Jack and I just celebrated our 10th Gotcha Day, recognizing the lucky day we came into each other’s lives. I don’t know his real birthday, but it doesn’t matter. Our time together is what matters most to me. I wasn’t officially looking for a dog when Jack appeared. I had just lost three dogs to old age over a nine-month period and was going through a significant life change. I was heartbroken and didn’t quite know what my reinvention would look like. I decided the last thing I needed right then was to be responsible for another living being, especially when I was struggling with my own life ..read more

Thanks to these side-gig experts agreeing to be on our Get Your Side Gig On! Panel Discussion on March 27, 2024, at Flying Pig Improv, 3203 E. Douglas Ave. in Wichita, Kansas. About the event: Looking for ways to add some extra income to your life? Whether they work to add a little disposable income to their piggy banks or depend on the extra income to pay their bills, 45% of Americans work some kind of side job to make more money on top of their main source of income. Once upon a time, people had to take part-time jobs to bring in extra money, but now, thanks to the Internet, the possibilitie ..read more

My friends, Women and their families are suffering right now across Kansas. The saddest part of their agony is that it is entirely unnecessary and avoidable. They’re suffering because they don’t have access to affordable health care that they need for themselves and their families to survive and thrive. Without this health care help, families aren’t able to afford the preventive testing needed to stay on top of medical conditions, pay for expensive medications, get care for mental health issues, and other life-saving care. People are dying because this issue is not being addressed. The proble ..read more

Silence is powerful. Knowing how to use silence as a tool is so essential that it has become a recurring theme in several of my Finishing School for Modern Women classes. In negotiations, silence can help you get what you want. In selling, knowing when to zip a lip can help you close the sale and save you from coming off as a sleazy salesperson. In tough conversations and speaking with power, clamming up can save relationships and potentially keep you out of danger. At times, silence is the best answer to give. As a teacher and speaker, I use silence like punctuation. Taking a big pause befor ..read more

Thanks to our Swag Bag and Door Prize sponsors! Their generosity made our event even more fun! Click on the logos to learn more about these Badass businesses! Looking for a job? Optometric Billing Solutions offers special advantages to Badass Women of Wichita Alliance supporters. Learn more here! Thanks to Johnathan Wesley Design for taking our swag bags over the top with a bottle of Merlot for each attendee. We had a blast having our pictures taken with Lamphouse Photo Selfie Booth! The 7th Floor Sky Lounge at ReNew was an amazing setting for our fabulous Badass Galentine's Day Party ..read more

Thanks to these brave men for agreeing to be on our Ask a Man Panel Discussion on February 28, 2024, at Flying Pig Improv, 3203 E. Douglas Ave. in Wichita, Kansas. About the event: What if you had a better understanding of how men think? It is a scientific fact that women's and men’s brains are different chemically and structurally and work differently when processing information.  In this lively panel discussion with four men of diverse backgrounds, we’ll peek into the private minds of men to discover what they wish women knew about them and have the opportunity to anonymously ask them a ..read more

Thanks to these panelists for agreeing to be on our The Lies We’ve Been Fed: Making Peace with Food and Figure Panel Discussion on January 31, 2024, at Flying Pig Improv, 3203 E. Douglas Ave. in Wichita, Kansas. About the event: Is getting healthier on your list of resolutions again this year? Trying to make these changes is confusing when what we try isn’t sustainable, the messages we get from the media are contradictory, and our body image takes the hits. Eating disorders are on the rise, and the U. S. Weight Loss industry that brought in $160 billion in 2023 blames us for failing what ..read more

When we're young, we put most of our energy into becoming who we think we should be in the future. We build a life apart from our parents by working on our careers, building a family, creating a home, and all the other things we need to set ourselves up for what we hope will be a good life. We take clues about what it means to be successful based on what we see around us, usually making unreasonable comparisons of how we measure up to other people when we can only guess what their actual situation may be. As we get older, we start comparing what we used to do or be to where we are now, althou ..read more

Lately, I’ve noticed many small businesses in Wichita posting SOS messages, begging people to come and spend money with them. So many companies that are an essential part of our community are struggling right now. When people announce that their business is closing its doors, the funeral dirges begin. People lament the death of a company they wish they had supported. I believe that it’s essential to support local businesses every day. In 2012, I was inspired by an event in Buffalo, New York. Hearing their local hardware store was closing, a local blogger planned a Cash Mob, organizing an even ..read more

When it’s hard to get started getting the to-dos done, gravity feels heavier, and trying to do anything feels like slogging through molasses in slow motion. The to-do list takes on a life of its own with more items than is humanly possible to complete by overachieving self-imposed deadlines. The nasty, dreaded tasks grow into overpowering monsters with big, drippy fangs hanging over your shoulder and breathing their hot breath down your neck as you try to focus on clicking off just one simple task. Asking for help feels overwhelming since explaining all the details, and follow-up takes longer ..read more