Sorry if this is a repeat

I already posted the following but it's not showing up, so it here it comes again:

What a gorgeous day in Charlotte, North Carolina! About 72 degrees at the warmest. Crisp, and cool, sunny, lovely, lovely, lovely day. Started out late morning with a photo shoot of Mark Durham and his family. Mark is a well know painter in town who does a lot of pet portraits. He has a vibrant, colorful, unmistakable style. He was kind enough to allow me and Angus Lamond, the photographer, to capture shots of himself, 3-month old Mara and his wife Laurel, along with their dog and 2 cats.

I then went down to the The Dog Salon on Central to join in Walk The Wag, their fundraiser for The Humane Society of Charlotte, but...It was already over! I thought it would be an all day festival. Oh well. Next year. I did end up taking some photographs of the owners, Wes and Dave, their friend Robert and their dogs Joey and Scrappy. Scrappy was just rescued on Monday and he's adjusting well to his new environment. That's him and Joey cuddling together on the mat. I didn't realize until I looked at the photos that Joey's nails were painted! Oh the joys of being the dog of owners of a dog grooming salon!

After that I headed up the street to Plaza Midwood to look for some lunch. I ended up at Thomas City Tavern (I think it's called). I ended up eating a flounder Po-boy sandwich. Fried fish in a roll. How Southern is that? How fat am I going to be if I keep eating that kind of stuff?

Then I stopped by Green Rice Gallery to pick up a painting that I had bought. While I was there I met a young lady named Nadine. She's bartending at Cans (a new pub) and just really inspired me. She's a total free spirit, lives her life to the utmost. She made me feel that I could just sell all my "stuff" and travel to some exotic place. And the truth is, I could do that.... It's just not my personality. I'm the kind of person that needs the security of "stuff" and a clean bathroom. Pitiful.

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.

New Direction

In answer to Emma's post:

I totally forgot that I was going to "announce" the new direction for The MECK. I gave it a lot of thought over the weekend and conferred with some friends. My decision is to focus on the over 40 crowd. It's a great target demographic for advertisers and it helps me define the type of articles for the magazine. The beauty of being over 40 is that it's almost like starting over. Even though this nation is obsessed with youth and keeps talking about obesity, the people I meet, my "peers", seem like they're in the prime of their lives. They're active, they're connected, and they’re excited about their lives. If they have kids, the kids are on their way out the door or gone, opening up all kinds of opportunities for travel and exploration without worrying about the "kids". I'm very excited about this new direction. I've already spoken with various writers to make sure that the articles that appear in The MECK are geared more toward that age group.

Now even though we're changing, I will guaranty that we will continue to be an upbeat, positive magazine. Life is hard enough. I want my publications to enhance your day, not mire you down in gloom and doom. I want your reading experience with The MECK to be fulfilling!

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.


P.S. - Photo of one of Laurie Smith's rescue poodles - Paris.

Not much to say

The weather was beautiful again today. In the 90's and barely a hint of humidity. I'm getting more sun in N.C. than I ever did in Cali. I'm smearing my body with sunscreen before I leave the house. I guess I was inside more in California, either at the office or on the weekends relaxing at home. Here I'm running around a lot during the day.

I'm attaching some photos of my niece's cat "Mini" who lives in Jerusalem. Note the beautiful stones in the apartment building where they live.

I'm also attaching some photos of Shani (my niece) from when she visited me in Los Angeles with her mother in celebration of her bat mitzvah. One is my old backyard in Reseda where she's petting my baby boy, Sam. I guess my house might look kind of crappy, but I do miss it. Avocado trees, lemon, orange, guava..... Ah, the good things about California.

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.

It's Almost Monday and I'm Not Ready!

Saturday was so busy! The weather turned nasty early Saturday morning, with rain, thunder and lightening. It cleared up in the morning and then decided to storm again. From what I heard later, the Bark in the Park organizers told the vendors that if it didn't clear up by 11, everyone should go home, and LO AND BEHOLD, it cleared up! It turned out to be a really fun event and hats off the Meck Parks and Rec. They really did a great job. (Kisses Lori and Wendy.) I'm sure the turn out wasn't close to what they expected but a lot of people showed up, with dogs, small, medium, large and Gigantic! I counted 5 Great Danes and one Irish Wolfhound. It appeared that most of the dogs were well behaved. I only saw one pile of poop, so I don't know how they pulled that off, but all in all, a good day. I was supposed to help the stage manager, and it turned out that my friend Ashley Nordan was doing the same job, but there wasn't much they needed from us so we socialized with the pet owners a lot. I got up on stage and made an announcement about Cats & Dogs of Charlotte magazine and the launch party. I was a nervous wreck before, but once I started speaking a rambled on for a good bit. I guess we're all hams at heart.

