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January 2012 - All The Single Girlfriends

Saving the World Is Boring.

Jan 30, 2012 by

Saving the World Is Boring.

Following on my post from last week, We ALL Need A Village. Tedious. Overwhelming. Numbing.   And oh-so-terribly depressing…However, we have to start somewhere…or there’ll be no “where” to save one of these days. That’s why I’m working on the Adopt A Village project with Global Hope Network International. Yeah. You’ve heard it all before, all over the place. (How many pleas did you pitch in the recycle bin this month, unopened?  My count is at least 10.)  So why am I continuing to write about this? Here’s why: Empathy. Forget the videos, photos, and heartfelt pleas for a second. (Not to worry. No sad photos of starving kids are in this blog post.) Let’s face it, we’ve all pretty much become numb to the woes of the world. EVERYTHING has become an outrage.  Oh-hum. (If we...

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Eat Your Greens

Jan 27, 2012 by

Eat Your Greens

I’m sitting at my desk in Seattle, cat on my lap, watching the snow pile up outside and feeling the old childlike pleasure of a ‘Snow Day.’ We don’t get this kind of weather very often – every few years to be honest – so it feels good to have a day when I can do what I choose and not have to leave the premises for any reason except pleasure. I taught the first session of the second quarter of the food-related class I teach at the Lifetime Learning Center, a school that has a wide variety of classes for older adults. The class description reads: A Matter of Taste – Getting to Know Ingredients This semester we will continue to explore the fascinations of food and the gifts of our Seattle food...

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We ALL Need a Village.

Jan 23, 2012 by

We ALL Need a Village.

…Virtual, real, or some combination thereof.  We extremely single women have “villages” of friends who may or may not live close, but are always there for us when needed.  These villages become even more important as we age. (I LOVE living alone, but what happens if I fall and really can’t get up? No joke or punch line there.) Despite what some of us would like to think, nobody survives, much less thrives, totally alone.  We need our villages. But what happens if the village itself needs help? Last fall, in my ongoing qwest for community (and how to help communities), I attended SOBCon Northwest in Portland. Its entire theme was about how to give back, help…do well by doing good.  I learned a lot, laughed even more (yes, martinis were involved), and came...

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In Defense of Butter (and Paula Deen)...

Jan 20, 2012 by

In Defense of Butter (and Paula Deen)

“If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.” ― Julia Child I know Ms. Deen is more than capable of taking care of herself (She told Anthony Bourdain to “get a life.”) Excellent response to his attention-seeking taunts about her dangerous irresponsibility and “disgusting” food. Like he NEVER cooked with butter?  Or ate something that looked totally disgusting (baby bird eaten whole, including guts and feet, anyone?)  However, she’s really been taking some major hits lately…hits that are often mean, petty, and just downright wrong. As for butter (and fat) – our bodies love it  and need it. Our mouths crave that “fat feel.” When we don’t get it, we stay hungry and keep eating. “Low-fat” can actually cause you to gain weight.  From WebMD: The problem is that sometimes “fat free” is also, well, taste...

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Why Milliennials Won’t Get A Cold War...

Jan 18, 2012 by

Why Milliennials Won’t Get A Cold War

Recently over a long holiday weekend, I had the opportunity to see Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy the movie, an adaptation of the now famous John Le Carré (nom de plume of David John Moore Cornwell) novel – part of a series that focuses on character George Smiley. Gary Oldham is in an Oscar-worthy role as George Smiley and is the number 2 in command to Control, played brilliantly by John Hurt.  While I strongly recommend this very character-driven movie, I realize that it is not for everyone. Especially if you are into blow-em-up Hollywood blockbusters – this one is meant for those bookish types who prefer politics and intrigue to titillation and special effects. That said, my friend Michael Fuller, an old-school chap from London, escorted me. He chortled that I was a mere babe...

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Yes, Virginia, There is Skiing In Indiana...

Jan 16, 2012 by

Yes, Virginia, There is Skiing In Indiana

2011 was the year of going back to basics for me. I went back to tap dancing, back to tech marketing and back to downhill skiing. I gave up downhill skiing 16 years ago when I got married. My husband didn’t ski so I took up spectator college basketball – college basketball is one of his passions as he got a full-ride scholarship to play college basketball and later, he became a radio sportscaster doing play-by-play college basketball – he didn’t ask me to give it up but I wanted us to be able to do something together. Of course, that was early in our marriage. I was just a kid then. Ha Ha. A few months ago, I decided I missed skiing too much and decided I wanted to get back into it....

