Happy spring, dear readers!
It's a hazy, rainy afternoon in Toronto. Normally this type of weather makes me feel a little grumpy, but today I'm relishing the feeling of cosiness as I sit in my warm, dry study area in my apartment. I had a great morning of teaching and am now getting caught up with some writing before heading downstairs to exercise in the beautiful gym in my building. After I finish working out, I'm going to embark on a culinary adventure: cooking a
brand-new dish for me and my husband, Allan. Last Thursday I went to a charity book sale at the Toronto Reference Library and found a little gem of a cookbook: The Art of Cooking, volume 2, by Pol Martin. The publishing date is 1978, but the paperback is in superb condition--and cost me the exorbitant sum of 50 cents! Apparently this is a collection of recipes from M. Martin's TV cooking series, which must have aired at a time when cooking was about the least most interesting pastime to me. However, I LOVE to cook now, and particularly when I find recipes that inspire me to put my own twist on them. Chicken Normande mainly consists of chicken, apples and onions, with a few choice seasonings. Already I'm planning my tweaks--cipollini onions, which I have recently discovered and fallen in love with; some pecans and almonds along with the caramelized apples; and perhaps a dash of nutmeg. On a day like today, cooking feeds my heart and my soul--but, so does exercise and the knowledge that tonight I have no plans other than to enjoy this (hopefully!) wonderful dish with my hubby--and beat him at Scrabble!
People often ask me, "How do you maintain your energy?" or "How do you stay so happy?" My answer is simple: find simple ways to make yourself happy, whether it be putting your own twist on an old recipe, twisting to some funky music, or making music (or playing Scrabble!) with people you love to be around! Make yourself happy, and I guarantee others will notice--and will be happy too!
Make happiness an integral part of the image you present to yourself--AND to others!
Now it's YOUR turn--what makes YOU happy? Please comment and share your secrets!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Mind Your Emails!
Hello to my dear readers on this lovely Friday afternoon!
Yesterday, as I was picking through books at a library sale, I came across a very old edition of Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette. I thought of it again today when, while checking and responding to a number of business and personal emails, I realized that I was waiting for a number of long-overdue responses to various queries of mine, both professional and otherwise. I started wondering what Amy would have to say about those email "slackers" who check in only once a week or so, yet say, oh so blithely, "Email me and I'll get right back to you!"
Dear readers, please agree with me on this point: email usership is a privilege, not a right!
I feel fortunate that, at 50, I am quite computer-savvy and definitely much more so than many I know in my own age group. I also love the compliment, both from colleagues and friends, "You always respond so quickly to my emails
--thank you!" But, shouldn't that be the norm if you are an email communicator? How or why should the time lapse between email query and response be any different from that between similar phone calls? Am I the only person out there who feels that, if someone in my business or personal life emails me about anything, that I should respond within 24 hours--and that I expect others to do the same?
Comments, anyone? I promise I will write back--I'll likely still be online waiting for those overdue emails!
I'm going back to the book sale this afternoon--and maybe I'll end up scooping Ms. Vanderbilt's book. After all, good etiquette never goes out of style!
Yesterday, as I was picking through books at a library sale, I came across a very old edition of Amy Vanderbilt's Complete Book of Etiquette. I thought of it again today when, while checking and responding to a number of business and personal emails, I realized that I was waiting for a number of long-overdue responses to various queries of mine, both professional and otherwise. I started wondering what Amy would have to say about those email "slackers" who check in only once a week or so, yet say, oh so blithely, "Email me and I'll get right back to you!"
Dear readers, please agree with me on this point: email usership is a privilege, not a right!
I feel fortunate that, at 50, I am quite computer-savvy and definitely much more so than many I know in my own age group. I also love the compliment, both from colleagues and friends, "You always respond so quickly to my emails
--thank you!" But, shouldn't that be the norm if you are an email communicator? How or why should the time lapse between email query and response be any different from that between similar phone calls? Am I the only person out there who feels that, if someone in my business or personal life emails me about anything, that I should respond within 24 hours--and that I expect others to do the same?
