children?” I am always amazed when someone asks me this abrupt question. But people do ask. “You wouldn’t understand. Your are not a mother.” I take a deep breath and hold my thoughts when another woman says this to me. My decision not to have children is personal. But, since you asked… When I was younger it was a practical choice. I was single, running a business, traveling non-stop and in debt. I was not comfortable raising a child alone and unable to provide the time and resources I felt a child deserves. I married late,
Read more →For years I had a small green table with four chairs sitting out on my New York City second floor apartment patio overlooking lower Fifth Avenue. It weathered icy winters, gathered dust in the spring, collected soot from the traffic below in summer and stood neglected most of the time. It was a table for dumping boxes and supplies but never for sitting around to enjoy a meal or conversation. It was always “too dirty!” and “why bother?” whenever anyone asked us if we enjoyed sitting outside. We moved the table to the country where it sits on our large
Read more →As many of you know I recently exchanged my Manhattan apartment of twenty-six years for a home in the country ninety miles north of the city. The move was a lesson in learning to let go. It was also a test of perseverance. Some time ago I lost a small diamond stud. It was never found, and I am convinced it lay somewhere in my apartment. As we packed, I repeated to my husband, David, “Be careful what you move or throw out. Maybe we’ll find the diamond.” It was a needle in the haystack thought given the amount of
Read more →My husband and I are packing up my one bedroom Manhattan rent stabilized apartment that I’ve lived in for twenty-six years. (Stop! If you live in New York City you may feel you’ve hit apartment pay dirt. My announcing I am giving up a rent stabilized Manhattan apartment is better than trolling the obituaries to see who has died.) We are only moving to our home in the country just 90 minutes away, and I fully expect to be in and out of the city on a regular basis. But, I can’t believe how many people are telling me “We
Read more →We’ve all heard the term “famous last words.” But what about the having the final words? My friend and fellow author, Barbara Musser, wrote an article whose words resonated with me. She said, “Had I known that my last conversation with my mother was the final one before her sudden death, I would have chosen to say other things to her.” Here is the full post: http://www.sexyaftercancer.com/sexy-blog/heart-broken-open/. It’s ironic how often I choose my words so carefully when I write and so carelessly when I address people in my life who matter. Do you do this? Do you brush someone off when
Read more →I had plastic surgery last week. l cut up my credit cards. – Henny Youngman I’ve decided to give up using credits cards this winter. I froze my credit. I placed my cards in a plastic storage bag and put them in the freezer away from my hot hands. I’ve decided to nip and tuck my expenses and rethink what “living within my means” actually means. Doing this is no mean feat. I think living in New York has given me a warped sense of what “my means” and “my needs” actually are. Many of us start feeling a financial pinch when
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