This past weekend, I too attended a wedding. My son stood up in his friend’s wedding, vowing to help keep him committed to his vows and to be a good, loving husband. Stranger still.... my son and my colleague’s son enjoyed a bachelor party unbeknownst to us. See, they’ve been friends for a short time, hanging with the same bunch of dudes. My son sent me a picture of their group at a jazz club last Friday and when I zoomed in, I thought....” holy smokes! That’s Paul’s kid!”....

  I’m on a tear with my friend’s children getting married. I have had the pleasure of dancing at the weddings of some of my closest friend’s children over the last year or two. To be honest, it’s a little surreal. I just don’t feel old enough. This past weekend, I attended a bridal shower for the daughter of one of my closest friends. It was beautiful, warm and loving. It was also a little surreal for me. I have been close friends with the bride’s mother since our early d...

  There are two types of people in this world, those that jump out of bed when the alarm goes off and those that hit the snooze button. I am a snoozer. I hardly ever get up when the alarm goes off. I hit the snooze button at least once, or twice, every day. In fact, I generally set my alarm earlier than I need to get up, anticipating that I will hit the snooze button.     My husband, however, jumps out of bed immediately when the alarm goes off. It astounds me every time;...

I find my calendar app a saving grace of sorts. Pre-computers I relied on a papers calendar and things to do lists. The early calendars on computers never worked for me and I created my own as a text document going from Wordperfect to Word to OpenOffice (my preferred Office app). Eventually moving to an iPhone and a Mac, I found comfort in a real calendar App that offered my the ability to include as much information as I found necessary and useful in any calendar entry. This...

Today I find myself in the beautiful woods of North Carolina where I'm visiting my cousin/brother and his lovely wife in their 1.75 acre estate.   The BBQ last night was filled laughs, wine, steak, chicken and sausage (of course I cooked:). I finally met my cousin's grandsons Jack and Max. 5 and 2. I forgot how much energy little kids can have. If we could only bottle the energy from these children and store it, we could power the world. Let's call Elon Musk......

There was the most amazing story in the news last week which did my heart so dog loving good!It seems that a fox terrier puppy, Dutchess, disappeared 12 years ago from her Florida home and was recently discovered over 1000 miles away, just barely alive, in Pittsburgh.  She was hungry, shivering and in need of a nail trim and when Dutchess was brought to a rescue center they found a micro chip which connected her to her original owner, Katheryn Strang, who, when notified, drov...

To complain or not to complain..... I had organized a trip that included a lunch for about 35 people. It was a nice place with a water view. The buffet was set up with an array of choices. Things seemed fine. A day or two later I received an email from my contact at the place asking how things had gone. Before I sent my usual “fine” and thanks, I thought about it and reached out to a few people who were at lunch. Two complaints surfaced. I’m not sure that either would...

My little cousin got Himself married last weekend In Chicagoland. Northwest Chicagoland to be precise. About 40 minutes south of Wisconsin. My hometown. If you’ve never taken a trip to a midwest town, I recommend the experience. Each time I take a trip back home the wholesomeness is overwhelming. People actually take the time to speak with you and genuinely want to know how things are going. Apologies come easy, “thank you’s” are at the ready and doing for others is expected...

  I was giving a presentation recently about my favorite topic, networking. And the following question was posed to the group – what is the best piece of advice you would give your younger self about networking? In other words, if I knew then what I know now . . . That question always gets me thinking. Truth be told, I admit to being completely unschooled and untooled about this thing called networking. I’ve learned along the way by picking up tips from others who do it so...

  A little over a year ago I wrote a blog about the conflict in my town concerning the opening of Costco. Approximately eighteen months later, all the struggles have quieted down and Costco has become a way of life.     We find ourselves going to Costco about once a week. I have, essentially, stopped making roasted chicken or homemade chicken soup because I cannot make either less expensive than it is to purchase it ready made in Costco. We even bought a new couch, as wel...