tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20463771002024425472024-03-14T13:03:08.663-04:00The A Team Talk Show The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.comBlogger138125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-18328968764191140422016-09-07T13:00:00.000-04:002016-09-07T13:00:06.060-04:00Guest Bloggers: Desiree Mattox The Glam Scientist<h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-size: x-large;">Five Tips to Rock the Fourth Quarter</span></span></h2>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e; font-size: large;">By: Disree Mattox </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-f1f752f6-024a-23b0-da20-348ab1c478bc" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e;">September is always a month of reflection and preparation for me as for many other business owners. The fourth quarter has a way of reminding you just how much you haven’t checked off your list while simultaneously making you exceptionally eager to plan for an even bigger and better new year. And that’s exactly how September goes for me. Every. Single. Year. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e;">If you’re intentional about how you spend your fourth quarter you can surely increase your year end profits. Without a doubt, you’ll be able to set yourself up for an amazingly productive and profitable new year. Last year around this time, my mastermind sisters or business besties, as they’re more often called these days, set out to end our year with a bang and meticulously plan 2016. The work we did in preparation for the new year gave me more clarity about my businesses and my future than ever before. After a successful and far less stressful 2016 than years past, I’m excited to sit down to plan out 2017 and spend this last quarter setting my business up to really kill it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e;">Here are 5 tips to ensure you have a productive and profitable Q4!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Tip 1</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e;">Review the goals you set for your business at the beginning of the year. Let me warn you that this part of the exercise requires that you be gracious with yourself. We all set ambitious goals. That is just the heart of an entrepreneur and/or career driven person. Sometimes we don’t accomplish everything we set out to do. That’s ok. There’s no deadline on success. In reviewing your goals celebrate yourself for the goals you achieved. Then ask yourself if those achieved goals actually moved the needle in your business. Take note of that answer because it will help guide your goal setting for the next year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Tip 2</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e;">Determine what you can get done now. Of the goals that you haven’t yet accomplished, which do you still care about? Maybe you’re saying to yourself “All goals matter.” That may have been true in Q1, but the 4th quarter has a way of removing your rose colored glasses. You become far more clear about what is really important and what was a tad bit extra. And extra just doesn’t count when your ultimate goal for Q4 is always to end the year on a high note. At this point, some things on your list are just no longer worth your cares. Once you determine which of those unrealized goals and unfinished tasks still matter to you, prioritize them based on the impact they will have on your business. Now determine what you can realistically set in motion this week that will increase your year end productivity and profits and ensure that 2017 starts off on the right foot.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Tip 3</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e;">Analyze how your work made you FEEL in 2016. I know this may seem trivial because work is not supposed to be about feelings. But believe me, it is. At the end of 2015, one of my mastermind sisters/business besties sent me a rather unconventional gift - a feelings assessment. I’m not a feelings person AT ALL. I thought she wasn’t either, but somehow she had made the connection between work and feelings and thought I could benefit from it. The assessment required me to declare how I wanted to feel in various aspects of my life. In doing that, I learned a lot about myself. I learned how my feelings in my business life affected my personal life. And how my feelings in my personal life affected my business life. I was able to see everything I needed and wanted to change in order to really love 2016. It didn’t happen overnight. I didn’t instantly walk into 2016 with all these newly unearthed feelings decent and in order. But I can say walking into Q4, all is well in my worlds thanks to that task. So, how did your work make you feel in 2016? How do you want to change that for the better in 2017?</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Tip 4</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e;">Pick ONE overarching goal for the the next year. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in the past is underestimating the time investment each goal will require. To be completely honest, I thought I did a great job of drilling down my goals for 2016 so that I could get it all done. Let’s just say, my Q1 goals turned into my 2016 goals and I’m still only halfway through the list. It was a short list, but an intense list. So this step is a big one in making sure your next year is exceptional. Before deciding on your one overarching goal, I suggest that you pick a theme for the year. What do you want your year to be all about? When the year is over what do you hope to have gained for your business? Let that guide your theme and let your theme guide your overarching goal.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white;">Tip 5</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e;">Break that one big goal into specific tasks assigned to each of the four quarters. Every single task you put on your list should move the needle on that goal and be in line with your theme. Nothing else matters. Each quarter’s tasks should result in a predictable amount of income/profit. You will be able to gauge the progress of your year by the sum total of your completed tasks/goal + profit. Be relentless in working toward this goal. By picking just one goal you have the power to really focus on the details of the goal and the elements required to achieve it. Revel in that power.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Bonus Tip!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e;">Actually do the work. You may think this goes without saying, but a lot of what doesn’t get done is because we didn’t do it. Post your quarterly goals in your workspace so that you can see them every single day. Keeping those goals and assignments in front of you will remind you of what needs to be done and prevent you from adding anything to that list that doesn’t enhance the results of your achieved goals. Focus is of the utmost importance if you want to have a truly successful year. Be fluid, yet focused.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #45818e;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: white;">Plan. Focus. Execute. Reward. Repeat.</span></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgRVcj20159_tf99MbDp4QKIe6WazUIWT8KFFpz8SHXvuBzsvs_CNis8hqg17H4IBuUV7WRXUzt8aVBMbYnW9D5eIYu-XVkhslWZT2XSzyxAmb8bGqdQm4q-Je6G0Pijp_dZ0KCo5vQ4/s1600/glam+7.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgRVcj20159_tf99MbDp4QKIe6WazUIWT8KFFpz8SHXvuBzsvs_CNis8hqg17H4IBuUV7WRXUzt8aVBMbYnW9D5eIYu-XVkhslWZT2XSzyxAmb8bGqdQm4q-Je6G0Pijp_dZ0KCo5vQ4/s320/glam+7.png" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b8c1dadb-024c-bb39-c7e0-071175e0f12a" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b8c1dadb-024d-109f-acd1-fe66d6ad7efe"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Desiree Mattox - The Glam Scientist</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cosmetic Chemist, Beauty Brand Strategist
</span></span><a href="http://www.callmedesi.com/" style="text-decoration: none;">www.callmedesi.com</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (coming soon)</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbidym93jRcdQgEQe3uAt5ID9sM27xQnSoVwFTG94uujeeF9q73NURUi8YtU2XsVdggIlvhWD6t1AYksa0sHyp6h_KVTLKKrNyLOZQrxl1IwDv3hlDayPUW4Q-CqiQnr98DcOmycrQLc/s1600/glamscientist_logo+Final+%2528S.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbidym93jRcdQgEQe3uAt5ID9sM27xQnSoVwFTG94uujeeF9q73NURUi8YtU2XsVdggIlvhWD6t1AYksa0sHyp6h_KVTLKKrNyLOZQrxl1IwDv3hlDayPUW4Q-CqiQnr98DcOmycrQLc/s320/glamscientist_logo+Final+%2528S.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b8c1dadb-024c-41d2-8ba9-19413b386203" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Follow The Glam Scientist!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Twitter - @glam_scientist</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">IG - @glam_scientist , @theglamscientist</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Periscope - @glam_scientist</span></div>
<a href="http://www.theglamscientist.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.theglamscientist.com</span></a></span></span></td></tr>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-91528507348828018192016-06-16T14:56:00.001-04:002016-06-18T09:56:36.557-04:00A Team Talk Show Event: POV WIth Stasi Relaunch - Breaking
SocialNorms:Being Seen and Not Heard<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By: Ayana Bryant-Weekes</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The relaunch of<i><b> POV with Stasi</b></i> is the result of ensuing fearlessness that comes from </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">trust in God </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>coupled with the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">tenacity and determination of an entrepreneur.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span>Nastassia
Rena describes herself as a bold and candid woman of God and as I listened to her passionately describe plans for her upcoming <i><b>POV with Stasi </b></i>relaunch with audacity and confidence, I could clearly see the boldness and transparency she described. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Only a bold woman makes it her mission to </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">create a space for other powerful, Godly women to share
their point of view on social issues that stereotype women. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqZeDXpzO90U1gjOyeruSGkGoM_LjzsTq1p0UlCFSGOtl71lfrnizcWoySajqQCuAkyGZT7kuyUpzxgMwmWAgF4xFIPgMgpOLTSFvMDojfjDoQFu07HniEXKaEPoZWPjHQ8ftEqOTH_c/s640/blogger-image-852315607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpqZeDXpzO90U1gjOyeruSGkGoM_LjzsTq1p0UlCFSGOtl71lfrnizcWoySajqQCuAkyGZT7kuyUpzxgMwmWAgF4xFIPgMgpOLTSFvMDojfjDoQFu07HniEXKaEPoZWPjHQ8ftEqOTH_c/s200/blogger-image-852315607.jpg" width="200"></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nastassia Rena is
the creative director and founder of <i><b>POV with
Stasi</b></i>, a panel driven networking social event for women in the Detroit
area who are committed to breaking down barriers and defying social
norms. A Team Talk Sho<span style="font-family: inherit;">w <span style="font-family: inherit;">host and</span></span> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.advancemagazine.co/" target="_blank">Advance Magazine</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="color: white;">CEO </span></span></span>Ambrea Curry</span> will sit on this month's panel alongside <span style="font-family: inherit;">two</span> other amazing <span style="font-family: inherit;">panelists<span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br>
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<span style="color: magenta;"> LaToya Early</span> is the founder of Chase Great
Enterprises™ LLC a company that provides vision development strategies
to aspiring and rising entrepreneurs. LaToya is also a wife, woman of
God, mother and purpose enthusiast who has devoted her life to helping
others gain authentic success through strategic planning and vision
development. She utilizes her ability to help innovators express their
entrepreneurial desires to its greatest potential. She maximizes her
coaching gift by offering creative coaching techniques that will edify,
exhort and empower both men and women who are ready to live in purpose
full-time.<br>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Silver "Danielle" Moore</span> defines herself as a church
girl, prayer warrior, indigenous Detroiter, Black Hip-Hop Feminist of
Faith, curator of fly fashions, a naturalista, thrifting expert, social
justice educator, a writer, and thinker. Her love for fashion and love
for the Lord collided in 2015 and she created the blog
HerRoyalDopeness.com. She believes that because God created for us to be
"peculiar people" (1 Peter 2:9) one's style should be bold, unique, and
stand out in a crowd. Silver Danielle believes that every church girl
can be fly and ever saved girl can have swag! <br>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">These <span style="font-family: inherit;">influential</span> business women wi<span style="font-family: inherit;">ll</span></span> discuss and share <span style="font-family: inherit;">their</span> point of view on<span style="color: white;"><span style="color: black;"> <span style="line-height: 20.8px;"><span style="color: white;"><u><i>"Breaking
Social Norms: Being Seen and Not Heard"</i></u>.</span> </span></span></span></span>This dynamic pane<span style="font-family: inherit;">l</span> offers a unique point of view on the silent power of </span>a woman's presence. This month's <i><b>POV with Stasi</b></i><span style="color: white;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="line-height: 20.8px;"> <span style="color: white;">is geared towards</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">women who shatter society's stereotypes of African American women and embody the vastly dynamic characteristics of women in the Bible, which is the foundation of Nastassia's business model as a woman. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The event will be held June 18, 2016 at Detroit Public Safety Academy in Detroit fro<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_142829409" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">m 4pm to 7</span></span>pm. Click <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pov-with-stasi-tickets-25797344552" target="_blank">here</a> to register for the <i><b>POV with Stasi</b></i> Relaunch!</span></span><br>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nastasia is also a mother, a wife, the
creator and founder of Roses upon Thorns, a licensed cosmetologist and
soon to be evangelist. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Through
God's word Nastassia aims to educate, empower, and encourage women to
accomplish their goals and live their lives to its fullest potential. </span></span><span style="color: magenta;"><b>Keep up with Nastassia and 'POV With Stassi' on <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Facebook: Nastassia Rena, </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Twitter: Nastassia Rena and </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255 , 255 , 255 , 0); font-family: "helvetica neue light" , , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">IG: nastassiarena</span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></div>
The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-15732659467899273372016-06-08T13:00:00.000-04:002016-06-08T16:36:51.526-04:00Guest Bloggers: Nicole Ballantine of Latitude and Avenue<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By: Nicole Ballentine </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Counter Person</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you want?</span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Me</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can I get an oxtail with rice and peas?</span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Counter Person</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You want cabbage?</span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Me:</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes and plantain thanks!</span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That</span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> brief exchange is</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a typical encounter in a Jamaican restaurant in NYC. Growing up in the United States but being of Jamaican descent, these and other interactions, like speaking with my grandmother and understanding her Patwah, are all reminders that there</span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">s another place on Earth that I consider home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jamaica, the homeland of both my mother and father, may not see very me often but has always been with me in spirit. On holidays when my cousins get together and play Ludo, the Jamaican version of the popular board game, when I hear Beres Hammond, a popular old school reggae artist, or watch a Majah Hype video and can relate, I realize the tropical island is still very close at heart although I'm displaced thousand of miles of away. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even with these experiences I</span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ve been able to have, I worry whether or not I carry enough of my culture and fear not being able to pass down the same recipes and traditions I grew up with to my own offspring; especially now since I will be heading to the West Coast in a few weeks to begin the next chapter of my life and will be far away from my family and my Jamaican American community. It won't be as easy to grab a (good) beef patty with coco bread in Los Angeles as it is in Crown Heights BK but I will be able to now tell others of what one is and learn how to create Jamaican dishes and make a Jamaican Ludo board to play with my new found California friends. </span></div>