After the all day event in McAlpine Park I ran home to shower and change and went to the Indian Dance Festival at CPCC on Elizabeth. Of course it starting pouring rain again as I walked from the parking to the theater. I missed most of the dance but what I saw was beautiful. The dance, the music and the costumes transport you to another world. Bina Bhojwani was honored for a contribution she made to help build the new stage. Afterward, the Bhojwani's gave a dinner for invited guests. The food was fantastic. Spicy!

I'm attaching photos from both events.

On Sunday I spoke to every friend and family member, I have, West Coast, East Coast and in-between, and of course Israel, and asked them to help me become more specific about the direction of The MECK. Well, I think we did it! I'm actually pretty excited, but - you'll have to wait for another blog for that announcement!

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.

Checking In

Been so extremely busy. Cats & Dogs has made a big splash. I feel really blessed. Somehow I hit on a good formula. Tomorrow's a big day. Bark in the Park, except it looks like it's going to rain. And then off to Central Piedmont CPCC for the Indian Dance show. After I think there's a dinner. And, if I can stand up after that, I'm going down to Noda to Dog Bar.

My niece in Israel sent me a photo of her dog "Motek" (which means 'sweetie'). I can't tell what kind he is. Hopefully she'll write in. He reminds me a little of the Bedouin dog but I don't think that's what he is. Netta's mother, my sister, lives in the desert in Israel. You can see how barren it is where the dog is sitting.

BY THE WAY, if anyone wants to send in photos of your pets (but only Cats & Dogs, sorry), please do. We'll start a little pet corner in the magazine. Just go into images and save it at high res at 300 dpi. Make sure you give the pet's name, breed (if any), of course your name and any other pertinent info you want to share.

My web guy (time for a plug: Michael Owens, CheyCom.com) said that we're getting more and more traffic to the websites and people are linking us into their sites! How cool is that?

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.

Owls - Good Luck or...?

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=yg1y2np.74dyn5dl&x=0&y=-1to4h2

See if you can link to my roommates link here. He took some awesome shots of the parent owl, and...a baby! It's all beautiful and nature in its glory, but my poor little cat is confined indoors now. Yesterday my cat and the parent owl were having a stare down (cat on the ground, owl on a very low branch). I scared off the owl and then noticed that another one was there too. When I looked over to where the second (the mother?) had flown away to I noticed the baby on a low branch. Awesome, but if my cat gets in the middle of this nature drama I'd never forgive myself. My friend Laurie said that owls are a sign of good luck.

Another bomb in Tel Aviv. Another anxious moment until I found out that my family was safe. And then the grief for the wounded and the family of the victims. STOP IT! This is just insane. Look at this beautiful world we live in. There's no reason to kill innocents. Okay, I'm not getting into it. Just know that one of the reason I do "happy" "escapism" publications is to try and negate this kind of insanity.

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.

It's Getting Hot!

The thermometer’s inching up to the low 90's in Charlotte. It's humid but in a nice, enveloping kind of way. Gentle. None of the brutal stuff that's sure to come! Had an interesting weekend. Went to a meeting of the Carolinas Asian Heritage Association on Saturday. I've volunteered on the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Project which consists of a statute of Gandhi to be dedicated at its post in Uptown on Tryon and 5th. This will happen sometime later this year, with a host of celebrations tying into the event. I jumped at the chance to be a part of this project. The moment I heard the name "Gandhi" I knew I had to be involved. At the meeting I was thrilled to hear that the idea behind the statute is to celebrate the universality of Gandhi's messages.

I dragged my roommate Gary, who is from India, to the meeting. He's jumping on board too. If anyone else is interested in helping, please email me. We most definitely need an attorney to jump on board, but there will be all kinds of ways to be involved from the grounds up planning, to working on the day of the event by driving a dignitary or helping out at the festival.

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.

Happy Passover and Joyous Easter!

Happy Passover and Joyous Easter!

Happy Passover and Happy Easter! I was at a beautiful Passover dinner last night with Alan Hersh and his mother. They worked hard all day to prepare a wonderful feast. And when it was done Malory (age 10) and I (age…don’t ask)) watched American Idol for half an hour. Great night! All bases covered. Communed with God, watched American Idol, went home with potato kugel and haroset. Yum.

What a week it's been! The MECK Spring Edition and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte (first edition!) both came out. The reaction to Cats & Dogs has been insane. EVERYBODY loves it! It's like I struck some nerve with "the people". I got 3 calls from advertisers yesterday inquiring about placing ads and prices. On top of that everyone who sees it wants it and goes crazy over it. I heard from the Mayor's office that he liked it. That was a great feeling. Now, I only have to get Fantasia for the Summer cover and we're a guaranteed success!