Comments, anyone? I promise I will write back--I'll likely still be online waiting for those overdue emails!
I'm going back to the book sale this afternoon--and maybe I'll end up scooping Ms. Vanderbilt's book. After all, good etiquette never goes out of style!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Why Cheat Yourself When You Can Treat Yourself?
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Back from a quick dinner (and one beer) at our friendly local pub. Had my first wings and sweet potato fries in a few months--and enjoyed every bite! I read recently that as long as we're careful about 80% of what we eat (and how we burn it off), we can have fun with the other 20%. That's why having a consistently healthy lifestyle--which includes not only diet and exercise, but rest, recreation and "single" time--makes so much more sense than dieting. When you diet, you constantly beat yourself up if you "cheat." If you see yourself as a potential cheater/victim all the time, you'll be living with almost perpetual guilt--and not moving forward! So, think careful and healthy lifestyle changes that you plan to live with forever--and then cheating will never cross your mind!
Tomorrow morning I'll be up early to exercise and not regretting a minute of it--those wings and fries were worth it! Oh--and catch my cute St. Paddy's Day hat! Might as well go all out!
Slainte from Toronto!
Back from a quick dinner (and one beer) at our friendly local pub. Had my first wings and sweet potato fries in a few months--and enjoyed every bite! I read recently that as long as we're careful about 80% of what we eat (and how we burn it off), we can have fun with the other 20%. That's why having a consistently healthy lifestyle--which includes not only diet and exercise, but rest, recreation and "single" time--makes so much more sense than dieting. When you diet, you constantly beat yourself up if you "cheat." If you see yourself as a potential cheater/victim all the time, you'll be living with almost perpetual guilt--and not moving forward! So, think careful and healthy lifestyle changes that you plan to live with forever--and then cheating will never cross your mind!
Tomorrow morning I'll be up early to exercise and not regretting a minute of it--those wings and fries were worth it! Oh--and catch my cute St. Paddy's Day hat! Might as well go all out!
Slainte from Toronto!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Be Your Own Home Shopping Network!
Happy Thursday to my readers!
As I head into the weekend, I'm smiling more than usual. The secret? I've gone the last three days without spending one cent! I know this because for over five years, I've been writing down what I spend every single day--even down to a coffee or newspaper! At the beginning of March, I decided to make a concerted effort to spend as little as possible for the entire month. So far, the perks have been fabulous in more ways than one. Not only have my hubby and I cooked up some pretty amazing meals from pantry staples, fresh veggies and a little protein, I've also put together some great new outfits from my now-organized closet. Since studying for my image consulting certification last year, I've become a master at harmonizing colours in my personal palette (in my case, a soft palette of dusty autumn and summer colours) and even borrowing occasionally from other palettes. Shopping in my own closet is now a blast, not a chore--and much cheaper than buying a top a week, as someone I know (hmm, wonder who?) used to do!
Here's a little experiment you can try for yourself. Use your favourite method of recording information (Blackberry, Outlook, an actual memo pad) and for one week write down EVERY SINGLE THING you buy. After the week, look back at your purchases and check off those that were absolutely essential. You will likely surprise yourself when you note the number of unchecked items. If you decide to keep going with this experiment, you may discover (as I did) that simply the act of knowing that you have to write down every purchase will make you much more likely NOT to buy that coffee, magazine, or lipstick. You may also find that, magically, items that you thought you had to buy turn up mysteriously in your home. Just this morning, I was despairing that I finally had to shell out $27 to buy my Lancome lip pencil in "Charme," having just about an inch left of two very stubby pencils. Imagine my excitement when I found, tucked into a corner of my "extra makeup" container, an almost-new lip pencil--not Lancome, but a brand I do still like and in a very similar colour and texture to my beloved Charme! I'm now good for at least another month--and that $27 can go to that spicy cologne I'm seriously coveting . . .
