The president of a house of worship in Connecticut told me that a congregant, well past retirement age, who said he had been a very successful marketing executive, stood up at its annual meeting to comment on the need for a better marketing plan to attract more members. His remarks were not received well by the president. It had nothing to do with the merit of his ideas. “That’s great” she replied, at first. “Can you take charge of putting a plan together and managing it?” His reply is what rankled her: ...

I can’t seem to slow this holiday season down! There is still so much to do and I try to savor every day, every experience and memory. Today, there are five days until Christmas and I’m about to embark on an epic mom and daughter holiday weekend in the city.  I think we have every quintessential New York experience on our agenda. I can’t wait to share that diversion. There are many moving parts and personalities to consider so its best left to full disclosure next week.  What I’m thinking about right now is ...

According to the American Lung Association, over 150 million Americans live in areas where smog and soot particles lead to unhealthy levels of pollution. For almost half of all Americans, simply breathing can be dangerous. Polluted air makes our eyes burn, irritates our nose and throat, and makes breathing more difficult for children and adults with asthma. It aggravates health problems for the elderly and stresses those with heart or respiratory disease. Not only does contaminated air cause damage to our lungs, but it increases the risk of ...

I’m not an expert on insects, but one day as I was on my way down to the basement with a big basket of laundry, something jumped out from under the stairs that was definitely not one of our pets or my children. Being a calm, suburban mom who can take most things in stride, I naturally shrieked, stumbled, and hurled the basket of laundry down the stairs. “Aaaahhhh!” I yelled from behind the heap o’ laundry that separated me from the monster insect thing. My husband came running down the stairs. “What is ...

I go through this every month: “Clean up, company’s coming!”  I run around the house in a panic, picking up all my projects and spend hours just putting away my stuff before I can clean the house or my husband can clean, whose fault it is anyway for inviting people over!  What’s the matter with him?! Every month, my husband invites people over for wine and cheese. I hate it and I love it. It forces me to “pick up the house,” as my mother says, and get things put away.  If my husband ...

The town of Carmel has been running a notice on its website for about two weeks now announcing when the town will pick up disposed-of Christmas trees from the curb. Those dates, by the way, are Jan. 8 and 15. That’s a bit early if you ask me because these days most people don’t take their trees down till around May, by which time they’ve turned to vertical sticks with some twisted, gnarly twigs jutting out from their sides, coated with a layer of dull, battered tinsel. These are the trees of the ...