About Last Week

Hello ladies! Long time no connect. Sorry I have been off the radar for the past week. I left for Los Angeles last Monday as you know, returned home Thursday night and then left again Friday morning with the fam for Toronto to celebrate my cousin’s bat mitzvah.

It’s gooood to be home!

They say good things come in threes and last week, they certainly did.

I will share a few nice things since I last blogged:

1. We got word that my son got into every high school he applied to. This was a monumental moment for him and for us. All the hard work, all the nightly talks and sacrifices made for years and years to make sure that he is raised as a mensch– a quality human being, all his preparation for the high school entrance exam, the applications, all of it… it paid off. I cried (of course I cried).

2. WomenOnTheFence.com got nominated for a “Notable Award for Best Blog.” It was exciting for me, since Notable.ca is a site that I admire and respect. I don’t like to ask for votes, and it’s partly a voting thing, so if you wish to vote great, if not, it was just an honor for Women On The Fence to be recognized as notable. The awards are November 26th, and I can’t wait. If you wish to vote for us, you can go here and vote daily if you so feel: http://notable.ca/awards/profile/erica-diamond/

3. I flew to Los Angeles to fulfill a long time dream of mine – to share my wisdom and strategies as a Certified Life Coach on OWN TV‘s new show, The OWN Show.

So, let’s begin today’s blog post with #3.

Grab a cup of tea, and come along for the adventure!

Monday morning started off just dandy. I got to the airport, my flight was on time, I was feeling groovy (minus the nerves), but pumped nevertheless. Our flight was going A-Okay until we ran out of FOOD and FUEL. Yes, you heard correctly. RAN OUT OF FUEL! After bouncing around in two hours of heavy winds and turbulence, the captain announced that we no longer had enough fuel to make it to our end destination, and that we would have to make an emergency landing in Las Vegas.

Yah. That.

While everyone was aggravated that they would be running late for meetings and other, I gently tapped the stewardess on the arm and asked, “But are you SURE we have enough fuel to even make it to Las Vegas?” She replied, “We probably could have made it to Las Angeles, but you lose a lot of fuel in high winds, and if we had to circle upon flying into LAX, then we probably wouldn’t have had enough fuel. We are okay, we’ll make it to Las Vegas, don’t you worry.”

And so we made it.

Running almost two hours late by this point, I took the shuttle to my rent-a-car, whipped out my GPS, and drove myself to THE ELLEN SHOW!! It was everything I imagined and more. Sitting front row, our guests were Bill Clinton (for Veteran’s Day) and Pitbull. I danced, I laughed, I was happy as a pig in sh&t!

After the show ended, I left and headed out to dinner. My gal pal Shannon Tweed (and hubby KISS frontman Gene Simmons) knew that I was alone in LA on biz, and invited me out for dinner.

A great time was had by all, and I felt a little bit like the song from Sesame Street: One of these things is not like the other… um, ME! Lisa Vanderpump and husband Ken Todd along with some other Real Housewives of different cities were at our table, and then there was me – a real housewife of course, but not of that kind!

Then came the highlight of the evening. Y’all know how much I live for the music. Shannon told me I was going to love the singer who was about to perform, a powerhouse back up girl for Ike and Tina Turner and many others, the brilliant Maxayn Lewis. Whoa, was Shannon right!

Maxayn’s music was nothing short of brilliant, and when she saw Gene in the restaurant, called him up after dinner to play guitar with her band.

While I was talking to Gene during dinner about life, career, marriage, raising kids, and more, one could easily forget that he actually IS a musician. I felt like I was talking to a businessman (which he CLEARLY) is, and a shrewd one at that. So, what happened next was nothing short of an awesome moment straight out of TMZ. Watch this. Too good.

On our way out, I forgot I was with rockstar royalty, because everyone swarms them.

I headed back to my hotel, showered, got into bed to review my OWN script for tomorrow, and realized I had forgot my glasses!!

I awoke Tuesday morning to butterflies, nerves, and tremendous excitement. This was it!  Oprah Winfrey Network… 5 mini episodes… me doing what I’m trained to do and what I love to do – helping other women. It all felt surreal. I shared my feelings of nervousness on my personal Facebook page, and it was friend Stuntman Stu who wrote:  “Just be yourself. The best part is, that’s what got you to this point. No need to change now! Mazel Tov and continued success.”

It was a day I’ll never forget. It was the day I was recognized by the top people in Oprah‘s entourage as worthy enough to share my wisdom and advice with her audience. My two years of weekly TV experience coupled with my fifteen years experience as a life and business coach, had brought me here.

I went back to my hotel, called my husband and mom immediately (they had been texting me of course), and then my bestie picked me up for dinner. A perfect ending to a great day.

Wednesday was packed with meetings and lunch with my girlfriend and Lifestyle Expert Samantha Ettus. A little word of advice: find women who share. Find your tribe, your entourage, the girls who will discuss the good, the bad and the ugly with you. We talked about career, marriage, kids, and the not enough hours in the day to accomplish everything we’d like to as working moms. But we also talked about money and opportunities and how much we charge. Yah, we did. Everyone needs someone, a safe place to brainstorm about their personal and professional lives. Someone to bounce ideas off of, but specifically, one that is generous of spirit and not afraid to disclose in fear that you might get ahead of them. Find these people, seek them out, and keep them close. I say it a lot, but it takes a village not only to raise a child, but to raise a WOMAN.

I finished my last meeting at 7pm and then took myself out for dinner alone. Yes, I did! I scheduled nothing that night and sat down at the bar to a nice steak and a glass of cab. Ahhh…

The night ended when a man tried to pick me up. I didn’t know men pick up women up with wedding bands on who are CLEARLY taken. I guess I still have it! (wink wink) 😉 I was notified by the bartender that the guy “over there” had bought me a drink and then he came over. Ewww! I politely declined, to which the two girls next to me said, “Are you kidding? We obviously know you’re married, but take the damn free drink!!”

Nope. Maybe it’s my good old fashioned Canadian values, but no. Call me square if you must.

Then, I struck up a conversation with the two girls sitting next to me, and we began discussing the famous Kim Kardashian cover that had come out that day. Some girl standing at the bar overheard us talking and said, “Kim was my roommate. Her t^ts are fake and her a$$ isn’t butt implants, but fat injections.”

No confirmation whether there is any truth to this, whatsoever. Still, it’s that face in the full frontal that I can’t unsee, like she just walked into her own surprise party! It kills me.

I got home Thursday night and awoke Friday morning only to leave for Toronto with my kids and hub for the bat mitzvah.

What I Know For Sure

In the words of Oprah… WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE: Work is fun, meeting new people is fun, trying new things out of your comfort zone is really fun too, but home is where the heart is. I’d rather be a poor man surrounded by love, than a rich man who dies alone. Every sacrifice I make, and continue to make in my life, is for these small people.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Happy Monday. Have a good one.