When-it-Was-Hot: term specifying the specific age at which someone was at their peak of physical attractiveness; often used to describe a formerly attractive school mate and member of the opposite sex, e.g., “23 – yep that was Jeff Smith’s ‘When it was Hot.’”
The sad part about getting older is that it sneaks up on you. One minute you’re the girl who turns heads at the bar and can talk her way out of any traffic citation, and the next you’re, well, sorta just a boss and a mom who’s faded into the woodwork.
Even more pathetically, for those of us who work in offices surrounded by childless 20-somethings with fast metabolism and time to go to the gym and enjoy happy hour cocktails, it’s often easy to forget that your beauty’s expiration date has passed or is coming soon. There you are with the crew, ogling the latest Vanity Fair spread with Robert Pattinson and debating the merits of Kristen Stewart’s Bella when boom, it hits you. Should you run into “R-Patz” on the street, he would look at more...
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Tags:Looks: Is This Mirror Working?
Stubble Shock: noun; state of anxiety induced by the sudden realization – typically on the commute into work – that one is wearing a skirt but has neglected to shave her legs (and possibly, pits).
Okay, let’s face it: this is not a syndrome exclusive to working moms. Most of us can remember a time or two when this panicked realization occurred during our single girl days as well, particularly when hitting the beach slightly hung over the day after a particularly crazy night out. The difference back then was that it was more likely our bikini area we were sweating over (remember these were pre Brazilian days for most of us) and the time elapsed between our last encounter with a razor is probably much more lengthy these days. I mean, what married woman – let alone a working mom married woman – has the time to shave on any regular basis? And most of the time, boots, opaque tights, long dresses and forgiving husbands let us skate along in the hairy zone until an absolute necessity arrives … more...
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Tags:Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, WoMo Book (untitled)
Imagine my surprise (fear) when Aimee informs me that an ABC Talk Show wants to do a segment about one of our blog posts… with us in it. Really? Us? I guess I always knew television might be a possibility when writing a book. But I also know winning Publishers Clearing House might someday be in my future — it doesn’t mean The Prize Patrol came knocking at my door last week.
In true WoMo fashion, everything was last-minute, crammed, chaotic and unrehearsed. But as always, we did our best and lived to talk about it — much to the aid and support of the awesome people at ABC's The View From The Bay.
I figure that with all the possible things that could have gone wrong (vomiting, stumbling, spitting, sweating, coughing, sneezing, crying and fainting), we fared pretty well. Would I have said and done some things differently? Of course, but life doesn’t have a rewind button... nor does live television. Watch the segment here. more...
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Tags:Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, Pop! Culture, WoMo Book (untitled)
“I used to be all about belly rings and belly chains … and now I have a belly roll.” That was the sinking realization I came to one day about six months ago when looking over some photos of me that shook me out of the delusional state in which I had existed since going back to work after Tavish was born. I admit it – I hadn’t been on a scale since six weeks post-partum, when I had been elated to see that I was only 12 pounds (out of the 40 gained) from my pre-pregnancy weight. When I went back to work while still nursing, it seemed that the pounds had flown off but that probably was just an illusion. And after stopping the milk train, without the time to get to the gym (ever), it’s obvious at least a few of those pounds slid right back on. It was painfully obvious that it was time to get my body back.
Today I am back and here’s a bit of what I learned …
Losing weight at (ahem) more...
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Tags:Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, WoMoLists
The past week was a doozie. In an effort to survive it all with a modicum of dignity, I (ironically) told 15 lies. Some little white, some downright false. Desperate times call for desperate measures… are my pants on fire?
1. “I wish you the very best.” An integral co-worker quit on Monday. She wants to start her own company before getting preggers. I get it, I really do. I wanted to cry, but I wished her the best. I secretly hope she'll discover how hard it is to keep it all together when you're managing business n' baby and I hope she'll wish she had stayed at a job that offered her security, flexibility and a whole lot of heartfelt WoMo understanding.
2. “He loves it.” As a belated Valentine gift (why?), Grammy gave the 3-year old a furry, foam 20-inch square pillow with a freakish puppy head attached…what’s not to love? Now I just have to figure out what to do with it.
3. “I’m so excited.” I just found out that Aimee and I are appearing on more...
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Tags:Colleagues & Coworkers, Girlfriend Gab, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, On The Career Track, Pop! Culture, WoMoLists
In honor of the downright hilarious book and blog "Stuff White People Like," I've decided to compile my own collection of oddly predictable and somewhat satirical working mom observations...
