Not Necessarily the News

As I embrace a new decade, I notice that I've become very picky about certain things in my life.  For instance, I'm very particular about how and when I get the day's news.

In the morning B.C. (before coffee), I just need to know how warm or cold it is going to be and whether or not I need an umbrella. That is all I need to know.  I don't want the 5 day forecast, the shore-cast or what the temperature is at the airport. As George Carlin once said, "I don't know anyone who lives at the airport!"

A.I.D.C. (after I drink coffee),  I find the morning programs annoying. I cringe when the news anchor goes from interviewing a police officer about a tragedy and then turns to camera 2, smiles and shakes his head as he reports about Charlie Sheen on a rooftop holding a machete. Is this big news and am I expected to switch gears that fast? Maybe I need more coffee to keep up with the anchorman who is probably 4 cups ahead of me.

During the day, I get my news strictly online. When there is something important going happening in the world, I read about it on FB or HuffPost. The writing is short and sweet; clean and informative and if I want more information - I have many sources at my fingertips.

As a former newspaper reporter, I pay homage to my early beginnings as a writer and enjoy reading the paper. But these days - by the time I read it - I'm usually reading yesterday's news.

In the evening, I don't watch the local news period.  I don't want to go to bed listening to the latest shootings, crime sprees & the other terrible things that happened in my neighborhood.  If I can stay up late enough, I enjoy Jon Stewart's take on the news of the day - informative, accurate, intelligent & very amusing.  I'm looking forward to his upcoming InDecision 2012 campaign coverage.

Getting back to the beginning of my post, I'm getting picky about certain things as I age.  Billy Crystal said it best in the movie .When Harry Met Sally. I'm high maintenance but I think I'm low maintenance. To which Meg Ryan replies, "I just like it the way I like it."

Exactly! So, I'll take my news with the dribble on the side.

Walking the Walk

Today is International Women's Day and Huff Post editor, Arianna Huffington asks this question - "Who inspires you?" These three words gave me a lot to think about as I started my day and I feel compelled to answer.

I am most inspired by people who lead by example. Let me explain.

I've never been a fan of the old saying - "Do as I say, not as I do."  Everyone watches us - especially our children.  They listen to what we say, but they pay even closer attention to what we do. For example, my daughter has almost broken me of my bad habit of using my cell phone while driving.  I admit that I still occasionally take a glance at my Blackberry when it blinks at me or take a random call because I forget that I'm not supposed to.  But, I mostly keep it in my purse where it belongs.   

I do this because I know that not only is it the right thing to do - but because she is watching me.  And in 6 short years, I'll be handing her a set of car keys. Will she do as I say and not as I do? Or perhaps I'm better off if my actions speak louder than my words.

By the way, I am much more in favor of that saying or when people say - "Don't just talk the talk, walk the walk."

So, to answer the question - Who inspires me? - my answer would be everyone in my life who leads by example.  Luckily, the list is too long to start naming names - but you know who you are.
  
But, by far, my children inspire me to lead by example so that they will be motivated to make the right choices in their own lives. And that, my friends, is the biggest inspiration of all.

Fountain of Youth?

After working nearly 9 hours at the synagogue today, it was about time to call it a day - but I had a few hours left at an event.  So, to pass the time - I began to speak to a congregant who I didn't know very well. Here is the best part of our conversation:

"Is this your first job out of school?" - says the congregant.


"Who me???" I said very surprised after I looked around to see who she was talking to.

She thought I was insulted, but I told her I was extremely flattered and went on with the rest of my long day with a smile on my face.

Damn - 40 IS FABULOUS!!!

My TLC Dream

How nice would it be if I walked out of my room in my work clothes and Stacy London is right there to say "Shut the front door!"

What a confidence boost that would be to start my day. :)

And THEN, how nice it would be if I happened to run into that TV chef at the grocery store who wants to come to my house and cook dinner for my family. I think I'd keep him.

And THEN, how nice would it be to go home and find Nate Berkus at my doorstep with his crew to redecorate my bedroom. (I know - I'm switching channels here). I think I'd keep him too.

And THEN, I could walk outside to see Peter Walsh (switching channels again) in his sexy British accent instructing me how to clear out the clutter from the office. Anything you say Peter...

And THEN, I wake up, reality sets in and I start my day.

Beauty For All Ages

As I get older, the contents of my make up bag have changed.  Now that I think about it, the size of my make up bag has changed too. Allow me to break it down for you.  

At 15, my mom took me to Macy's and bought me my first lipstick. The shade was Pink Foil and it came in a shiny black tube. My own lipstick!  She sprung for some "Colors by Benneton" perfume too. For this, I bought a lipstick case at CVS and left the perfume in my room.


