I’m brain-dead. The last few weeks I have had my blog posts pre-written and pre-published, but last week I just kept staring at the screen. Nothing. Nothing comes to mind.

Maybe because I have so much to grade and prepare for my classes.

Maybe because I am giving a presentation in Tampa in four weeks that I’m not prepared for.

Maybe because I am in the middle of memorizing my TED-talk.

The TED-talk thing is a huge leap for me, and I’m happy to share this with you. I love speaking at my national conferences, but being on a global stage is another animal completely. I’m looking to bring in 1.6 million views for my talk within two years. Where I got that random number is a story for another time. On to more immediate problems:

What to wear? When you’re 5’2, unless you’re very very petite, you run the risk of looking like a snausage on stage if you’re not careful.

And although the TED-team has not officially announced the title of my talk yet (yes, they are the ones who do that), nor posted the link announcing me on the speaker panel yet (I’ll share this when I get it), the talk will be about the power of widowhood.

So what to wear to look powerful?

Black is out. I’m not interested in looking like I’m grieving, and black makes TED speakers look like floating heads.

Red, while powerful, is supposedly too intimidating, especially on stage

White? Virginal, and out.

Purple? Yeah, the color symbol for victory, but Hillary Clinton ruined purple for me forever when she gritted her teeth through her concession speech, dressed in a purple suit.

I’m down to jade or emerald green, plum, or cobalt blue. Jewel tones. I want to be noticed. And should I wear a dress? A skirt? A suit? No, not a suit, my twins killed my waist. I used to have the cutest, tiniest waist.

Oi. Thanks for listening. I have papers to grade.