Go Christie, It's Your Birthday!

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.**

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.

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

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Sisterly Love on Chick Chat

It's our turn to do a little Chick Chat for our girls, 3 BayB Chicks. The Chatterbox aka Christie-My Life a Work in Progress aka my sister and I jumped at the chance to let you in to our sisterly lives. Now, if you know either of us via our blogs or in real life you know how absolutely IMPOSSIBLE it was to do a 3 to 4 minute video. There was LOTS of editing!! It probably didn't help that we were consuming sangria at the time. So here we are...The ChatterBox and Joan of All Trades...sister's extraordinaire!

Hope you enjoyed our Chick Chat. If you made it here first, please hop on over to Christie's blog and leave a comment there as well even if you have to copy and paste. Thanks!

BTW, here are the other sisters who are participating in this month's Chick Chat. Please show them some love too:

Grand Pooba from Pooba and Lindee from The Orr Family Est. 2006

Lolli from Better in Bulk and Andrea from The Hatchers and Their Hatchling

Angie from The Arthur Clan and Drew from Happy Chaos

Kacey from Three Bay B Chicks and her sister, Mindy (Mindy does not have a blog.)

~Joan

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VOTE OR DIE!!!

Okay, so I know I am being a lil' dramatic. But seriously! This is my sister we are talking about! She needs to win this Mamavation contest. Watch her heartfelt video below to see why. Vote for @chatterboxcgc here every day until July 30th.



Thanks for your support!

~Joan

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(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: You Go Girl! (A male perspective)

Have you seen the Go-Girl? It's a unique female urination device that allows women to pee standing up. Still don't get it? Click on the picture to the left to find out more information and to get your own Go-Girl. Watch the video to see why I love my family. They bring me comic relief on a daily basis. Listen to my sister and my husband's conversation about the Go-Girl.

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(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: Rumor Control

I am Joan of All Trades who is also KGW residing in DiverCity, USA. To my left (or right if you are anal about it) is my actual biological sister The Chatterbox or Christie A Work in Progress who is planning a Funeral for her Fat Pants and helping people be Inspired 2 Write. Yes, the children in some of my pictures and content in blog posts are hers. Any questions?

~Joan

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Thankful Thursday: Dear Oprah

Here is an abridged version of a letter I wrote to Oprah a couple of years ago about my sister who I am very very thankful for:

Dear Oprah,

I am writing to tell you about my phenomenal sister. My sister has always been an angel looking after me. When I went off to college in 1997, she wrote a survival manual to help guide me through college life. It had everything I needed to know in order to graduate safely and successfully. Unfortunately, I didn't read the whole thing and it collected dust until I graduated in 2001. I ended up making so many mistakes that her manual could have prevented me from making. My sister is truly an expert on life, and whenever any of her friends or family members want to do something life changing, they always go to her for advice.

In 2006, I got engaged on Valentine's Day and immediately began to enthusiastically plan my wedding. Unfortunately, a few months after I got engaged, I fell on some hard times. I was ready to give up on my wedding plans completely. For the next few months my sister stopped working and engaging in her daily routines so that she could almost single-handedly plan and give me the wedding of my dreams. I got married on June 3, 2006. If it weren't for my sister, I still probably would not be married, or I would have just settled for a justice of the peace wedding.

After the wedding, I stayed home for the summer, and she began to rewrite the college survival manual for publishing. I could never repay my sister for giving me such a fabulous wedding. However, I was able to spend the summer editing and writing the introduction for her book.

Shortly after publishing her book, Your Big Sister’s Guide to Surviving College, she decided to dissolve her office relocation business and start a new business doing what she does best—inspiring! She is now a certified life coach and has transformed CGC Consultant Group into CGC Connections: A Life Enrichment Company. She is truly the best “Big Sister” a girl could ever have.

Please excuse the fuzzy picture. I had to do some editing to cut people out. Can you believe I don't have any recent pictures of just me and my sister? (This is an old picture.)

~Joan

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