It's a Very Brady Wednesday

sap·py (sp)
adj. sap·pi·er, sap·pi·est
1. Full of sap; juicy.2. Slang Excessively sentimental; mawkish.
3. Slang Silly or foolish.

You've been warned. The following contains excessive sentimental content.

Maybe I am just getting to the New Year's point where you take stock of your life. Between the Superbowl (Who Dat!), Mardi Gras and well, life, there hasn't been whole lot of time to be introspective. But, every once in a while it hits me completely out of the blue...Life is good.

I have a job. More importantly for the first time I feel like I have a career, doing what I love with people and clients that are challenging. And not in the "holy hell what now? Just shoot me." way. In the "holy hell what's next? Just pinch me." way.

I have a family. Sure Grandma is a little crazy and Danger got kicked out isn't quite ready for nursery school. But she said "squirrel", hasn't gotten any more colds and her new nanny misses her on the weekends.

Hubby is about to realize his life long dream of owning his own place. A jazz bar with gourmet food. On Frenchmen. Pretty much the place to be. And is Tweeting about it.

I live in a city that is reinventing the American dream. Where douchebags old white guys bureaucracy, hipsters and feisty instigators can coexist.

My BFF invites me over for homemade pate. 7 different kinds of homemade pate. And two days later I get to return the favor with 40 pounds of boiled crawfish.

Sure, there are issues. My waistline being just one (see above re: pate & crawfish). But who am I to complain?

Who am I kidding? Yours Truly lives to complain. But not right now. Right now I am going to enjoy the silly sappy happy feeling of being pretty damn happy.

PS Eff you laundry. Yes, I see you and the dust bunnies silently plotting my demise. You will not kill my buzz. Same goes for you, Mr. Time Sheet.

Six Degrees of Serendipity

Let me tell you a story. I am pretty sure it has a point, so bear with me.

ser·en·dip·i·ty

1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.

I was talking on the phone with my friend Sloane. We were actually talking business, but as usual, we meandered onto the topic of community, something we both hold dear. We talked about the importance of being positive and not getting distracted by tools douchebags people who use social media solely to boost their own egos. She told me about the Art of Non-conformity and how there is a community of like-minded travelers she has found via Twitter that keep her inspired. We discussed the ability to find mentors, inspiration even , dare I say boyfriends. *my lips are sealed*

This got me thinking about my Twitter mentors. The people who I rely on to keep me focused. The first person who really inspired me was Gwen Bell. She has a nurturing positive attitude that makes you feel like your safely snuggled in a big fluffy blanket with a cup of hot cocoa and a best girlfriend. And then there is Lisa Barone. She is a foul-mouthed feisty vixen who knocks down pedestals faster than you can say F**k you, Goliath!

In a weird twist of fate, that very morning while I was talking to my social media crossed buddy, the planets aligned and...Gwen Bell was a featured guest writer on Lisa Barone's agency blog! Creepy right? All this cosmic hippy dippy kismet action.

I was feeling all warm and fuzzy when I hung up the phone. Lighter. More positive. It occurred to me how amazing it is that we met, communicate and plan future collaborations all because of social media. And as I am musing on this, I look down at the page where I had doodled The Art of Non Conformity and make a point to look it up.

But first, I needed to comment on that post. You know the "Lisa Baronne & Gwen Bell are buds and that's just so appropriate in a weird way because I kind of stalk them both" post. The post announcing this:

Hi, I’m Gwen Bell and I’m an entrepreneur. Today is the launch date of my latest co-created venture, along with Chris Guillebeau from The Art of Nonconformity. The name of our project is The Unconventional Guide to the Social Web.

Gwen Bell announcing on Lisa Barone's site that she is working with my gal Sloane's like-minded traveling do-gooder Chris Guillebea. Dots connected.

Karma? Kismet? Nah. Social media allows people who have something in common to connect and share and listen from across the cubicle or across the world. And I can't help wondering who I will meet today.