It's dog show time! Raise the WOOF!

With Halloween planning behind us and 98 candy bars to sneak from my kids before Christmas, my thoughts turn to one of my favorite clients, an event I've been working on since I was a wee PR agency pup back in 1991: the Bay Colony Dog Show.  

One of the nation's largest American Kennel Club shows, this doggie diva-filled haven for pooch worshippers is exhausting and exhilarating and really, really eclectic.  If you know not of dog shows, over 2,000 purebred dogs compete each day for "Best In Show" honors, and you can see dogs that look like your rasta-lovin' friend Jamal, your snooty Paris-Hilton wannabe cousin Ashley, and your big, fat, slobbery, lovable Uncle BEEP (censored to protect whatever familial relationships I have left).  

I love to holiday shop for the coolest, kookiest doggie items - stuff you would expect to be there, like professional grooming supplies, but also stuff you never even knew dogs had to have - like a rhinestone pin that says "Best Bitch," or a doggie leather jacket with "#1 Stud" on it. You can't find holiday presents like that at Macy's or Marshalls, that's fur sure. 

And if you haven't seen Chris Guest's "Best in Show" trot like a long-legged Weimeraner to Blockbuster this minute).  Run, don't trot.  "God loves a terrier..."  Hysterical.  It's on YouTube... check it out.

Fanciest title I've ever earned: Chief Dream Officer

Yesterday I completed training and became my own "Chief Dream Officer". I am dreaming to do more writing, perhaps writing the next Great American Novel (or at least something worthy of reading in the bathroom).  I love writers who have a keen sense of observation, and then apply their sense of humor to let others know what they find interesting in life.  I'm going to set up a writing desk - apart from my work area - and get to it, gosh darn it.  

What is your dream?  How can you find more joy in life? What makes you get up in the morning beyond adult obligation and the chemical lure of caffeine?

Fall fever

Apples and festivals and crafts, oh my!  Fall in New England is simply stunning, nothing short of miraculous.  The colors are breathtaking, the farms are bustling, the people are bundled in new sweaters and still-stiff jeans.  I missed you, beloved wool mittens and furry boots and my slightly flamboyant striped scarf... welcome back.  Field trips to the corn maze, the smell of wet leaves, picking out the "perfect" pumpkin...

Take a deep breath and breathe in all the glory that fall has to offer. Now get back to raking.