a stroke is no joke.

Failure to try is trying to fail and god knows...I'm trying! My new best friends are my therapists. Dolly and Annie work the legs...I've gone from wheelchair to walker to cane to" Look Mom no hands." And "Look Lydia...I'm dancing!" So maybe I don't shake it up as fast as I used to, but I'm getting there.

The left eye is slowly moving towards the center thanks to Danielle and her endless and unbelievably patient tracking sessions. At least now I can go out looking a little less like Clarence from Daktari. And thanks to Eileen I can now smile and the left side smiles with me.

Thruout all this my amazing clients stuck by my side. And I signed 6!!!!! new contracts from my hospital bed... all of them fully aware I was scheduled for upcoming brain surgery. Wow! And let me tell you, I don't know which was worse, not being able to pop open the bubbly to celebrate new clients or trying to hold a pen to sign the contracts! This year has been quite a journey, and not just for me but for the caretakers.

Peter who sat in my hospital rooms for days on end bringing his ever present sunshine and optimism, my mother who insisted on cooking every meal for three months to feed her old "baby", and Lydia, who managed to keep robin zingone® running smoothly and on deadline. So you see, with a team behind me like this...failure is just not an option.

And just remember...the next time you hear this you know I will be dancing!

different strokes for different folks.

Some people like to study french. Others prefer spanish. But while they were learning how to say " J'aime la langue française" or "El español es fácil", I was studying the language of medicine. "What are you opinions on gamma knife surgery?", "Is a cavernous hemangioma more difficult to get to on the left hand peduncle?" , "Does the 4th floor ventricle in the brainstem control breathing?", "Just how dangerous is this operation?"

September 2009. Slumped over Peter's legs for the five hour flight, we flew to Phoenix Arizona so I could have brainstem surgery. Yes, Arizona is really that hot...100 degrees and counting, but I was not going to be bothered by it as I was to spend the next two weeks in the air-conditioned hospital. After doing my homework from my hospital bed in New Haven, I was finally prepared for my surgery with the amazing Dr. Robert Spetzler. Woo hoo! Not only did I discover that he has done the most avm/cavernoma operations in THE WORLD!!!, (wow, that is alot) but he has designed (yes...another designer) his own tools, microscopes, and techniques! To make a long story short,

I had a successful brain surgery on September 24, 2009, (I wonder if I can I add this to my resume?) spent only one day in ICU, mmmmmmmmm morphine good, Robin like- and I am now at home recuperating with the help of my guardian angels...Danielle, Dolly, Annie and Eileen...occupational, physical and speech therapists.

lucky stroke.

The doorbell rang and Carolina brought me zinnias and a cd, "zingone zen". And then the doorbell rang again. And in came the flowers. And the food. And the emails. And the phone calls. And the food. And the get well cards. And the yoga pants. And the blow-up bozo to get my frustrations out on. And the food. And the body lotion. And the fruit bouquet. And the books on tape. And the 600 thread count sheets. And the food. And the handmade ceramic. And the fish crayon drawing. And the haircut and color. And the cosmetics. And the food...

You never really knows how unbelievable people can be until something like this happens, and so I take this moment to say thank you, thank you, thank you. And I love every one of you. And I will never, ever, ever forget your kindness.

three strokes and you are out.

Bada bing. Bada bing. Bada boom. July 2009. The rain had finally receded in connecticut, and all my friends were coming out to play. Had a few dinner parties, lots of laughing, lots of dancing, and then all of a sudden, my disobedient cavernoma decided to bleed and quadruple in size...lucky me. Not only did I take several ambulance rides to the hospital, but with every bleed I kept losing assets.

Lockjaw.(No more Katz's pastrami on rye) Frozen left face.(50% off botox for right side?) Left hand immobile. (Luckily I am right handed) No hearing in left ear. ( Does come in handy) No balance so no walking (Have wheelchair will travel). Crossed left eye (Guess I'm not renewing my passport this year) And then the strangest thing happened.
The inoperable part of my brain was suddenly going to be operable. And I needed to sign on for a surgery that was not necessarily going to fix what had already happened to me. And I was going to be at risk for paralysis, coma, blindness or death. Alrighty then. As you can imagine I did alot of crying. And then I started researching brainstem surgery. Cheryl emailed me info on an amazing hospital in Zurich, Nancy and Claudia found just about every hospital in the states with the best surgeons and every known technique, Billy checked out the rankings of every hospital and surgeon, Jane consulted with her friend the neurosurgeon, Peter and Lydia became google search junkies and then, finally, we found THE GUY.

stroke out.

