I believe there are two groups of people; those who like to live with a fire extinguisher on each hip and those who don’t.  I fall into the don’t category.  I like to avoid those last minute fires whenever possible.

I figure life hands us enough twists and turns that can’t be prevented.  I am sure as heck not going to add any fuel to the fire by being unorganized.  But lately it seems I have been surrounded by the friggin fire department!

One last minute challenge after another keeps popping up and smoldering, many of which could have been prevented with a bit of organization and communication.

Good thing this don’t has a sense of humor and an extra bucket around just in case.

Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®

The heat is on so I braved my first trip to the local pool.  Ladies what is the deal?  More and more of us gals are starting to wonder out loud why it is okay for men to walk around like Sasquatch while women get dirty looks if we show up with a tiny bit of stubble on our legs.

We are expected to fight nature and wax, shave, tweeze and otherwise electronically torture ourselves into sleek hairless creatures.  Why is their hair okay and our hair somehow unacceptable?

I am getting simply fed up with this notion of demanding increasingly less and less hair on women while men get to wander around perfectly comfortable with their five o’clock shadows, their Andy Rooney-like eye brows and their hairy backs!

My friend, who shall remain nameless—okay it was Doug—told me that he thinks women should all be getting Brazilian waxes.Oh really? Ladies, lets start suggesting all men get the Guyzilian wax!  A past issue of Men’s Journal says this is a sign of the apocalypse—well guess what guys—we thought the same thing when mandatory Brazilian waxing became trendy!

When I went to Europe much to my delight I discovered that women there were lounging at the beach eating carbs, avoiding razors and enjoying themselves! Hmmm… I think they are on to something!

They say all fashion is cyclical. So when is that full length swimming suit
coming back?

Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®

I would like to publicly apologize to my Dad.  You see back in the day, when I was growing up, I used to think it was down right cruel of my father to hide his stash of Pepsi from his kids—especially me!

He had gone so far at one point he actually started locking his favorite cereal and candy in a drawer in his filing cabinet.  At the time I thought it bordered on child abuse.  Now I think it was nothing short of the desperate act of a man simply trying to enjoy a cold soda.

Fast forward a few decades to my own desperate acts as a parent and you will find my own stashes hidden now too.  Just the other day I literally laughed out loud as I reached for my stash of chocolate, popcorn and Diet Dr. Pepper.  My Dad would be so proud.  My hiding place not only has a lock—but a fridge!

You taught me well old man!

Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®

The topic of sex came up with a group of friends discussing what was too racy or offensive to put in a gift book.   The conversation made me once again grateful that the religion of my youth didn’t “take” and I was not only able to avoid a temple recommend but keep my libido!

It seems many, many women are struggling with the messages of their chaste upbringing and the desire to now have fulfilling sex lives with their husbands.

I had a friend who went to Catholic school and the nuns made sure that impure thoughts were beaten out of them – sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally … with a ruler.

When another friend finally met the man of her dreams and got married, years of chastity training left lasting impressions. She adores her husband, but still finds it difficult to really enjoy sex.  Her inhibitions make her anxious and nervous. What is natural to him seems distasteful to her.  It’s not easy to transform from being the “good girl’” to the passionate woman.

How on earth are women who are taught to treat their bodies as temples supposed to transform into sex vixens overnight once they cross the threshold of holy matrimony?

“Sex is dirty – save it for someone you love.” That pretty much sums up the mixed messages many girls receive. Talk about confusing!  What can Mother’s who are raising daughters now do to make sure they enjoy sex later?

According to Dr. Laura Berman, the talk shouldn’t only be about being moral and STD prevention and pregnancy. It’s also about empowerment—and Dr. Berman says the conversation needs to include pleasure. “You don’t want her to have sex right now. … But you eventually want her to have a fulfilling, happy, loving, intimate sex life,” she says. “When the time comes, she’s that much more likely to make those healthy decisions since she feels good about who she is as a sexual person and not just give away that gift to anybody—the first time or any time.”

As for adults, perhaps its time to leave the mixed messages behind and follow the sentiment of Mae West who famously said, “When I’m good I’m very, very good but when I’m bad I’m better.”

Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®

My favorite holiday tradition is getting new pajamas on Christmas Eve.  When I was a kid I loved getting the pj’s with feet in them!    I looked forward to opening up every Christmas Eve what in our home was called a “zoot suit”.

Last year I thought it would be fun if my family had the pleasure of getting zoot suits on Christmas Eve.  I couldn’t stop laughing, but oddly my kids didn’t seem to think pajamas with feet in them were so great!  Imagine that, my adult kids not loving these!   Oh well, this picture of me and Harlie and our feety pajamas still makes me smile.

I hope your holidays bring you laughter, happy memories, and the magic of the season!

Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®

I have always been the one to say age is only a number.   My birthdays have never mattered to me.  I have decided that it isn’t actually my birthday but rather my kid’s birthdays that have started making me feel old.

I had managed, thus far, without much fuss to have several birthdays, crossing the threshold of four decades just fine.  However, as my children cross into their second decade, for some reason now the birthdays are starting to hit me—their birthdays!

Well after over two decades of the proverbial kids blaming everything on the parents, I get to blame something on them for a change—it’s their fault I am starting to feel old!   Ha!

My Dad always laughs and says; “I don’t understand how I can have kids turning 50 when I am only 49!”  His favorite joke is finally starting to make sense to me.

Let them eat cake!

Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®

Maybe it was the email from my sister wondering if I thought she could get the $8,000 tax credit for a bunker instead of a house—such have been her trials and tribulations lately—she wanted to hunker down until it was all over. Maybe it was the sense that so many of us feel like we have gone down the proverbial rabbit hole this year? Whatever the reason, I was inspired by Alice In Wonderland when it came time to dress up for Halloween this year!

So alas that was the theme for this years Spooky Golf foursome costume. As you can see our foursome includes Alice (yours truly), the Mad Hatter, (aka my hubby Jeff) and our friends Linda and Frank as the Queen of Hearts and the Rabbit.

The trick was getting Frank’s giant rabbit head into the golf cart. The treat was winning top prize at the Halloween Party for the third year in a row!

Happy Halloween!!!

Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®

I don’t golf.  But I have learned a trick to playing this devil of a game.

Once a year I join a sort of witness protection program and golf under the cover of darkness—and while wearing a disguise—at the annual Halloween Night Golf Costume Bash.

You see my husband is the club champion.  I on the other hand, am only good at chasing down the drink cart.   But when Halloween rolls around I treat my husband to my presence on the golf course.

Turns out, along with our friends Linda and Frank, we are a mighty foursome!   We have won best costume two years running now.  So pressure is on this year!

Last year we went as the Flintstones.  Now this is no small feat, when you consider you not only have to dress up, you have to decorate the golf cart too!   A shout out to my staff, always willing to help, who came through with flying colors and even whipped up a six foot tall Dino!

I would tell you what we have planned for this year, but surely the competition will find out and try to foil our plans.  So stay tuned to find out if we reign supreme again!

Happy Halloween!

Lisa Hammond
The Barefoot CEO ®