<br><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you think about it, that is truly the beauty of travel, being able to share your traditions and beliefs and to create and pass down a culture of your own as you move throughout the Earth. So I</span><span style="font-family: Arimo; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">m really not losing my heritage but adding to it as I continue on my journey around the world.</span></span></div>
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Nicole Ballantine</h2>
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Creator, Latitude + Avenue<br>"for the wanderlust"</h4>
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<span style="font-family: din-next-w01-light, din-next-w02-light, din-next-w10-light, sans-serif;"><i>Nicole Ballantine is a freelance Lifestyle Editorial Assistant currently living in NYC with sights on California in the upcoming months. After losing her Product development job in August 2014, Nicole was inspired to create the life she always wanted to live and dreamed up Latitude and Avenue, a lifestyle travel website geared towards </i></span><span style="border: 0px; font-family: din-next-w01-light, din-next-w02-light, din-next-w10-light, sans-serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"><i>the millennial woman. As a 25 year old female who travels frequently, she knows what it’s like to want to hear and curate real travel stories and not just the typical “perfect vacations’ we read about but the trips that forever change our lives! </i></span></span><i style="font-family: din-next-w01-light, din-next-w02-light, din-next-w10-light, sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Her goal in creating Latitude + Avenue was to further connect, young women to relatable travel stories and provide products for wear while exploring the world. </span><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Follow <span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;"><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.instagram.com/latitudeandavenue/&source=gmail&ust=1465340370529000&usg=AFQjCNGBOSLOJUrbvd4xZr3q6pPVfoMt_A" href="https://www.instagram.com/latitudeandavenue/" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">@<wbr>latitudeandavenue</a></span> on Instagram and subscribe to the website.</span></i></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-11643254307519604192016-06-01T13:28:00.001-04:002016-06-01T14:31:06.802-04:00Guest Bloggers: Nastassia Rena of POV With Stassi<div>Suited but Settled </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>Who are you? Who do you claim to be? When you wake up every morning are you excited or miserable about the job that you’re heading to? Maybe the better question is what’s your profession and who are you professing to be? </div><div><br></div><div>Webster defines profession as a paid occupation that involves prolonged training and formal qualification, and professing as making an open claim or declaration. Is the profession that you’re in now your calling? Is it lined up with what God had planned for you? These are questions that I started asking myself. I realized that I fell into three categories: </div><div><br></div><div>You’re currently in a profession that you know is not your calling. </div><div>Your profession is your calling but you don’t really care for the job. </div><div>You don’t know what your calling is. </div><div><br></div><div>This caused me to change my major 4 times in college, then I eventually dropped out of college, I became a mother at the age of 21, and I had over 15 jobs in 10 years. I know right! All this because I wasn’t listening to what God was saying. I felt that I knew what I should be doing and I was tired of waiting on God. I knew, or so I thought, exactly what and how my life should be. In my mind, I should have had 2 degrees at the age of 25, married by the age of 27 and had three kids, two dogs and a six figure income. I am 33 years old, a newlywed, a mother to an amazing 11 year old son who has a great calling on his life, no college degree (yet), making about thirty thousand a year and I am just now walking in my calling.</div><div><br></div><div>I can honestly say that I have always known what my calling was, I was just afraid to pursue it. I have always had the right equipment but was so afraid to use it. I was so busy listening to foolishness and worried about what people might think or say. (I was told that a woman couldn’t and shouldn’t preach or prophesy. I was also told that as a woman I was to be seen and not heard.) I resigned before I even started. </div><div><br></div><div>Let’s pretend that you are in Jamaica getting ready to go swimming in the ocean with the dolphins. You get to the beach and the equipment is all ready for you to go. You are so excited that you waste no time. You suit up! But instead of swimming in the ocean with the dolphins, you end up in a swimming pool with a blow up dolphin. Instead of “fighting” for what you know you are supposed to be doing; you settle. You are fully suited and equipped to be in the ocean, but instead you swim in the pool with that blow up dolphin. This is what I was talking about when I listed the three categories we can fall into. Your “calling” was to be in the ocean with dolphins. You were properly equipped and suited to be in the ocean, but because of you falling into those categories you just settled! How foolish of us! </div><div><br></div><div>God gives us all special abilities or talents. Moses had everything he needed to get the job done. Clearly God knew him and had a plan for him before he was born. We know this because Moses’ mother had a baby boy and kept him for about 3 months during the time when the Egyptians were killing all the hebrew boys. We also know His Word to be true when Moses was saved by Pharaoh's daughter, raised in Pharaoh's house, trained in the Egyptians ways and taught their language. When God was ready for Moses to fulfill His plan Moses argued that he was the wrong man for the job. Moses was equipped with great things and didn’t know it or believe it. But when he trusted in Him and stepped out on faith… Moses did some great things! Things he didn’t and couldn’t even imagine! </div><div><br></div><div>You have to walk confidently in your calling whatever it may be. Just like in our pretend story and in Moses’ story, you have all the equipment needed to fulfill your calling, you just have to trust God and jump. If you don’t know what you’re calling is ask God to reveal it to you and then walk in that calling. If you’re currently in a position and you know that it’s not what God had planned for you, get in line with HIs word! Ask God to reveal yourself to you so that you can align yourself with Him and the calling that He placed on your life. If you’re in a position and you know that that is what God has for you then be patient and trust in Him. Sometimes the process doesn’t make sense or feel good, but it's all working together for your good. </div><div><br></div><div>Don’t get suited and then settle! </div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5FtK595auP8rqqvNJEXtmMoL83UcjgWomn4pKrKodrDmtQ9nu0Zc8ZnK_KRH1fXLsG_rZCwWhM7zWyNPRvLATbq-sGjhbh2edlLXi80_TzWxkU7RIC6ucXOg70b3rONrIi8UiDmKzLk/s640/blogger-image--2135058664.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5FtK595auP8rqqvNJEXtmMoL83UcjgWomn4pKrKodrDmtQ9nu0Zc8ZnK_KRH1fXLsG_rZCwWhM7zWyNPRvLATbq-sGjhbh2edlLXi80_TzWxkU7RIC6ucXOg70b3rONrIi8UiDmKzLk/s640/blogger-image--2135058664.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div><br></div><div>**Nastassia Renà is the creative director and founder of POV with Stasi which is a panel style talk show and social event for the women who want more out of life than just living life. Nastassia is a bold diverse and outspoken woman of God who's goal is to uplift and network with other powerful Godly women. She is also a mother, a wife, the creator and founder of Roses upon Thorns, a licensed cosmetologist and soon to be evangelist. Keep up with Nastassia and 'POV With Stassi' on <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Facebook: Nastassia Rena, </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Twitter: Nastassia Rena and </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">IG: nastassiarena</span></div><div><br></div><div> </div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-42669513448707564482016-05-04T13:30:00.000-04:002016-05-04T16:12:23.707-04:00Guest Bloggers: Briana Latrice CEO of Princess Empowerment<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Many are called but it is the few that are chosen that are willing to accept the challenge. For the 21 year old Founder and CEO of Princess Empowerment it was not much choice in the matter. God was relentless with her and her ministry. Briana was exposed to the authentic power of God at an early age. But the journey really started when she rededicated her life back to Christ at age 19 and was called to ministry. The Detroit native, college graduate, mentor and now author holds many titles. Briana’s life walk in striving to remain obedient and focused on her calling stands as a model for young women</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "calibri"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">." </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lzqHnz2TxwFEpuk0zdu4DliD_HFBFBRyoVNkkYNFoM7uqxRTb48wlaZT_HSdw48U36U6Rt4ntw0zlRQnD3ZnIG4KHSvhMBiolQejEkT4VMD2IifszIhcVBKaNWQQa7-wH9Oxn0PEKc4/s1600/7511ad8a78d58f9d2346f8d396a70695.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6lzqHnz2TxwFEpuk0zdu4DliD_HFBFBRyoVNkkYNFoM7uqxRTb48wlaZT_HSdw48U36U6Rt4ntw0zlRQnD3ZnIG4KHSvhMBiolQejEkT4VMD2IifszIhcVBKaNWQQa7-wH9Oxn0PEKc4/s320/7511ad8a78d58f9d2346f8d396a70695.jpeg" width="233"></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Where Is Your Flashlight?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 18.666666666666664px; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">By: Briana Latrice </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.brianalatriece.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">www.BrianaLatriece.com</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Periscope : @BrianaLatriece</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blog: </span><a href="http://powerchosenroyalty.blogspot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PowerChosenRoyalty.blogspot.com</span></a></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you remember the big blackout in Detroit also known as the Northeast Blackout of 2003? I remember how people freaked out about how they were going to survive without electricity. We were so accustomed to having light at the flick of a switch that once the source of the electricity had gone out a panic took place. People totally forgot that we had another source of light to depend on and once they realized that, they were okay. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I remember enjoying those few days in the blackout a lot more than the days with the electricity working! The same thing goes for us and God. Walking through a dark room during a blackout can be scary because the light we once had, we think is now gone, when it’s really not. We always think that something we now have access to won’t be as helpful as what we normally have because it may be “too small”. But what we fail to realize is that God comes in ways that meets us exactly where we are. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 2.4; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That small flashlight you hold to walk through that dark room is the very thing you need to get to your destination (next level). You can be foolish and stumble around a dark room if you want to, bumping into things and hurting yourself. You might even make it to where you were trying to go, but it will take you even longer and it will be painful. However, when you activate the flashlight (Jesus), the vision you have becomes clearer and you can now see what is around you and where you are headed. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A flashlight creates a steady beam of light, so in a dark place its only focus is on your destination (new level). The steady beam of light helps avoid distractions, hurt, harm and danger; with the light you are protected.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmcYd3OkXcbslQGdBlMBin3dLdvM_pHbEApHzUXhlcGZbdVx0UJ7VAttEVEB9atTVhgvdfmLn91tWlP5mZnTR3A0uVpXNWgt-tI-NuawMlCSET5z5Qpg9w2x8Yg7C8Kv3K_T4XWDv9Cc/s1600/DSC01107-Edit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQmcYd3OkXcbslQGdBlMBin3dLdvM_pHbEApHzUXhlcGZbdVx0UJ7VAttEVEB9atTVhgvdfmLn91tWlP5mZnTR3A0uVpXNWgt-tI-NuawMlCSET5z5Qpg9w2x8Yg7C8Kv3K_T4XWDv9Cc/s320/DSC01107-Edit.jpg" width="213"></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In other words, although you may be experiencing a blackout, use that flashlight you are carrying. Just because you don’t have the tools you are used to, doesn’t mean your backup tools don’t work. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This blackout experience is a season of focus.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> God knows exactly what will distract you from your next level. He is causing you to experience a season of “blackout” because He wants you to use your steady beam of light to get to where He needs you to go.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">** To read more from Brian Latrice, visit</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 48px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://powerchosenroyalty.blogspot.com/" style="text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 48px;">B</a>rianaLatriece.com</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; text-align: center; text-indent: 48px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Register for <a href="http://www.brianalatriece.com/princess-empowerment.html" target="_blank">Princess Empowerment 2016</a>! </span></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-63990200844927055722016-04-20T15:49:00.000-04:002016-04-20T16:35:38.456-04:00Guest Bloggers: Emari Parsons of Soul, Style, Beauty! <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Emery Parsons of Soul, Style Beauty</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">IG: @soulstylebeauty</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> <span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">Twitter: @soulstylebeauty</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">Facebook </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheFashionCrazee?ref=bookmarks" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;" target="_blank"> SoulStyleBeauty</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emari Parsons of </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">SoulStyleBeauty </span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is</span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogger based in NY. At 23 years old Emari has always loved creating. </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">She recently graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City with an Associates Degree in Fashion Design/Bachelors Degree in Advertising Marketing and Communications.</span></span></span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12px;"> Fashion is her first love as she currently works full time in the industry. Emari created </span></span></span><em style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">Soul Style Beauty </em><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">to share her passion for Life,Style and Beauty. </span></span><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="color: white; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">"Where we talk about life, beauty and style starting from the inside out</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">."</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> <a href="http://www.soulstylebeauty.