Happy break

Wore nice boots with little heels today. And a black suede jacket with skinny pants.

As opposed to treaded clunky boots and a scarf wrapped around half my face.

Oh yeah. A little respite from Old Man Winter.

Made me feel lighter and freer.

Cool.

Successful and feisty

Fell asleep last night before I had a chance to blog. Almost never happens. But I have things to say, so ...

Went to see Suze Orman last night at Barnes and Noble in Union Square. That is one dynamic woman. What a bright star. Her latest book has her on a crusade to get women to engage their relationship with money. She outlines a plan and even offers a savings incentive with TD Ameritrade.

I'm so there. Suze has timed this just right as far as I'm concerned. She wants to get America saving more and I'm happy to do my part. I bought the book, with a great coupon, I might add. Even shared an extra coupon with the woman in line behind me.

Successful, feisty people like Suze who came from working class families inspire me so. Interestingly, it was just a few nights ago that I caught Oprah's special on her school in South Africa for girls. Certainly Oprah falls into the "successful, feisty" category, but it was riveting to see her select girls for her school who exhibited that same potential. Oprah said she was looking for girls with "it."

I cried as I watched that program because it is unfathomable for me to imagine living in a one-room shack with no plumbing or walking to school through dangerous streets praying no one would harm me. These girls know school is the answer to the prayer of getting out, of helping others, of bettering their country. It was so moving.

Was talking to a friend who also saw the show and we marveled at how anyone could criticize Oprah for doing this. My friend recalled that Oprah asked viewers to watch the show with their children. After seeing it, it was clear why. American children can use a dose of that. It's eye-opening, it's humbling, it expands one's heart.

To be in a position to help others because you've made millions out of almost nothing, and to use that opportunity the way Suze and Oprah have, well, it's amazing to me.

It's been a week filled with inspiration.

Write, baby, write

Love the story of Michael Arndt. Won the Oscar last night for best original screenplay. Quit his job as Matthew Broderick's personal assistant to write Little Miss Sunshine. Next thing you know, he's standing on that stage with the gold.

My life coaching clients will be hearing that story again and again. Especially the writers.

Guts. Dedication. Sacrifice. Good stuff.

Drag

Here it is 11:15 p.m. and I still don't know who won Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director or Best Picture. Disgraceful.

A good performance by Ellen. A happy moment for Jennifer Hudson. Some subpar entertainment otherwise.

What were they thinking?

Please release me.

Space

I am purging like crazy today. Three bags of books to the local bookstore. Clothes and shoes to the homeless shelter. Bags and bags of garbage. Do I really need to save every box from every blessed pair of shoes?

I love this.

Out with the old, in with the new. Room in my life for growth. Space to think. Breathing room. Yowza.

Even a walk down memory lane was in the cards. Found a box of autographed baseballs -- Lefty Gomez, Gaylord Perry, Wally Joyner -- from my old days in sports. Pictures of me with Brooks Robinson and Lefty Gomez, both autographed.

What really stopped me short was finding two certificates that listed me as a finalist for Women's Sports Foundation national journalism awards in 1994 and 1995. Interesting how I always remember winning the award in 1996, but forgot I had come close two years prior. A good lesson in there, I think, about patience and persistence.

An illuminating, if exhausting, purge.

Receptacles

Went to The Container Store this afternoon. My first time. I almost had to be forcibly removed, such was my fascination. So much possibility for organization, in bright colors and clean-lined containers.

I emerged relatively unscathed, but couldn't resist a pill box in the shape of a capsule, half red and half white. Also, decided I was becoming a crazy lady with plastic grocery bags, so grabbed a plastic dispenser that holds 30 bags. Total was under $10.

Man, I love streamlining.

V-Day

Went to see The Vagina Monologues in Hoboken tonight. Wowee. So good. All the better because it benefitted The Hoboken Shelter.

Eve Ensler's writing is sharp and moving and the material is alternately funny and tragic, but spirited, rousing readings made it all the more powerful. It really came alive.

A fabulous evening.

Ad sense

I have been noticing something about the advertising posters in the subway. The ads on the New York subways are edgier, more intelligent and have more depth than those on the PATH train.

Sad but true.

Woe be gone

Snow be gone.
Cold be gone.
Wind be gone.
Be gone.
Be gone.

Sanity ... return.

Diana

Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know?

I'm watching Diana Ross on The Actor's Studio and can't help thinking what a phenomenal, sustaining talent she is. She just sang that piece. Always resonates.

So ... do you?

Warmth

The flu has kicked my ass.