Comparing Ourselves It may just be a woman-thing, but working moms are big on scrutinizing their chaos in contrast to others. Sit in on a conversation with a few WoMos and they will compare everything from worst-ever childcare dramas, to insufficient husband-help, to “how did she find time to bake those cookies?” And there’s always a chick whose ass looks better.
Anti-bacterial Products Working moms love anything that is sure to remove all possibility of additional scheduling conflicts and complications. Sickness being one of the worst to overcome. For this reason, working moms can’t get enough of anti-bacterial products. Wipes, spray, gel or lotion — it doesn’t really matter. They are buying into the promise of wiping out any and all down time.
The Quick Change Regardless of what time a mom completes her job or gets home from work, it will take her exactly one minute to throw off more...
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Tags:Girlfriend Gab, Juggling & Struggling, Just For Laughs, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, SAHM Sisters, WoMoLists
A few weeks ago, I threw together a few tips from Marcie and I about getting from Banana Republic blah to brilliant or at least getting over the Womo hump. This week, at my PR firm we are working with a professional stylist whose clients include Hollywood celebrities and San Francisco socialites and who gives soundbites to the likes of US Weekly and Life & Style magazine. Keylee Sanders is one of those girls you hate ... until she opens her mouth. Gorgeous, poised and - of course - fabulously clad and coiffed, she makes the rest of us sort of fade into the background when she walks into a room. But she's also warm, funny and genuine - and not above translating runway styles into real life looks that even time-pressed and budget-stressed WoMos can pull off. Multitasking as I do in every area of my life, I managed to find a way to incorporate a pitch for Womobook into a publicity opp for both Keylee and our online shopping client ... and to more...
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Tags:Fashion, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, Tip Jar, WoMoLists
Awhile back, I admitted that I – a onetime fashionista who never met a trend I didn’t try - had officially hit the “WoMo Style Wall” – i.e., my wardrobe was horribly outdated and a dead giveaway that my only shopping trips these days involved laundry detergent, pampers and labels like “Mossimo” rather than Moschino. Unfortunately, I forgot to offer any tips for scaling that wall to reclaim your fashion sense. Perhaps that’s because I didn’t think I had any advice to give.
Then I remembered that I had another secret weapon in my style arsenal, though. Hello! Marcie spent years in the fashion industry and actually once worked as a stylist on tour with Madonna. Yep, that Madonna. Who better than my creative Womobook co-author to dole out a few pointers on updating my wardrobe. Together, we put came up with the following pointers for ditching the Banana Republic blahs and shifting from frumpy to fabulous without spending a ton of money or time.
Keep it simple. One trendy item at a time is more...
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Tags:Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, Tip Jar, WoMoLists
Too much to do, too little time … is there any more true cliché for a working mom than that one? On a regular basis, most of us struggle to slog through even a quarter of our to-do lists in a day – and pummel ourselves with guilt and anxiety over that fact to boot. I am definitely no exception to that rule – you are talking to someone who has not been to the dentist in over a year and has been meaning to reorganize her 401(k) allocations since 2006 after all! But listening to a fresh-back-from maternity leave colleague gripe about her crazed schedule in a Facebook status reminded me that in the past three years as a WoMo, I have actually accumulated at least a few tips for “fitting it all in” that might prove useful to others facing the same predicament.
Five Ways to Fit it All In
Sleep Less – Eight hours is for wimps … or at least non-WoMos. The only way I have found to squeeze work, play with my kid, blogging and more...
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Tags:Juggling & Struggling, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, Time Is A Four Letter Word, WoMoLists
“Chocolate milk! Chocolate milk!” It’s the warning call of a determined three year-old charging through a crowded line at the local Starbucks to grab his beloved drug of choice. Oh, and by the way, that three year-old belongs to me, the oh-so-healthy mommy who swore she’d never give her kid sugar – let alone use sugar and caffeinated milk to bribe her kid into sitting for a few blessed minutes in the local coffee shop.
It’s obvious that the road to reality is paved with good intentions. I know that’s not technically the way the saying goes, but it does more accurately reflect my life as a WoMo -- and to some extent any mom’s life if we are truly being honest about it all. Most of us WoMos can easily tick off a huge host of things we remember either saying we would never do (serve our kids chicken nuggets, use the boob tube as a baby sitter, co-sleep, worry about preschools before they could walk …) or things we said we were definitely going to do more...