I was just too busy playing with my colors, my patterns, my paint, my jewelry, my fashion magazines, my music and my art, to realize there was more brewing in my brain than just great ideas.

December 17th, 2008. Peter and I were celebrating the fact that we finished all of our work ahead of the holidays, and we were just going to chill. Steaks on the grill, a good bottle of cabernet, sauteed mushrooms and fresh
spinach...yummy. But the next morning when I woke up, I was a little off balance and I remember thinking "Wow...I had better quit drinking." I was sooooo wobbly!

Now for those of you that know me personally, I'm sure you are thinking she was always a dizzy dame...but 3 trips to the emergency room in one week qualified me as a '"certified dizzy dame". I was finally diagnosed at yale new haven hospital on christmas day. A cavernoma on my brainstem.Uuuuuuhhhhh...english please. What the heck is a cavernoma, and while you are at it, what is a brainstem? By the time I was discharged on new year's eve, I had double vision, no balance and don't let me forget the loveliest deficit...every time I slightly turned my head to the left, I threw up. Very charming.

The crazy thing about all this is that I had no surgical or medical options because my cavernoma was growing in an inoperable area of the brain. OK, so nothing to worry about, no decisions to make. And guess what. I didn't worry. And I had a miraculous recovery( with alot of help from my therapists). Within two months my eyesight was back, my balance returned along with the ability to turn my head without looking like Regan from The Exorcist.

So then what did I do? What any self-respecting over-acheiver would do. I designed new collections, went to NYC for the stationery show, met with fabulous clients, traveled to Las Vegas to exhibit, played on the boat, had a few dinner parties... Can you tell I am a type A? Well, Type B...coming at ya...

a stroke of genius.

This Christmas I was planning on celebrating the first year anniversary of my diagnosis and my miraculous recovery. But while chickpea was being adored and ellen was tweeting, while carol was boating and BJ was at squam lake,
while jane was making stunning jewelry and carolina was busy selling chicken littles, while caryn was shooting fabulous photos and monica was playing with her puppy, trish was busy sewing indie fashion, nate was creating the most amazing art, and amy was cooking up the yummiest creations ...I was busy having my second stroke.

Not the kind of stroke that happens when you eat too many greasy french fries.The kind of stroke that happens when your brain bleeds. So instead of merrily designing my new styleguides and perfecting my tan lines this summer, I was busy learning how to walk and to see (double vision) again.

Now I know life has its chapters, and you never know when that page is going to turn, but this is a chapter I am trying to get thru as quickly as possible...

green for a day.

lucky vicki hutto! "I am a dog lover too. I love your colors!!!" Send me your address vicki and your very own fifi will be the proud owner of my latest and greatest!

green doggy.

Get ready for your closeup Fifi! My absolutely adorable doggy photo album is the perfect venue for all of those precious pictures collecting dust in a shoebox or buried on your computer. Can't you just imagine whipping out this baby book at the dog park...Fifi under the christmas tree, Fifi playing with your shoe, Fifi catching a frisbee, Fifi chasing a butterfly, Fifi eating...well, you get it. And you know you will be the envy of all your canine loving friends. And Fifi will be the envy of Paris Hilton. And you are just dying to know where you can get one right now. And you cannot believe you could possibly win this in my new giveaway this month. Just send me a comment and I will find out how many dog lovers are out there. Keep your paws crossed...you could be the lucky winner!

glamorous green.

Attention fabulous fashionistas and glamorous glamazons. My latest and greatest has hit the shelves of Papyrus and this sexy silver tin is filled with the most fantabulous stickers. Slingbacks and sunglasses, champagne and chocolates, poodles and perfume. Just decorate the envelope of your credit card bill with the "gotta have it" sticker. The "princess tiara" will look perfect adorning your wallet and the "martini" sticker will look great on your cocktail party invitations. Just think of the possibilities and unleash that diva within!

a big yellow sun.

Oh the weather outside is frightful, and the...hey, aren't we supposed to sing that in the winter! Well, the northeast is having the longest, grayest, rainiest spring we can remember and summer just will not start.

That is until today. Blue skies, big yellow sun, the flowers in the garden are happy, the birds are chirping and the dogs are playing.

And even though I am sitting in front of the computer today, I'm smiling.