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Remembering ‘The Voice of Mission Control’ on the Apollo 11 Anniversary
It’s a pretty exciting time to be in Washington D.C. The whole town is amped up over the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. The Saturn V rocket is being projected onto the Washington Monument, Neil Armstrong’s space suit is back on display at the National Air and Space Museum and the National Symphony Orchestra…
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Lessons on Professionalism from Bravo’s ‘Below Deck’
I have a client in the meetings and events industry and I was submitting a couple of story pitches to them this week, based on a new survey of event planners. One of the key takeaways from the survey is that 59% of planners say a lack of professionalism among the venue management and staff…
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When Bees Don’t ‘Do It’ – Summer Gardening
My client’s big event wrapped up a couple of weeks ago, which means….. I actually have two big, yearly client events that I provide content support for, one of which is usually at the end of May or June. And after it wraps up, things slow waaaayyyy down. I mean, I have a few recurring…
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A Necessary Evil: Summer Sweaters
It’s mid-May and I am sitting in my home office, sipping hot tea, wearing fuzzy house slippers and a summer sweater over a button up shirt. That’s right: a summer sweater. Growing up in West Texas, I never understood the concept of a summer sweater. Sure, I’d see them all the time in catalogs like…
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Hotel Crashing: Mara Bushtops, Kenya
When we went to Bushtops Serengeti a couple of years back, we knew that if we ever got the chance to go to Tanzania again, we’d definitely stay there again and for a much longer amount of time. And, we did. For this trip, we stayed at Bushtops Serengeti for seven nights (Oct. 31-Nov. 8),…
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A List of Distractions: Things to Buy, Eat, Watch and Listen To
We have a friend who is a bit under the weather and is stuck in a hospital bed for the foreseeable future. Which just totally sucks. I mean, on the one hand: laying around just watching endless episodes of “Fixer Upper” is totally my jam. But on the other hand: there’s only like, five seasons…
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Weird Crimes: Pringles Wine and Face-Licking Edition
In a world full of horrible, violent crimes, I find myself seeking out and clinging to the weird crime stories. Luckily, this past month has given us two excellent examples to ponder. Even better, they both involve women perpetrators (#whorunstheworld #girlcrimebosses). First, a woman in Wichita Falls, Texas was banned from the local Walmart. Her…
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Twiga Everywhere: How We Met All of the Giraffes in Kenya and Tanzania
*Twiga is Swahili for giraffe. The lovely and long-lashed Sir Harry was not the only giraffe we saw during our 18-day trip to Tanzania and Kenya. Not by a long shot. We saw. So. Many. Giraffes. Usually on safari, we see a couple of giraffes a day, if we’re lucky. They’re not as ubiquitous as…
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Pack it up: Travel plans for 2019
A new year (and, let’s face it, the winter weather) always puts me in the trip planning mood. It’s the only thing that keeps me sane during these dark, cold months. Well, that plus Bravo and wine. In general, XFE and I take at least three big trips a year – one around my birthday…