Thoughts From A Broad » Laine

My GPS is mad at me….

Laine — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 20:10:50 +0000

….I should say that she is mad at me again, since this is not the first time in our relationship. To make matters worse my family has programmed her with an accent similar to my own.. so her BBC English becomes increasingly clipped and sarcastic (a la Hugh Laurie’s House and Simon Cowell) at every infraction.

Her name is “Betty”- paying homage to Bitchin’ Betty, the pet name given by pilots to the voice of the F16’s HUD, for obvious reasons! It would seem that Betty isn’t impressed by my independent streak; (one of my many characters faults) since she doesn’t understand why I would rather drive the long way around than ‘waste’ more than 30 seconds sitting in traffic. Her response to my truculence is a constant stream of demands “turn right now”, “make a legal ‘U’ turn” (as opposed to an illegal one) even, when I have pressed the detour button. In itself that would sufficient pause for thought, but Betty takes it one step further quickly lapsing into silence if I ignore more than a couple of her instructions. No really I’m serious and, the subsequent pouting session can escalate; sometimes she chooses to show the route (root) on the screen without uttering a word and this can go on for days at a time. Not that I choose to deliberately tease her, but the system includes traffic updates which are a must in a town where we no longer compute the number of miles between points but rather the time it takes to negotiate the distance.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate Betty. I love my Betty!(in a none creepy way). Our teamwork has more than once allowed me to whiz past (at legal speeds, of course) lines of traffic that would usually leave me frothing at the mouth. But I sometimes wish she could be informative without being pushy and as for the sulking … well. Maybe it’s my fault, there just seem to be a few too many people offering a critique in my life, too many ‘voices’ willing to weigh in on anything and everything I do. In this instance, yet another back seat (or rather front seat) driver. While I love having a navigator I don’t think I ever signed up for a co-pilot ~ Wow it’s almost like being married!

You Are Doomed If You Don’t Try by Catherine Fossati Healey.

Laine — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:00:20 +0000

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.” Beverly Sills

I don’t know much about Beverly Sills, but of all the quotes I’ve read about taking risks, Beverly Sills seems most appropriate for today. Through sites like LinkedIn we can commiserate the hard economic times but the fact remains that there are 5 people looking for every available job. For most of us there is little to lose by taking a risk and the biggest risk is in thinking we’ll have a job like we had before.
I met Laine on LinkedIn’s Connect and Collaborate group” in one of the many social networks I hang out on. I mentioned I am a ‘reinvention story’ Laine asked if I’d tell it. I realized that in three years I’d never told the story and maybe it’s time.

A sad parting: Loss of a loved one:
Like so many, my position was eliminated in a restructuring. For all you Dilbert fans, the real reason I was let go was ‘inappropriate body language’. I think I blinked, crossed my arms or maybe even ‘rolled my eyes’. I was also guilty of staying too long. Two years earlier I’d finished what I had set out to do. My last two years in corporate America are described nicely by Seth Godin in his book titled ‘The Dip’.

Mourning:
I regrouped for six months. Then the economy tanked just as I was coming out of my funk and really focusing on my next great career move. I started to experience all the things people talk about on LinkedIn. Jobs I applied for were dropped, people never bothered to reply blah, blah, blah. I went to countless networking events and met hundreds of other unemployed men and women just like me. I realized that the smart ones make money off the unemployed by organizing networking events. Through all this, to keep my sanity I read, studied and learned. I evaluated a number of business ideas and threw out most of them. Since time had always been my rarest commodity I now rode my bike every day, paid my sleep debt in full, and for the first time in years enjoyed just being alive.

Awakening:
My sister and I have joked about selling handbags and shoes for years. I asked myself why not see if you can make a living doing something just because it would be fun? Surprisingly, selling handbags and shoes looked feasible, in fact lucrative if done right. I wanted to create a new brand and started down this path to launch a luxury handbag brand in June 2008, launching Fossati in April 2009. The first year I laid out my strategy and business plan, learned about materials, found a manufacturer and found low cost web solutions.

