It’s the funniest thing. My cousin Mindy Siegel is in the promotions business and also the Fast Signs business in Colorado. We ordered green polar tech jackets for the entire staff with the HJMT logo on the pocket from her business. They came out great. That’s not the funny part….

The funny part is — every morning, we walk in to work, no matter what time of year — summer or winter, and we all put on these green jackets. It just reminds me of when Mister Rogers walked into his little studio house each morning and sang:

It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?…

It’s a neighborly day in this beauty wood,
A neighborly day for a beauty.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?…

I’ve always wanted to have a neighbor just like you.
I’ve always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you.

So, let’s make the most of this beautiful day.
Since we’re together we might as well say:
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won’t you be my neighbor?
Won’t you please,
Won’t you please?
Please won’t you be my neighbor?

Just some food for thought to put a smile on your face! Have a great day!

Most people think their job is the hardest in America, no matter what the job. How do I know this? I love to talk with people. And people, no matter who they are, tell me their job is the hardest. I talk with the guys who work and clean the building in which HJMT resides in Westbury. I talk with an orthopedist who works in a small town. I talk with the local waitress in a Long Island diner. And, I talk with my clients. Everyone thinks that their job is the hardest, including me!

As a small business owner at HJMT and mother of two, I think I have the hardest job. But, then I watch the television show, “America’s Toughest Jobs,” and I know my job isn’t that hard! On the show, I’ve seen the contestants chop down trees, walk across bridges, fight bulls and even climb up a mountain peak! The object of the show is to be the one person who can do all of America’s toughest jobs and collect all the money from the jobs. The winner could now win more than $300K. (I think they would have to pay me a lot more than that to do some of those jobs!)

Even though I think I have the hardest job, I love my job. I don’t feel like it’s a job, I feel like it’s my life. There’s no greater feeling than to get an amazing placement for a client, like the one Allie Herzog placed the other day for the M&A Advisor on Bloomberg Television! Or, the placement Lisa Gordon made for Bed of Balls when the product appeared in First for Women Magazine! Or even organizing a massive special event like the upcoming SBPLI Gala that Ellen Heydt is organizing or the “Dancing with the Stars” Fundacion Event in which Stefanie Topper organized! It just feels good to help people achieve their goals!

Even though I think we have the hardest job in America, our job is so satisfying when we land that perfect placement, when we organize the flawless event, when we design the outstanding brochure or web site and when we help our clients viral market their product or service on the internet!

I feel like I live in a small town when it’s time for homecoming. In Long Beach, we have a huge parade. The band plays and everyone in the town marches to the Middle School.

At the Middle School, the football players play their game and at half time, the marching band practices for the Hofstra Marching Band competition this week. (For those of you not going, the Long Beach High School Band’s theme is Stevie Wonder.)

During the game, High School students have booths in the gymnasium to try to raise money for their High School clubs. There was a crepe booth for the Foreign Language Honor Society, a food booth for the African American club, and even a first aid booth for the Emergency Club!

The funniest booth was the “Pie in the Face” booth sponsored by Long Beach Model Congress. My daughter is on the Board and was one of the “pie” participants. Attendees purchased tickets and if they had six tickets to spare, they could throw a pie in the face of one of the board members. (For an additional two tickets, they had the opportunity to pie the advisers.)

As we walked away, spending $50 (because how could you not buy the cute Long Beach hat and Long Beach scarf from the PTA!), I had a smile on my face. I thought about the “pie in the face” booth and specifically one of the advisers who wore a raincoat. She had so much pie all over her, it was pretty funny….

Why do men have an infatuation with baseball? Why do men have an infatuation with most sports? I know plenty of women who are into baseball and other sports. But for some men, it’s a lifestyle decision.

Today, I decided to take the day off from work. It had been a 60 hour week in four days and I needed a break. I went out to lunch with my husband and when we arrived at Pizzaiola in Oceanside, we bumped into our friend Jimmy. He joined us for lunch.

After a conversation about the economy, the men started to talk about last night’s game when the Red Sox had a major comeback. I tuned out and looked at my Blackberry for emails, facebook or plaxo messages.

Although women are also into baseball, we just don’t sit and talk about the game like men do. If a women asked me if I saw the game last night, I would probably reply, “what game?”

“You know the world series is this Monday,” my son says to me.

And as he says this, I’m wondering if I will see anything other than baseball this week. My son tells me that the teams will be either the Phillies against either the Red Sox or the Rays. I guess I’ll find out soon enough…

In the meantime, there is no television on at this moment, and yet, the talk is all about baseball. My husband and son are playing Strat-O-Matic Baseball and all I hear is “runner advances two spaces,” or “you just got an out,” or “I just scored a home run!”

This is it…. Another week of baseball…. and then…. it’s football season!

Yesterday we had our weekly staff meeting. Typically, we talk about housekeeping, administrative issues and we also brainstorm about our clients and talk about ways to get them as much exposure and visibility as possible. At the meetings, whoever is in the Westbury office sits around the conference table, while everyone else who is either located in Rochester or Manhattan are on the phone.

While we were goal setting for the upcoming month, a UPS delivery person walks in with a package. It looked like it was someone’s birthday. My first reaction was fear. OMG, did I forget someone’s birthday? (That’s pet peeve of mine. I like to give out little gifts to the staff when their birthdays come around.)

Mike Kytoski ran out to sign for the package. When he walked in, his face was all red. “Allie, it’s for you,” he said. “Happy 5 month anniversary.”

Allie Herzog’s face was even reader when she saw what it was….. a HUGE chocolate chip cookie that had the words, “Happy 5 month Anniversary Al,” on it. Her boyfriend sent it to her.

We all laughed. It was very sweet of her boyfriend and the timing could not have been more perfect!