I finally saw, and photographed, one of the owls that occupies the trees in my back yard and my neighbors’ back yards.

Also, went by the Humane Society and they had the cutest kittens (see photos). They'll be ready for adoption in 2 weeks, and the puppy in the photo is ready for adoption now. The Humane Society's # is: 704-377-0534. If you love cats and/or dogs, please look into adoption/rescue. It's a wonderful thing to do.

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.

Keep on Posting!

My friend Mel said to keep posting on my blog and, surely, someone will respond to it! She said it was all about consistency. Where is everybody?! I feel so unloved.

My magazines, The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte, arrived early! They were supposed to arrive Monday but I received them on Friday. They look great! If by chance someone reads this blog we'll have the electronic versions of the magazines up and running in about a week. You can find them at www.TheMeck.net and www.CatsAndDogsOfCharlotte.com.

The weather in Charlotte was kind of strange today. Very overcast and slightly breezy. It rained lightly. It kept feeling like it was going to develop into a storm, but it never did. I met Mel today at the new Ballantye Village for lunch. We ate at Villa Antonio. Very kind of upscale and yet still down-home, if that makes any sense. One of the first restaurants I ate at in Charlotte was the old Villa Antonio on South Boulevard, so I have fond memories of anything Villa Antonio related.

The complex at the Village is still waiting for final tenants to move in, but when completed it's going to be as nice as Philips Place. It has a beautiful movie theater, Ballantyne Village Theatre, that only shows independent films. How cool is that? The theater is on the third floor and then when you enter it's in a glass tower like setting with another set of stairs. I was chatting with some of the employees and one of the girls said, "We need to advertise so people know about us", to which I replied, "Funny you should mention advertising. I'm a new publisher in town. Who do I speak to about advertising...?" Keep your fingers crossed. I would love to have them as a client. There's a lot of fun shops there. Also, Alex Myrick, the owner of Blue has opened his new restaurant, Table, in the complex. I want to do a business profile on Alex for the summer edition of The MECK. While chatting with him I found out that he's a Charlotte native.

Well, lots of work to do before I hit the ground running on Monday. I must sell ads. I must sell ads!!!

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.

I've been very concentrated on doing work on the computer and I still feel very behind. I'm trying to cram in as much busy work now before the magazines are delivered on Monday and I have to start distribution and sales meetings. I feel like I'm not making any progress. I can't wait to get the magazines.

I attended the "For Sisters Only" on Sunday at the Convention Center. It was fun but I think they could get a little more variety in the vendors. I think the best thing about the event was that you could hear some popular musicians/singers for just one price. The audience was excited to see KRS 1, Nick Cannon, Avant, and lots more. It was good to see so many participants in the event too. It looked like they had a good turn out.

I did my first rescue assist. I transported Honey (see photo) from the vet's office back to Top Honors in Waxhaw where she is being boarded for free. She's been there since December. She was rescued after giving birth in an ice storm. All the puppies have been found homes and now that Honey has been treated for Heartworm and spayed, it's time to find her a family. She's a very sweet, low key dog.

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.

Beautiful Spring Weekend

I went to the Carolinas Asian-American Chamber of Commerce, (www.caacc.com) on Thursday night. We met at Dynasty Buffet in Matthews. I made a pig of myself! I had all kinds of seafood imaginable and sushi and it was just embarrassing. I just couldn't be ladylike with all that good food. The restaurant is owned by Tan Lam and it's very beautiful, and the food was outstanding.

I really enjoyed meeting this group of Asian Americans. There were probably 30 people who attended and it was a very intimate and friendly meeting. The attendees were originally from China, Japan, the Philippines and India. I also volunteered to work on a committee for the Charlotte Asian Heritage Association on the Gandhi Memorial Project. The statute is supposed to be installed this June at 5th and Tryon. I have been wanting to volunteer to something, and of course I'll always work with the cat and dog rescues, but when I heard Gandhi's name mentioned, I was compelled to be involved.

The weather continues to be exquisite. The giant bumble bees keep bumping into my window in the office and my car was smothered in yellow pollen, but it's still just amazing to experience spring again.

Well, got to go. For Sisters Only is in town and my friend and I are going to an after party, VIP list and all. (Thank you Mel.)

Until next time, I remain, Sara Abrams, your faithful publishing magnate, founder of the next publishing empire, with two magazines to-date: The MECK and Cats & Dogs of Charlotte. Articles accepted, ADS REQUESTED, please keep in touch.