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">www.SoulStyleBeauty.com</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="color: white;">Youtube Channel:</span> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFxTJcL5QZbU5q1_8OzQ2Ag" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">SoulStyleBeauty</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This past Sunday, like every I do every week, I was on my way to the grocery store to prepare my weekly meal prep. I had just finished a dance class celebrating a friend’s birthday, so of course I was feeling of fatigued as I walked there. I arrived at the grocery store shopping took longer than expected this time around. I was mentally & physically tired prior to walking in and quite frankly, I didn't feel like walking up and down every aisle to find the things I needed! About 40 minutes later, with all the groceries in my cart, I stood in the self-checkout line and proceeded to a station. I scanned and bagged everything, item by item, and I was good to go. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On my way home, as usual I felt like the bag lady- the weight of stress due to many woes combined with the weight of the groceries were wearing on my sleeve. After making it home I started preparing food for my meal prep. Multi-tasking with three pots on the stove, the stress levels increased and the thoughts started to arise. “</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Will I always be alone to take care of the things in my life?</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just me, myself and I handling every single thing</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">? The thoughts continued to rush in and I finally reached my breaking point for that day. I said out loud to God "</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am sick of doing this alone</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">." From carrying all the groceries home myself, to preparing my weekly meals, combined with all other responsibilities of my life was getting to me. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I thought to myself,</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> it’s happening again</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Once again, I had found myself re-visiting the very thoughts that caused me to enter into situations that should have never began. Thoughts that cause me to question both my future and the present moment. Truth is, we all have those moments where the pressures of life cause us to defocus from God’s promises, making room for false truths to fill our mind causing us to think we are lacking something. This can happen at any moment!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What we actually need to do is re-focus.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In <span style="color: magenta;">Deuteronomy 31:8</span>, God states <span style="color: magenta;">“</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: magenta; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”. Therefore, God is already in our future. His word also states that he directs the steps of the godly and delights in </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">every detail</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of their lives. These are true life promises of our creator, the living God! However, I know that is not easy to remember during stressful times. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Focusing is a skill that continuously needs to be sharpened.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thoughts are created and depending on how you handle it, your thoughts can become actions. We have a choice to either take action right away while under pressure, or actually analyze the root of the issue before deciding to act out. Your thought pattern plays a crucial part! Experiencing this countless times, I have develop a few techniques myself to help quiet my thoughts, re-focus and patiently wait on what’s to come. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The worst thing you can do is make a permanent decisions based off of temporary emotions. Get yourself at peace before anything! I like to remind myself of God’s promises so I tend to read the Bible, pray and listen to worship music to remind myself that God is still in control regardless of the circumstance (Hebrews 11:3). Another option can be calling a friend to pray with you and talk about the situation. Good friends can cause you to discover things in yourself that you may not see at the current moment.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t think of the end result too much. Know the goal but bask in the process. God is there.”</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No one gets handed a well-developed future in a box! God prepares us for our future to come. You don’t want to miss that because every detail is crucial. Regardless if you are in a season of woes or great moments, there are always things to learn. Take in every lesson and evaluate how you are developing in the present moment.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We must always approach God with thanksgiving even if life isn’t at its best. It’s cliché, but there is always something to be thankful for. The small things such as life, having a roof over your head and being able to be in the right state of mind often goes unnoticed. Practice gratitude for what you do have daily.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Communication with God is needed daily. Prayer is when we can do just that. It gives a chance to get into the presence of God to speak to him and listen to what he has to say to us as well. Talk to him about your desires, your dreams, your down falls. He hears you! Then we must wait on him. The hardest part is not knowing when those things will happen, but that’s where trust is needed. Be patient because the last thing you want to do is rush into something that God never had planned for you.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t rush the process of your life. There will be thoughts that fill your mind daily that can cause you to take action towards something that you’re not even prepared for yet. Instead of doing that, practice the above techniques and trust God. He has your future in his hands. Always re-focus and continue to wait on the Lord. When those thoughts fill your mind, analyze them, reject the ones that are not needed and re-focus.</span></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-59082269094080632932016-02-24T13:30:00.000-05:002016-02-24T13:30:04.693-05:00Modesty: What’s the Big Deal?By: <span style="color: magenta;"><span style="font: 18px Trebuchet MS,Verdana; letter-spacing: 1px;">Ashleigh Maynor, M.A., LPC, NCC</span></span><br />
<span style="font: italic bold 13px Arial;"><span style="color: magenta;"> Coach | Blogger | Speaker, <span style="font: italic bold 13px Arial;">Founder of inTENtional U, LLC</span></span> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtE726m_UDOhaUgvGOoh77JmJN2NQP619V3ouuKPcr6ME-doPnyLj8mTGv0msbthDvXoqvdzOT4Zxe3TykEWXzJE1hNTqDXOJOplBbrmxmmr-kDpZ8E6Rd0o8HL7r6jdE-ef9MoeeMUfw/s1600/Photo+for+Blogs-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtE726m_UDOhaUgvGOoh77JmJN2NQP619V3ouuKPcr6ME-doPnyLj8mTGv0msbthDvXoqvdzOT4Zxe3TykEWXzJE1hNTqDXOJOplBbrmxmmr-kDpZ8E6Rd0o8HL7r6jdE-ef9MoeeMUfw/s200/Photo+for+Blogs-2.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font: 18px Trebuchet MS,Verdana; letter-spacing: 1px;">Ashleigh Maynor, </span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="mailto:theintetionalu@gmail.com" style="font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> theintetionalu@gmail.com</a> <span style="font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none;">||</span> <a href="http://www.theintentionalu.com/" style="font-size: 12px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> www.theintentionalu.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Ashleigh is a true midwest girl. She loves
to bake, salsa dance, attempt any Pinterest DIY project and serve God
through singing in her church choir. She is an active member of Alpha
Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and a Licensed Professional Counselor who
enjoys </span></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: small;"><span style="color: white;">helping others cultivate healthy relationships and discover their career passions in order to live their life <i>intentionally. </i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-size: small;"><span style="color: white;"><i></i></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I was originally going to write about relationships, you know the <i>romantic</i> kind. As a licensed therapist I really enjoy working with clients on building healthy relationships and working through tough issues. However, something I saw on Facebook last week changed my mind. Let me say right now that what I am about to say makes me a little concerned that from here on out everyone will be scrutinizing how I dress. I am a girl who loves her ponytails, jeans and sweatshirts, so don’t look at me funny when you see me in the streets with my pink and green Michigan sweatshirt, jeans and converse, that was my style before writing this and it’s going to be my style after (You’ll get where I’m going with this). That said, I wanted to touch on something that has been a hot topic in my group chats over the last week or so. My notifications have been constantly going off surrounding the topic of <i><b>modesty</b></i>. What is this thing called modesty and why has everyone been talking about it recently?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "merriweather"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’m gonna do me in Jesus’ name!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZX-UYcT_LqZ1UXFqblq2hNliwkus0n8XVrdvCSL2gvXEKGFB-WvKuE9zF2SzW_ohGXI00OlW125AW-0o8g3H2fQwikgaCFhO07sfEcgas4116R3KTN0JN1Gz-uJegJYhBg2f8kjy_D8/s1600/56bd82961800002d0080bd3a.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJZX-UYcT_LqZ1UXFqblq2hNliwkus0n8XVrdvCSL2gvXEKGFB-WvKuE9zF2SzW_ohGXI00OlW125AW-0o8g3H2fQwikgaCFhO07sfEcgas4116R3KTN0JN1Gz-uJegJYhBg2f8kjy_D8/s200/56bd82961800002d0080bd3a.jpeg" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: white;">I’m sure many of you have been paying attention to the trending news with </span><a href="https://twitter.com/ayeshacurry/status/673364404830777344?ref_src=twsrc^tfw" target="_blank">Ayesha Curry’s tweet</a> <span style="color: white;">a few months ago on modesty and more recently Devon Franklin coming to the defense of his wife, Meagan Good, after a woman rudely (in my opinion) made a comment in regards to her choice of clothing at an interview with</span> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiTTooO1EK0" target="_blank">One Church LA.</a> <span style="color: white;">To clarify, no - I don’t think that was the time or the place for that woman to address Meagan about her wardrobe. She missed a ripe opportunity to have a great conversation and better understand why Meagan chooses to wear what she does. Ultimately, they are two grown adults. She can dress how she wants to and if neither she nor her husband are convicted about it, then sometimes it’s best to just pray for people instead of inserting your two cents. Yes, I do believe Devon was right for standing up for his wife but where Devon lost me was when he said, <i>“She can wear what she wants to wear in the name of Jesus!”.</i> I cringed a little when that came across his lips. My dude...really?! He may have meant every word that he said, but I hope in hindsight he realizes that his delivery there could have been better.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "merriweather"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: white;">“Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what what is proper for women who profess godliness -- with good works.” <b>1 Timothy 2:9</b></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After that clip of Devon and Meagan began going viral on social media, my friends and I had some lengthy group chats giving our perspectives on it. One my friends stated that, “The bible is clear about what modesty is, but the definition of modesty is subjective.” I couldn’t agree with her more. 1 Timothy 2:9 says, “Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what what is proper for women who profess godliness -- with good works.” Before some of you start sending me hatemail and claiming that I need to check my inner feminist, step back and read that scripture again and be careful that you aren't taking it out of context. This scripture is not saying we can’t wear nice or fancy things. I may like my sweatshirts, but I’m not out here in public looking frumpy on the daily. This scripture isn’t telling my to look like Plain Jane - what woman wants to look worn down and tattered? I love my pearls and plan on wearing them to the grave as they put the ivy on my casket. I don’t know any women, or men for that matter, who want women out here looking broke down, frumpy and unkempt, but I digress. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This scripture is simply calling on women to wear <i><b>“respectable apparel”</b></i> in order to show their true beauty. It’s not saying women shouldn’t dress in a way that makes them look and feel beautiful, it’s stating quite the opposite. It’s telling us women not to use material things to hold ourselves to a standard of beauty. Your true beauty is within. How do you adorn yourself properly? By making sure that your faith and your words match your actions. In other words, we as believers should be known for how we act not how we look. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In a society where sex sells, where looks and first impressions are everything, it’s just easier to conform. However, you and I have been set apart. We were not called to live an easy life, as believers we were called to be courageous and go against the grain - to hold ourselves to a different set of standards than the world does.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "merriweather"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We Have a Choice!</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">That’s right good people! God has given each and every one of us free will. We can choose to glorify God in our bodies through what we wear and we can choose not to. Our convictions will be different. Just like some people feel convicted about drinking alcohol, I don’t. Now getting drunk is a different story, but having 1 or 2 glasses of wine over a period of time in a social setting is quite alright with me! As I am writing this, I am slightly convicted in other areas of my life, whether it be how I eat or do I exercise enough, but there’s always room to make better choices and room for growth. When you know better, you do better. I know that I strive to glorify God in everything that I do, but I don’t always make the best decisions. I’m pretty sure that if I am blessed to grow old and grey my decision making will be more sound, but I’m still going to make some bad one’s here and there, I’m human - that is going to happen. The awesome thing is that God shows his love for us in that while we are still sinners He gave his son to die for us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "merriweather"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Grace is Real.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">While everyone may look at you and I and turn their noses up in judgement and disgust; when people don’t like your style and say that how you look or live is gross, remember that God says grace! If God can show his grace to us, despite everything we’ve done and will do, then why is it that we can’t treat others in the same way? Could that woman have been more gracious in how she made her comment to Meagan... absolutely! That’s what I really liked about Meagan’s response. Even though the woman’s comment clearly upset Meagan, instead of getting mad and responding out of hurt and anger she said, “Pray for me”. She could have easily reacted, but by responding with a calm spirit and a smile she showed her class.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "merriweather"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” <b>Romans 5:8</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We are flawed and God shows us grace despite that. He uses our flaws and our mess to deliver a message. I don’t know about you, but that encourages me that He will meet me where I am and doesn’t expect me to be perfect. We are always growing and getting better, at least that’s what we hope, right? He is always working on us and we are a continuous work in progress. We don’t know what work God has planned for Meagan and Devon. Could her outer appearance be a distraction from their message? Yea, I’m sure it could be, but their message may not be for you and instead, for someone else. So don’t be so quick to judge - show a little grace.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "merriweather"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Modesty isn’t about covering up our bodies because they’re bad, modesty isn’t about hiding ourselves… it’s about revealing our beauty.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "merriweather"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Your Actions Should Speak So Loud </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "merriweather"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I Can’t Hear a Word You’re Saying</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: white;">“In the name of Jesus” should not be a justification to wear or do whatever we please. Our hearts will ultimately be lead by him each and every morning when we look in our closets and decide what we are going to put on for the day. It’s true, people are going to judge you and have opinions about you regardless, so dress in whatever makes you happy! I encourage you to start thinking about if what you’re wearing each day is a reflection of what your heart looks like.</span> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8A3K2v7LEuJC9oF73JORFKtzNPT6jSGMtIPVaBeVYOXr0Z5-51jS0TtYza_xYbcccH8hH2HO3RJjP-QSVT6TM2cgDMpNl4chtRpVrCF1coWMLCPkhsW82nAHOEG8YhQcbvZPhBEJIP4Q/s1600/Hall-Pass-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8A3K2v7LEuJC9oF73JORFKtzNPT6jSGMtIPVaBeVYOXr0Z5-51jS0TtYza_xYbcccH8hH2HO3RJjP-QSVT6TM2cgDMpNl4chtRpVrCF1coWMLCPkhsW82nAHOEG8YhQcbvZPhBEJIP4Q/s320/Hall-Pass-poster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "merriweather"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Whether you believe it or not, it is true. If your heart is broken and craving attention, you're going to dress in a way that reflects that. If you’re depressed and feel beaten down, you’re going to dress in a way that says that. My sweatshirts, ponytails and jeans are a reflection of how comfortable and confident I am in my skin. When I feel like it or when the occasion calls for it, I know how to slay in some heels and a nice dress that hugs the curves - not too tight, but just right. Don’t let the way you look to be a distraction from the message God wants you to share and the purpose He has for you. As women we have the beauty and power to teach others how to see, treat and love us for the right reasons.</span></div>