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Tags:Bad, Bad, Bad Mommy, Guilt: The Bad G-spot, Juggling & Struggling, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, WoMoLists
Can I just take a moment to vent about my purse? It’s completely absurd. I’ve been having shoulder problems lately and I just realized it’s probably due to the extra 25-pounds I’ve been lugging around. Some people gain weight around their middle during the holiday season. Me? I carry it in a bag (and a few in the bum). The shopping and gifting chaos of the past month has caused my purse to become, quite frankly, obscenely obese.
Here’s the deal with a typical WoMo bag: it, like you, leads a double-duty life (part brief case, part diaper bag). It’s a catch-all receptacle that goes everywhere we go, which is a lot of places. Not to mention, we never have the time to clean it out. I reached in today to dig for my phone and pulled out a full-size bottle of shampoo (a gift from my hair salon). And, if that wasn’t bad enough, I followed that find with an umbrella…did I mention that I live in Los Angeles? I didn’t even know I owned an umbrella! So with more...
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Tags:Just For Laughs, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?
Maybe it’s the fact that I have a December birthday and so from the time I was little, this month has always been my favorite of the year. From the parties and the gifts to the overall sense of good will and cheer – and not to mention a handful of extra days off from work thrown in there – what’s not to like about the holiday season? That’s not to say, however, that the countdown to Christmas can’t be a little stressful … particularly for us WoMos. In the spirit of the season, then … The Twelve Days of a WoMo Christmas, Aimee-style.”
On the first day of Christmas, (i.e., Cyber Monday) jump on Amazon.com and about a hundred other sites searching frantically for what’s being touted as the “it toy of the year,” Zhu zhu pet hamsters. No luck, unless you want to pay $80 for a tiny faux rodent that usually retails for a few bucks.
On the second day of Christmas, remember you have yet to order holiday cards. For the next two more...
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Tags:Colleagues & Coworkers, Juggling & Struggling, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, Party Girl, School Daze, WoMoLists
Do you ever reflect on all the things you know now as a grown-up working mom that you never knew in your younger, childless days?
The other day while doing research on a new business prospect, I found myself poking around a website geared at baby boomer women and saw a column that invited women to write a “postcard” to themselves as young women. Some of the messages were practical, i.e., “Don’t ever forget to label your boxes before you put them in the attic,” and others were poignant, “Don’t waste a minute of your precious time.” It got me thinking about what I might tell my own younger self – particularly the self that existed pre-WoMo days … even pre-mommy days period. Here’s what I came up with for me – how about you?
- Don’t ever complain to your (WoMo!) boss about insomnia … or wonder why your habit of falling into head dips during long meetings pisses her off. There’s a reason she drinks 10 cups of coffee a day and still taps her fingers impatiently when more...
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Tags:Just For Laughs, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, On The Career Track, Travel Tales: Are We There Yet?, WoMoLists
There was once a time – what seems like a lifetime ago – when having friends over meant some semblance of an actual dinner party with cute new outfits, prepared entrees, nice plates and matching silverware, lots of red wine and probably a start time later than 8 p.m. Sometimes after the dishes were cleared we even – gasp – headed out the door to take the party to a bar or club. Looking around my kitchen last night made me realize how much things have changed in just the past few years.
Picture this: Saturday night, three late thirty-something couples standing, clustered around a brightly lit kitchen nibbling pizza and gulping sips of white wine at 7 p.m. in our stocking feet. At regular intervals, a member of the group would dash into the living room at the sound of a child’s wail or a scuffle breaking out, or grab a small child who had wandered in looking for another “treat” or a glass of juice. Not one friend wore more than a smidgen of make-up and everyone heaped more...
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Tags:Girlfriend Gab, Just For Laughs, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, Party Girl, Time Is A Four Letter Word
It’s not all woe is me in WoMoland. There are a few little advantages we enjoy over our stay-at-home sisters, such as …
- Coffee and the newspaper (or CNN online) before starting the day instead of “Dora” or “Diego”
- An office full of younger colleagues who will indulge your “Twilight” obsession without ever turning the topic to preschools or potty training
- The ability to greet your husband at the end of the day somewhat gussied up in make-up and heels (rather than smudged with applesauce, bare-faced in sneakers!)
- The world’s best excuse for postponing indefinitely the need to learn to cook
- Escape from dull playdates with your kids’ classmates whose moms bore you to tears
Okay, it's not such a long list, but maybe you can add a few to my list?
