The Bold Soul: A Writer's Life in Paris

Me and G in 3D

OK, so we're not actually in 3D... but getting ready to see Avatar last weekend. I had to capture the moment, with this "fashion statement" (NOT!) Read more →

A Quiet Parisian Life

You may have noticed I haven't posted much of anything this month. I've been in a rather quiet mood, actually. I think I get like this in January: the fun and chaos of the holidays is behind me; the weather generally sucks (today it's just raining steadily, and I'm guessing it will be like this all day long) and there has been little sunshine; I've been scrambling to finish a client's book after over two years of working on it; and other than the big soldes, nothing much seems to be going on. (I did manage to score a totally adorable teal-blue purse yesterday at Lollipops in the Marais, the first time in three years of the Paris soldes that I have actually bought myself something I liked but didn't necessarily need. And I didn't even buy it in black. For 25€, who could resist?) Well, we are starting to plan our move this spring and look for another apartment, but other than that... we're mostly just hanging out here at the house. I think this is known as being in hibernation mode. I just do whatever I need to do on any given day. I am seeing or talking... Read more →

They NEVER listen

You know how, when you've got kids around, you try and anticipate things that could go wrong, and warn them? Because you're the adult, and you're the one with the life experience? And how they never want to listen? Because they think nothing bad will ever happen and they know everything? Yeah, exactly. That's how a giant marble just put a huge top-to-bottom crack in one of our glass front double doors. In the house we are just about to SELL. Technically, it was the neighbor's kid who threw (not rolled) it, but let's face it, there was culpability on all sides. I've been asking them for weeks to tone it down and stop being so wild with the marbles. But would they listen? Suffice to say, the 2010 Paris Marble Olympics are OVER at this house. Banned for life, I think. Read more →

Limited

Oh, how much I want to help. To DO something. I ache with the desire to be useful. I want to give water and food to every person in Haiti who needs it. I want to get them the best in medical care. I want to dig every last survivor out of the rubble, and then help families find and bury their dead in a respectful way. I want to take every last orphan out of Haiti and personally adopt every single one. I want to rebuilding buildings, put the lights back on and get the water running, create safe housing, put businesses and people back to work, provide trauma counseling, help put lives back together. I want to make Haiti into an island paradise, to solve all the problems they've ever had, because they've already suffered more than their fair share. And I can't. I can't do any of that, personally. Yes, I can send my money to disaster relief, and I can pray that things will be better for Haiti, and I can encourage others to do the same, but realistically this is the most I know how to do right now. And it really, really sucks, that... Read more →

A Love-Hate Thing

Guard Cat, en garde! It's been a while since I showed you any photos of Clachat, but here's one taken a few weeks ago. This is Clachat with her arch nemesis, Lady. Lady is the chien of our gardienne and a very friendly, sweet dog despite her sometimes fierce-looking visage. She's safe around the children and only barks on occasion. Mostly, she's a typical family dog: eager to please and dying to jump and play with anyone who'll take the time. Lady's favorite occupation in the shared courtyard seems to be teasing Clachat... who absolutely cannot tolerate the presence of another furry creature on HER turf. (In fairness, she WAS here first.) The dog trots up to our door, front paws on the step, eagerly looking for her "ami", at which point Clachat takes a flying leap off the kitchen counter, slamming herself with full force into the glass doors, standing up on her hind legs as she arches her flexible back and hisses like the four horseman of the apocalypse are out there. The dog may go away, but she's always coming back for more. Bit of a masochist, this dog. You can tell that Clachat really thinks she's... Read more →

Hot in Paris

No, not the temperatures... those are still way too chilly for my tastes. But look at this amazing car! I know nothing about these old sports cars (or ANY cars, for that matter) but couldn't help drooling a bit over this one. I actually took this photo over a month ago. However, just this past weekend, there was an antique car rally scheduled on Sunday, the 10th such event. I wonder how many car owners actually showed up, given the snow and all around bad weather we had. Read more →

Help for Haiti

Six ways you can help in Haiti: http://bit.ly/helpinhaiti Here's your chance, World. DO something, already. If you've already donated anything at all for Haiti through these or any other aid organizations, I'd gladly bise you on both cheeks if I could; I love hearing that through small $10 donations and cell phones, charities are collecting millions from those with generous hearts. I know not everyone can afford to give much, but $5 or $10? Totally do-able. No matter what your situation in life right now, it's got to be better than what the Haitians are trying desperately to live through. So if you CAN give, please find a way to give something. And to Rush Limbaugh, Pat Robertson and any other narrow-minded racist asses who thinks they don't "need" to donate or that these poor people somehow deserve this catastrophe? You can just bite my liberal ass. Read more →

90 Days to What You Really Want

It's not only my refrigerator that's leaner, cleaner and meaner in 2010. I've streamlined my coaching work to simplify my professional life while making MORE time for writing and publishing my next book! (More details about the book in an upcoming blog post, including a short excerpt, so stay tuned!) While I have made the decision to drastically reduce my coaching availability in order to focus on writing as my primary passion, I enjoy coaching too much to completely pull the plug at this time. This is good news for some of you who have perhaps thought of working with me in order to create your own bold life or finish your own book! I'm pleased to announce two very straight-forward short-term programs for private coaching! The NO EXCUSES 90-day POWER* Coaching Program, and The NO EXCUSES 90-day Standard Coaching Program Both of these programs provide participants with 1-on-1 monthly coaching support by phone, a customized strategic action plan to support you during the 90 days and beyond, unlimited email coaching between our telephone sessions, and client discounts on some of my home study products. We'll also start things off right, with a free bonus kick-off session to establish your... Read more →

Vacation Recuperation

Have you ever had one of those vacations where afterward, you felt you like you needed another vacation to recover from the first one? That was our holiday this year. In actual fact, I can't really say that it was all that stressful or tiring in the usual sense; we had our gifts pretty well organized and mostly wrapped before we packed our suitcases, and only had to do a few extra things once we got there. We were staying my sister-in-law's place, which now that I've been there a few times, I feel quite at home and I know where everything is -- plus she's just so wonderful to me, so it's not like I've got "in-law issues" to stress me out. The kids were really pretty great; the older ones were very nice to their little brother and took time out to play with him more than they sometimes do when we're back here in Paris. The Little Guy was really good every morning and entertained himself usually until after 9am if he'd woken up earlier (and on several mornings he actually slept past 9am himself, which is very rare for him as he goes to bed by... Read more →

Fridge Heaven

Happiness is knowing that there is now NOTHING in the family refrigerator that will give anyone in the family a bad case of food poisoning. I went trolling for something to eat an hour ago, and suddenly felt in the mood inspired driven by the hell that is our frigo to examine the expiration date on each and every item. Especially the entire top shelf, which has been chock full of an assortment of condiment jars (some of them with Russian labels on them) ever since I moved in here at least two years ago (and probably much longer). The stuff at the back was the stuff I was most concerned about because of course it never seems to get rotated to the front, and as happens in everyone's fridge, you tend to forget what's even back there. THIS was what I had to throw away: There were THREE open jars of salsa with old dates (the contents of one jar had turned a muddy GREEN, and last time I looked, isn't salsa supposed to be a sort of tomato-ey RED? Yeah, I thought so too), and three unopened ones with good dates that got to stay in the fridge.... Read more →