The following year, I added green eyeshadow to the mix which I threw in my purse.  I soon learned the value of a make up bag so that when your make up cracks (which it always does) - it won't spill all over your purse.

At 21, I was invited to my first Mary Kay (or was it Avon?) party where I learned all about the "liners." Lip liner and eye liner were my new best friends. I also learned that you shouldn't necessarily match your eye shadow to your eye color. So, I purchased a few new eye shadow colors too.  Good thing I got a free make up bag to go with everything I bought.

At 25, I went to Merle Norman who introduced me to their skin care line. Soon enough, I added toner, moisturizer, and powder to the mix. They even threw in a free cosmetic case. How nice of them!

At 30-something, I started to have issues with acne and found a whole new line of skin products to tackle those things.  I also found a good dermatologist. Now, I have a whole bin under the bathroom sink dedicated to my skin. It just won't fit in a bag anymore.

In my 30's, I went from fancy schmancy Lauren Mercier make up to the more trendy and less expensive MAC cosmetics.  The girls behind the counter are friendlier and I don't break my budget.

This weekend, I'm attending my first Arbonne party for some "age-defying" makeup.  Arbonne is for 40-somethings who aren't invited to Avon or Mary Kay parties anymore.  I'll learn all the new vocabulary like "retinol" and "anti-oxidants."  My friend swears by it.  I'm sure I will  too.

So, now I'm wondering if they will throw in a new make up bag.  I'm sure I'll need one by the end of the night.

Same Dream, Different Decade

It is 2 pm. I'm running through the Quad to get to my favorite journalism class with my latest feature writing project in my backpack.  I know this is the story to pitch to Professor Fox. He is going to love it.  I just spent the last 2 days with my neighbor who happens to be a female bodybuilder. I saw what she eats for breakfast, how she trains for her next competition and discovered what keeps her motivated.

It seems like this happened to me just last week, but actually it was almost 20 years ago.  Yikes! In the last two decades, I've picked up and put down my dream to be a writer over and over again.  Yes, I've done plenty of writing in between. I've had a by-line in a newspaper, an article picked up by the Associated Press, a weekly column and now a blog.  I would call this semi-successful.  What would really be successful is to find the time to write every day and write something that  makes people think about life in a new way.

But, you know what happens - Life happens.  This is why I've had to pick up and put back down my dream to save for a rainy day.  But, I can honestly say that my motivation is just like that of the bodybuilder's philosophy from years ago.  I love to do it and so I keep it up because it is a big part of who I am.

If I could track her down today, I wonder if she still puts in a 3 hour work out on her specific rotations of muscle groups and does she still eat that egg yolk concoction? If she loves it, I'm betting she still does.

Facing 40

Many of the life lessons I have learned came from coffee mugs in my parents' kitchen cupboard. Each one had a saying to live by.  When we used to set the table, we would often read the mugs, put the appropriate one with the appropriate saying by the seat of the appropriate family member. 

One of the mugs in the cupboard said "You Have to Kiss A Lot of Frogs To Find Your Prince Charming."  I guess the mug was right since it took me 23 years to find the perfect guy for me.  Where was the mug that was going to let me know that it would take 40 years to find the right hair dresser? 

Another mug read - "Growing Old is Mandatory. Growing Up is Optional."  This is so true since I feel like a kid inside myself with two kids of my own in tow. 

I remember many mugs that spoke to me about reaching for my goals and never giving up. There have been so many times in my life where these mugs came in handy. Too numerous to count.  Just this year, I overcame my fear of public speaking after years of trying.  I'm still not great at it but I feel much better about it and I seek out opportunities so that I can only get better.

My new goal is to respect my love for writing and find more time to do so.

My family, friends and experiences in life - along with these coffee mugs - are all big contributors to who I am today. As I soon enter into a new decade of my life, I realize that I'm really fine with it.  40 is fabulous!
But since I can't find that on a mug anywhere (and I've looked), I'll quote a mug already in my own kitchen - "It's Not the Age. It's the (Positive) Attitude!" 

Words to live by!
 

Comics! Wenches! Mummers!

What am I doing on New Years Day? The same thing I do every New Year's Day.  I watch the Mummer's Parade. Besides the Phillies, nothing represents Philly pride to me more than the Mummers.

(If you don't know what a Mummer is, I urge you to Google it.  You will never see anything like this in any part of the country or the world.  The costumes. The music. The comraderie. The merriment. It is all part of the Mummers tradition. And I love it.)