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Tags:Express Male: Hubby Talk, Just For Laughs, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, SAHM Sisters, WoMoLists
“Suffer to be beautiful.” It’s a saying I heard often in my childhood years as my mom struggled to get a comb through my angel fine mane in the mornings before school, and later as she tweezed my brows into the perfect Brooke Shields bushy arch through my adolescent years. But little did I suspect this notion of enduring minor pain for the sake of vanity would become somewhat of a theme throughout my life … and that it would only get harder – and more expensive – the older I got.
The expensive side of staying beautiful – or just “somewhat hot, for a mom” as my husband would put it – is where this warped perspective starts to intersect with the typical WoMo life. I mean, it’s one thing to forgo the pumpkin pie and hit the treadmill when the rest of the family is feasting and snoozing, but when the escalating price of various beauty treatments (facial peels, special creams, highlights, trainers, injections, extensions, nip/tucks, etc.) start to add up to a third or more of more...
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Tags:Express Male: Hubby Talk, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?
All work and no play sucks. For anyone. So before you freak out completely, take a trip (kids and dad not included). An overtired and cranky WoMo needs a little diversion just like everyone else, but for some reason, we moms have a habit of depriving ourselves of "me time." Well not anymore, gals. I’m tired as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore! Need convincing? Here are more than enough reasons to pack your bags and your best gal pals and hit the road:
Me time. Yes, you need it. Lose the guilt. Lose the fear. It will not hurt your child if you leave for a weekend. The wee one will be fine and you will be amazed how a mere 24-48 hours with your girlfriends can rejuvenate you (mentally and physically).
Men do it. About 99% of you are nodding your heads. No doubt the hubby’s been to sporting events, birthday/bachelor parties (even for fringe acquaintances), camping, fishing, skiing or surfing trips, and most likely Vegas, at some point in the last year. Balance more...
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Tags:Express Male: Hubby Talk, Girlfriend Gab, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, WoMoLists
After finding scribbled lists strewn throughout our house, it occurred to me that the seven year-old was compiling his holiday wish list. A bit early, but as a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal, I appreciate the foresight. So what would appear on a WoMo wish list? Here are a few wants that seem oh-so-appropriate, but let me know what you think...
Wish #10: After all that pumping, please let my breasts return to their demi-buxom selves. (Too late option: can I just get a little boobie pick-me-up?).
Wish #9: Allow me the clarity to get out the door without forgetting something.
Wish #8: One frustration-interruption-free morning. Let's start with a little tranquility in the toilet (perhaps with a book or magazine), a peaceful shower (with time to shave my entire leg, both of them, and let’s throw the pits in there too), a complete and undisturbed beauty regimen (hair and make-up!) and let’s finish this hedonistic pursuit with a wrinkle-free ensemble (that I don’t have to spot-clean to wear).
Wish #7: Keys to a new sex drive.
Wish #6: Just once, only once…I wish the hubby more...
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Tags:Express Male: Hubby Talk, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, Pop! Culture, Time Is A Four Letter Word, WoMoLists
Sometimes in Womoland, it’s the little things that get to you. Here are a few of my little “don’t you hate it whens” - any of these sound familiar?
o You get mascara on one eye ... and that's when your sweetpea wakes up from his nap screaming
0 Just after you exclaim, “Playing hooky at the zoo with my little guy!” on Facebook, you remember your boss is a friend (and monitors your posts)
0 You start singing the theme from “Little Einsteins” under your breath in the office
o A single, childless colleague complains about insomnia. Please, what a luxury.
o The new client/business prospect/new boss insists on a conference call with you and “the new team” on your first day off in months – and the only day that pre-school offers parent tours
o Your well-meaning CEO tells you he really needs some “senior leaders who can put in those 14 hour days to network with influencers” to balance out those of you on the mommy track
o You answer a “private call” on your cell at more...
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Tags:Colleagues & Coworkers, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, On The Career Track, Pop! Culture, WoMoLists
The reality is not quite as tragic as this picture (though sporting Madonna's platinum disco fro in 1993 may have provided a glimpse into my future). Despite my years working in fashion, I find myself utterly OUT of fashion at times. How could this be? I worked for Madonna for goodness sake! I shopped for her sunglasses and shoes, I plucked boa feathers from her sweaty skin! I ask you ladies, what does being a crazed working mom do to our style sense?
This painful realization hit me at work the other day. There are girls in my office that were exiting diapers when I was entering college and while I try to stay in the know, there are a lot of styles that I ignore as a matter of mommy survival. Ever tried to crouch down to help a toddler in low rise skinny jeans? I’m guessing that’s why there are mom more...
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Tags:Looks: Is This Mirror Working?
