Archive for July, 2009

The Cup is Full

July 31, 2009

The last thing in the world I wanted to have happen when I started this site was for it to stress me out.  Make no mistake; I think some level of stress and challenge in life is a good thing. In theory though, this was to be the arena for me to look the most forward to. And right now, if I’m being totally honest, it isn’t. Because this, alongside my other writing gigs, has gotten to be more than I can pull off, for now.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s partly because of this venue that I’ve managed to build up such solid work and for that, I’m very grateful. The full disclosure is this–at the beginning of the summer I went under contract to write a book–ghostwrite, and it, as you can imagine, is quite time consuming (and fantastic). I’ve juggled it thus far, but currently feel I’m not doing anyone any favors (other clients, dog, husband, family, and dirty dishes in the sink included) keeping this pace and this crazed look in my eye.

I always said that when I had my own company I would never want the work to suffer, any part of it. So, I’m slowing down. I’m trying a new format here with once-a-week-postings to publish on Tuesdays. I’d rather publish less often, but let the standard still be there than to go on pretending I’m not checking it off my mental list of articles to write in a week.

Like most changes in life, it’s bittersweet–on one hand I’m hoping it’s temporary, on the other, thrilled at the reality of being so busy at something I created. Until then, continue to enjoy reading, just at a less frantic pace.

Here’s to filling the cup, but not letting it run over.

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Postcards from Ireland

July 28, 2009

Dublin is one of my favorite cities. And just because it’s fun to live vicariously through others, this week’s travel piece is a postcard of sorts. My dear friend is celebrating a birthday, so as an early gift, she and her husband enjoyed the sights and sounds of Dublin, Ireland.

Oh, and did I mention they attended one of the three U2 shows in Croke Park Stadium? A fantastic birthday present, indeed.

Since in today’s tech age the physical postcard has now been altered to text messaging, here’s the abbreviated summary with photos…

Bain sult as! (English translation from Gaelic-enjoy!)

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SoWal, You’re A Star

July 24, 2009

Okay. I admit it, I was wrong. Dead wrong. The beaches of South Walton, Florida (SoWal) are gorgeous and shouldn’t be described as anything but. Here’s the but–those beaches are sometimes called the Redneck Riviera, and that description alone was enough to deter me from ever making the jaunt, despite the mere 5.5 hour drive from Atlanta. As a girl who spent her formative years in landlocked Kansas, the fact that I can leave my home in the morning and be sitting on a beach by afternoon is reason enough to go, but I couldn’t get past that nickname.

Twenty-six miles of beach situated on the panhandle of Florida from Panama City west to Fort Walton, are considered the Beaches of South Walton. And for the record, I was wrong to think the famed Redneck Riviera was anything except picturesque with emerald green waters mimicking those in the Caribbean and sand as fine as sugar.  Since we were there for a wedding, I didn’t get to do quite as thorough of a job as usual scouting out places to eat and things to do in a locale, so this is an abbreviated take on good places to hit while you’re there. Because, I hope it now goes without saying that SoWal is a star.

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The Real Slim Shady

July 21, 2009

When I launched danapop I had no idea that there would actually be someone with the name or a similar name. I mean, you do all the searches for domain stuff, you try to come up with something that’s brandable, and reflective of you … and danapop fit and I had no idea about this Dana Poplawski. A.k.a–Dana Pop (as her friends and coworkers, as best as I can gather, like to call her).

In short, I get hit often with email invites to parties and requests to join groups–she sounds like she has a pretty fabulous life, in all honesty. It reminds me of that Friends episode where Monica’s credit card gets stolen and the person who stole it is having a much better time than she is.

It got me thinking–what about those people who have the unfortunate names of someone else.

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The Underbelly of Cruising

July 17, 2009

I’ve been on a cruise ship once, for five days for my job and I didn’t love it. Actually I didn’t even really like it. I love the open water – sailing, boating – but my cruise experience felt like I was trapped in some garish movie theater lobby with the same awful lighting found in most casinos and patterned carpets that only Pucci could find calming. The ports we stopped at weren’t much better, littered as they were with Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, Señor Frogs, McDonald’s, and Hooters restaurants, no thanks.

Often, I stayed onboard working (in my former life as a publicist), but when I wasn’t on the job, I was observing and intrigued. Noticing the life of the Carnival employee and wondering if this was the way out they’d dreamed of.

