The Smiley Lady Blog

I just had to take a break from all of my prep work for a little bit of silliness. Please scroll down for video.

I am in full-on prep mode for my upcoming trip as a volunteer on a medical mission with Operation Smile. I leave in a little less than a month and it will be a month of collecting and making things to bring to entertain the kids at the hospital. I want to tell you a story of […]

There’s just been so much going on I’ve hardly had time to write a blog post! The big news is that I’m off to the Philippines in June for another Medical Mission with Operation Smile. We’ll be going to communities ravaged by Typhoon Yolanda.  Just typing Yolanda made me smile. Years ago I found a […]

In the category of what’s up, I am thrilled to say the taping of the Dr. Phil Show is over for the season. As many of you know I was asked to be on a team of people who receive the live feed of the show as it is taped and contribute comments via Twitter […]

I recently spoke at a group called Sunday Assembly. It’s a church without rekigion–all the fellowship, community service, loving support, and lessons about living a good and decent life–just no religion. The idea is that it is open to everyone seeking a loving, supportive community. It is not anti-religion, just without religion. Everyone, from every background, is […]

I was recently seated at a café, where two moms with young kids were seated at a neighboring table. I heard one mom make a snarky-remarky about a mutual friend. While mocking the absent woman for being a hovering mom, she simultaneously opened her 3 year old’s lunch bag and each of its individually wrapped […]

Last week I did a presentation about Happiness for the Silicon Valley Sunday Assembly.  If you are unfamiliar with Sunday Assembly, I humbly suggest that you look it up. It’s just like church, but just without religion. That way everyone is welcome and no one feels like an outsider. It is not anti-religion, rather religion […]

What a week I’ve just had. Over the last few years I have embraced social media and I can honestly say it has embraced me back. This week I was invited to LA for Oscars Week. The events included panel discussion by members of the Academy, private movie screenings, cocktail parties in gowns and rhinestones, […]

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

In additional to a lot of other goofy holidays, today is Hippo Day. Long ago, they had a hippo at the Oakland Petting Zoo (no lying). It would open its mouth and following the zookeeper’s instructions, you could stroke its gums. To this hippo, this seems akin to rubbing a dog’s belly or a cat’s […]