QV...C You Later, Mom

When checking on my mom's house, I found an HSN (Home Shopping Network) package had been delivered to her. The betrayal of it all! I work on air for QVC. My mother is a turncoat, or should I say turnchannel. It appears shopping is thicker than blood. I'm officially up for adoption. Maybe HSN will sell daughters as their value of the day soon. Until then, she's fresh out.

Invisible Ink

Campaign management is consuming. Sometimes, I think my I'm being eaten alive. I'm operating in a very different world than I'm accustomed. It seems like I'm constantly making quick decisions and implementing instantly. As a writer, I'm used to contemplation and several drafts.

I've never worked harder for someone else and I'm frustrated that I don't have as much time to write. But I know that experience is integral to writing and I believe in my husband's candidacy. Living is my invisible ink. You just can't read it yet, but it will appear on paper soon.

The Politics of Writing

When she read my high school diary my mother justified her invasion of my privacy with, "If you write it, someone will read it." Having recovered from that early trauma, it's a logic that I live by today. Actually, as a professional writer, I pray for it.

I guess you could say I'm an open book. There are those rare times when I'm not sure I should share so much. My husband has just announced he is running for Congress. This might be one of those times.

His campaign began behind the scenes months ago. While I'm more likely to watch E! Entertainment than CNN, his political foray has been fascinating so far. I'm not sure it's prudent to document it. There's been more intrigue than one might imagine and I had a pretty good idea of what was in store.

Political pundit Chris Matthews is my uncle, whose show "Hardball" airs on MSNBC. Uncle Jim is our controversial county commissioner and my father is running for township commissioner. My younger brother Chris was the youngest director of communications on Capitol Hill under Senator Gordon Smith. Over the years, my mother has volunteered her public relations services to political campaigns. (Note to her candidates: hide your diaries.) In college, I was a member of the Young Republicans. My very first published writing was an editorial in defense of then Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork. You could say it is the family sport.

My husband did not grow up with dinner time debates. His was more of a "seen and not heard" household. He was instructed to work hard, do his best and make the world a better place. He has done that for 20 years as a dentist and the next logical step is public office where he can serve even more people. Being exposed to my crew may have given him a voice, but it's his core that makes him a good candidate.

Do they want a good candidate? Well that remains to be seen... and written about. Should I or shouldn't I? You tell me, folks.

Paper Trail

My name is Susan and I'm a magazine-aholic. I've admitted it. It's the first step. The second step is finding a responsible way to recycle my addiction and the massive amounts of paper I generate as a writer. Our township only picks up bottles and plastics. I just stumbled upon www.earth911.com and had to share its wonderfulness. I really am a writer. Type your zipcode into the appropriate box and they'll list tons of drop off sites and charities for virtually anything that is recyclable. Yeah!

Celebrity Sighting in Aisle 9

During my latest trip to the local grocery, the manager informed me that I was no longer their lead celebrity shopper. I can't say I was surprised. It's really not that hard to outshine my not-so illustrious career - a TV commercial for a local radio station, QVC guest hosting and a not-yet (beginning to suspect never-to-be) released movie. I knew the day would come when my status would be usurped. But by who? Apparently, Jake Gyllenhaal and gal pal Reese Witherspoon have been hanging in my hood and needed some milk. By all accounts they were quite nice and posed for photos. The checkout guys will have something to talk about for months - maybe even years. Now I've got to up my game or find somewhere else to buy my bread.

Trust Your Gut

My cat may be smarter than me. In referring to whether someone is a nice person it is often said that "animals and kids know." Animals rely on their instincts for survival while people tend to dismiss those impulses in favor of logical reasoning.

I recently read that our brains process so much information so quickly that our conscious minds can’t keep up. Our instinctive reactions are based on the accumulated knowledge – not vague or unrelated emotions. It turns out that when we trust our gut, we are really trusting our brain.

You may have seen Gavin De Becker, an FBI profiler, on Oprah over the years. He has built a career and written two books on the subject of trusting our instincts in order to protect ourselves. "The Gift of Fear" and "Protecting the Gift: Keeping our Children and Teenagers Safe" should be required reading for parents. The situations he illustrates are scary, but his advice is practical. While you may never get mugged, chances are your child may get lost in a store at some point.

While safety is most important, this information can be applied across the board in business, everyday decisions and relationships. Embrace your instincts.

I'd love to hear about your instinct experiences. Please share with a comment.

Stop to Smell the Writing

Whoosh. Where did a month go? My husband's Congressional campaign consumed the month of July. I'm considering it time well spent in the pursuit of research. I know there is a juicy book in all this. But now it's time to find a better balance. Less political plotting and more story plotting is on my agenda for August. And my garden needs some serious work, too. Words and weeds here I come.