She had the great responsibility of giving me a name. She took care of me and protected me as a kid. She spun me around by my two pigtails. She loathed my presence when her friends were around. She guided me into young adulthood. She supported me through tough times. I annoyed the hell out of her. I watched her every move. I wanted to dance like her. I wanted to play the piano like her. I wanted her flawless cheekbones. I wanted her perfect hair (don’t listen to her fake complaints about her so-called horrible hair that she has to do absolutely nothing to except for wake up and go). I wanted to be just like her.
Today is my big sister Christie’s birthday! She’s 30-something today, and she deserves to be honored for the wonderful person she is. Please stop by her blogs today and show her some love. Also tune in to her radio show on Wednesday and Friday to play some fun trivia and win some cool prizes in honor of the 1 year anniversary of her show and her birthday.
**Insert sappy sigh with music here.**
It may sound cliché, but she truly has been the wind beneath my wings. Whenever I hear this song, it makes me cry because I think about how selfless she has always been when it comes to me. For so many years she let me shine and be the golden child while she stood in the shadows as the outcast. But what I knew all along that most people did not know was that she was courageous and strong. She had the courage to stand up to our parents. She had the courage to leave home and never come back. She had the courage to go to school on her own terms. She had the courage to build her own businesses.
And look at her now…shining bright as ever. I am so proud of Christie for all of her accomplishments. She slayed those wretched fat pants. She is kicking butt in social media and taking names. She is doing the damn thang! I just want to say on your birthday and every day, Christie, you inspire me to be a better person. Thank you for your unconditional love and friendship. Happy Birthday!
(Dear Christie: I know I am going to be in for a good 'ol fashioned beat down for posting these pics. What can I say? The 80's were very cruel to us all! I had to supplement the sappiness with some laughter. Please forgive me! Blame it on your aunt and your cousin. They gave me the pics.)
~Joan
I can't believe I have finally made it to my 100th post! It seems like it has taken me forever to get here. I struggled with coming up with something clever to do in honor of this milestone and I had nuthin. BUT thanks to The Blogrollers, I have a fabulous giveaway that supports an excellent cause, and I know anyone would be happy to win.
The Blogrollers are currently working on a project called Rwanda Path to Peace. The project is kicking of with Macy's O Bracelet. Each bracelet is hand-made by two women -- a weaver in Rwanda and a jewelry artist in New Orleans. Each bracelet is unique and has a tag attached with the names of the women who made it. The purpose of this outreach campaign is to raise awareness and support these women as they work to rebuild and maintain their respective societies.
I am giving away a fabulous O Bracelet courtesy of Macy's via my girls Christie and Lorraine of The Blogrollers.
You can do any or all of the following to win. The more you do, the more entries you get.
1. Follow my blog
2. Follow me on twitter @joanofalltrades
3. Follow The Blogrollers blog
4. Follow The Blogrollers on twitter @theblogrollers
5. Tweet the contest
6. Post about the contest
*** Best of all, you do not need to write me individual comments for each one. Just leave me 1 comment saying, "I've done x, y, and, z and I would love to win an O Bracelet."***
The winner will be chosen by random.org. The contest ends on October 29th at 10pm EST. Good Luck!
~Joan
Karen Walrond, author of The Beauty of Different. She's a dynamic and inspirational speaker who brought us all to our feet, and of course, me to tears.
Disney Interactive Luncheon 
Marketing to women of color panelist discussion
Omanster and James Andrews aka KeyInfluencer djing The Blogrollers Party. It was off the hook! People are still talking about how fun it was. There were even some brief celebrity appearances. Congrats to Lorraine and Christie for throwing a fabulous party!
Justice Fergie on UStream at The Blogrollers' party.
The Chatterbox aka Christie aka 1/2 of The Blogrollers with Justice Fergie and Jonesie of Mamalaw.
The Justices of Mamlaw
Suave Brunch
The writing genius, Denene Millner of My Brown Baby brought the entire room to tears after hear heartfelt speech about her rise to fame and the loss of her beloved mother.
The new artist, Priscilla Renea put it down with 2 songs from her upcoming debut album Jukebox which drops on December 1, 2009.
Christie and Fiona of Bantering Blonde
Disclaimer: If you are not into TMI, then you may want to skip this post.
Background info: A little over a year ago, I went off the pill and started a job where I traveled all the time. 8 months later, I was still not pregnant (I know you are saying, "duh! How can you get pregnant if you are never home?" Right! So anyway, my job had me so stressed that I decided I better get back on the pill because I didn't want to be pregnant under those conditions--not to mention I wanted to get rid of the horrible adult acne and the painfully heavy flow each month. Fast forward to July of this year. I quit my job and went off the pill for a month, and wallah, I'm preggers! It really is true that when you stop thinking so hard about it, it just happens.
How I Found Out: All of July of August I felt really depressed and tired. I actually thought I was losing my mind. I think I cried about MJ's death for 2 months straight. I was losing it! Then, the time rolled around for my cycle. I am like clockwork whether I'm on or off the pill. It always comes the same week by Thursday. It was Friday and it hadn't come yet. I was at my aunt's house with my mom and my sister. I explained to everyone how I was feeling and everyone told me I should take a pregnancy test. Being the frugal fannie that I am, I explained that every time I take a pregnancy test my period comes the next day and I'm pissed that I wasted the money. Well, Chrisite (my sister) told me that Baby Makin(g) Machine aka Futuremama was passing out dollar store pregnancy tests at BlogHer and apparently they are reliable. I said, "what the hell, I can spend a dollar, right?" I went to the dollar store and bought 3 tests just to be safe. Long story short, I peed on the stick and it was positive in like 2 seconds. I was definitely skeptical at first. I went home and took another one--positive again. I showed it to hubs and this convo followed:
Hubs: What's that?
Me: A pregnancy test.
Hubs: Uh huh. What's this mean?
Me: I'm pregnant!
Hubs: Stop playin! For real?!
Me: This is the second positive test.
He spent the next several weeks in shock. I don't think he really believed it until he saw the ultrasound last week. We both are very excited. Unfortunately, Hubs spends every waking moment worrying, and I spend every waking moment wishing I was eating or asleep. Do you think I was too harsh when Hubs was worrying last night and he told me he really needed someone to talk to and I said, "not me." I mean, I just can't go down the how-many-ways-can-the-baby-die path with him every day. Am I wrong?
Anyway, this story is way too long, so I'll write more later. BTW: Im 13 weeks today and I'm finally gettig back to my old self--a little. Don't let Hubs tell it though ;)
~Joan
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