If you’re like many professionals, you get caught up in the day-to-day tasks while those big writing projects stay stuck on the one-day-some-day list. Here’s an idea: take a trip and spend a few days writing and working away from home and office. No distractions, no worries, no problemas.

I’m writing this from Mexico: I’m taking advantage of a long weekend for the U.S. 4th of July holiday. Since our home in Ajijic, Mexico is rented out, I’m staying at a lovely bed & breakfast across the street: Los Artistas.

With wireless connections greatly improved in some parts of Mexico, working remotely is no problem.  All  you need is a wireless laptop, a plane ticket , and someplace quiet to go to.

Most of Mexico is hot and humid during summer, and most beach resorts are noisy, crowded and expensive. Not so inland. Right in the middle of Mexico, on a 60-mile Lake Chapala, Ajijic is paradise.

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Once a week I indulge myself and share what’s really going on with my work and life. I kinda dislike those self-serving blogs that do this all the time. Here’s my life:

Got up to find one of the kitties tried to access helpctr.exe over a hundred times during the night. Dewey or Huey must have fallen asleep on the keyboard. Remind me to shut down at night so they don’t screw up things even more seriously.

I missed Tom Antion’s mentee rap session last night and get frustrated with myself when I do this. At 6 p.m. I’m in front of the TV watching a Law and Order rerun instead of soaking up Tom’s wisdom. For all the money we’re paying Tom, that is just not smart. Note to self: listen to audio.

I hate listening to podcasts on my iPod. I’d rather have music on. I find it really hard to pay attention to podcasts. So if I miss a teleseminar, chances are, the audio file will not do the trick. That’s just me. Denise does the podcast walk on the treadmill all the time.

Happy birthday, back! This is my 6 month recovery point from surgery. All 4 pins have stayed in place, and x-rays show I’m laying down new bone which will solidify and hold the pins.

I’m playing tennis every day now, and am getting back a little punch in my forehand.

Weekend plans with The Hubby: tennis, movies, tennis…the only new movie out we haven’t seen is of course Pirates. I’m a big Johnny Depp fan, although this isn’t the best use of his talents.

I don’t know about this personal sharing stuff… is it too boring? Should I make something up?

Oh! Almost forgot… Denise and I are in New York City next week for a book conference. I can’t decide whether to post a couple times here, invite a guest blogger, or just take a rest. If you’re a reader and you care, drop a line by clicking the comment link below.

Hope you have a fun Friday, and a great weekend!

There is a bronze mural on the side wall of the fire station at Ground Zero dedicated to the fallen heroes and those left standing. I couldn’t help but shed a few tears; it’s an eery feeling to remember the devastation and horror of 9/11.

Denise and I spent the day as tourists in Manhattan, and after a few solemn moments of reflection, returned to contributing to the economy at the Century 21 discount store – "NY’s best kept secret." Denise wore a step counter, and 8,000 steps later we returned to our trendy hotel.

The BlogHer Business conference was a big success, and I’ll share a few nuggets with you over on our Build a Better Blog. We had a blogger get together at the Champagne Flute, an old speakeasy, thanks to CK, of Marketing Prof’s book club last night. It’s so much fun to meet face-to-face with other fun bloggers.

I have many fond memories of NYC… when I was a fashion model and part of the party set! Now I’m just lucky to get back to the hotel without blisters. We’re having sunny days, but cold. There was even some snow piled on the ground down at the Seaport Exhibition Center, where we saw the Bodies exhibit.

Now that’s something to see… every imaginable part of the body dissected and dyed for easy viewing. What an education. The most beautiful parts were those of the blood vessel system, dye red, of course, and looking very much like sea anemone.

The most surprising was the brain and brain parts. As an avid student of the brain, I found it to be smaller than I expected. It’s quite small.

We’re skipping the theatre – too many loud musicals, not my cup of tea. Perhaps a quiet evening catching up with email and blogging instead. Hope you’re having a great weekend, be well.

An American woman stopped me the other day and asked if I wasn’t from The Blog Squad. I’m not kidding. Now Denise and I aren’t exactly famous, but our picture is on the Internet in many places. Turns out, Elliott Joachim is a fun person, who learned how to blog from our classes and reports. But I wasn’t really expecting to get noticed in Ajijic, Mexico…

I was so excited I posted about it over on Build a Better Blog.

One of life’s hiccups…I’m taking The Hubby back in to Guadalajara today. His 3-year heart attack anniversary revealed some funny exam results. The good news is that the angiogram procedure he will have today will reveal what’s really going on in his arteries. If needed, they will put in more stents and he will get another 10,000 mile warranty.

The cardiologist is excellent, and the hospitals are, well, hospitable. They let the family stay overnight with the patient, so I probably won’t be back online for a few days.

I’ve been deprived of Internet connectivity for the last 36 hours. And I didn’t die, although I felt severe frustration at not being able to stay in touch with clients and our new mentor group.

I’m working from our home in Ajijic, near Guadalajara, in Mexico this week. (That photo is our front door viewed from inside.) And even though we have high speed DSL connected to the house, and a Vonage U.S. phone number, the connection stopped all of a sudden. Nothing we did would help.

I did a bit of work from a cyber cafe yesterday. Then when we came home last night, we saw the three green lights on our router and fell to our knees. We’ve been saved!!! Finally we are connected again.

There is something strangely upsetting about not being online. I’m seeing a psychiatrist about this. Does anyone else have heart palpitations and severe anxiety when this happens? Or am I the only nut that can’t live without being connected…

It’s like this deep feeling of losing control over my destiny, like "they" are taking away my ability to work, manage my work flow, and stay in touch with my clients. "They" are the DSL gremlins who want to make my life miserable. I’m sure of it…