Ann Imig's Blog, page 3
July 31, 2018
Same lesson, different costumes: My podcast interview with Midlife Mixtape
Clip from “You Again”
With guests like musician Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go’s, Martha Quinn of MTV fame, Air Force veteran and Texas democratic candidate for congress MJ Hegar, and all manner of midlife luminaries, today I’m thrilled to join Nancy Davis Kho on her fabulous Midlife Mixtape podcast A podcast to celebrate midlife with humor, heart, and a really good beat.
In each episode, Nancy interviews GenXers and icons of Generation X about how they’re thriving in the years between being hip and breaking one. As funny and delightful as she is an ace interviewer, Nancy and I discuss:
Listen To Your Mother
Making friends with fear
My latest show YOU AGAIN
My first rock concert experience
Learning “the same lesson in different costumes”
(and most importantly) jumpsuit-wearing advice
You can listen to the episode here.
Here’s a link to a snippet from my latest show YOU AGAIN pictured above.
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July 30, 2018
30 Years of Friendship (for #30BrighterDays)
photo credit: Emily McInnes
Once a year we convene on a Wisconsin lake to celebrate 30 years of friendship and counting.
We strengthen the ties that connect us.
And oh my how we cut loose.
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July 27, 2018
Why is my cat’s tail sparkling with glitter #30BrighterDays
The question: Why is Toby’s tail full of glitter at 7AM. Or, rather, how on this actual earth.
The answer: The bathtub where a certain cat likes to hang out. This answer also solves the mystery “why those fancy bath bombs were on sale buy one get one half off.”
Related: look out for a glittery 11 year old running around camp today.
Talk about a brighter day.
***
I’m out of town for my annual girls weekend with my grade school gals. See you next week (or maybe on Facebook if inspiration strikes)
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July 26, 2018
Market lake day #30BrighterDays
I finally got to the farmers’ market yesterday. I also got to Lake Mendota with my friend Kate for a stand-up paddle.
This morning I heard my first back-to-school ad reminding me about all sorts of to-dos and changes ahead.
Grab your market and lake days by the shoulders and kiss them on both cheeks.
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July 25, 2018
Off The Menu #30BrighterDays
My friend Deb posted a picture of these crunch cones on Facebook, and I had to try one. DQ doesn’t list crunch cones on the menu– I guess because they’re a bygone favorite. Many DQ’s don’t even offer them. Ours does!! And now I know my order forever more BECAUSE OMG SO YUMMY.
This is not a sponsored post, btw.
Culver’s makes their own tasty veggie burgers– not listed on the menu.
At the end of hot yoga class the instructors often give each person a cold scented washcloth during shivasana (rest) aka the best part of class. My instructor often puts additional off the menu washcloths on my feet. I thought she did this for me and no one else because I am her favorite student, but when a different teacher did the same thing I remembered my feet’s habit of turning lobster red when warm. The teachers might possibly have concerns for my health.
ANYWAY this all got me thinking about what we keep off the menu and why. I left the stage off the menu for ten years, until I started LTYM. I kept singing off the menu for 20 years until last month. Those parts of me never disappeared, but others had no idea they were on my menu.
Until my mom gave me her awesome 3-speed bike, I left bicycling off the menu almost entirely for 20 years, too. Now Ben and I take evening rides together and I toodle around on two wheels to coffee shops and other places I used to drive.
It’s easy to forget about what’s off the menu. You might find delicious things.
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July 24, 2018
Brightness in hard times #30BrighterDays
This morning I found this little soul on our back deck under the bird feeder; a shock of brightness even in death.
I thought about all the loss and suffering around me right now– all the tragic status updates, obituaries, and GoFundMes. Today they reside at arm’s length, happening to friends, friends-of-friends, or community members I don’t even know.
Empathy comes naturally for most of us–and sometimes, for me, in a consuming way. My compassion can get hijacked into personalizing grief that really isn’t mine. Loss terrifies me, and sometimes it’s hard to put the breaks on the “What If” train.
Mindfulness helps. Turning back to now, to today– to what is actually happening around me in my real life today vs. what is actually happening in the life of the person experiencing the loss– helps me get outside of myself. After I put myself and my fears aside, I can shift into service toward those steeped in crisis, illness, or loss.
Now, today, I can organize the meal train, cook and deliver dinner, send help (grocery/gas card, money, massage, cleaning service) share resources, connect grieving families, send a note, hold both pain and hope, share hugs and tears, listen and love. These are the gifts of now and today, knowing full well my own very real losses inch closer to my door, someday maybe even tomorrow.
But not today.
Today I layed the cardinal in the shade of our lilac bush. I remembered to turn toward and savor the joy and love surrounding me. Then I might pass it along to those who need it most.
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July 23, 2018
This Guy #30BrighterDays
Feeling slightly crappy today due to what I shall call Imig Family Virus Month, but then I scrolled through my photo and found this guy.
You might know him as your average outdoor city wall sconce.
Average, no longer.
Thank you googly-eye wizard, whomever you are.
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July 22, 2018
Go take a time-out #30BrighterDays
Yesterday, I put myself in a time-out. Instead of going to my room, I went to a nearby park.
Apparently a few chipmunks, several baby bunnies, a toad, a turkey, and a butterfly were on a time-out, too.
I highly recommend it.
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July 21, 2018
Beyond 100 episodes #30BrighterDays
I got to see my friend Leah last night.
Leah grew up down the street from me in Madison, but we really became friends when she hired me to help her sell syndicated TV time in Chicago in 1999.
The benchmark for syndication is 100 episodes. Every TV series hopes to hit that golden threshold, though relatively few survive that many seasons. Syndication (aka reruns) equals a big payout for everyone involved.
The Ann and Leah series spans decades, with plenty more than 100 episodes and counting. She makes me smile in every single one.
A big payout for everyone involved.
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July 20, 2018
Not Awesome! Still worth it. #30BrighterDays
Sunday night we went to a neighborhood festival on the other side of town, aka the cool side.
We drove in circles for twenty minutes looking for parking. We eventually found a place a mile away, which added a fun layer for the younger half of us not crazy about the idea of going to the festival in the first place, and especially not crazy about walking on legs, generally speaking. After our parking pilgramage, we enjoyed our free entry at long-last, only to spend thirty minutes circling the food tents deciding which treat to buy for $10,000 (okay $7.00 for one cherry lemonade which made one cherry nauseated).
The headliner started, but the younger half of our party had zero interest in the music, despite an incredible view of the drummer from back stage, and even though half of the half of our younger party actually plays the drums.
We stayed an hour. We bought some fried cheese curds that one of us deemed the best he’d ever had. No one seemed too bummed about the enormous waffle cone full of ice cream shared by all. A breeze kept us cool throughout the humid evening and long walk back to the car. And how often do we stroll around outside as a family after dark? After spending approximately $50,000 on nauseating refreshments?
We nagged one of our younger party to get off his phone on the mile walk back to the car. The other limped due to a cramp; possibly from fried cheese curds, ice cream, and cherry lemonade– not sure. The moon showed only a sliver behind the clouds with the north star beaming next to it, like the Indian shooting a star on a Tootsie Pop wrapper.
It was not awesome! It was still worth it.
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