Life is stranger than fiction:
I read a lot of books including ‘The Secret’. I never believed any of that ‘think it and it will come’ bullshit, but in the last three years I’ve had a number of stranger than fiction experiences which make me wonder. It’s true, I put myself out there tried new things and have been open to new ideas. You could call it luck, but wow have I had some great luck! In my 20 year corporate career the only luck I had was bad luck. It’s hard to believe that this is just good luck. Whether it is dumb luck or quantum physics, I want it to continue.

“You have to live spherically in many directions. Never lose your childish enthusiasm, and things will come your way.” Katherine under the Tuscan Sun

I’m a social media junkie. I met my future PR partner on Twitter in early January. Through his celebrity stylist connections my Venice Evening clutch was featured on the Red Carpet at the 2010 Golden Globes, it was carried by Mia-Linh Lofgren, Michael Stuhlbarg’s fiancé. Michael was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy for his role in A Serious Man, against some real heavy weights including:
Matt Damon, The Informant
Daniel Day Lewis, Nine
Robert Downey Jr., Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon Levitt, (500) Days of Summer
Pictures from the event are featured in Fossati’s shop

My life has become a magnet for ‘stranger than fiction’ coincidences include: walking into the Henri Bendel’s Somerset Collection in Troy MI and bumping into the director of store operations, who just happened to be in town from NY that day. He helped me get my first trunk show at Henri Bendel’s last October. Or the time I met Faye Dunaway while getting my hair done at Bitonti and, she offered to use my bags in her movie Master Class, one of the rare movie productions in Michigan that is not an apocalypse movie.

Regrets are a waste of time. They’re the past crippling you in the present.
Katherine – Under the Tuscan Sun

Is this all just luck? Or is it happening because I finally let go of my reservations and opened myself up to possibilities? We’re now heading into the holiday season and I’m hoping sales will be good. I have another big opportunity coming up that isn’t ready to be released yet. You’ll have to join Club Fossati to find out more. I know one thing for sure, I may fail but failure was guaranteed if I didn’t try.

Catherine Fossati Healey designed jewelry for a high end jeweler to pay for college. This led to a highly successful 20 year + career as a corporate executive with Chrysler Financials consumer facing initiatives. When Catherine joined the ranks of the downsized in 2007, she found herself at a career crossroads with little prospect of continuing with plan B, and decided to follow her passion revisiting her true creative nature, and in essence traveling back in time. The idea of designing and selling handbags started years before between her and her sister, to be revisited each time they complained about their day jobs. Deciding that the family name was the perfect fit Fossati, the brand was born in April of 2009.

Her father’s family originates from Milan, Italy and to reflect her heritage and evoke the romance and elegance of Italy; Fossati’s first collection is named The Italian Collection with each design being inspired by a different city. With a heartfelt commitment that luxury handbags should stay in style. Catherine uses simple designs expertly executed with meticulous craftsmanship in beautiful materials – what more could you possibly need?

Catherine’s website is equally a joy, and a stylish cavalcade of beautiful imagery. To find out more about Fossati click the link, to get updates via their Twitter account or connect with Catherine on LinkedIn.

Following Childhood Dreams

Laine — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:45:37 +0000

I’ve already addressed the theme of “what do you want to be when you grow up” and the answer wasn’t taller!

After all, how many of us get the opportunity to become Rock Stars, Princesses (OK, I know one but it didn’t work out well) or Marine Biologists (my personal dream).

Once childhood passes we are faced with the reality of making enough money to live. I’m not convinced that anyone dreams of becoming: a cashier at the supermarket, bookkeeper for the Pizza place or a repair technician at the tire store. Maybe there are a few realists, but most of us have been encouraged to dream big! Sadly. most dreams fade in the harsh light of financial necessity and merge into the background as the real world takes over. Our dreams are forgotten or become buried to surface in times of discontent or when our children reach an age where we hope they will take over the reins. Whether we get to reclaim them ourselves, relies to some extent on if we fulfilled any of the qualifications to live our dream in the first place. Do we pass the test: can we carry a tune or fake it until we make it (a la Milli Vanilli)? did we kiss enough frogs? Or understand the effect of warm water currents on the seasonal migration of humpback whales?