It’s no secret that the treatment of entry-level cruise ship employees from developing countries are over-worked and underpaid. The slang term in the industry is sweatships. In my research for this piece, I read numerous articles citing that the average cruise ship employee logs 72 hours in just one week – with just one day scheduled off (which usually doesn’t happen). What I saw while afloat reminded me of the film footage of factory workers from the 1920s – below decks hundreds of workers – mostly from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America – live in cramped dormitory-style rooms.
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Summer Swagger

July 14, 2009

At our house, summer events are in full force, which means our weekends are loaded with travel and good times. From weddings, graduations, baby showers, and engagement parties to less formal functions like barbecues, reunions, and restaurant openings – you name it; our iCal is reminding us to be there.

Whenever I look at the stack of invites, my first thought generally doesn’t go to, “what do we want to attend” but more along the lines of, “what will I wear?” So, here’s some of the cutest stuff I’ve got my eye on. Hopefully, you’ll find something here that’ll work, whatever the occasion.

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We All Scream, Howdy Hazelnut

July 10, 2009

Summer is the season for ice cream. Since I only recently unearthed my old-fashioned ice-cream maker; I thought I’d start slow this year by making a classic ice cream flavor.

But the online recipes I found with herb (lavender and basil) and heat (jalapeno and ginger) additions were really over the top.  I’m a fairly straight-forward gal when it comes to the cream…not totally plain vanilla by any stretch, but a combo of vanilla and chocolate taken up a notch by something crunchy is my number one choice.

This recipe for French Vanilla with Toasted Hazelnuts & Nutella Ice Cream (or as I like to call it, Howdy Hazelnut) is a sort of rip from the Hazelnut Chip served at the almighty Graeter’s (alas, this flavor is no longer on its seasonal menu). It’s a stretch to say my version even comes close to competing with this Cincy institution’s pint, but, it’ll do on a sweaty, summer day when you’re dying for a cone.

Sweet (cold) dreams.
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My Other Twin

July 7, 2009

It recently dawned on me that I don’t write much about my marriage. I mean, I feel like at this point, you know quite a bit about my family (brother, sister, twin, mom and dad, and a bit about my extend family on my husband’s side), but not so much about my husband  – our life and marriage – and I want to talk about that.

But, oddly enough, in order to do that, I have to begin with my first twin – my birth twin…my sister, because figuratively, the second twin in my life is my husband, which I’ll get to later.

My mother found out in her seventh month of pregnancy that she was expecting twins; can you imagine learning that you had just T minus two months to prepare for dos bambinos…in addition to the six-year-old and four-year-old already at home and a husband who was often away on business…and all without a housekeeper, nanny or BlackBerry – my, oh my, how did women do it then? They must have been made of stronger stuff than me, I think I would pass out on the spot.

But, mine not only did it, she did it well. We’ve all grown up to become semi-productive members of society – no criminal records, tattoos, illegal addictions – no judgment if you have any of these, but in my family, any of the aforementioned would’ve been a major faux pas and likely cause years of the silent treatment. So, job well done there, I suppose.

One of the most common life questions I get is – what is it like to be a twin? The simple answer is – I love it, but it’s all I know. For all I know, I’m sitting here this whole time thinking that having a twin sister is fabulous, but really it’s horrible and my non-twin friends feel sorry for me (just a thought).  But it just is. I love her and know her likely more than anyone else on this planet (barring her boyfriend). And vice versa.

The more complex answer is that being a twin and having a partner is so ingrained into my identity as a person – one doesn’t go without the other. I’ve never truly been alone in my life because of this. We aren’t geographically close, but I’ve never flown truly solo or felt like I was going at anything without her full support. She keeps me sane, balanced and calls me out when I need to be called out. I’d like to think I do the same.

I equate marriage to twinship. I looked for a partner that would be with me no matter what, and in return, I’d do the same. That said I always knew that my mate for life and love would know me like my twin. And he does.

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What’s Your Road, Man?

July 3, 2009

An ode to the season of heat…the ultimate road trippin’ summer set playlist loaded with lots of oldies and some new goodies, perfect for parties or long rides on the open highway…

Load up the iPod, gather your friends, get out the map, throw caution and inhibitions into the wind…Jack Kerouac would be so proud.

Safe travels to you and yours this holiday weekend – happy road trippin’.

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