Today's terror threat: orange

In the heart of winter, think of the Fresh Air Fund

Have a Wicked Wonderful Winter

I'm not sure how to make the winter solstice funny, but you need a sense of humor at this time of year to recognize and appreciate the season's inner beauty. Here's something to chew on between the Yankee Swap parties and the fruitcake re-gifting:

If summer were a Broadway musical, it would be light, fun and with plenty of bounce, like "Grease" or "Hairspray" or even "The Producers". Learn, laugh, love and light.

If spring were a Broadway musical, it would retain its bounce but have a positive message, like "Rent" or "Spring Awakenings" (duh) or even "The Lion King". New beginnings, new outlooks, new clothes, new adventures.

If fall were a Broadway musical, it would be big and splashy, colorful and celebratory, heavy at times but joyous in others. Think "West Side Story" or "Chicago" or even "Gypsy". Wild and wonderful, memorable and photogenic.

Winter's got its own show producer, and he's not returning calls right now. Winter is thought-provoking, a time to turn inward and reflect. A time to appreciate and plan and clean out the junk drawer, literally and figuratively.

What musical are you thinking about this winter? I'm thinkin' "Carousel" or even "A Chorus Line". Substantive, sexy, secretive, subtle at times, show-stopping as well.

Take a moment to pause, reflect, praise, appreciate, and look forward while learning from your own year's history. I love this season because it is the perfect time for closure and purging of the old while welcoming the new. I love that this year brings me a new organzational system for my clients, a new political administration, and even a new computer and billing system. (Say hello, sparkly new iMac!)

These lyrics from the winter-esque Wicked, ("For Good") speak to me louder than Ethel Merman in "Annie Get Your Gun". Hope they inspire you to great things in '09.

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them and we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...

Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good.

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.

Are you ready for some football?

It's the first week of August. Some families are going on vacation. Other families are beating the "I wanna go see Space Chimps again" blues by taking "staycations" and camping in their backyards.

Me? I am getting indoctrinated into the wide world of sports. Pop Warner football (for my son) and cheerleading (my daughter), to be exact. Somehow I got suckered into being the team mom, too... and it ain't no "bring oranges and call for pizza at the end of the season" job.

Thoughts? Advice? Stories of your own about the joys of Pop Warner? Share 'em by clicking "comment". I could use words of wisdom...