Here’s to Girlfriends

November Rain by Guns N’ Roses

Do you need some time on your own?
Do you need some time all alone?
Everybody needs some time on their own.
Don't you know you need some time all alone?
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you,
But if you could heal a broken heart,
Wouldn’t time be out to charm you?
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
’Cause nothin’ lasts forever,
Even cold November rain.

The flower for the month of November is the chrysanthemum and the gem is the topaz. The color, according to colorstrology.com, is claret red which is “intense and passionate, inspiring depth, strength and love”. November in Southern Nevada can be glorious or god–awful, depending on which way the wind blows. It also gets dark really early! When you change your clocks (you did remember to change your clocks, didn’t you?) it’s advisable to also check the batteries in your smoke alarms and update your stash of “emergency supplies”. Need some help? Visit ready.gov/america.

Holiday Havoc!

Last month I attended a workshop sponsored by the Moms in Business Network (MIBN). One of the speakers asked us to make a list of the things that are important to us during the holidays, in order of priority. I admitted that presents are really important to me. I love getting neat stuff from loved ones, but even more I really in truly absolutely love Christmas shopping. And even more bizarre, I love to shop on Christmas Eve. (On the other hand, I do not love to shop the day after Thanksgiving. I think there’s more than one reason to call it “Black Friday”.)

Giving and getting gifts can be a pleasure if you don’t make it a pain. It’s really up to you.

When I was growing up, there were two presents I could always count on finding under our tree. One was a new flannel nightgown from my mother and the other was a box of candy from my father. He would always buy it on Christmas Eve just after he closed his place of business for the holiday and just before he headed home. It was always a Whitman’s Sampler purchased and wrapped at the drugstore down the street. (For those “youngsters” in the group, drugstores were very different back then.) When I got married, I explained to my husband that whatever else he might decide to get me for Christmas, the box of candy was non-negotiable.

Please share with us for the December newsletter: What is the best present you ever got and/or the best one you ever gave? Send it to letstalk@herestogirlfriends.com.

Introducing: The Sensible Shopper

For the past two and a half years I have had the best job in the world! I get to shop, write about it, and get paid for it. A tremendous side benefit has been meeting and talking with some of the most wonderful and fascinating people in Las Vegas. I’m working my way up to a full blown Sensible Shopper website or maybe just a blog, but for right now I thought I’d sneak a few paragraphs into the Girlfriends newsletter.

For those of you who are not averse to shopping on Black Friday, there are websites you can check for sneak previews of the bargains awaiting those willing to risk life and limb: black-friday.net, shoplocal.com/blackfriday, and bfads.net. A relatively new phenomenon is Cyber Monday which is the online version of Black Friday. If that’s more your speed, check out cybermonday.com. I’m predicting yet another entry in the “biggest day” list – the day after Christmas when all those increasingly popular gift cards get cashed in.

You Go Girl!

In the very first Girlfriends newsletter, I wrote about the Blue Thong Society, an organization founded in Southern California and rapidly spreading its way across the country. I noted that there were no less than six chapters in the Reno/Sparks area, but not one in Las Vegas. I challenged my readers to start one and – lo and behold – somebody did! Here is what she wrote:

Carolyn,
I just wanted to let you know that because of your “Here’s to Girlfriends” newsletter a few months ago, I got the 1st “Blue Thong Society” Chapter started here in Las Vegas. We had our 1st event last week at Planet Hollywood in the Forum Shops. We had 12 gals show, a few I knew and a few I didn’t, we had a very good time and now I have a few more friends. So THANK YOU!!!
Angie Bergen

Want to be part of the fun? Check out www.bluethongsociety.com or write to Angie at bergengirls@hotmail.com.

Girlfriends on the Web

There’s a wonderful site called DivineCaroline that publishes the musings of women on several subjects like parenting, travel, body & soul, and relationships. I signed up, created my profile, and submitted the article “Are We the Women We Think We Are?” from the August newsletter. Imagine how excited I was to get this message: Congratulations! Your story is being featured on the front page of Neighborhood & World at DivineCaroline. Fame was fleeting; they get so many submissions each one only stays up for a few days, but I was thrilled! I also got some very encouraging comments from readers around the country, so I may try it again.

Best Friend

I had a different subject in mind for this month’s Best Friend, but fate intervened. On Saturday, October 13 my dear friend Betty Mahalik lost her best friend, Anne Van Winkle. Anne was a remarkable woman and at her funeral the eulogies were just one anecdote after the other about her amazing life. She wasn’t famous except in her own circle of friends and fellow church members where she was a legend. I didn’t know her well at all. In fact we only met a couple of times. I had no idea what an interesting woman she was and how passionate she was about the things that mattered to her. For instance, Betty spoke about how Anne would fall asleep in her recliner while watching (and here I was expecting her to say “her favorite soaps”) CNN! This woman’s favorite celebrities were news anchors! She knew all about them, their families, and their histories. She was more inclined to read a book than clean the house. Now that’s my kind of woman. She raised four good people, but touched the lives of many, many others.