In all seriousness, try shopping at home--you might like it and discover amazing "new" products there! Let us know what YOU find--and please feel free to ask me questions about mixing and matching within your own closet!
As I head into the weekend, I'm smiling more than usual. The secret? I've gone the last three days without spending one cent! I know this because for over five years, I've been writing down what I spend every single day--even down to a coffee or newspaper! At the beginning of March, I decided to make a concerted effort to spend as little as possible for the entire month. So far, the perks have been fabulous in more ways than one. Not only have my hubby and I cooked up some pretty amazing meals from pantry staples, fresh veggies and a little protein, I've also put together some great new outfits from my now-organized closet. Since studying for my image consulting certification last year, I've become a master at harmonizing colours in my personal palette (in my case, a soft palette of dusty autumn and summer colours) and even borrowing occasionally from other palettes. Shopping in my own closet is now a blast, not a chore--and much cheaper than buying a top a week, as someone I know (hmm, wonder who?) used to do!
Here's a little experiment you can try for yourself. Use your favourite method of recording information (Blackberry, Outlook, an actual memo pad) and for one week write down EVERY SINGLE THING you buy. After the week, look back at your purchases and check off those that were absolutely essential. You will likely surprise yourself when you note the number of unchecked items. If you decide to keep going with this experiment, you may discover (as I did) that simply the act of knowing that you have to write down every purchase will make you much more likely NOT to buy that coffee, magazine, or lipstick. You may also find that, magically, items that you thought you had to buy turn up mysteriously in your home. Just this morning, I was despairing that I finally had to shell out $27 to buy my Lancome lip pencil in "Charme," having just about an inch left of two very stubby pencils. Imagine my excitement when I found, tucked into a corner of my "extra makeup" container, an almost-new lip pencil--not Lancome, but a brand I do still like and in a very similar colour and texture to my beloved Charme! I'm now good for at least another month--and that $27 can go to that spicy cologne I'm seriously coveting . . .
In all seriousness, try shopping at home--you might like it and discover amazing "new" products there! Let us know what YOU find--and please feel free to ask me questions about mixing and matching within your own closet!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Spring into Action: Challenge Yourself!
Hello, dear readers!
It's already the second Wednesday in March--we're almost one quarter of the way through this year! If you're like me, you're probably already tallying up all the "to do this year" items on your personal list that have been there since January 1. However, today an interesting article in the Toronto Star prompted me to think about just how much I HAVE accomplished--not just in the past three months, but in my life. The article, entitled "Are You a Woman over 40? Take Math," focused on the successful achievements of 40-something female math students at Ontario's community colleges. Apparently women in this group outperform students of both sexes in ANY age group in math. The reason--mastery of time-management skills, giving these women a heads-up in their ability to study purposefully. Yet only half as many women as men are studying math--in my mind, this indicates that some things haven't changed much since I left high school in 1978 to pursue a bachelor's (and, later, a master's) degree in English. I was good in math throughout high school, yet I was never encouraged to pursue a career that would put my math skills to good use.
So strange, then, that now, in 2010, I find myself, as a part-time literacy and numeracy instructor, teaching math to many of my clients, and loving it! Granted, I have had to reteach myself algebra and geometry after over 30 years of not even thinking about it, but in doing so, I have discovered why I love math so much--the beauty of formulas that always work if you apply them correctly, the symmetry of equations, the utility of geometry in our lives. I better understand why I love the forms of skyscrapers and cathedrals, and why I love to construct my own jewellery. The more I work with numbers, the better I am able to play with them as well--I am becoming a master of Sudoku and amaze myself at my ability to solve my daily fix now. I've committed to one Sudoku and one crossword every day, no matter what--and I honestly do feel sharper and readier to take on new tasks!