In our current economy with so many people being unable to work at what they settled for, perhaps there are more opportunities to rework those dreams. As an artistic type I have long been impressed when people opt to act on their creative side, especially when it proves to be the rebirth of the left brain after a long sojourn in the corporate world.

It was a thrill for me to connect with someone who took the chance on her dream because she was knew she was doomed if she did not try. Catherine Healey went from corporate executive to one of the throng of unemployed and, realized that her way forward was to go back to her first passion. For her the rebirth of dream, encompassing her artistic nature and Italian heritage has produced a line which appropriately reflects the architecture of the cities beloved by the Renaissance.

I hope you enjoy this fairytale as much as I have. Catherine, has no aspirations to be a Princess (that I know of) but is happy to supply the accoutrement to go with the golden coach and, I have a feeling we are still only at the “Once upon a Time” in her story.

On her way to the top in a corporate career Catherine (Fossati) Healey designed high end jewelry to pay for college. Twenty years later, she revisited her creative nature and, reclaimed a dream shared with her sister to design and sell limited edition handbags (purses and evening bags). With success knocking on her door, her designs are already favored by movie stars, hitting the red carpet at the Golden Globes and used in a upcoming movie (read the article for details).

Her family’s Italian origins gave her a brand name Fossati quite fittingly is reflected in her first collection. From the sexiness and elegance lines of the “Venice” evening bag capturing the city’s many moods making it appropriate for the very formal to casual chic, while the “Capri” day bag captures aqua waters, blue skies and warm breezes of the Isle of Capri in sleek but luxurious low profile. Her commitment that luxury purses should stay in style, should pacify even the frugalistas among us.

Even Catherine’s website looks like one of the old fashioned high society magazines which you used to find at the Dentists office. Beautiful people in beautiful settings, all with clear strong sophisticated imagery see Fossati
You can contact her through her Twitter account, or on LinkedIn

Burned, But Maybe Not Broken

Laine — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:55:52 +0000

We had a little fracas in my kitchen recently, my teens were cooking! I found myself having to exercise self control, and my memory to recall some tips my Nana gave me (things weren’t as throwaway in her day, and although she’s been gone over 20 years her wisdom lives on). Fortunately, we managed to turn a negative into a positive, not only for the pans sake but for my relationship with my kids!

Here are a couple of tips that may pull the fat out of the fire :

* Pans ~ fill with very hot water and add 1/4 teaspoon of fabric softener, let it soak for an hour and the baked on gunge should just wipe away, remember to rinse thoroughly.

* Pans & Bakeware ~ fill with very hot water and add 2-3 teaspoons of automatic dishwasher powder, soak for 1/2 hour or until it clear.

If you find that they need a little more help, you can put pans / metal bakeware still filled with liquid mix over a low simmer on your stove top. If you use glass or ceramic bakeware (+ liquid) can be popped in the microwave for a minute.

Don’t let them boil dry though!

& on that subject, Here is another tip from Nana ~ If you have burned a pan (as long as you didn’t burn through the bottom!) You may be able to reclaim it by boiling up a batch of rhubarb.    Comes up like a new pin! although I wouldn’t recommend eating the rhubarb- if you crave rhubarb pie boil up another batch.

Hope they work for you.

Serendipity – Luck by Chance

Laine — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 21:09:42 +0000

The definition of Serendipity is luck by chance! but is it ‘by chance’ when someone takes the time to share their luck?

In this economy each of us is at least trying to shop wisely, squeezing out maximum effect from minimum expenditure but it isn’t always easy.   While I’m very good at finding the things I need at a good price, I’ve never quite mastered the art of the Coupon and admire those people who are organized enough to use coupons more than occasionally.

This week while facing the dreaded Back to School shopping I came across two great resources, which literally lead you to the savings without even pulling out your scissors. Both are free services and available 24/7:

One is a mobile app, website FaceBook and Twitter account ~ http://www.Cellfire.com , which allows you to browse local offers and then simply show the coupon on your cell phone screen to the cashier. You can even save coupons to your grocery card!

The other is a colleague from one of my networking groups Michelle Bank; a Mom of 2, a Special Ed Teacher and Coupon Queen whose family and friends convinced her the world needed her talents so: http://www.michellebank.com – teaching countless ways to save was born.