It’s not all about what you give up to be a working mom. There are also some perks … and a few other less enjoyable things you acquire along the way. I couldn't think of a full 10, so suggestions welcome. Also, any of these sound familiar?
1. 10 pounds. Okay, that was too easy. There’s more.
2. The ability to walk out the door at 5:30 p.m. sharp – with a 90-minute commute and T’s 8 p.m. bedtime, there’s no room for burning the midnight oil (in the office, that is).
3. Efficiency. They don’t call us master multitaskers for nothing. During the same 24-hour period in which I used to only care for myself, a hubby and numerous needy clients, I now also squeeze in all of that plus the care and feeding (and worrying about) a two-and-a-half-year-old human being. Go me!
4. Guilt. Not much to add there; few Womos claim to escape the nagging feelings that they could or should be doing something more or different to spend more time at home and with their kids more...
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Tags:Juggling & Struggling, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, Time Is A Four Letter Word, WoMoLists
1. Punctuation and niceties in email — No time to be polite or for spell-check and it’s easy to blame it on the Blackberry.
2. Second string friends — you know what I mean: those hangers-on from high school with whom you no longer have a thing in common or the friend of a friend who talks about things like Burning man and yoga gurus and you always feel guilty for not calling on your days off? I lost the guilt a long time ago.
3. The gym — forget the days of 90-minute sweat sessions and spinning classes. For 20 years, I was a dedicated five-day-a-week gymaholic. Today’s it’s have shoes, will jog … whenever I can grab a 30-minute chunk of time.
4. Mascara on my days off — there’s something about just the extra 7 minutes it takes to get it right while T-man’s running around under foot that wipes it off the “getting ready” checklist.
5. Dreams of chucking the rat race to move to the beach in Mexico — where would T go to school? more...
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Tags:Juggling & Struggling, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, Time Is A Four Letter Word, WoMoLists
Few things are as exciting to a woman who's watched her body balloon to epic proportions during pregnancy as the first time post-baby she can fit a decent pair of cool jeans (read: not Old Navy or Mossimo cheapos) over her ass, let alone a pair in a pre-baby size. So you can imagine my disappointment when, days after purchasing a pair of amazing Joes Jeans with a waist size smaller than pre-T days, I learned from a coworker (20-something, no kids, size zero) that "boot cut" jeans were a dead giveaway that someone was an out-of-touch mommy who thought she was hip but really was hopelessly outdated. Gulp. I always thought "Mom Jeans" were just the high waisted, baggy horrible things you saw on women in bad reality shows like "Super Nanny" or "Wife Swap," not $200 denim from a trendy boutique. I had to admit I had hit the WoMo Style Wall. If you answer yes to any of the below, you probably have too ...
Ten Tell-tale Signs You’ve Hit the WoMo Style Wall:
1. The last more...
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Tags:Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, WoMoLists
Most of my friends are stay-at-home-moms (not sure how that happened?!). Due to this little factoid, a fair portion of my stress is related to keeping my social life in tact because a lot of it happens while I’m at the office: yoga at 10, pool at noon, playdate at 3. I dropped off the second grader at school the other day and a girlfriend asked if I wanted to go grab a quick game of tennis in ten minutes. Huh? Seriously, had she completely forgotten where I disappear to all day? Look at the outfit. While I appreciated the invite, I didn’t think my button down blouse, wide-leg slacks and strappy heels would help my serve. But honestly gals, let's lose the hostility toward SAHM-hood. And, better yet, the envy. In my experience, the mommy wars are just an exhausting game that no one will ever win. So no more comparing, no judgment! Game over.
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Tags:Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, SAHM Sisters, School Daze
Is it wrong that I wore my hottest Execu-chick outfit to take my child to his first day of preschool? We’re talking Christian Louboutin knock-offs (really good ones, red soles and everything), pencil skirt and a new, hot cuff bracelet, chosen especially for its “I work in the Financial District and do important business” effect. Is it horrible that I took a call on the Blackberry from a new business prospect while waiting for the front doors to open instead of chit-chatting with the other well-tanned “mommies” streaming toward the entrance? I was off the phone in less than five minutes, after all. Or, does it strike you as pathetic that when the room mom sent out the invitation to the “get to know you” playdate for the kinds in T’s class, I left my work auto signature in the email just to remind everyone about my VP title as an excuse for why I might never make it to any of those playdates.
Okay, so don’t answer any of those questions. I already know the answer. I suck. Somehow more...
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Tags:Guilt: The Bad G-spot, Looks: Is This Mirror Working?, School Daze
