LIFESTYLE

“After the conviction of Stanford rapistalready been shortened to only four months) and the haunting letter his victim read to him in court, the social media sphere has been rife with conversations about how sexual assault is handled terribly in the U.S.

Hi Girls,

I normally don’t share events in advance on this blog (only afterwards once I have learning to share with you), but I wanted to get you before you missed it.

For my Montreal women, I am giving a Work Life Balance Lunch and Learn with fellow entrepreneur and life coach Sonia Zarbatany.

This will be a candid, honest conversation with tips and takeaways.

If you’re a woman in Montreal, come join the modern conversation on work life balance and dancing thought the chaos at SHE SAID SHE SAID on June 15th at Ogilvy in Montreal. We’re sharing our best tips and strategies as two certified life coaches, entrepreneurs and mothers. This is a women’s philanthropy event through Federation CJA.

Unless you’ve been very, very lucky, chances are your life has been affected by some tragic event. A childhood friend of mine lost her mom at 13 and the emotional seismic waves of a loss so profound can still be felt, even now, 30ish years later. Another friend who has been very close since we were tweens (though my battle with acne always trumped hers?—?why???) looks in the mirror at her gorgeous, strong, post-child-bearing yet slim body and feels self-loathing. There are no words that help, no love strong enough from the outside, so she continues to work on her inner “stuff.” Others have gone through employment problems, kid issues, divorce, and the list is endless.

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.