Enjoy and share folks ~ A virtual bonanza! I don’t know about you but I’ve got school supplies to buy.

Dream World or Dream Life?

Laine — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 07:59:03 +0000

Are you successful in your life or work?

Are you getting what you want out of life?

If your answers to the above are not a resounding “yes!”, you may be missing an important aspect of goal setting – a clear purpose.

A goal or dream, whether it’s about having a business or living life well, is a journey. If you don’t know exactly where you want to go, it’s very hard to get there!

You would never go to the airport without knowing where you are going, even last minute package tours allow you to pick the country and the grade of accommodation. So why would we choose to live our lives or run our business like that?

These days getting into the car prompts your GPS to demand – where? Eventually if you haven’t entered a destination entered, the system defaults to the map pointing out any places you have previously shown interest in.

Part of your business or life plan, (possibly the most important part) is to decide where you are heading , a nebulous wish for a bigger house or to make enough money to retire leaves you in just that, a cloud.

Don’t wander around without a map.

Set your Sights

Knowing what your want for your future has many advantages, including:

-           Making decisions easier

-           Showing when you are making progress or deviating from the route

-           Helping you recognize opportunities which will take you toward your goals

Define your Goal or Dream

Vision boards have become very popular in recent years but are based on using other people’s phrases and images.

One of my mentors, the wonderful Lou Tice advocates a less generic and more tangible option. He drew the analogy of buying an unusual color car only to drive off the lot and see the color everywhere, we’ve all had it happen. The idea is that by adding dimensionality to your dreams, you can harness your subconscious brain to search out opportunities to bring them to fruition.    Whether or not that is actually how it works, it does keep you on track and helps you resist the urge to settle for less. After all a vision is the picture on the front of the jigsaw puzzle box, it tells you where the pieces fit and helps drive you towards making it look that way.

So consider the car you want to drive (make/mach, model, color and options), the house you want to live in (how you want to equip and decorate it), the suite in the vacation hotel you want to stay in and the activities you will enjoy. Get a photo of the actual thing and place it somewhere prominent, paste a collage of the images on your office wall or scan them to your screensaver (we know you love your kids or your puppy but unless you are away at sea for 6 months you don’t need their picture there to remind you).

If you want to start or grow a business – get a picture of your ideal office setup, down to the art on the walls or the fountain in the entrance and decide the number of clients/amount of income you will need to support the staff you will hire.

If you prefer a more philanthropic option; decide what you will donate to the animal shelter or how many families or children you will support and what will you include in the gift basket(s).

Bill Gates said “I’ve had one of the luckiest situations ever – but I’ve learned that only through focus can you do world class things – no matter how capable you are.” Fortune Magazine, July 8, 2002.

Its time for you to focus on your dream!

See it, Think it, Pledge it, Do IT. Your dream is waiting!

High Noon For Healthy Skin

Laine — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:24:18 +0000

Your skin is the largest organ of your body, basically your own personal bubble against the world. As such it holds everything in, (to a lesser extent as we age admittedly! but its also not a wall. We forget sometimes that it is a semi permeable barrier. We pierce it, paint it but we should also remember that things we expose it too can cross the barrier!

There is more and more talk of chemicals we use daily being absorbed by our dermal layer and the damage they do. Even more worrying though are the stats on Skin Cancer and in particular Melanoma.

Melanoma is a real risk for everyone. One person dies every hour from Melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer) and 1 in 5 Americans are affected by skin cancer (Basal Cell Carcinoma and Squamous Cell Carcinoma are the most common types) according to estimates from the American Academy of Dermatology. The good news is Melanoma can have a 95% cure rate if detected early.

Detection Since skin cancer is the only cancer visible in its early stages, regular self examinations of suspicious spots offer the easiest tool for identification. Use the acronym ABCDE to identify the following warning signs:

A is for Asymmetry – where a mark or mole is not symmetrical.

B is for Border – where edges are scalloped, poorly defined or irregular.

C is for Color – where color varies from one side to the other including variations in shade. Colors can include tan, brown, black, white, red or blue.)

D is for Diameter – where the mole or mark is as big or bigger than a pencil eraser (6mm).

