Veggie delight

Call me crazy, but asparagus at $1.99 a pound today made me want to sing.

I spared the ears of the good folks in my Garden of Eden store.

But I bought two pounds.

Great creators

Coaching was so satisfying today. Two clients with progress on books they're writing, among other wonderful strides they're making. Another client who reached her goals with a flourish, including completing a film that had a highly successful showing in a film festival. It's only the beginning for her.

I am endlessly fascinated by ambitious, creative people and delighted I attract them into my life.

Connecting you to your creative core ...

A grabber

I'm slowly test driving a new approach to my book. A powerful first line packed with potential that came to me while reading a magazine on a train.

I need to sit with this and let it develop organically. My excitement is growing.

Pace

Simple pleasures today. A hair cut. Hot dogs at Gray's Papaya. New lipstick and eyeliner using Macy's gift card. Seeing a friend's three-day-old baby girl (Welcome to the world, Azumi). Having tea with another dear friend. Leisurely paced work in the evening hours.

Nice.

Sunday, Sunday

It's been a relaxing yet productive Sunday. Worked out. Grocery shopped. Cooked a slammin' omelette. Watched some HGTV. Kept up the home simplifying that has been my calling since this year began. Reveled in the open space I've created in my home.

My favorite kind of Sunday, actually.

One fish, two fish

Was in Petco with a friend today. I'm contemplating getting some fish. They had these white ones that looked like they were wearing red caps. My fish would have their own little Red Hat Club.

Imagine that.

Bargain hunter

You know that hilarious IKEA commercial where the woman looks at her receipt and starts running out of the store because she thinks they made a mistake? Makes me laugh out loud.

That's how I felt when I left Bed, Bath and Beyond yesterday. I worked some coupon magic and essentially got two bath towels and a monogrammed fingertip towel free. The one item I actually paid for turned out to be a glorious purchase -- a cashmere blend area rug for my bathroom. With the temperatures so chilly these days, it's sheer pleasure to let my feet sink into that rug.

Love a good bargain.

A dash of this

Watching The Food Network has certainly improved my meals. Tonight as I was preparing a basic salad dressing of olive oil, lemon and garlic, I found myself chopping Italian flat leaf parsley and tossing in a handful. It woke the whole salad up, especially the steamed asparagus and grilled chicken I threw in.

Let's hear it for fresh herbs.

Such a small thing that lifts the quality of life.

An actor's legacy

What made Heath Ledger special was his priority as an actor -- to do good work. Not the money, but good work. Not the fame, but good work. Not posing, but good work.

He did good work.

A fine legacy.

Forum

I just finished writing the second of my two Game Plan columns for FOX Business this week. What a rush it is to craft those. I couldn't have imagined how natural and satisfying it would feel, yet on some level it's what I have been preparing to do my entire life.

This last one came out of a casual conversation at a party over the weekend. I enjoy having a place to expand on those kinds of things, to take them a level or two deeper than small talk allows.

This is a writer's life.

Extra, extra

My January life coaching newsletter has a message titled, Of Stillness and Purging. Check it out:

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

Down to the wire

Full disclosure off the bat: I did not watch a single down of football this season until last week.

That said, did the Giants win an edge-of-your-seat football game or what? Eli Manning did Hoboken proud today. And, incidentally, it's nice to look across the river and see the Empire State Building lit up in red and blue.

Hello, Arizona.

Momma mia

My mother as I walked out of her house yesterday to drive somewhere in her car:

"Do you have your license on you?"

I nod and ignore the impulse to sarcastically point out I'm 46.

"Can you drive in those heels?"

I nod and ignore the impulse to sarcastically point out I'm 46.

Then, as I'm getting ready to back out of the driveway, the garage door opens and she appears:

"There's a mixed tape on the passenger seat I thought you'd like."

Now that's love.

A burst of sunshine

I don't know that I've ever had a more visceral reaction to any film than I did to Little Miss Sunshine. I write this now because I was just channel surfing and caught the end on HBO. I had seen the film through twice before, but this time I just came in at the climactic scene.