When I was a kid, it was a family tradition to watch the parade in our PJs and keep track of our favorites.  When we saw the theme of the band, we would try to guess the songs that they were going to play.  Then, we play "Name that Tune" and guess what song they are playing on the banjos.  It isn't easy to recognize a song on the banjo but we did our best.

The most important part of watching the Mummer's parade was keeping our Parade Chart updated. Let me explain.  Each string band has a name and each year they base their performance on a theme.  On January 2nd, the awards are announced and they only give the name of the string band.  Now, we don't know the Quaker City string band from the Polish American string band, but we remember the theme! Basically, if we don't write down the theme - we won't know who won. So the list must be kept. We pick our favorites and see if the judges agree. It is just part of the tradition.

I secretly always wanted to be a Mummer - to get dressed up and march down Broad Street with my umbrella in hand is something that would bring me great joy. But, being a Mummer is serious business. You have to join a club, practice and attend rehearsals for 6 months prior to the parade, learn an instrument (unfortunately, I can't roll my piano down Broad Street) and learn the dance routines. 

I think this will always be a pipe dream, but I can still show my support by watching every year in my pajamas with my chart in hand.
Happy New Year to all!

My Weird Travel Habit

Before I get on any airplane, I have to tap it twice on the outside to the right of the door - as if to say "Good plane - get me there safe and sound."  I know this is silly, but it makes me feel better about flying.

Yesterday, I flew back to Philly from Las Vegas. After boarding the plane and tapping the side of the plane as usual, I sat down in my seat and pulled out my People magazine. Much to my surprise, I found out that the cute guy who does those Old Spice commericals said his weird travel habit is to tap the plane three times before he boards his flight.

Wow! I was so relieved that someone out there didn't think I was crazy. But then I thought - how silly for him to tap the plane three times when twice works just fine!  

Okay, fess up - what is your weirdest travel habit???

Why I don't keep an "S-list"

Recently, someone asked me if they were on my "s-list."  I assured her that not only was she not on my list, but that I don't even keep such a list.

I think the concept of an "s-list" is just not in my nature.  There are many people in my life who love and support me for who I am and what I do.  There are other people who do not.  These people are not on any "s-list" because I don't spend my precious time worrying about them.   Why focus my energy on those who have wronged me and in turn be miserable?  What lesson does it teach my kids to be constantly upset and aggravated all of the time?

There is a great book that came out last year called "The Happiness Project."  It tells the true story of an author who spent a year focusing on things she can do every day to be happier in her life.  I loved this book and decided that I would much rather be a happy person too.  Here are some values in Judaism that prevent me from ever having such a list and keep me happy, such as:

• Shalom Bayit - Family Harmony
• Gemilut Khesed - Acts of Loving-Kindness
• Hakhnasat Orkhim - Acts of Hospitality

By embracing these things in my own life, I will thankfully never have a need for such a list.

Going to the Gym: 5 am vs. 5 pm

Life is very hetic these days. So, in order to get the necessary amount of exercise that I need to lose weight, de-stress, and stay healthy, I have to resort to waking up at 5 am (ish) and head to the gym. My friends tell me that I crazy, but truthfully - it is not that bad.  Here is what people say and how I rationalize it:

• "It's Cold Out There!"- It is dark and cold at 5 am and soon enough it will be dark and cold at 5 pm as we get closer to wintertime. So, in my mind, it makes no difference.

• "I'll Never Get Out Of the House!"-
  As long as I sleep in my work out clothes and have my Ipod charged and my keys and shoes by the front door the night before, it is really a no-brainer to get out of the house. 

• "There is no one at the gym at that hour!" Actually, the parking lot is pretty crowded at 5 am.  I was surprised about this too. And even with all of these people at the gym, I've never had to wait for a treadmill or a weight machine.

• "My friends won't go with me." I use this to my benefit. I like to work out alone. It is quality "me time."  And, being at the gym is serious business at 5 am.  Lots of exercising and very little chit chat. If you are getting up at that ungodly hour - make it worth your while to get in a good work out.  Whenever I go at 5 pm, the gym feels more like a happy hour. There is lots of talking and socializing with a little exercise in between.

Although I rarely talk to anyone at the gym, I am very motivated by watching others work out. I get some great ideas and I like the fact that there are fewer people watching, laughing, and pointing at me as I attempt to try new things.

With a husband, two kids, a full time job, loads of activities and dinner to put on the table, there is just no way that I'm getting to the gym at 5 pm. An early morning workout allows me to cross something off my to-do list and start my day with lots of energy and a smile. You should try it sometime. Let me know how it goes. :)