And WHICH budget would that come out of????

The call came in from the Board President…if you ever want me to pick up my phone, just use the Board President's cell phone and I will be sure to answer! I KNOW to answer that phone call!!! He is always very direct and asked how many Poinsettia plants I wanted to order for the Art Center for Holiday decoration. HMMMMM….since I provide the weekly floral arrangements (at my own expense), I was very surprised to find that the Art Center bought Poinsettias for the Holidays. And, as I am very FAMILIAR with every line in our budget, never noticed one for Holiday poinsettias! And, not wishing to appear confused on the phone with the Board President, (these are the issues I face on a daily basis!!!!) I decided that honesty would be the best. "I didn't realize that we purchased Poinsettias for the Holidays. Did we do this last year?" (I have found it wise to ask if they did it last year…gives a reference point!) "Well, yes…I am sure we did." Always wanting to provide a more decorative interior for the Art Center, I was thrilled that we did this. However, with no idea how we would pay for it, short of MOI paying for it…decided to inquire further! The Board President went on to say that we had ordered some small ones and medium size ones. O.K.???? "And Which Budget would this come out of???" The Board President seemed a bit surprised that I would be so hesitant to order the Poinsettias. Don't get MOI wrong, I LOVE poinsettias…Jeff loves Poinsettias we all LOVE poinsettias…but, as we all know, the take lots of care, watering and maintenance to look FAB! Plus, they don't like the cold and I could only think of putting them by the entrance, with a door that opens constantly. ON THE OTHER HAND….it would save MOI time, since I wouldn't have to do the arrangements for a few weeks. And let's be honest….I am truly into saving times these days!!! I am like, WHO CAN I PAY TO DO THINGS!!! And it isn't event December yet (I usually flip out at that time of year..this is a little early!!!

We have our Winter Expo Arts and Crafts sale staring in November and running until mid-December, which has put me into high gear a little earlier than usual! The Expo takes over the entire first floor of the Art Center with 85 artists selling their items….so, not sure we would even have the space for those poinsettias. You can see my dilemma…. There had to be MORE to this phone call…You know how that goes with your kids, when you are getting only PART OF THE STORY…it was that same conversation. So….the Board President continued to say that he was selling them for one of his organizations!! Are you Kidding MOI??!!!!

That's better!! Everyone should know that you can't fool MOM! Now, I get the picture. I always order poinsettias for our house from various fundraisers, so I am happy to order them from him! "Here's the deal….we can't order them for the Art Center, but I am happy to buy them for my house." Not quite the response he was looking for, but continued…"Well, how many do you want? They are small, medium and large." CLEARLY, he does not buy poinsettias for his own home. SMALL, MEDIUM and LARGE…I need dimensions… "Do they come in different colors?" I always order a selection and like the pink/white combos. "Different Colors???" I could see that he wasn't a happy camper…He just wanted me to say 5 medium ones in red, this was getting to be an ORDEAL…but, hey….if I am buying them for my home…I want them to be right! "Do you have an order form that lists all the info???" This put him over the edge…First the sigh, then he said he had to go, but would drop something off this week. I truly didn't mean to be difficult, but, for a floral arranger, poinsettias are IMPORTANT! Just trying to do my job and stay on BUDGET!!!!

Went to a luncheon for my new group, CWIP – love that acronym! Chicago Women in Philanthropy. They were celebrating their 25th anniversary with a luncheon honoring Desiree Rogers, now the President of Social Networking for Allstate. That is a title for MOI to aspire too!!!!!!! She is an amazing woman and has been a role model for working women, so I was looking forward to words of wisdom from this super woman!! She was dressed in a very Chic and FAB suit! Love that!! Couldn't see the shoes from my seat, but I just KNEW they would be perfect! She received her award and then took the podium to much applause….the room grew quiet and she began. "I really don't like to speak from prepared notes….." Are you kidding MOI!! Here is this super woman, speaking off the cuff…I knew we were in trouble! She spent the first 5 minutes thanking everyone, a nice touch and then sort of "winged it!" As you all know, I am La REIGN of winging it, but not when I am speaking to a group of 500 women! She started talking a bit about the downturn in the economy and how it would be affecting nonprofits…O.K., here we go…..looking for a way to perhaps see if there will be hope for this year ahead! That aforementioned budget will only be balanced, if I make that 25% increase in my fundraising…

She went on to say that nonprofits should look to having more volunteers to help out, since people will have less money to donate, they will give more time.
Less Money..More Time??????

