Hot Bundle of Toxic

So it’s been a month.

I guess I should say “I’m sorry.”

I abandoned my blog. I’m sure there are a million good reasons (and some bad ones) of why I haven’t written.

But in the end, that doesn’t really matter.

The “Now” and “Going Forward: do.

As some of you might know my father is valiantly battling cancer. His cancer echos that of my grandfather.

My birthday is coming up.

These two “Come to Jesus” factors have forced me to reexamine how I’m doing thus far. Professionally, personally.  To tell you the truth I’d thought I’d be doing “this living thing” better. What I found is that TheBetsy is pretty toxic. Toxic in thought and form. I’ve been flirting with changing my thoughts: less complaints, more positive intentions. So far those experiments have been extremely helpful. But still…

My father’s cancer made me take stock of my body, my health, my actions. I found that I am quite a hot , haute bundle of toxic. I’m tired, irritable, unfocused, still carrying the baby weight (and the baby is almost three folks,) stressed, with a few jiggly, wobbly bits. Things are starting to ache. Funky allergies and skin reactions. More prescriptions. I’m exhausted in every way a person can be. I am existing but not really living. In the moment. For the future.

“Perhaps this can change?” was the question that I kept asked myself. How do I want to live going forward? Accept my life as given or make attempts to change.

Some things I can’t change right now and some I can.

Action won. Change won.

So the next few months I’m pretty much dedicating myself to writing about this. The pros, cons, “jebus-get-me-some-goddamn-chocolate” tormented moments. .If you think you might thinking along the same as me, that you need to change, consider me your own personal scout or an experiment. I am flirting with the idea of posting the whole dirty business: BMI, Before/After (Love those… on other people ,but when it’s yourself, well…) I also could use the support.

Wish me well. More to come in the next few days.

Ciao Baby!

Clever Boobs-Selling Breast Cancer Awareness

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Duh. It’s pretty hard to miss.

I am always curious as how see the various approaches to “selling” Breast Cancer Awareness. It’s a touchy subject, societies attitudes toward discussing breasts in general are …uh.. bumpy at best. Both functional and sex object, the topic causing grown men to squirm in mixed company or boast when with the guys. Just ask any breastfeeding Mom, to go public or not? That is the question. Or if you don’t see the big deal try this exercise: next “breast cancer awareness” commercial try replacing “breast” with “scrotum” and you pretty much see why people are little gun-shy.

I personally wince at just about every erectile dysfunction ad. That’s mostly over the Massingill-like execution of the ads themselves. Dueling bathtubs? Really?

But I stray… You have to give them credit. Every October, breast cancer organizations valiantly attempt to both raise awareness about breast cancer as well as reduce the public stigma around the topic.  Not easy. I look forward to see their efforts as I do Super Bowl commericals– sometimes you’re treated to some really clever, innovative and just plain good ads and grassroots outreach.

Some do by facts.

Some do by color.

Some do by shock.

Some do by touching appeal.

Some do it by being just plain authentically real.

Like my chica Jamie Inman.

Her  Stay In the Pink website dedicated to raising awareness about a cancer that affected her not once, but twice. Her earnestness and I’ve-been-there experience is so authentic, so charming, the delivery cannot help but hit home.

Recently she put her message where her mouth is on YouTube.

Lastly, some do it with humor.

Which of all ways to “sell” an uncomfortable topic, nothing beats humor in my book.

It breaks the ice. It gets RT and YouTubed and forwarded on in email. It gets chatted up by the boys over beer. It spreads like wildfire and eases viewers into the message. Perhaps making them a bit more receptive to the next encounter or impression, and with something like Breast Cancer, I doubt any organization cares who got you to go get the mammogram, just that you got one.

Check out a few faves straight from the humor dept.

Fat-Ass Jeans- Think of it As Another Business Benchmark

These Could be My Fat-Ass Jeans

(Warning: this is about 10% business, the rest is self-indulgent.)

I’m wearing my Fat-Ass jeans. Again.

I think I’m on week 3. Week 2 of “The Diet” (enough said.) I can’t fit into anything else. Refuse to buy a bigger size. I am the walking fashion damned.

All women have them. These Fat-Ass Jeans. I think the male version is the elasticized  shorts or sweats. They’re the Maginot Line for your weight. The last line. The final stand. They are the warning of unacceptable hugeness on the horizon, and with Summer Bikini Season it’s time for action.

Oh, and God forbid we can’t fit in the Fat-Ass Jeans (for brevity will herein be known as F.A. Jeans.) Def-Con 5, Red Alert People. Desperate measures will have to be taken.

So chatting with my friend Suzy about my F.A. Jeans, (Day 27 of wearing them, I have two pairs I interchange so I am at least… clean) I found an amusing parallel between my predicament and business.

No, really. This is what I think about.

We all have limits. In business there are endless ways to quantify our position, cash-flow, balance sheet. Same goes for personal vanity. The F.A. Jeans is my personal limit (I could have it be BMI, weight, how much fast I can run a mile, but the F.A. Jean it is) just as ROI, P/E, Debt/Asset, EBITDA is to business. Unacceptably high (or low) and you’re in the Fat-Ass Jeans. Time to re-evaluate, re-commit, re-engineer, reorganize and get back on track to profitability and your skinny jeans.

How did I find myself in the F.A. Jeans? Not paying attention. Just as in business, an attitude of “Just this time” or “One time Only” and not paying mind to the game at hand. It is a slippery slope into the land of delusion and being in the red (F.A. Jeans.)

So, like with rehabbing a business I am rehabbing myself- one day at a time. Watching my cash-flow, In-flow and expenditures (boot camp helps at bit.) Lately I’ve been having a glass of wine and not running, time to re-commit again.

Think I’ll write a blog post about it.

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(And HUGE credit goes to Rochelle Karina for the photo above, and for being my butt-double. She has more cajones than yours truly. You can see the original posted HERE at Rochelle’s blog .)