E is for Evolving – where you notice growth or changes in size or color.

Since its difficult to remember all of this information it is suggested that you keep a detailed record in the form of a Body Mole Map http://ow.ly/1TOU7 , using this chart from the AAD. The chart also give examples of how to assess moles and and a measuring tool.

Prevention

The best way to lower your risk of skin cancer is to minimize exposure to UltraViolet light (from sun & tanning beds). Don’t forget incidental exposure through car windows, and while swimming plus the increased dose of the suns harmful rays you receive at higher altitudes.

When you are in the sun, manage your exposure by wearing broad brimmed hats, quality sunglasses (UVA & UVB protection), protective clothing (you can get burned through a light colored tee shirt) and sunscreens with SPF15 and higher. It is also best to avoid or limit exposure between 10am and 4 pm.

If you really want to look tanned, Fake it! There are plenty of products in creams, sprays and towel form which can give you a golden glow without turning you oompa loompa orange. BUT remember while they give you a nice color they don’t provide any protection against the sun.

Remember only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.

When Tan becomes Burn!

Laine — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:36:41 +0000

Although being tanned looks healthy we all know its not good for us BUT there are times when it happens despite our best plans whether its windburn or reflection off the snow.

After Sun Lotions definitely sting on a raw face but here is one that doesn’t:

1/4 cup – full-fat plain yogurt

2 tablespoons - Oatmeal

Mix thoroughly and apply to your face, decollete or whatever part got burned! Lie back and relax for 10 mins before rinsing off with tepid water.

This will soothe the pain and rejuvenate.

Its actually a good mask for exfoliation too..can be massaged into skin (oatmeal as a gentle exfoliate and natural acid in the yogurt) but not when your face is sore.

Adventures in Reality

Laine — Wed, 26 May 2010 23:31:06 +0000

Reality used to be life, but now Reality is TV or Virtual. So what do we call life? Not ‘in Reality’!

We are all deluged with reality programs whether on Survivor in the jungles & wild places of the world, Donald Trump’s Board Room (wild places of the world!) or the ultimate camp experience of Biggest Loser. This is the era of Reality TV and frequently of people behaving badly!

It has never been a genre which held much charm for me although I will admit to a weakness for Loser, less for the politics and game play and more for the weight loss (not that I will admit to needing to lose 5-10lb).

It has occurred to me that while these programs ‘emulate’ life and encourage ‘game play’ to increase ratings (based on he who is most controversial wins) our preference should be to deal with ethical individuals in …reality!

When I read Jeannine Clontz’ article “An Entrepreneur’s Adventure”, I was struck with the humanity, pathos and determination of the woman. Her adventures have been a fight to be ethically treated and a determination to ‘play the game’ the best way possible. The journey to self actualization as well as success should be to know your strengths and weaknesses and plan accordingly.

To be able to use the learning experience as a tool for others means this is someone I wouldn’t vote off the island.

Adventures in Reality © Laine D.

Jeannine Clontz owns Accurate Business Service; a Virtual Assistant practice which specializes in providing support & assistance for professionals in real estate, public speakers, coaches and consultants. Jeannine is an author, writer, speaker and VA Business Coach and has recently been appointed President of the International Virtual Assistants Assn.

This article may not be copied or reproduced without permission from the author.

Average American Consumes 57 Gallons of Soft Drinks Per Year

Laine — Fri, 21 May 2010 23:13:27 +0000

Can you believe it, 57 gallons of Soda each per year. Wow think of the calories! That’s over One gallon per week, per person or 16 eight ounce cans (155 calories per 8 ounce can = 2,480 calories) per week. Even if you are drinking diet soda the intense sweetness leaves you craving more sweet things and is rumored to have other negative effects.

However, giving up soda is not an easy thing to do … believe me I used to fall off the wagon frequently!

I’m not sure if its the fizz or the sweetness I crave but I’ve found something that helps. I now keep a bottle of Club Soda ( zero calories and 6mg sodium, Cola has average of 9mg of sodium) or Seltzer (zero calories and O sodium) around and use that instead. You can even get flavored versions - I’ve lost 10 pounds, which is a bottom line I can live with!