And I had the exact same reaction every time!

Even when I know what's coming, I laugh from deep in my gut and cry big, fat tears at the same time. It's a little disconcerting, but ultimately it's cleansing. It is a combination of dread, humiliation for the character you've become invested in, humor, then a burst of joy that keeps building until you don't know what you're feeling anymore.

I know a few people who just didn't get this film, but man, it caught me just right.

Had to share.

Vocation, all I ever wanted

I coached three dynamic women today. Sometimes when I have three sessions in a row they feed off each other in ways I could never anticipate. I love that.

I love my vocation.

Shoe moment

There are plenty of blogs out there for the shoe freaks among us. Only every so often does my girlie side come out in this forum.

BUT ...

I'm indulging in a bit of Oprah today and she did a feature on Christian Louboutin. Then some models came out wearing his shoes and this sparkly pair literally made me gasp:

http://www2.oprah.com/beauty/fashion/slide/20080115/fashion_20080115_205.jhtml

I have no words.

Medium quality

Just finished watching Medium. That is one amazing hour of TV. I was transfixed by the plotline, all the more because the show is based on truth. I love how the past and present and future all come into play through visions and deductive reasoning.

Very restful and thought-provoking.

Giant inspiration

People always ask me if I miss being a sports writer. Most times, the answer is no. I loved it while I did it, but I was done.

However, every once in a while something happens that makes me reminisce about it. Today's win by the Giants was the kind of game I always loved to write about. Dramatic endings are a blast to write. I loved the challenge of trying to evoke that excitement all over again when people read about it the next day.

A freakin' interception in the end zone, baby!

Pure fun.

Quotable

Found in a drawer, apparently cut out of O magazine, and now inserted in my daily planner:

Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?

-- Fanny Brice

Healing potion

Last spring while staying with a friend, she told me to help myself to the products in her shower. One of them was St. Ives mineral therapy body wash. I liked it so much I bought it when I got home and I use it occasionally when the mood strikes.

These last few days, while feeling less-than-great, it has felt particularly wonderful to lather it on. It has what I can only describe as a pure, clean scent and it has a soothing quality. Perhaps it's the psychology of seeing the words 'mineral therapy' or the mystique of knowing it's from Switzerland. Whatever it is, I feel like I'm on an upswing.

It's part of my healing formula.

Transformations

One of the fun aspects of being under the weather is watching some mindless television. I find myself drawn to shows that have a "reveal" at the end, whether it's a person or a room that's been made over.

The stale becomes fresh. The old becomes new.

It's so uplifting.

Putting out fires

My friend Roger graduated from the Los Angeles Fire Department training academy in December. Now he's in there, in the thick of it, and I think it's amazing. He left a career track in sports media to pursue something more meaningful to him.

He sent me a t-shirt this week to thank me for my support. I'll wear it proudly.

Health

I spent the weekend wrestled down by a nasty bug. And I mean nasty. Feverish, achy, weak.

I feel like I'm gaining strength. I find there is joy in being hungry and actually digesting food. And in sitting up for more than 10 minutes without needing a nap.

Yeeha.

I'm coming back.

Style matters

So right now on my TV is a 'best of' What Not To Wear show and it's really compelling. There is just something magical about the inner transformation that occurs when Stacy London and Clinton Kelly work with a person's outer self.

Love it.

Calling

Today I helped three clients set out on a positive course in 2008.

How many people get to make their living doing that?

I feel very fortunate.

Radio, baby

I recently mentioned I was interviewed on Erin Weed's radio show in Denver called Women on Top. What a fun gig. Erin makes it a conversation. Check it out:

http://www.womenontopradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/wot1223071.mp3

Clear and relax

Putter. Organize my 2008 organizer. Putter. Clean out a drawer. Putter. Clean out another drawer. Putter. Make some soup.

The Food Network as backdrop to all of it.

Happy New Year.