A few days after Anne’s death, Betty wrote this message to the subscribers of her weekly online newsletter, The Monday Morning Coach:

I feel as if you are a sort of extended family in many ways, and so I thought it appropriate that I share this news with you. My dear mother, 85 years old, passed away on Saturday morning. For obvious reasons Monday Morning Coach this week will be brief… just a few simple reminders about the important things in life:

  1. It’s important that you tell loved ones you love them. Today, now…not tomorrow or next week. You may not have another opportunity. Fortunately for me, there was nothing left unsaid and I am at peace about our relationship.
  2. It’s important that you let go of old grudges, resentments or anger about the past. At the end of one’s life it’s the love that matters, nothing else.
  3. It’s important that you keep your important documents in an easy–to–find location for your loved ones. She did, and it has made it immensely easier to handle the details one is required to handle after a loved one’s death.
  4. It’s important that you live your values. My mom was true to the end about what was important to her. It’s what people admired most about her.
  5. When people ask you what your legacy will be, it’s not about money, possessions, titles or any other worldly accessory or accomplishment. As Maya Angelou wrote,“ people may forget what you said or did, but they will never forget how you made them feel”. My mother’s legacy is that she touched everyone she met with a gentle grace that made them feel special.

I’m sure there will be many more thoughts and messages I’ll share with you about my extraordinary mother in the weeks ahead. But I wanted you to know what’s going on and to give you a tiny glimpse into the life of the greatest mentor, role model, cheerleader and mother one could ever hope to have. I have been truly blessed.

Now go tell someone you love them.

Betty Mahalik, dynamic-coaching.com

Do you have a “best friend” you’d like to share with the rest of us? Please send her story to letstalk@herestogirlfriends.com. (Be sure you get her permission first!)

Where the Girls Are

  • Wednesday, November 7: Hot Pink Mamas Big Hot November Event, 6 p.m. at PT’s Gold, 6235 S. Decatur at the 215. RSVPs a must. Contact manager@networkwithwomen.com for details.
  • Monday, November 12, National Association of Female Executives (NAFE) breakfast, 8:30 – 10 a.m. at the Wild Horse Golf Club, 2100 Warm Springs Rd. Amy Frost and Catie Fitzgerald will lead a workshop on “Inner Peace for the Holidays”. Following the workshop, there will be a shopping and business Expo until noon. For information and reservations, contact Amy Frost, amy@authenticsuccessteams.com.
  • Monday, November 12, 6:30 – 8 pm at Transformations, 1725 S. Rainbow, #25: Direct Selling Women’s Alliance presents guest speaker Vicki Kallman and “Mastering the Art of the Mastermind”. For information and reservations, contact Lanetta Seppala, lanetta@savesyoutime.com.
  • Thursday, November 8: Women’s Democratic Club of Clark County will meet for lunch at the Main Street Station Social Club. Guest speaker will be Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian. For information or reservations call 615–4522 or womensdemoclarkcounty@gmail.com.
  • Thursday, November 8: National Association of Professional Mortgage Women dinner meeting at Big Dog’s. Guest speaker will be Ed Burke, of Action Financial discussing Mortgage Planning Techniques; napmwlv.com.
  • Wednesday, November 14, 2007 11:30 – 2:30pm.: Desert Newcomers Club will host a luncheon and Holiday Shopping Bazaar at the Gold Coast. For more information about Desert Newcomers activities, visit desertnewcomersclub.org
  • Tuesday, November 27 11:30 a.m. – 1 pm.: NAWBO/Southern Nevada luncheon with guest speaker Fafie Moore. For information and reservations, visit nawbosnv.org.
  • Friday, October 19, 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Moms in Business Network (MIBN) quarterly Mentoring, Marketing and Mingling at Inside Style, 5480 South Valley View Suite 130. For information and reservations, visit mibn.org.
  • Saturday, November 17, 9:30 AM League of Women Voters meets at the Main Street Station Social Club. Guest speaker will be David Thronson, Professor and Immigration Specialist with the UNLV Boyd School of Law. lwvlasvegasvalley.org.
  • Saturday, November 17, 5:15 PM, Las Vegas Quill Keepers, women writers’ resource and support group, meets at The Reading Room in Mandalay Place. The topic will be “My Family Thinks I’m Nuts”. lasvegasquillkeepers.com
  • Saturday, November 17, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Henderson Convention Center, 2nd Annual Henderson Mom-preneur Expo and Fall Family Festival, hendersonmomexpo.com.
  • Women and Network groups meet the first and third Wednesday of every month at I–Hops around the Valley. For information, visit womenandnetwork.com.

Send announcements about events for women to letstalk@herestogirlfriends.com, as straight email text or MS Word attachments. Please, no PDFs, photos or graphics. They won’t be published and it slows me down!

Cheers!
Carolyn Stephens
herestogirlfriends.com


To subscribe to this newsletter click here.
To UnSubscribe click here & put “REMOVE” in the subject line.