Life List Day 122 - My First TV Appearance!

Today I was a guest on a TV show called Living Live! - hosted by Florence Henderson (of Brady fame) and Meshach Taylor (from Designing Women) - talking about my novel and life lists. It's my first ever TV appearance, and I think I did a pretty swell job (my definition of "pretty swell" being I didn't pass out or wet myself from nerves).

Actually, I admitted to the producer that I was nervous because this was my first time on TV, and she said, "Don't worry. You'll be sitting right next to Florence, so you'll feel completely at ease. She's like everybody's mother. I swear, it'll be as if you were chatting with her in her living room."

I didn't have the heart to tell her that I'd also be nervous about chatting with Florence Henderson in her living room.

Anyway, she was right. Florence and Meshach were both funny and supportive - and my seven minutes of fame just flew by. (You hear that, Andy Warhol? I still have eight left!) I talked about how I had a mid-life crisis when I realized I was too old to ever get my bellybutton pierced, and about the timeI held a snake, and I gave some dos & don'ts for doing a life list.

Hopefully I'll be able to post a clip here. (And I can't believe I forgot my camera, so I didn't get a photo of me with Florence and Meshach...arrrgh!)

It's going to air on Tuesday, July 24, so if you happen to get the Retirement Living channel, check it out!

Life List Day 121 - Retire My Lucky Sweater

This is my lucky sweater.

I bought it about eight years ago, and I often wear it when I'm giving a speech or presentation because I just feel good in it. There's something about it that inspires confidence in me. It's bold, bright & straightforward...and when I wear it, so am I.

So today I pulled it out to get it ready for tomorrow. I'm going to be appearing on the Living Live TV show (!) on Retirement Living TV, talking about my book and life lists. I've never been on TV before, and I'm a nervous wreck.

It sounded like a job for the lucky sweater.

Alas...

Knowing I was going to be on camera inspired me to take a long, hard look at the sweater. I can't believe I've been going out in public in this thing. It's all pilly, stretched out, and there's a rip along the back collar. What's "lucky" is that no one has mistaken me for a homeless woman in it yet. It's funny how we can look at something again & again and never really SEE it.

It killed me, but I had to retire the sweater. And by retire, I mean throw away. It was really hard to let go of it - I was tempted to save it for sentimental reasons, but I feared I'd weaken and wear it. It needed to be a clean break.

I replaced it with a new sweater. This one:



I don't know if it's a lucky sweater ... those don't come around that often... but hopefully it'll get the job done.