“Back” to it

Hello all! Had a couple more back operations in January to fix a couple of loose screws…yes, I had some screws loose! The first try ended up with two hematomas and a broken new screw so a second surgery was necessary to get things right.

So I’m healing up, getting as busy as I can tolerate and happy to do so. Got some projects in the works–the June Open Studios here in Altadena, photos for a new client with my partner in DebSquaredPhoto, and physical therapy starts next week. Got a bunch of small travels coming up over the next few months, too. But there won’t be any horseback riding, rodeo riding, or even dancing for a while.

I’m about to set up a website for DebSquaredPhoto so please look for it very soon. For now you can check out facebook.com/debsquaredphoto.  And my photo sites are tellingimages.com and debbiswansonpatrick.com.  Ciao for now!

Look out and up!

Lighten up! Laugh dance, play! Ok, ok! I’m working that into my day every day, especially while I recover from what I plan on being the last surgery of my life, barring something nasty cropping up. This one, a laminectomy and fusion in my lower back, so far feels like it’s fixed the limp I developed after my hip replacement a year ago. That would be a huge improvement and a definite reason to dance! I assume most of the pain will dissipate along with the limp. Time will tell. Doc says six months before I actually feel better. I’ll dance a lot in the meantime.

Staying upbeat is critical when you face a lot of trauma as I have the past seven years. It’s good to reflect. Getting your head out of the trench to see what’s beyond is vital, though you may want to duck from time to time. I have some goals this year, one of which is making You Tube videos. Forgive my early efforts as I get up to speed!

 

 

Getting back to it

Hi, good to “see” you again. Been a long time since I’ve written due to an extreme number of circumstances. But hey, life goes on and so do I. since I’ve posted I’ve joined Pinterest, Instagram, set up my photography site http://www.TellingImages.com, and have gone through foot, back, and neck surgery. I’m on the mend and we’ll see what happens here!

 

How can I help you?

Found a new site by a writer helping writers. Check it out.

How can I help you?.

Editor & Publisher Sold To Duncan McInto…

Editor & Publisher Sold To Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc.

Will Resume Publication In Print and Online

NEW YORK CITY — Editor & Publisher, the only independent news organization reporting on all aspects of the transforming newspaper business, will resume publication in print and online following its sale Thursday from The Nielsen Company to Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc., the Irvine, Calif.-based magazine and newspaper publisher.

The announcement came exactly two weeks after the closing of E&P, the acknowledged “bible of the newspaper industry,” which can trace its roots back 126 years.

Duncan McIntosh said he knew immediately when Nielsen announced in December the closing of E&P that he wanted to keep the magazine and its digital newsgathering properties going.

“Such a critical information source for a newspaper industry so desperately in need of help should not go away,” McIntosh said. “I’ve been a reader of E&P over the course of 30 years and know its incredible value to readers and advertisers.”

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Charles “Chas” McKeown, who will continue as publisher of E&P, hailed the sale and the speed and professionalism with which McIntosh and Nielsen completed the transaction. “Everyone knew what was at stake here,” McKeown said. “Newspapers, which are transforming beyond the printed page to all forms of digital media, simply could not lose the one place where the industry could have a conversation with itself and exchange ideas and best practices for navigating the uncertain waters ahead, exemplified by our Interactive Media Conference which includes cable, TV, radio and other media.”

Duncan McIntosh Co. Inc. is the publisher of several well-respected boating magazines and newspapers, including Boating World magazine; Sea Magazine, America’s Western Boating Magazine; The Log Newspaper; and FishRap. The company also produces the Newport Boat Show in the spring and the Lido Yacht Expo in the fall. Both shows are held in California.

Mark Fitzgerald, a 26-year veteran, was named as the new E&P editor. He had most recently served as E&P’s editor-at-large.

“I’m of course grateful to Duncan for stepping up to keep E&P alive, and I’ve been extremely impressed by the passion and energy he is bringing to this enterprise,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m humbled to be leading a news organization that I’ve always believed produces one of the best news reports of any industry sector.”

E&P’s new owners announced plans to publish a February print issue and continue the monthly print publication schedule. Online reporting on its Web site, http://nielsencomm.net/r/?ZXU=1064840&ZXD=392022778, began immediately upon the close of the transaction Thursday, as did posting on its two blogs, the business-oriented Fitz & Jen Give You The Business, http://nielsencomm.net/r/?ZXU=1064841&ZXD=392022778, and The E&P Pub, http://nielsencomm.net/r/?ZXU=1064842&ZXD=392022778.

It’s clean up my blogs month. I’m irri…

It’s clean up my blogs month. I’m irritated that I can’t use the plug-ins I want on wordpress.com. Need a solution.

Pop! in 2010

From my pals Karen and Lilli (and I have two of Sam Horn’s books):

In tough times and in a crowded marketplace, no one can afford to blend in. You’ve got to break out to land that book deal, contract or new job that you want. Do you have a book proposal, a business idea or a career that needs a boost?