<br />The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-17635561540437338882016-01-27T13:30:00.000-05:002016-01-27T13:30:03.049-05:00Why Today's Generation Dumped Traditional Dating<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<b id="docs-internal-guid-82bee21f-812b-56d8-6ded-abe7ffef6a3c" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 16px; white-space: pre-wrap;">By: Drusilla Ollennu </span></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: georgia, serif; text-align: center;">
IG: @toldbydrudoll</div>
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Twitter: @toldbydrudoll</div>
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<a href="http://toldbydrudoll.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">toldbydrudoll.com</a> </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remember what old school dating used to be like? When people would go on several dates; and they took their time to get to know someone before taking the next step? Remember when men would pick women up in their cars for a date; and if they didn't have a car, they took public transportation and met the women in front of their homes? That was back in the day, or at least it feels like it. These actions are not entirely extinct, but back in the day, it was a societal norm to take it slow with dating. Now? Not so much.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before I move forward with this article, I'm going to say that I accept the fact that everyone has different desires, standards, and expectations. I cannot speak for anyone but myself, and what I write is from personal experience. In my adult life, most of the men I've dated no longer exercise these "back in the day" dating traditions. It might take only one or two dates before a guy tries to get frisky. Sometimes, there won't even need to be a date; there are some guys that just go in for the kill (aka attempting to have sex) during the first encounter. At some point I've started to wonder why this is becoming the new norm. My generation is taking less time to know one another, creating and ending relationships at a rapid rate, and I can't help but wonder, why? Why are we moving so much more quickly with each other without building a strong foundation? I'm not only talking about sex, I'm also referring to taking the next step with living arrangements and marriage. Once again, I'm not judging anyone for his or her decisions, do you boo boo! I'm just curious as to what triggered the shift in relationship dynamics over the years.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the reasons I believe dating and relationships have changed so much: technology. Just hear me out. Of course, other factors play a role, such as familial dynamics, issues with trust and commitment, past relationships that have failed, and many others, but what I have come to realize is that today's generation in particular feeds off of instant gratification. Thanks to technology, we're used to a fast pace. If you think about it, everything happens instantly: fast food, next day mail delivery, day to day communication (text messaging and emails), quick access to movies (Netflix), transportation (Uber, Lift), and the list goes on! You don't have to even make an effort to try to find someone to date because there's Tinder, Match.com...no shade to those platforms, but I'm just highlighting the immediate accessibility that comes with technology. We can pretty much get access to anything we want, at any time, and very quickly. In a world where we live this instant lifestyle, why wouldn't that also translate into our dating lives? Today's tech generation lacks patience because we are accustomed to convenience and immediate results in almost everything, and that mindset doesn't necessarily switch off when we hit the dating scene. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With the way that our world has evolved, the speed of traditional dating is no longer appealing to many. But I can't help but wonder: did traditional dating produce more effective relationships than those of today? From my own experience, it is becoming more and more rare to come across individuals who are involved in long-term relationships. Today, we're all about the "cuffing season" (aka the time for 'seasonal relationships'), "Netflix and chill," "side chick," "this is just bae" culture; all of which sound like very temporary relationships. My parents took years to get to know each other and they have been together for thirty eight years now. I'm not sharing this to boast or make anyone feel bad, but I believe that there is something worth cherishing in traditional dating. Maybe being raised by traditional parents and witnessing the shift in how people interact with each other today makes me want to explore why we have dumped our old ways. I don't know all the answers; but whatever the case may be, what I do know is that technology plays a bigger part in our love lives more than we realize. Would you agree? </span></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-36201338825922588372015-12-30T14:45:00.001-05:002015-12-30T14:45:07.734-05:00Dreams and Nightmares<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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By: Ayana Bryant-Weekes<br />
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What's the difference between a dream and a nightmare? Technically, <span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;">both are</span>a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions that pass
through the mind during sleep, h<span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;">owever, </span>a nightmare is a type of dream, one that brings feelings of helplessness, extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc.<span class="oneClick-link oneClick-available" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">At times these images can be extremely vivid and seemingly real; other times, they can be vague and confusing. Sometimes </span>we forget them as soon as we wake up and other times they <span style="font-family: inherit;">are easy to recall and stick with us for a long time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, some dreams occur </span>when<span style="font-family: inherit;"> we're not asleep. Some dreams come to us by intuition and imagination; that "little something" on the inside that sparks and indescribable passion, and drive to achieve a goal or satisfy a purpose. We dream of what we'll become in our careers, who we'll meet in our love life, where we'll travel to and so many other fill-in-the-blank details about our lives that cause us to look and plan ahead. Sometimes, if we're not careful, these dreams, these amazing desires we have for ourselves turn into nightmares when fear, laziness, discouragement, distraction and other negative factors creep in and cause us to deviate from our plans and even shy away from the plans that God has for us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There's a saying that says, "If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough"</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I won't speak for everyone, but my dreams seem like nightmares </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">because</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> they are so big and so beyond what I think my capabilities are and if I'm completely honest, my plans for 2016 SCARE ME! These plans are going to push me into a new life season that is uncharted territory for me... but, I'd like to suggest that this "fear"of our dreams, doesn't qualify them as "nightmares", l</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ike I said before, fear, laziness, discouragement and distraction are what turn our dreams into nightmares and </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think that instead of fear (since fear is a crippling illusion of inadequacy) the nervous jitters we experience before beginning something new is exactly how we know we're going in the right direction and motivates us to push ourselves and dive right in while fear hinders and </span>stifles<span style="font-family: inherit;"> us and our potential. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Last Sunday, my pastor, Bishop J. Drew Sheard, preached "The Necessity of Forgetfulness" in which he gave us a lot of things to forget in 2016. Among them were: past failures, handicaps, and fears. There were others but these three stood out the most because these were the very things causing me to second guess and even down size my dreams. </span>As we reflect on 2015 and sit at the threshold of 2016, let's evaluate our goals and dreams. Let's make sure we aren't staying our comfort zones and being small minded but also, let's be sure not to turn our own dreams into nightmares. <br />
<br />
My prayer for 2016 is that I continue to trust God at new levels, continue to trust His work and power in me and to release things that cause me to doubt His plan for my life.The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-15147723736986501582015-12-23T15:52:00.002-05:002015-12-23T15:52:56.063-05:00Should you know a person’s past when pursing them?<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-size: 21px;">By: Telicia Barksdale </span></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidiqRhK27nc5YuAUdbX50Yj-zR4_56shWYeFH8QE9DDAFXAPx-_aRr4plH7TDfgmOorVi1ezlVAOvBv7-jan45Oejd3hdeXF0uNvp9N1aF4ahEXop7kGGh70Dkbn0g6O1s3eXvbxKQ50I/s1600/me2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidiqRhK27nc5YuAUdbX50Yj-zR4_56shWYeFH8QE9DDAFXAPx-_aRr4plH7TDfgmOorVi1ezlVAOvBv7-jan45Oejd3hdeXF0uNvp9N1aF4ahEXop7kGGh70Dkbn0g6O1s3eXvbxKQ50I/s200/me2.jpg" width="200" /></a></b></div>
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Question: Have you ever cheated on someone?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Answer: I’ve cheated in every relationship I’ve been in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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*****JUDGEMENT PROCESSING*****PLEASE WAIT***** JUDGEMENT
PROCESSING*<o:p></o:p></div>
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Judgment:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“They’re serial cheater. They have cheated on every partner
they have ever been with, and they’re probably going to cheat on me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Problem:<o:p></o:p></div>
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You’ve made a decision of who they are presently, based on
what they did in the past. <o:p></o:p></div>
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______________________________________________________<o:p></o:p></div>
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“The only thing constant in life is change”<o:p></o:p></div>
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For all you know the only relationships that man may have
had were during his adolescent years, and I can tell you the person that I am
today is not the same person I was when I was 18. My mindset, my actions, my
personality have changed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We go through life we grow and learn from our experiences. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Don’t judge me for things I have done with an underdeveloped
mind, body or spirit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But with that said,<o:p></o:p></div>
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I see no harm in asking questions about the past.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Not focusing so much on what they did, but focusing more on
their PRESENT thoughts about their PAST. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So for example:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Question: Have you ever been in a monogamous relationship
with anyone?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Male A: “No, I used to mess with a bunch of females back in
the day, I lived that life and loved it. Ahh those were the days, if only I
could go back.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Male B: “No, I used to date a lot of different females back
in the day, I lived that life for a while but eventually it got old. “<o:p></o:p></div>
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Both of these males did the same thing in the past; however
based on their responses, Male B sounds more likely to be successful in a
monogamous relationship than Male A. So there’s nothing wrong with taking that
response, noting it, and moving along. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The responses to questions about their past helps you identify
things like:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Whether or not they are capable of growth? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Do they know right from wrong?<o:p></o:p></div>
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What type of morals they may have?<o:p></o:p></div>
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What do they value?<o:p></o:p></div>
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What they’re looking for?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Etc. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So by simply making conversation and sharing stories you’re
getting to know each other. You’re getting to know each other without bluntly
asking questions back to back, and making the date cold and awkward. <o:p></o:p></div>
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SO to sum it up, judge the response to the action and not
the action…. Just kidding…well kind of <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-17943684630010816472015-12-21T14:42:00.000-05:002015-12-21T14:44:47.173-05:00A Mommy Minute: Year End Review By: Jessica Byrd<br />
<br />
I love the holidays, particularly at
the end of the year. This time of year is so exciting! Most of us are preparing for the holiday and getting ready
for a new year and <i>this</i> is when I look forward to new beginnings and do my own year end
review to look over my past mistakes and lessons learned. Here are a couple things I've learned about life, parenthood,
balance and so forth this year.<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Each and every child is different and you have to treat them
accordingly. My children are thirteen months apart, and although they're
close in age, they are completely different. My daughter is self
sufficient, my son is not. His whining used to bother me so much, and
still does, but I had to realize that I can't compare my children,
nor can I discipline them the same, or talk to them the same way.
