LIFESTYLE

The media icon for the woman living in the 1950’s was a domesticated housewife and mother who cooked, laundered, cleaned and sewed all the while looking fashionable with a big, happy grin on her face. Fast forward to today. The media icon today in an entirely different woman. What do you see in the latest Glamour and Vogues magazines? You see a tall, confident woman, designer clothes, wearing her role as a career woman, mother, wife and domestic goddess, with that “I can have it all” look to her. So what’s the difference between then and now? While both may be illusions of perfection, the real career woman and mom today is mostly exhausted, completely overwhelmed with the second shift at home, and struggling with guilt and stress.

Sheryl Sandberg recently gave the commencement address to Berkeley’s graduates. It’s no secret that I am Sheryl Sandberg fan. I have written about Leaning In (and yes, Leaning Out too). Sheryl gave me permission to share one of her most heartfelt posts to date on losing her husband. It was breathtaking, and you should read it.

So, third time will be a charm around here today.

Sheryl just shared so much wisdom in these 26 minutes, that you should sit down, and watch this with your kids tonight. Talk about a woman who got off the fence.

By John Ferriter Half a life ago, and Half a life to go… I moved to…

Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called life

Electric word life
It means forever and that’s a mighty long time
But I’m here to tell you
There’s something else
The after world

A world of never ending happiness
You can always see the sun, day or night – Prince

RIP to the legends we grew up with.

I watched Grey’s Anatomy. I watch Scandal. My son watches How To Get Away With Murder and The Catch.

I guess you can say, our family likes TGIT Thursdays in Shondaland.

In true Wisdom Wednesday fashion, I give you a TED Talk that is truly worth watching.

Yes, the “titan” of the tv industry Shonda Rhimes gave her first TED Talk in February of this year to share her year-long experiment of saying yes to everything in her life. Yes to playing with her kids whenever they ask, yes to speaking in public, yes yes yes. All of this is of course detailed in her book Year of Yes.

How often do you end the day lamenting “I was busy, but what did I accomplish?” Do you spend much of your day slacking off, procrastinating or ticking off an endless list of tasks that makes little difference to your output or happiness?

As a copywriter, I have to constantly be across new industries and trends at expert level to give insider topics the same seamless depth as my aptly versed, experienced clients. As content marketing grows in popularity, my days are increasingly spent lost in complex readings about the banking and governance sectors – along with the actual writing, extra-curricular volunteering, semi-livable housekeeping and experimenting with dinners that don’t kill my husband.

Hello, I’m back! Back in the groove. One kid is back at school. The other kid is still sleeping (he’s back tomorrow). I’m at my computer. Happy 2016, my beautiful ladies!

For the first time in a few years, I did not check in once while on a blogging hiatus. I felt guilty for not connecting with you these past two weeks, but I really wanted to decompress, rest my head, spend time with my family, and be fresh for 2016.