National speaker and author Sam Horn and IWOSC’s own marketing expert Lilli Cloud are teaming up on a personal branding seminar that will get your new year off to a fantastic start!

“Pop! Your Book, Brand, Business or Career,” co-sponsored by IWOSC, will take place on Sunday, Jan. 24 from 1-4 p.m. at the Pasadena Conference Center, Room 211, 300 E. Green St., Pasadena, CA 91101.

Sam is the author of six books from major publishers and the 16-time emcee of the Maui Writer’s Conference. She has worked with some of the world’s most famous authors, screenwriters, agents, editors and directors, including Mitch Albom, Frank McCourt, Ron Howard and Jacquelyn Mitchard.

Lilli works with entrepreneurs and career changers to articulate their core offering and share it with the world – both verbally and in writing – in a clear, compelling way that makes them stand out from the crowd.

Together, Sam and Lilli are going to be dynamite! They have priced this
half-day program far below what they would normally charge so that it is
affordable for writers, startup entrepreneurs and people in career
transition. Spend all afternoon in an interactive program that will inform, motivate and enlighten you – all for just $49!

Buy your ticket online now at: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/93417 and please spread the word to your friends and colleagues. This is truly a one-time opportunity to get insights and coaching at an affordable rate from two top-line professionals. Anyone with questions about this event can email
me off-list at Karen@KarenEKlein.com. Hope to see you on Jan. 24!

Successful Great Idea

Happy new year. Yes, I’m writing here again as part of my new year plan. I’ll be covering the arts in Altadena and Pasadena (and elsewhere no doubt) over on http://Altadenaaboveitall.com

Here’s where I’ll talk about anything I choose as my interests are many. And check out my blog on politics and photography, Polipics, at www.digiphotomag.com.

Thought I’d pick  up this blog again with a post from Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia.

http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Appeal/en?utm_source=2009_Jimmy_Appeal9&utm_medium=sitenotice&utm_campaign=fundraiser2009&target=Appeal

I’m impressed that Americans have heeded the call and are supporting such a worthy endeavor as Wales envisioned: “Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet has free access to the sum of all human knowledge.”

And, in  contrast to what some people believe, I recall that recently a study that found Wikipedia’s entries exceedingly accurate. Damn fine contribution to the world.

The Latest

I said it would be January before I was completely “whole” again, and that turned out to be on the money. So here I am, free of underwire bras and the associated bulges. I wore a blue velvet gown with no bra for our Obamarama party! Still have scars to heal — one more than the other after the complications — but it’s all ok. Doc said he could do a little nip ‘n tuck to speed things up, but i don’t care to have another stitch anywhere for a long, long time.
And the REALLY good news is that I was able to get traffic school for the ticket I got the day after “the boob explosion.” I sent a picture. It was graphic. It worked. I’m happy.

Now with my reduction and Bush out of office, there is far less boobage in the world.

Oh so close…

An update to the D-Day saga…

Breakthroughs! Not only have I “gotten a load off” with this reduction, I’m feeling a freedom I’ve never had. I can just be. No self-consciousness about being too large, too much, too uncomfortable. I can just throw on whatever shirt I want and it fits! Some are even too big now. What a joy.

Last week I started sleeping on my stomach for part of the night.

We went to the Alabama Hills on a photo workshop and I climbed all over the place. (Yes, I’m sore, but the good kind.)

Thursday night I slept without some kind of bra.

Friday I saw the doctor for my weekly visit, and he said I don’t need to come back for three weeks!

That doesn’t mean I’m healed yet. Just getting much, much closer.

The key seems to be a high dose vitamini regimen my yogi/Sikh/chiropractor Santokh put me on three weeks ago. Santokh consulted with his associate, a homeopathic physician, about what could be done to speed up healing. Dr. Barker said Vitamin A was the key, along with E, C, fish oil, and a natural analgesic. And within days of starting a five-drop-a-day regimen of the A (about 55,000 units), 3,000 units of C and I’m not sure how much E, along with the fish oil and analgesic, an ever so slight skin began to form. Instead of being raw, the center of the wound began to heal, then more patches. I’ve cut back on the quantity now, and I feel almost normal, even though I’m still changing dressings twice a day.  The improvement is that it no longer hurts to do so. And today I got a massage and could finally lay on my stomach. My back needed some relief after nearly three months of recovery. And my legs needed relief after all that climbing!

So there is hope. I’m wearing racer back sport bras. Shelf bra tanks. Not an underwire in sight. No unsightly bra bulges. No discomfort. I’ve still got a bunch of my old bras. Maybe I’ll burn one or two–for the right of 50+ women to do so, as well as any other woman who wants to “get a load off” and feel the joy of personal freedom.