— by Diane Andreoni At fifty-two I met my lifelong love, Tino. We spent three years together before deciding to tie-the-knot. It’s our second (and last) marriage. He’s my “happily ever after” guy. Before meeting Tino I had a variety of dating and relationship experiences that taught me many valuable…

The art of losing control…..and loving it! —by Diane Andreoni “Art is coming face to face with yourself.” — Jackson Pollock It’s 3:00 a.m. and I’m wide awake, AGAIN! I’ve been experiencing interrupted sleep a lot lately. I’ll be sound asleep, then my eyes will suddenly open, and just like…

Meet my mistaaas—my father, furbaby and fireman. On Valentine’s Day, I think about the people I love. Like the women in my “Sisterhood,” my best girlfriends and sister; they’re the gals in my life that give me unconditional love, support and friendship – they’re my sistaaas! But, who are the…

A love story by Diane Andreoni “Before you get a dog, you can’t quite imagine what living with one might be like; afterward, you can’t imagine living any other way.” -Caroline Knapp- When I was a kid I never had a dog. My family did have a pet kitten for…

my sister whose eyes were black as coal and as bright as a child’s whose beautiful smile presented itself behind a wavering lip whose mind was that of an artist which saw life too clearly whose heart was filled with love and felt it too dearly whose soul grew weak …

Memories with mom. Some of the best child-hood memories I have with my mom are of the road-trips our family took out west during summer vacations. My dad was the designated driver and my mom the fearless camp leader. We had a Buick station wagon with three seats. The third…

Life Lesson # 1 “Give yourself a breast exam. It could save your life.” I was one of those people that got yearly mammograms for early breast cancer detection. Thinking these annual check-ups were good enough, I rarely gave myself a breast exam. But two and a half years ago…

After attending the Social Media Strategies Summit in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, an idea rose to the top for me: in order for brands to be relevant to people in today’s socially focused world, they need to be authentic. To do this they should understand who they are…

Marketers often rely on storytelling to connect with people emotionally. But think about how boring a story would be without the power of music. Music amplifies emotion in a brand’s story. It emotionally moves people. So this is another way a brand can tap into consumers’ values. I have a…