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Skype ya later

This is me and my friend Gina, circa 1999.

We improved with age, I promise.

Anyway, Gina and I met on the first day of college. We lived across the hall from each other. For the three years after that, we always lived within about 10 yards from one another. That was 14 years ago.

For the last 11 years, though, we haven’t lived in the same state. Right now, we live about 6 hours apart.

Fortunately, we’ve never been closer.

We’re always texting, emailing or skyping. It’s the only way I’ve seen her son! It’s sad but true – he’s six months old and I’ve yet to see him in person. I feel close to him, though, because I can see him on Skype.

I’ve been using Skype for a while, but I recently upgraded to a premium account. One of the coolest things about the upgrade is the ability to have group video chat. That way, Gina and I can keep in touch not just with each other, but with both all of our college friends.

It definitely beats the AIM we used to use back in our college days.

Gina and I had one conversation on Skype that I’ll never forget. It was on Inauguration Day in 2009. I was home sick from work (really, I was sick, I swear!) and she was somewhere she couldn’t watch Barack Obama being sworn in as president… so, we Skyped, and I held the computer up to my television screen, so she could see it. It was a historic day, and I’m glad we got to share it – even from a few states away!

Plus, the headset makes me feel super cool.

How many embarrassing pictures of myself can I put in one post?

How do YOU use Skype to build deeper connections with your friends and families?

It’s time to say more and stay human. It’s time for Skype.

**********

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Skype via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Skype.

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Lands’ End – It’s In the Bag

How many of you are headed to the beach this summer?

Yeah, me neither. I’m rather depressed about it. But that will not stop me from getting some relaxation in where I can – and to me there is nothing, nothing, more relaxing than laying on the beach (or just in the sun pretending to be on the beach) with a good book.

Lands’ End encouraging women to think about what’s in their beach bags. They have partnered with Random House and New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer to offer women the best in beach essentials – including a Nancy’s new book and great totes to carry it all.

I have my bag packed and ready to go. To the pool. But that’ll do!

Lands’ End has everything you need for your beach bag (including the bag itself!) – even Lands’ End nail polish by Zoya. For real. Lands’ End nail polish. Kate is currently sporting the “Tracie” color (green), in support of her swim team The Gators. Check out the Lands’ End webpage. You can also win a ready-for-the-beach bag filled with fun stuff at iVillage.

In addition to books and beach towels, this year I’ve added something new to my beach bag – a sun hat. For years my scalp has gotten sunburned over and over again, and I’ve finally decided to try to prevent that from happening. So, hat it is!

What’s in YOUR beach bag?

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Jenny Rapson DDS

As it turns out, Jenny was right all along.

Yesterday I returned to the dentist’s office because I couldn’t take the pain any longer. As he prepared to do a root canal, I mentioned one last time that my gum was sore and that I had felt something sharp. He stopped what he was doing, did some poking around, and what do you know…

He pulled a piece of my bone right out.

Evidently a little bone chip had been floating around in my mouth since I’d had my wisdom teeth extracted circa 1999. It had just taken 13 years for it to make its way to the surface.

So, with that out, we decided to wait on the root canal (or, as the dentist now suspects will eventually be necessary, extraction) because the root of my tooth is for sure dead, but it may not have been the source of my pain.

Based on the last 12 hours? I think issue is solved.

I should have just let Jenny pull it out 10 days ago!

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