Through trial and error I've learned the importance of treating my
children like individuals instead of a group. </li>
<li> Every relationship needs clear communication, and expectations
to be clear. This was huge for me. Being a mother is important,
and my marriage is the most important (yes it says this in the bible also.) A
lot of arguments could of be avoided had we had clear communication.
Same for friendships, we and in this case I, sometimes can place
expectations on my friends and when they don't follow through, I'm
upset. All of this must be communicated with every relationship you
have. This was something huge I learned this year. </li>
<li>Redirection is huge! So, I'll admit, I am big on discipline,
but not everything needs a spanking. I learned the importance of
redirection for my children, but I've also learned the difference
between needing to use redirection and discipline. When my
children are crying because they can't get their way it's no need to
have a debate, young toddlers don't understand why they can't have
something, which means you have to explain the reason to them and
redirect your children to a "yes" ! </li>
<li>Patience! I have none, and the minute I asked God for patience,
the more I was tested. I reworked my schedule sometimes to have more
patience. As I mentioned before, waking up earlier in the mornings
allows for more patience with your children. Same goes for life,
preparation is huge in life and decreases a big rush. Preparation is
key! </li>
<li> Pray till you can't pray anymore. I saved this for last but it
is the most important. Although I consider myself to be a spiritual
person, prayer was something that I didn't do everyday.
Life can get so busy, but prayer is important! Of Course we take our big
issues to God but what about the small things. Praying for a good day,
praying for your children safety while at school, praying you make good
sound decisions. Recently, I've started my days off with prayer and it
helps!
</li>
</ol>
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<br />
**This weekend was my daughter first dance recital, she did so good and loved every bit of it!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jessica M. Byrd is the parent of a two and one year old. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">She is the founder of CHICMoms (formerly Detroit Moms Rock) and believes </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">every mother should live a life on purpose!</span></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-28014234808584626732015-12-16T12:25:00.001-05:002015-12-16T12:25:41.511-05:00Gift Buying Limits For Children<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's that time of the year where we spend precious moments
at the mall and toys stores to buy our children everything that I could’ve
imagined and more! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Last year, I went crazy on Christmas gifts for the children,
my motto was the more the merrier. What did half of those toys do? Sit in the
back room and collect dust. The only two items that were a big hit were the
drum set and the karaoke machine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This year will not be the same. Every other day I get asked,
"Did you finish your Christmas shopping"? And when I reply my
children aren't getting a lot this year, I can feel the disbelief from my
reply. But I'm fine with that!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I saw this post on Metro Parent and I simply fell in love
with it. There were a couple mottos that I found to be perfect when it comes to
setting limits on Christmas gifts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p> </o:p><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 1. </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The "Three Kings” Christmas. The Three
Kings presented Mary with three gifts when Jesus was born. So families Use the
same model and present each child just three gifts.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I personally love this. Telling your children you can choose
three things and allowing them to limit their selves I think is a good idea.
Children will most likely chose three big gifts, which is ok, given your
budget. But it sets boundaries and incorporates bible teaching as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p> </o:p><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="font-stretch: normal; text-indent: -0.25in;">2.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">There’s also a four-gift idea from Victorian
tradition. It comes with an easy-to-remember poem: “Something you want,
something you need; something to wear and something to read.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Now this is my favorite! This is the one I will be using
this year! Especially since I have toddlers and they're not expecting much yet.
I think this is awesome. It covers all ground and allows children and adults to
differentiate wants from needs. This is also a good model to follow when it
comes to buying yourself gifts for birthdays and etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span><span style="font-stretch: normal;">3. </span>Setting a budget. My one friend told her nine
year old son his budget for gifts and it was his responsibility to write down
his wants and calculate the cost to stay within the budget! Awesome way to
incorporate budgeting tools and introducing our children to money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Whatever your Christmas tradition is, I challenge parents to
truly teach our children the meaning of the holiday. Have talks about the
limits around Christmas gifts, set a tradition to give to others, or volunteer
at events that may need your help around the holidays. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Incorporate your own holiday tradition and values. Like I
mentioned before, some people find it obscure that I don't tell my children
about Santa Clause. My children knows that God supplies mommy and daddy with
all their need to purchase gifts for Christmas. For me, the holiday is about
the true reason for the season. But that's my personal family values, each
family is different! Whatever it is, own your values, despite what the world
tells us we should be doing around this holiday season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Remember, Christmas is a time of giving and sharing precious
moments together, more than anything it's a holiday about love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #fff2cc; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Source: Metro Parent</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jessica M. Byrd is the parent of a two and one year old. </span></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-77076242322397765702015-12-07T17:07:00.000-05:002015-12-07T18:49:29.461-05:00 Don't Sweat The Small Stuff! "Things that don't have a vision will perish" <br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yesterday, my pastor mentioned something that stuck with me like glue! "Don't sweat the small stuff" I thought about times when I had sweat the small stuff with my children. Days their rooms weren't clean, I didn't finish their laundry, when my daughters' hair wasn't nice and neat, or my sons temper tantrums in the mall. All small things that have really stressed me out! Life is too busy and way too hectic as it is, to sweat small things. I've decided to let small things be that, small things! If I leave the house and my daughter hair isn't perfect despite me just combing it ten minutes ago, then oh well! If I didn't get to laundry as planned and the clothes havn't been folded in three days then oh well! As mothers we have busy lives and if we let it - small things can over take the bigger problems. So parents I challenge you for 2016 to not sweat the small stuff!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Next, my pastor talked about having a vision for your life. While he was implying a personal vision I thought about a family vision. What is your family vision for 2016? Maybe it's Sunday family time, or incorporating a family budget, which means teaching your toddlers about money, or maybe it means no TV on certain days to really have quality time with your children. Create a family vision and stick to it for the new year, let everything you do be guided by your vision. My family's vision is being gentle with each other, becoming aware of our spending, and decreasing the use of electronics!!! What is your family vision?! I would love to hear!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Speaking of, "don't sweat the small stuff" on Saturday I was completely overwhelmed with my children so I took a day to myself! Boy was it needed! This weekend was very light as I caught up on me time and Rest!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQjDFfbfAk39uYsy6l4HsREWP27JStouZehg0nAZ98PrpLsi46J9p6nOFOpvREFUJ6PULq5dF1ORFejmhcOKhLhQ7fkhxGCZ2GSMqi_MS7rVek7VcJdQLSg2sORn1JImF0RfVgW-aqE8/s1600/Jessica+Byrd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQjDFfbfAk39uYsy6l4HsREWP27JStouZehg0nAZ98PrpLsi46J9p6nOFOpvREFUJ6PULq5dF1ORFejmhcOKhLhQ7fkhxGCZ2GSMqi_MS7rVek7VcJdQLSg2sORn1JImF0RfVgW-aqE8/s200/Jessica+Byrd.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jessica M. Byrd is the parent of a two and one year old. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">She is the founder of CHICMoms (formerly Detroit Moms Rock) and believes </span></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-27001771963907263032015-12-03T15:17:00.001-05:002015-12-03T17:31:12.402-05:00It Looks A Lot Like Christmas<div class="MsoNormal">
By Ayana Braynt-Weekes<o:p></o:p></div>
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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I get most
excited around this time of year. The last of the Thanksgiving leftovers
(should be) gone, Christmas music is playing on the radio and it's time to
unpack the big red bows, wreathes and Christmas lights. I think I get more
excited about decorating for christmas than the actual holiday! When I lived in
New York, one of my favorite things to do during the holiday, was look at all
the holiday window displays. Holidays in New York are always next level and the
window displays have my heart.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2mIrpU2IboemrMhbXwXJPz-SMHItHiER6_p-7f4vWDaiqeaycENDAJHWkqJR1lu3Cg-V8w_YMzm6qeIxkioTheo0Kd5ohyny-6Jn1z1Lla4-W3mWzM2G36y7xB0yxv0TtjcsAjcM9a7k/s1600/00-holiday-windows-2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2mIrpU2IboemrMhbXwXJPz-SMHItHiER6_p-7f4vWDaiqeaycENDAJHWkqJR1lu3Cg-V8w_YMzm6qeIxkioTheo0Kd5ohyny-6Jn1z1Lla4-W3mWzM2G36y7xB0yxv0TtjcsAjcM9a7k/s320/00-holiday-windows-2015.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I haven't been able
to see the NY holiday window displays in person since moving back to Detroit
so, join me in taking <a href="http://observer.com/2015/12/a-visual-tour-of-new-yorks-holiday-windows/" target="_blank">The NYC Observer's Visual Tour of New York's HolidayWindows</a>.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b>Banquet on 5th Ave,</b> - The Ice Queen of the Saks Fifth Avenue