My mind is reeling…maybe a slogan… "We will take your time, instead of your money!" Then, I thought….I really need to see how I can turn those volunteer hours into $$$$$ (if I figure out how to do this, then I will truly be amazing!!). Now, many of us do volunteer to raise $$$ for many nonprofits, but, this wasn't what she was referring to in this speech. I think she felt that we could have volunteers do things that nonprofits pay for, thereby saving us money! There is some merit in this! However, nonprofits truly have become leaner in the past few years, so those fun volunteer jobs have gone away!! The jobs that we need help with are data entry and maintenance! Not so enticing for those volunteers and then there is the little problem of paying for certain services. Artists are very generous people, but if they are teaching classes, they would like to be paid! This is their job! Not sure if volunteers teaching their classes will really make it!

The speech ended and I found myself standing close to Desiree as we were leaving. I thought here is my chance to really get further definition on her Less/More theme…maybe some ideas. I waited patiently for my turn and was about to introduce myself, when this younger woman just walked right in front of MOI! She had on a name badge with her bank listed on it(and one that I KNOW people at!)….I didn't say anything, mainly because I was so surprised that someone would be so RUDE! She introduced herself, chatted and then walked off. Of course, by this time, Desiree had to go, so missed my moment…Heading over to the elevator, the door opened and I got in, the doors were just about to close when Ms. Rude walks in. She looks at MOI (We had 20 floors to go!) and realizes who I was. She turned and said, "I am sorry, that was so RUDE of me to go in front of you, just now." A nice touch, I thought, but I couldn't help myself and replied… "You should really think about breaking into a conversation, while wearing a name tag."

Chic for Less is now everywhere-including an entire section in the November issue of INSTYLE mag! BUY IT!!! TarJay is still hot…People Mag featured many of the items I wrote about last week! Although, some of the items are already sold out online!! See if you can find them in stores and BUY THEM!

For Handbags-check out www.sandraroberts.com some great buys under $100!!! Also, www.shopsueyboutique.com has a great selection!
Check out the bracelets at J. Crew – www.jcrew.com, they are 12K gold-plated with resin and wood beads, so fab and at $95- a great look for not too much $$$
Great bangle bracelets for $30 and $35 at www.emitations.com stack them with your watch or mix them with your bracelets from J. Crew. Keep all other jewelry minimal!

And with SNOW in this week's forecast….Boots are everywhere! Saw some very cute ones form Hogan at Saks…they are motorcycle in style with a round toe, Mid-calf and a small buckle detail…but, on the other hand, you probably will have more fun shopping at this website where BOOTS are FAB at www.newport-news.com

Love the Patent Leather High boots and also the booties with a ribbon detail.
"Luke" faux leather boots by Michael Antonio at www.shiekhshoes.com for $53 are Fab and you won't have to worry about the snow ruining them!!

And as it gets colder some tips for LIPS!

Fab Lip Glosser-for $29 – you will love it!
http://lauragormancosmetics.com/products/lip-toxyl-sheer-starlet

And for under $10 the following!
LanoLip's All-Natural Lip Scrub exfoliates and SMOOTHS with sugar! YUM!! www.lanolip.com $9.99

CoverGirl Outlast Smoothwear lipliner's precision pen lasts all day (or at least a long time!!) $5.99 at Drugstores

Collagen-boosting (always FAB) Sally Hansen Lip Line treatment fills in those little lines around the mouth! $9.95 at Drugstores

Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate is filled with antioxidants, including vitamin C and E, gives chapped lips a shine and touch of pink! www.sephora.com $9

Vaseline Lip Therapy in Cherry is time tested and FAB for $1.99 at Drugstores.

Green by Nature Lip Shine gives you a shine with a peppermint-oil glaze which leaves your breath smelling FAB too! For $9.99, A 2-fer!! www.greenbynaturebeauty.com

Happy Halloween!!
Love, P