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No, I Don’t Want A Salad

Jan 13, 2012 by

No, I Don’t Want A Salad

“We’ll be having prime rib; if you don’t want to eat that, there’ll be salad and stuff…since there’ll only be two of you who don’t eat meat.” – a friend inviting me to a New Year’s feast. Oh! Boy! I could hardly wait to go feast on “salad and stuff.” This week’s lead article in the NYT dining section was Meatless in the Midwest: A Tale of Survival. It’s the story of an NYT reporter who moved to Kansas City, Mo and is a hard-core vegetarian (I’m not). However, I can really relate to her being told by a waitress – after working the way through menu options (made with lard, made with chicken stock, etc.) – “You want a salad.”  Well, no she really didn’t. But that’s what she got, and iceberg.  Sigh....

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How I Can’t Lose What I Don’t Want...

Jan 11, 2012 by

How I Can’t Lose What I Don’t Want

“Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.”  Kris Kristofferson, “Me and Bobby McGee“ Here we are again, at the start of a new year.  Last year at this time, I was contemplating quitting my corporate job to find my way in the world of being an entrepreneur.  Self-determination and freedom to grow the creative part of myself beckoned.  Terror tried to bar the way, but it lost its power to imprison me when Dave died.  Sorry, Terror.  You have to come up with something scarier than a balance sheet to stop me now. This year I can easily count what I’ve gained.  I got a rough and tumble education in the ways of small businesses.  I made a whole new community’s worth of friends.  I learned to read a balance sheet, plan...

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Separate but not Sequel

Jan 9, 2012 by

Separate but not Sequel

Have you ever had high hopes or expectations when you entered into something? A new job, a second date, or that perfect black dress that arrived mail-order. You know what I am referring to. Recently my dear friend Mary and her husband Craig, invited me to see the re-make of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. David Fincher’s initial version to the Stieg Larsson’s Millennium  trilogy made famous by Noomi Rapacei. Larsson witnessed the gang rape of a young girl when he was 15. He never forgave himself for failing to help the girl, whose name was Lisbeth – like the young main character of his books, herself a rape victim, which inspired the theme of sexual violence against women in his books. Maybe I should not have read the books, or seen the original trilogy in Swedish – by...

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Cracking The Code

Jan 5, 2012 by

Cracking The Code

I was thinking about what I was going to write about for my first week of 2012 article. I was going to do a fitness article but my recent great find in Louisville, Still Spinnin, this kick-ass, rocking spin studio, is closed until January 2nd. And I will be doing a skiing article about my Indiana ski adventure later in the week.  So, I decided that this article is all about gratitude, abundance and my constant strive to get things done on my timetable, but I’ve never been able to get that to work in my favor, so I’ve decided to give up the ghost on that one. There are a few things I don’t believe in. I don’t believe in regrets – we make choices and life is all about living with those choices...

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Appreciate The Process

Jan 4, 2012 by

Appreciate The Process

At the end of 2010, I suffered two heavy-duty losses—the loss of a job and the loss of my Father.  Both happened around the holidays, so I went into 2011 feeling the lossess just as intensely as if they’d happened that year. However, I had one major gain that has lasted me throughout the year, and that is my weight. Oh, I completely understand that the gains came from a whole lot of comfort food.   Honestly, I don’t regret one single pound of it.  I relished every drink, every darned good meal, and every single red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting that crossed my lips and made their way to my waistline. Yet when I stare at my closet and see my wardrobe shrinking as a consequence of my expanding…..well….. About three weeks...

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Atlanta Women in Social Media Names Toby Bloomberg Its 2011 Social Media Marketing Leader of The Year...

Jan 3, 2012 by

Atlanta Women in Social Media Names Toby Bloomberg Its 2011 Social Media Marketing Leader of The Year

atsGf author Toby Bloomberg was recently honored by the Atlanta Women in Social Media. She was presented with the group’s inaugural award for Social Media Marketing Leadership. Atlanta Social Media Women is a new business group devoted to advancing social media marketing best practices and highlighting the work of women in social media in metro Atlanta. Realizing that women were getting little attention from the media for their roles in social media, Toby started the Atlanta Social Media Women as a grass roots. members only, Facebook group. What began as an ad hoc group has quickly grown to almost 80 members. Atlanta Daily...

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