Winter Palace hosted a Holiday Banquet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg84GHeg9Ao8lbAM2gzQhJ-XIi5FoPnnxHSjdggchaXhsIN6XffOCOTZHkGLBTgsUycvpbBxNjcargcJx6GHGnhHRnFpx2cA52rUixdU6amW0JJYVBnmKNw9Y4yBMsWfyf_-V451UHigBE/s1600/banquet-03-o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLqvUyK9NAF_FM-PVxFpTL0RjubnjYE7Iek-s4WVo08Kipn7Bl1JnQhZ20bbv0ObdOu9t_Pe1B3j9jSkCYMjK9Zlz8wRsjhx4bwnWsRWdhoSRQQ1UvPAKK_ua-C8jWH4aT2ZR607ZZuQ/s1600/banquet-01-o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLqvUyK9NAF_FM-PVxFpTL0RjubnjYE7Iek-s4WVo08Kipn7Bl1JnQhZ20bbv0ObdOu9t_Pe1B3j9jSkCYMjK9Zlz8wRsjhx4bwnWsRWdhoSRQQ1UvPAKK_ua-C8jWH4aT2ZR607ZZuQ/s200/banquet-01-o.jpg" width="181" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegx7WfAqknKUzxy3ih98FpOKphQma511f3Yatgcs4iwNqecTx_QrAtCAEetgG4TEmPVjQtcI3Zd0Yc2rotbu6t2C8pS7C_2GHYiPBSLeaIS1q3Zjs70Pwus_49CIGTK2WgVInAxrP0ZI/s1600/banquet-04-o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegx7WfAqknKUzxy3ih98FpOKphQma511f3Yatgcs4iwNqecTx_QrAtCAEetgG4TEmPVjQtcI3Zd0Yc2rotbu6t2C8pS7C_2GHYiPBSLeaIS1q3Zjs70Pwus_49CIGTK2WgVInAxrP0ZI/s200/banquet-04-o.jpg" width="189" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54hnHtnHKoQTjwr2zranxuJC3wHZyMVJ9KF97QxVCXOLlQfr1ienz4hoicXdRZuIkV4MJ7x13s3UehnsSPYPfXnDRaMRlp_wi6KFUJUD-U1wt2h5FAtngaLyDRCR4aOcDfZbxlr7CiA0/s1600/banquet-06-o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="169" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj54hnHtnHKoQTjwr2zranxuJC3wHZyMVJ9KF97QxVCXOLlQfr1ienz4hoicXdRZuIkV4MJ7x13s3UehnsSPYPfXnDRaMRlp_wi6KFUJUD-U1wt2h5FAtngaLyDRCR4aOcDfZbxlr7CiA0/s200/banquet-06-o.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLRGa6slSWUL8fOxlVMblPk8fboVQmpAHish-ZOvbWgtTBy9h6lq-oIwRj_X3Eun3h6SN1q05CpRb3XnE-pecCB90g9XPgOX-JdLs0DpyiUw0XJ4X4AX7e66zoESOcNKzc4rSylr8xe4/s1600/banquet-03-o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLRGa6slSWUL8fOxlVMblPk8fboVQmpAHish-ZOvbWgtTBy9h6lq-oIwRj_X3Eun3h6SN1q05CpRb3XnE-pecCB90g9XPgOX-JdLs0DpyiUw0XJ4X4AX7e66zoESOcNKzc4rSylr8xe4/s200/banquet-03-o.jpg" width="183" /></a></div>
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<b>Ice: <i>Winter's Brilliance</i> </b>- This year the formula for the
perfect Barney's holiday window only required one major element: Ice. The 2015
Barney's Holiday window showcased the brilliance of winter's crystal with an
organically formed ice sculpture, live ice sculpting performances, Ice Castle
Installations and 700 handblown elements by Seattle-based glass artist Dale
Chihuly.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYG53kPs5J4ey8nBXGtC818wPb5MqWOh5aJ2QQJjlAaf1M32483l6YwCUsDDunWU_rKBfudR5DGP1tqT65KEhi_J1KiUhE_XSTuxB8I_cmPOrm4G46ArFLNkdnFP_8uc4P8QzCUl_ANdQ/s1600/screen-shot-2015-11-30-at-12-12-24-pm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYG53kPs5J4ey8nBXGtC818wPb5MqWOh5aJ2QQJjlAaf1M32483l6YwCUsDDunWU_rKBfudR5DGP1tqT65KEhi_J1KiUhE_XSTuxB8I_cmPOrm4G46ArFLNkdnFP_8uc4P8QzCUl_ANdQ/s320/screen-shot-2015-11-30-at-12-12-24-pm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Arctic Chase x Lexus</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2kap-YXOqBdfrSRA7qaLPBL4B3r4DFmVN8OcZ2vSOdWAMS7ONf77UHX598QILyodtr8IH15BrsUaW6nHJNUHpbYiKMVDGBtphB_RJpW03jf1Y47VMTbIWzXwZTRPbX8Tnb9tJjyrKjpk/s1600/ice-carvers-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2kap-YXOqBdfrSRA7qaLPBL4B3r4DFmVN8OcZ2vSOdWAMS7ONf77UHX598QILyodtr8IH15BrsUaW6nHJNUHpbYiKMVDGBtphB_RJpW03jf1Y47VMTbIWzXwZTRPbX8Tnb9tJjyrKjpk/s320/ice-carvers-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">The Ice Carvers: Live Ice Sculpting</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">A cavernous ice sculpture is spritzed with water, allowing for a spontaneous development of its organic form.</span></td></tr>
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<o:p> </o:p><b>Gingerbread Kingdom</b> - 5th avenue shoppers can't miss the Lord and Taylor Gingerbread Kingdom and Sweet Shoppe. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BPPgrUNQ2PaOXI9d-LLhZeHQtJbE0qi-TBukuGYnNaUIaB51G4XsuKWTTuTDz9m0rGUnVAm20YdK7DDC0qoR9jKwC4Ht4FgNcxFrDUJuN6liBryZHkJNvWteEX9oY0rNbiA7wX3Bd9U/s1600/588749019_co_2720_5941a19a76357ae93a1815d1b39ad0d4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BPPgrUNQ2PaOXI9d-LLhZeHQtJbE0qi-TBukuGYnNaUIaB51G4XsuKWTTuTDz9m0rGUnVAm20YdK7DDC0qoR9jKwC4Ht4FgNcxFrDUJuN6liBryZHkJNvWteEX9oY0rNbiA7wX3Bd9U/s200/588749019_co_2720_5941a19a76357ae93a1815d1b39ad0d4.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvh1V6aG9lDiZ5RdDUZ3APVlsWz76Z2x1TGONP8DBXcB2QwEGbHJzhDuS7S6P_7Cu9jGPtg72owghucbiy5u_sHWEiHsd7CSx8c3HBCPXFXaMYdX_sA-PskpNVqjEMqWfI7EIstmzT6nw/s1600/588749019_co_2176_9502d0e6091ab5e88ccedae1e16d680d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvh1V6aG9lDiZ5RdDUZ3APVlsWz76Z2x1TGONP8DBXcB2QwEGbHJzhDuS7S6P_7Cu9jGPtg72owghucbiy5u_sHWEiHsd7CSx8c3HBCPXFXaMYdX_sA-PskpNVqjEMqWfI7EIstmzT6nw/s200/588749019_co_2176_9502d0e6091ab5e88ccedae1e16d680d.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Christmas in Bloom </b>- Bloomingdale's brought in florist Jeff
Latham to create a floral Holiday installation that represent how the holiday
season through all five senses from the ring of reindeer bells to the
quintessential scent of fresh pine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPXZTAzpJau21wrpWDUfaklSYZT8HLffsAyF-wcpBnEkoolYahiZf1Dcd1oyKetVQWUDUG3Fgh8zn3aMrTYyHwIFHt7_8o6tBI5biHICckkZwHItANil4F0IGa1k4UbyNPKxyGM229Zyk/s1600/bfa_14289_1772650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPXZTAzpJau21wrpWDUfaklSYZT8HLffsAyF-wcpBnEkoolYahiZf1Dcd1oyKetVQWUDUG3Fgh8zn3aMrTYyHwIFHt7_8o6tBI5biHICckkZwHItANil4F0IGa1k4UbyNPKxyGM229Zyk/s320/bfa_14289_1772650.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Bells hang from the gold antlers of a reindeer, seated in a bed of red roses. As the sculpture nods its head, it creates a symphony of chimes</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Two snowmen wrapped in blooming wrapped scarves.</span></td></tr>
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<b>Crown Jewels: <i>Nights in Crystal Armor</i> </b>- Burgdorf Goodman
celebrated Swaravki's 12th Anniversary with a “Brilliant Holiday” themed window
display featuring more than 7 million of Swarovski 's world acclaimed crystals.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">"The Crown Jewels,"</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeT__JevOoWnj43Cf392TdYzdWi0aOC03Y3LgNx5-LU9cgeGQacfNtQ_eYfTg4QxBvV8GbTc0diS6XdW5-GZLEHPZEudmwjCp4OJ5LVmSv-08-KJnJwYy2Lr0wGb-mZGTUeV1gabTAAV0/s1600/the-crystal-cavern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeT__JevOoWnj43Cf392TdYzdWi0aOC03Y3LgNx5-LU9cgeGQacfNtQ_eYfTg4QxBvV8GbTc0diS6XdW5-GZLEHPZEudmwjCp4OJ5LVmSv-08-KJnJwYy2Lr0wGb-mZGTUeV1gabTAAV0/s320/the-crystal-cavern.jpg" width="240" /></a><o:p> </o:p></div>
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<b>Henri Loves The Holidays</b> - <o:p></o:p>Inspired by a Parisian apartment, the displays at
Henri Bendel spotlight Izak's iconic Bendel girl illustrations. With an elegant
fireplace and chandelier, the main window is built to showcase "every
Bendel girl's dream," while a four-story parade of twinkling lights climbs
over the building's Fifth Avenue front.</div>
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<b>A Charlie Brown Christmas </b>- An interactive Peanuts-themed
Christmas display at Macy's in Herald Square allows viewers to play the piano
and hear the notes. Click <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/11/19/macys-herald-square-holiday-window-display/76045472/" target="_blank">Here</a> to see behind the scenes footage of this year's
Macy's Holiday window.</div>
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<span style="color: magenta;">Follow The A Team Talk Show </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-1050901460093020532015-11-30T11:31:00.001-05:002015-11-30T17:22:04.997-05:00A Mommy Minute: The News Is Out!!!!!<div class="p1" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">By: Jessica Byrd </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Yay!!! The news is out! Moms Club is officially a non-profit organization and our new name is CHICmom.<i> 'CHIC'</i> stands for, Confident, Heroic, Inspiring, Courageous Mom. I am so excited for the direction that CHICmom is going. Our main goal is to equip mothers with the tools and necessities to become better mothers, while encouraging mothers to live their best lives. </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Being a mother takes a sacrifice and more often then not, mothers always put themselves last. I want mothers to know that our title as "mom" doesn't stop us from fulfilling our dreams and life purposes. Too many times we give up on ourselves to be the best mothers we can be to our children. Motherhood is very important but I encourage mothers to be our children's <i>example</i>. Through the CHICmom organization, we will host workshops, play dates, moms nights out, and more. Are you a CHICmom ? Join us! </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">This weekend was princess Lailah birthday party!!! My baby is now the big 3! Her party was held at the Hands on Museum in Ann Arbor and afterwards we sang happy birthday, had ice cream, cake and tacos at home! It was so much fun!!!! </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!! I am looking forward to another year! In January CHICmom will host our vision board party! Details will be coming soon! </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: center;">Jessica M. Byrd is the parent of a two and one year old .</span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: center;">She is the founder of CHICMom (formerly Detroit Moms Rock) </span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: center;">and believes </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); color: #8e7cc3; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: center;">every mother should live a life on purpose!</span></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-44826963332808460342015-11-25T14:05:00.000-05:002015-11-25T14:05:36.134-05:00Think Light, Not Dark: Contouring for Black Women <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By Simone Carter </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">— </span><a href="http://goodgirlgonefab.com/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.2; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: 14.6666666666667px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">goodgirlgonefab.com</span></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jeZHKL2Vz5P-cExt4hyu7FU9YTIyjLhbRskhXjEsT3z_YHZSPLcAa5P0uBq4H3cGc8vjqX6SegL13Hsbidku_qbMPujKHTUSoxFQ_keS0bl8ljLinfF-2ShAo4Oj16ZsEekjFxy9uNg/s1600/31fba067-0f00-4b4d-a64c-796750d034aa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jeZHKL2Vz5P-cExt4hyu7FU9YTIyjLhbRskhXjEsT3z_YHZSPLcAa5P0uBq4H3cGc8vjqX6SegL13Hsbidku_qbMPujKHTUSoxFQ_keS0bl8ljLinfF-2ShAo4Oj16ZsEekjFxy9uNg/s320/31fba067-0f00-4b4d-a64c-796750d034aa.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: yellow;">Instagram: @reenablaze</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Recently on Twitter, I had a conversation with two of my followers about contouring for darker skin tones. If you</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ve been in the beauty loop for the past few years, you</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ve probably heard about contouring and the wonderful ways it can add definition and shadows to your face. However, as a black woman adding shadows to my already dark skin is not as easy as it seems on YouTube tutorials. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sure, contouring for darker skin tones is possible but the trick isn</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">t adding darker shades</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">— </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">it</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">s highlighting. Think about it. When you see contouring on fair skin, they add darker shades to define and create precise bone structure. This would have to be the opposite on darker tones. So add lighter shades to create the definition we need. Honestly, I find highlighting so much easier than contouring. I learned this tip from experimenting with my makeup and also working at Sephora. Everyday at the start of shift, we watch videos on beauty trends and tips to help us teach clients in the store. Watching the video by Sephora Pro has made me realize that every face is different so we need to different steps to achieve the beauty look desired.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you are highlighting, it</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ll be easier to add darker shades to contour. The Anastasia Beverly Hills Cream Contour Kit in the color Deep (</span><a href="http://www.anastasiabeverlyhills.com/contour-cream-kit.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.anastasiabeverlyhills.com/contour-cream-kit.html</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). is a great choice after highlighting because the colors are rich and deep. It also comes with different color options for contouring, concealing and most importability highlighting. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another great option is the Sephora Collection Highlight Lowlight Face Contour Duo Stick. (</span><a href="http://www.sephora.com/highlight-lowlight-face-contour-duo-P394919?skuId=1668706" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.sephora.com/highlight-lowlight-face-contour-duo-P394919?skuId=1668706</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) It is a simple way to highlight and contour in two steps. Its inexpensive and easy for beginners looking to add the definition desired. </span></span></div>