It officially broke me on Thursday, when I came home from work not feeling well and found my apartment without heat. Thermal underwear and a big winter coat and I was shivering. Chills. Bad stomach. Emotionally worn out. Physically drained. A low, low point.

Enter family. Blessed family.

My brother picked me up, spent hours in traffic to do so, whisked me off to my parents' house in Leisure Village. Welcome to your sanctuary, he said, as we pulled in their driveway. And that's exactly what it was. Warm. My father putting fresh sheets on the bed. Warm. My mother at the ready with soup and cinnamon toast and scrambled eggs and tea. Warm.

I slept and slept. Ate a little. Slept some more. Regained some strength. Watched TV. Slept more.

Now I am home. Still feeling weak, but a bit better. I am thankful for family. I am especially grateful to still be able to go "home" since most of my friends have either lost their parents or are caretaking them.

The flu has kicked my ass. But I've landed in warmth.

Delicious moment

She could almost see the swift answering flash of admiration in his eyes that set her tingling in every nerve. She put on her hat so that she could see from underneath the brim and swung her buckled shoe faster for her breath caught as she caught the expression in his eyes. He was eying her as a snake eyes its prey. Her woman's instinct told her that she had raised the devil in him and at the thought a burning scarlet swept from throat to brow till the lovely colour of her face became a glorious rose.

-- James Joyce, Ulysses

Sing song

Heard Long Time by Boston this morning. Hadn't heard it in a while. It seeped in and got me, even at 7 o'clock in the morning. I stopped putting on makeup, cranked up the volume, started moving to the beat, singing loudly. How crazy is that?

So crazy.

Visionary

My February life coaching newsletter is up and running. It's about crafting a vision for your life. Check it out:

http://nancola.com/pages/newsletter.html

I am telling you

Saw Dreamgirls today. So electrifying.

Jennifer Hudson. Slam dunk.

That's entertainment

Last night I saw a spectacular show. A salon, actually, starring a marvelously talented friend -- Mary Setrakian. It was billed as Big Bands Meets Broadway and it was that and more.

Funny how our childhoods come back to us at various times in our lives. I grew up with so much music in the house, Big Bands and Broadway among them, courtesy of Dad and Mom, respectively. Mary did numbers made famous by Rosemary Clooney and Barbra Streisand. She did standards like All of Me and It Had To Be You. She did pieces from Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia and more.

Mary is full of personality, loaded with talent and showed enormous range (even a few Italian numbers!). What a blast.

The Secret

A neighbor and a friend recently told me about this video called The Secret and highly recommended it. I had forgotten about it until today when Oprah made it the topic of her show.

What an inspirational hour that was! I was on the treadmill the whole time, fully absorbed in what amounted to a discussion about attracting what you want into your life. How a thought doesn't seem like it can change anything, but that really it does. A thought leads to a feeling that you emanate and then your actions are an extension of that.

It prompted me to go into my Filofax and take my two current goals up a notch. It also lent a more energetic air to my two life coaching sessions this evening.

Can't wait to view The Secret and see what it reveals and what else it inspires me to do.

Chemical reaction

This All-Star Chocolate special on the Food Network says biting into chocolate releases some of the same reactions in the body as being in love or having sex. Something to do with serotonin, tryptophan, phenylethylamine.

Whatever. Bring it.

Courting warmth

The cold has been making me feel breathless.

So I worked out and got the blood circulating.

I did some productive errands for my life coaching business.

I diced fresh veggies and assembled a pot of vegetable chili that is making my home smell like cozy heaven.

OK. I'm breathing again.

Bongiorno

I signed up for Conversational Italian I today.

Act as if.

Weekend potpourri

-- The family beach house is back! Take me away.

-- Mom's stuffed cabbage warms my heart.

-- The wise and validating ending on an article from Writer's Digest given to me by a life coaching client: "Labels are convenient ... but the best writers don't let them cramp their style." Amen.

-- Loved the Coca-Cola "karma" commercial during the Super Bowl. A cool delivery of a universal message.

-- Also liked the (car?) commercial created by the college student. A laugh-out-loud moment.

-- Bracing myself to head out into the cold tomorrow ...

Funny lady

This morning I read that we lost columnist Molly Ivins to breast cancer. It made me sad and a little wistful. What a fabulous, sassy broad she was.

So I reached for one of her three books on my shelf, the one she signed after I saw her speak in Austin, Texas in 1997. Here's what she wrote:

For Nancy --

Raise more hell, honey
And keep laughin' too

All best wishes,
Molly Ivins