Other spring challenges--I've promised myself to read a minimum of one book per month (I've already read three since January and am making it through #4 at a good clip), write something every day that's not a lesson plan or client profile, and finish the two French novels I've started and put down several times (I'm in Quebec City for a week in April and have promised myself a trip to a wonderful used book store on rue St-Jean if I finish these two novels!).
Challenge YOURSELF this spring--relearn a skill, pick up a book and finish it, take a new class. Set yourself goals to recharge both your brain and spirits! You will be amazed at how much more energetic you will feel--and look!
Leave a comment and tell us what YOU are doing to challenge yourself this spring!
It's already the second Wednesday in March--we're almost one quarter of the way through this year! If you're like me, you're probably already tallying up all the "to do this year" items on your personal list that have been there since January 1. However, today an interesting article in the Toronto Star prompted me to think about just how much I HAVE accomplished--not just in the past three months, but in my life. The article, entitled "Are You a Woman over 40? Take Math," focused on the successful achievements of 40-something female math students at Ontario's community colleges. Apparently women in this group outperform students of both sexes in ANY age group in math. The reason--mastery of time-management skills, giving these women a heads-up in their ability to study purposefully. Yet only half as many women as men are studying math--in my mind, this indicates that some things haven't changed much since I left high school in 1978 to pursue a bachelor's (and, later, a master's) degree in English. I was good in math throughout high school, yet I was never encouraged to pursue a career that would put my math skills to good use.
So strange, then, that now, in 2010, I find myself, as a part-time literacy and numeracy instructor, teaching math to many of my clients, and loving it! Granted, I have had to reteach myself algebra and geometry after over 30 years of not even thinking about it, but in doing so, I have discovered why I love math so much--the beauty of formulas that always work if you apply them correctly, the symmetry of equations, the utility of geometry in our lives. I better understand why I love the forms of skyscrapers and cathedrals, and why I love to construct my own jewellery. The more I work with numbers, the better I am able to play with them as well--I am becoming a master of Sudoku and amaze myself at my ability to solve my daily fix now. I've committed to one Sudoku and one crossword every day, no matter what--and I honestly do feel sharper and readier to take on new tasks!
Other spring challenges--I've promised myself to read a minimum of one book per month (I've already read three since January and am making it through #4 at a good clip), write something every day that's not a lesson plan or client profile, and finish the two French novels I've started and put down several times (I'm in Quebec City for a week in April and have promised myself a trip to a wonderful used book store on rue St-Jean if I finish these two novels!).
Challenge YOURSELF this spring--relearn a skill, pick up a book and finish it, take a new class. Set yourself goals to recharge both your brain and spirits! You will be amazed at how much more energetic you will feel--and look!
Leave a comment and tell us what YOU are doing to challenge yourself this spring!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Own Your Colours!
Happy Evening to Everyone!
Am winding down after a great day at work and wonderful (and homemade) salmon dinner with my husband, Allan. Spring is in the air and on everyone's face today--and, for many of us, in our wardrobes, too. I'm seeing lots of colour after the usual blacks, greys and browns of winter. Now, don't get me wrong--I love my dark neutrals, but I'm also raring to bring some sunshine into my wardrobe. I also know that, once I put on certain colours, I own them--they work for me and always make me look and feel my best!
Today I'm wearing my all-time favourite colour--burnt orange. I feel amazing when I wear this colour--it falls into the "true autumn" palette and harmonizes well with many colour in the "soft" palette, which is the flow between autumn and summer and my primary palette. You'll note that my scarf and jewellery all include hints of the the orange but some deeper golds and burgundies as well. You know how you feel "rich" when you wear certain colours? Those are the colours that YOU truly own, not the ones that own you!
I'd love to hear what YOUR colours are--and, if you aren't sure, feel free to send a picture and I'll be happy to help!