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<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So with this quick tip of information, my favorite product that help with highlighting is the LA Girl Pro Concealer. This product is a must have for everyone. It comes in a variety of shades that cab be used for highlighting, color correcting and contouring. I use it mostly for everyday highlighting and it works wonders. Its also inexpensive and can be found in local beauty supply store or online. (</span><a href="http://www.lagirlusa.com/pro-conceal-2243.html" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.lagirlusa.com/pro-conceal-2243.html</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just remember, when you are trying this new tip to choose a highlighting shade that is two to three shades lighter than your skin tone. If you have any highlighting tips, tricks or questions, tweet me @_ReenaBlaze using the hashtag #GoodGirlGoneFab! </span></span></div>
The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-30746778961882947652015-11-23T15:45:00.001-05:002015-11-23T15:55:34.528-05:00A Mommy Minute: Fun Family Traditions For the Holidays!!!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
loveeeeee the holidays!!!! I know it's easy to get wrapped up in presents,
turkeys, Christmas trees, and Santa Clause, but holidays means traditions!!
It's the time of year where you can celebrate with your families, gather around
the table, play games, and just have good old-fashioned fun!!! Here are some
fun holiday traditions you can set for your family.</span></div>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Holiday Ornaments</span></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Last year, one of my coworkers
had a holiday party and I thought this was the cutest thing. Her house was
decorated with ornaments she had collected as a child. Each year when she
was younger she picked one special ornament to hang on the tree and had to
tell why that ornament was important to her. So simple! But it gets the
children involved and it introduces values at a young age. </span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b><span style="color: magenta;">Homemade Holiday
Cards</span></b> I like this, especially for toddlers. Every year, many
people spend a lot of money on Christmas pictures, which I am a big fan
of, but how cute would it be to send personalized cards to grandma and
grandpa made from hand by their grandchildren. It's a wonderful keep sake
that can be done yearly.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A letter to God</span></b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. I know writing letters to
Santa is popular but this year I will start a new tradition with my little
ones. We will write a letter to God for all we're grateful for. I love
this, it teaches our children gratitude. I will also participate and
include in my letter things I learned and am grateful for. We will
decorate the letter seal it up and secure them in a box. At the end of
every year we will revisit our letters. I am looking forward to our
letters to God this year!</span></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Happy
holidays everyone! This weekend the Byrd family went to the tree lighting in
Downtown Detroit! It was crowded but my children really enjoyed it!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQjDFfbfAk39uYsy6l4HsREWP27JStouZehg0nAZ98PrpLsi46J9p6nOFOpvREFUJ6PULq5dF1ORFejmhcOKhLhQ7fkhxGCZ2GSMqi_MS7rVek7VcJdQLSg2sORn1JImF0RfVgW-aqE8/s1600/Jessica+Byrd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrQjDFfbfAk39uYsy6l4HsREWP27JStouZehg0nAZ98PrpLsi46J9p6nOFOpvREFUJ6PULq5dF1ORFejmhcOKhLhQ7fkhxGCZ2GSMqi_MS7rVek7VcJdQLSg2sORn1JImF0RfVgW-aqE8/s200/Jessica+Byrd.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
Jessica M. Byrd is the parent of a two and one year old.
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She is the founder of Detroit Moms Rock and
believes </div>
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every mother should live a life on purpose!</div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-20203935271181196222015-11-19T16:13:00.004-05:002015-11-19T17:17:39.751-05:00Untying The Knot: Hall Passes and Today's Relationship Culture By: Ayana Bryant-Weekes<br />
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<br />
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I remember Hall Passes. In middle school, they were written proof that I had permission to get out of class and roam the hallway. Whether I was taking a "bored with class bathroom break", or a "wake me up walk" to my locker, as long as I had a hall pass, I knew I wouldn't be in trouble for being caught in the hallway while class was in session. Now, hall passes have taken on a completely different meaning.. <br />
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<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b><i>Rick and Fred, two husbands who are having difficulty in their
marriages, are given a Hall Pass by their wives: for one week, they can
do whatever they want.</i></b> This is the plot summary of Hall Pass (2011) a romantic comedy that made light of a concept from the 1960's- 80's that introduced a brand new meaning to the elementary term, hall pass.<br />
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</blockquote>
Today's relationship culture seems to lean towards the latter as a solution to infidelity in their relationships; you can even find an updated definition of the term on <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Hall+Pass" target="_blank">Urban Dictionary </a>that
ranges from a theoretical pass or permission slip, granted by one's
spouse, boyfriend, or girlfriend to go out socially with friends (but
did NOT imply any romantic or sexual encounters), to a week off from
marriage to do whatever you want without consequences. Maybe it's just me, but this new "hall pass" concept just isn't sitting right with me.<br />
<br />
First, Toya Wright appeared on <a href="http://www.bravotv.com/untying-the-knot/"><i>Untying The Knot</i></a>, Bravo’s new reality show that attempts to help troubled couples "divorce with dignity", and shared with divorce lawyer
Vikki Ziegler that she gave her husband Mickey Wright (AKA Memphitz) a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/94kRj6FQoG/?taken-by=theybfdaily" target="_blank">hall pass</a> to cheat.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“She gives me eight days a year to do what I want, no
questions asked,” Memphitz said. </i> </blockquote>
THEN, Mo’Nique tells <a href="http://trueexclusives.com/2015/11/17/interview-moworldwide-talks-stand-up-comedy-weight-loss-the-secret-to-a-successful-marriage-reality-tv-more/" target="_blank">True Exclusives</a> that the idea of cheating being a deal-breaker
in relationships is a Western idea that comes from a culture of ownership and defends the hall pass concept.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLJuqlaKLaDLtgmSqJL6ueJy5lcBodQaMlevd9IuwJxzi4CO9gD65ze0DxRjkND4wMQRvZfD1rUK5rRh2ulr-NsOuLI2ImGVe5ryGpe5sbr9mNGeKqo8bD-Dbw6VFh3g9aA1b9pbEPq8/s1600/spl1012553_012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLJuqlaKLaDLtgmSqJL6ueJy5lcBodQaMlevd9IuwJxzi4CO9gD65ze0DxRjkND4wMQRvZfD1rUK5rRh2ulr-NsOuLI2ImGVe5ryGpe5sbr9mNGeKqo8bD-Dbw6VFh3g9aA1b9pbEPq8/s320/spl1012553_012.jpg" width="320" /></a><i>“We’ve been taught to have ownership,
and that’s the Western way to do it. I’m not sure where you originate
from, but I originate from this place called Africa and what I know
about African kings—tell me one of them who just had one wife. Do you
know any of them? I don’t. That’s where I originate from. So when we
came here, we adopted other people’s ways, and that’s called ownership.
There was a time when I was owned before. I don’t want to be owned
anymore.</i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
I'm not buying it. I understand that the lines of communications between
husbands and wives must remain open and honest, and I understand that
women are trying to take the allure out of cheating by making it less of
a forbidden act, but doesn't allowing your mate a "no questions asked
hall pass" to step outside of your union seem to defeat God's purpose of
marriage<i>? </i>How can two become one...[Ephesians 5:31 NIV] if your spouse has the opportunity to include a third party? </blockquote>
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Today's relationship culture is genius at coming up with ways to profess commitment without actually committing to anything. "The secret to a long lasting marriage" evolves more and more and as time goes on, makes it seem almost outlandish to abide by any standard of marriage that requires accountability. Instead of coming up with new methods to keep your mate from cheating, why not strengthen the bond you have with your mate through honesty and prayer; praying (as a couple and individually) that God guards your hearts and desires and keeps your marriage new and vibrant.<br />
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I say a special prayer for married couples that their love and desire for each other remain strong. As a single woman, I've become accustomed to the fluidity of my singleness. I can only imagine the prayer, diligence and self sacrifice it takes to commit to another person, especially for a lifetime.The words of Proverbs 5:18-19 stay in my heart for couples struggling to fight their desire to step out of their relationships. <br />
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<b></b><i><span class="verse-18">18. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.</span></i><i> 19.
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A loving doe, a graceful deer-- may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love. </span></i></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-28710383952085030462015-11-16T16:25:00.002-05:002015-11-16T16:25:29.851-05:003 Things I learned from Moms and Finance Workshop<span>3 key things I learned from the Moms and Finance workshop that's relates to everyday life</span><br />
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<span><b>1. Discipline- </b>At the workshop we talked about <span style="color: magenta;">the importance of
setting a budget</span> and recording our actual expenses on a monthly basis
with a year-to date summary to analyze your financial expenses. For
many, creating the budget was the easy step; the hard part was having
enough discipline to stick to their budget. As I reflected on this in my
own personal life, I thought, <i>"There goes that "D" word again!</i>"
<span style="color: magenta;">Discipline</span> is not only something you need in finances but quite frankly,
something you need in life period! Discipline helps you reach goals and
achieve them! Discipline is a very good characteristic trait everyone
should have!<span> </span></span>
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<b></b><span><b>2. Goals- </b>In another part of the workshop, attendees were asked to write
down their short term and long term financial goals and steps to achieve
their personal financial goals. Again, another essential point in life!
