Gracie Communications

Maybe it was because I was on bed-rest and bored or maybe it was the hormones, but when I was pregnant with my second child, I watched every episode of The Baby Show on TLC. It was fascinating to watch other women go through what I was preparing to go through.  Yet at the end of every show, I found myself wondering why any self-respecting woman would let complete strangers with cameras into the delivery room to co-experience her joy – and pain.

I felt the same shock and awe this morning watching clips of “Balloon Boy” and his family on CNN and The Today Show.  Whether or not the whole thing was a hoax, I was left scratching my head over parents who would haul their kids out of bed, including one sick enough to throw up on national TV, for a 5 a.m. interview. (more…)

Why is it that we women tell our hairdressers anything and everything?  Seriously, it doesn’t really even matter which hairdresser. My regular stylist was on vacation in Greece when I had a total hair emergency.  I made an appointment at David & Mary Salon/Spa in Clay Terrace and ended up telling a completely new hairdresser all about my kids, my business, even my new love for the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks.

We also talked at length about the promotion ChaCha was running in the salon. Every person in the place had on a ChaCha t-shirt and each mirror sported a static cling text message code.  Not only was it a great way to reach a captured audience, the promotion also was a great conversation starter.  The big question is:  If a hairdresser you trust with your tresses uses ChaCha, would you be more likely to try it?

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President Obama’s speech to school children this week has been in the headlines for nearly five days. One could argue it stayed in the news as long as it did because holiday weekends are traditionally slow news wise. Regardless, now that the speech has passed with little to no controversy, Americans will turn their attention elsewhere. Why? According to ChaCha the average adult attention span is far less than five days. 

It’s only 20 minutes. That actually was longer than I expected.

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The word bumble has gotten a bad rap.  In fact, I didn’t even know the word could be a verb until I read Tom Hodgkinson’s article on being idle in the August issue of Real Simple.  

Bumbling means “wandering around without purpose.” And guess what? Not everyone who bumbles is an idiot.

As Hodgkinson notes, “Children are good bumblers.”  Poets and plein air painters are natural bumblers. I personally think graphic artists are good at it too. As a recovering workaholic (okay, maybe not fully recovered), I have a real appreciation for those who know how to enjoy a good bumble.

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Does anyone remember the TV show, “Frasier” or am I showing how old I am?

For those who didn’t catch the show during its 11-year run (1993 – 2004), here is a synopsis. Frasier, a former regular at the bar on “Cheers,” moved to Seattle to host a radio psychology talk show. He would start every listener call with the melodic and empathetic phrase, “I’m listening.”

Truth be told, Frasier rarely was listening. (more…)