Am winding down after a great day at work and wonderful (and homemade) salmon dinner with my husband, Allan. Spring is in the air and on everyone's face today--and, for many of us, in our wardrobes, too. I'm seeing lots of colour after the usual blacks, greys and browns of winter. Now, don't get me wrong--I love my dark neutrals, but I'm also raring to bring some sunshine into my wardrobe. I also know that, once I put on certain colours, I own them--they work for me and always make me look and feel my best!
Today I'm wearing my all-time favourite colour--burnt orange. I feel amazing when I wear this colour--it falls into the "true autumn" palette and harmonizes well with many colour in the "soft" palette, which is the flow between autumn and summer and my primary palette. You'll note that my scarf and jewellery all include hints of the the orange but some deeper golds and burgundies as well. You know how you feel "rich" when you wear certain colours? Those are the colours that YOU truly own, not the ones that own you!
I'd love to hear what YOUR colours are--and, if you aren't sure, feel free to send a picture and I'll be happy to help!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Happy International Women's Day!
Hi Everyone!
Happy International Women's Day to all! Hope that, wherever you are, you are doing something for YOU today! If you're in Toronto, it's a balmy 12 degrees Celsius on March 8--you can't beat that! Take a walk, ride a bike or sit outside with a coffee for a few minutes. If you want to really energize yourself, join me at 6 today for a fabulous Nia class with Jenn Hicks at 918 Bathurst. It's only $15 for 75 minutes that I look forward to every Monday! Check out http://www.jennhicks.ca/ to learn more about Jenn and Nia.
On a more sobering note, here are some points to ponder on International Women's Day (my stats from the Metro, March 8, Toronto edition):
* This day has been observed since 1911 to mark women's achievements everywhere. It is an official holiday in many countries worldwide, including China, Russia and Vietnam. Hmmm . . . why not in Canada and the U.S.? Are women here considered so well off that we don't need such a day?
*Women in many so-called "well off" areas are still doing low-wage work. In Toronto, for example, women between the ages of 25 and 44 earn 65.7 per cent of the average earnings of men, only 3.7 percent up from 1998.
*Although there are 2.5 billion men and 2.5 billion women around the world of working age, only 1.2 billion women are employed, compared to 1.8 billion men--that's a difference of 600 million jobs.
*Forty-eight percent of women remain economically inactive, compared to 22 per cent of men.
So . . . any thoughts on this? The good, the bad, the ugly? Let's hear what YOU are doing to celebrate IWD, and what YOU would like to see happen!
Happy International Women's Day to all! Hope that, wherever you are, you are doing something for YOU today! If you're in Toronto, it's a balmy 12 degrees Celsius on March 8--you can't beat that! Take a walk, ride a bike or sit outside with a coffee for a few minutes. If you want to really energize yourself, join me at 6 today for a fabulous Nia class with Jenn Hicks at 918 Bathurst. It's only $15 for 75 minutes that I look forward to every Monday! Check out http://www.jennhicks.ca/ to learn more about Jenn and Nia.
On a more sobering note, here are some points to ponder on International Women's Day (my stats from the Metro, March 8, Toronto edition):
* This day has been observed since 1911 to mark women's achievements everywhere. It is an official holiday in many countries worldwide, including China, Russia and Vietnam. Hmmm . . . why not in Canada and the U.S.? Are women here considered so well off that we don't need such a day?
*Women in many so-called "well off" areas are still doing low-wage work. In Toronto, for example, women between the ages of 25 and 44 earn 65.7 per cent of the average earnings of men, only 3.7 percent up from 1998.
*Although there are 2.5 billion men and 2.5 billion women around the world of working age, only 1.2 billion women are employed, compared to 1.8 billion men--that's a difference of 600 million jobs.
*Forty-eight percent of women remain economically inactive, compared to 22 per cent of men.
So . . . any thoughts on this? The good, the bad, the ugly? Let's hear what YOU are doing to celebrate IWD, and what YOU would like to see happen!
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