<span style="color: magenta;">We all must have goals!</span> Otherwise, what are we living for? God didn't
want us to just take up space and live day to day. What are your goals? I
always start with personal goals because I am a strong believer in
working on yourself first. Next what are your family goals? What are
your career goals? It is very important to have goals and values and
stick to them. Track your progress and keep pushing!<span> </span></span>
<span></span><br />
<span>3. Last but surely not least!<b> Knowledge and information!</b> The sole
purpose of some mothers for attending the workshop was to get knowledge and
information to become more financially savvy. This is so important!
Learning doesn't stop when you graduate from college. Learning is a life
journey. <span style="color: magenta;">You should always be seeking knowledge and information for
anything that you're not aware of.</span> Knowledge is the one simple thing
that will set people apart from succeeding or failing! Make the best of
our new savvy technology world! Don't just use it for social media, seek
knowledge and like-minded organizations and groups. Never stop
learning!</span><br />
<span> </span>
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<span></span><br />
<span></span><br />
<span>The workshop was amazing!!!!! I am so thankful for everyone that attended and I'm looking forward to many many more!</span><span></span><br />
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<span>I also took my son to soccer this week and boy was it a workout
but he had tons of fun! There are soccer classes at Total Soccer for
ages starting as young as 18-24 months! So much fun and really engages
the children!</span><br />
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<span> </span>The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-54512404107380268752015-11-09T13:03:00.001-05:002015-11-09T13:03:40.216-05:00Breakfast With Toddlers: A Mommy Minute <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In honor of all the mothers out there, especially working mothers that are on a strict schedule in the morning. This post is for you!!!!! I wake up at 6:17am every morning, after hitting the snooze button five times, to get my work day started and today just happened to be one of those frustrating mornings!! You know, the morning that both of your deanding toddlers decide to have a crying match and all you want them to do is get dressed for school. Thank God I have a good morning routine that allows an extra fifteen minutes every day for times like these. But more importantly, I'm happy that breakfast is usually always quick, simple and easy! Here are five of my mornings go-to's for my toddlers that make my mornings just that much easier!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <u>Yogurt and English Muffin with jelly</u>. My children loves this combination and it's so easy and takes hardly any time. If I have extra time in the morning I will make turkey sausages with this as well! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <u>Quakers oatmeal with brown sugar!</u> My children </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">love oatmeal. Usually I serve this with grapes and Orange Juice and they"re good to go!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <u>Grilled cheese with fruit, usually strawberries!</u> Another home run for my children and quick and simple! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. <u>Eggs, toast, and a banana</u>. This is as close as I get to a full breakfast on weekdays. Sometimes I will cook a link turkey sausage depending on if I have the extra 7 minutes to spare.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. <u>Peanut butter and jelly and fruit cup</u>. What kid doesn't love peanut butter and jelly? And the fruit cups are like magic to my children.</span><br />
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<a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=bb8c6e6e56&view=fimg&th=150ec823a80f7869&attid=0.1.1&disp=emb&attbid=ANGjdJ8eU-WFdulFChl03oHX8SPESvKmLMKz9kJ2lgrvztifb191RPVeeLyQtPBeFGoZlAJldKxQlZhNfB4uIyxLAHNndlHaR7tSQ1GCD5bySkf0jGLrVCpRr_O5P2U&sz=s0-l75-ft&ats=1447086649946&rm=150ec823a80f7869&zw&atsh=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="Displaying Image-1.jpg" border="0" height="320" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=bb8c6e6e56&view=fimg&th=150ec823a80f7869&attid=0.1.1&disp=emb&attbid=ANGjdJ8eU-WFdulFChl03oHX8SPESvKmLMKz9kJ2lgrvztifb191RPVeeLyQtPBeFGoZlAJldKxQlZhNfB4uIyxLAHNndlHaR7tSQ1GCD5bySkf0jGLrVCpRr_O5P2U&sz=s0-l75-ft&ats=1447086649946&rm=150ec823a80f7869&zw&atsh=1" width="301" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope this helped! Mornings can be hectic and you never know what moods you'll be dealing with, with your toddlers so being prepared with a quick and easy breakfast always helps! In addition, I start my mornings with devotionals that really ease my mind. Sometimes I don't have time to sit and eat with my children so I keep a pack of oatmeal at work, where I can enjoy my breakfast at peace!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This weekend is the moms and finance workshop and I'm so excited!!!!! We have four spots left for anyone interested? Email me at <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: magenta;">mrsjessicamarieb@gmail.com</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: yellow; color: #555555; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL76sKcjxTmWCjzG5p9TCzR5OOro9BKIcsPuzFYxDZ5pXZSGMAxrCf61tQPwqk8gKhCTjAErwN8UIBWJXs0IRIcjgbh6hLbMDUnBADjWzTko7OOlTVZInBOH6voyqhdcM89uLJuYszbZs/s200/blogger-image-673404874.jpg" style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><br style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;" /><span style="background-color: black; color: #8e7cc3; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Jessica M. Byrd<br /> is the parent of a two and one year old. </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">She is the founder of Detroit Moms Rock and believes </span></span></span><br /><div>
<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">every mother should live a life on purpose</span></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-8381717675369167092015-11-04T20:43:00.000-05:002015-11-04T20:43:11.106-05:00LYP Fitness x The A Team Talk Show: The Body Goals Workout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-574sOeQzugu8ZE8aLOXJyB4YBKBxG6mqd0rvln3eL3xfMYZEt9IMQlmOHkptzWzr0nLji3u51ih2AXasQzYLMe03-pNKievrgdm9logDd8La5_s7gynyQ4BY7w1610jrcI4dlfdK1w/s1600/body+goals2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
For me, 2016 will be the year of 25th birthday trips to Cancun, Jamaica, Barbados, and anywhere else with warm, exotic scenery that warrants a banging body and when I picture myself on all these cool 25-year-old vacations, I can't help but think about the work I'll need to put in to reach my Body Goal. They say summer bodies are made in the winter, so, I have 2-3 months left to reach my 2016 Body Goals. <br />
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At one point in time, I was able to run 2 miles a day on a hilly New Jersey street, now, I'm lucky if I can lightly jog a mile on a treadmill without collapsing. Since I'm pretty much back at square one now, I had to make sure my body goal wasn't too intimidating, over ambitious, or unrealistic. Today, a lot of people's "body goals" mimick the hour glass, "what waist", vixen-esque body type that dominates pop culture, which is cool for women who inherently have that shape but every woman is different. Slim waists and big butts aren't in my genes (no pun intended) so I'd literally be killing myself trying to mold my body into a shape that I don't have. Part of determining my body goal was understanding my own body and in searching for a comfortable end result, I've come to know myself as a top-heavy woman (duh) with a killer set of legs.<br />
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Based on that information, I've adopted Claire Sulmers, Editor In Cheif of <a href="http://fashionbombdaily.com/" target="_blank">Fashion Bomb Daily </a>as my official Body goals. Her legs are EVERYTHING and she carries being top-heavy very well. I think with some motivation and hard work, I can definitely achieve my body goals.<br />
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Speaking of hard work and motivation, I've decided that one of the ways to help me stick to achieving my body goals, is to get other people in on it! I've already made a standing Saturday workout appointment with my friend Jessica, and now I've convinced our host Ambrea to workout with me on Sunday evenings. Now, i'm all about being in shape and getting fit but I am by no means a fitness expert. That's why we've enlisted the personal training/ fitness motivational Serves of <a href="http://www.luluplusyoufitness.com/" target="_blank">LuLu + You Fitness! </a> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="line-height: normal;">As
a Certified Fitness Trainer, </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="line-height: normal;">Lulu healed her mind, body, and spirit through changing her diet, detoxing and cleansing, and prayer.</span></span></span></span></div>
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This past Sunday was The A Team Talk Show's first session with LuLu. After we sent her our weight goals, target areas etc. she designed this Body Goal workout for us:<br />
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20 Plate Swings</div>
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30 second jump ropes</div>
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10 floor chest presses</div>
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10 chest to ground push-ups</div>
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30 second battle ropes</div>
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25 ball toss with squats</div>
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20 jump floor taps</div>
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and 20 downward dogs</div>
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Each exercise was done 2 times.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">To go along with our Body Goals workout, we also received the </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
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div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;} </style></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lulu + You Fitness 7 day Jumpstart and meal diary with detox meal instructions, and the LPY (at home) Burn workout. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tune in to Move It Monday on the The A Team Talk Show every Monday to keep up with our fitness progress.</span><span style="font-family: "Han Graph Papyrus"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Han Graph Papyrus"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Han Graph Papyrus";"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><style></style>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-69851505335362767532015-11-02T14:18:00.004-05:002015-11-04T17:34:14.891-05:00A Mommy Minute with Jessica Byrd: Birthday Parties..Don't Be Like Me!<br />
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By: Jessica Byrd<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="color: magenta;"></span></span></u></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In honor of my daughter’s birthday this month, I decided to talk about celebrating our little ones birthday! Yes, I am one of those moms who goes above and beyond for my children’s birthday, however this year, I’ve decided to take another approach. One significant goal for me as approaching 30 next year is to become financial stable. So that means no more $300 parties for my little ones every year, maybe milestones but not every year! And yes, I have spent $300 on my children’s parties at the mere age of one and two years old. I love celebrations and I just can’t let a birthday go by without celebrating but this year we’re inviting close family and friends to a special outing then singing happy birthday at our home! I want to share with you a couple mistakes I’ve made through this whole birthday planning extravaganza. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: magenta;">1st birthday parties should be at home!!!</span> So many people told me this, but I wanted to do it my way. I must admit my son’s first birthday party at <a href="http://www.thelittlegym.com/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">My Little Gym</a> was awesome, but we celebrated my daughter's birthday at Chuck E Cheese, and in my opinion, it’s no place for a one year old!! If I could do it all over, I would save booking a place for at least the second birthday, and celebrate their first birthday at home with family and close friends. Let’s be honest, our children won’t remember at this age, and this birthday party is really more about you than anyone else. If you don’t want to do it at home, try a small outing, but please don’t make the mistake I did spending almost $300 for two hours, and your child remembered nothing or better yet couldn’t even participate in the activities. Instead start your child’s college savings account and ask family members to contribute. Save opening the gifts and fancy locations for an age that your child really can remember and better yet enjoy!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: magenta;">Cakes!!!</span> I love fancy cakes, but again, if you can save a buck or two, I’m all for it! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With that being said, I think the easiest and most efficient treat for children’s parties are</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cupcakes and bakeries are becoming really creative with cute ways to decorate cupcakes. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Last year, I even purchased cupcakes from Sam’s Club for my son’s party and everyone</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">raved about how good they were.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. <span style="color: magenta;">Choose a venue that suits your child not it’s attendees.</span> This suggestion may sound a </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> little selfish, but if your child is turning 3, laser tag might not be a good choice. For me, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> birthdays are all about the birthday boy or girl, if we become too consumed with pleasing </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> our guest and trying to chose venues based on the people attending, then whose birthday </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is it? I would chose a place that fits the birthday boy/girl and let the parent decide if they </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> want to bring their child. Now of course this is based around the majority of your</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> acquaintances because you don’t want an empty party either. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">** In other news, I had a great time celebrating Halloween with my children. We did Trunk or Treat at my church, and then I had a crafts and arts Halloween party at my house. The children decorated their own pumpkin, it was a lot fun!!!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="IMG_0281.JPG" height="282px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/yZVDhnAmCsZd3xKNjaUEXrSLYXw5jYzB0xrp6dnSn-JRlnScof_uwkmRjV97PuHQWoeGTsz4piBLGLg-bFxRn4JnqYNFrzsEjQJ6E5E8g4BOYkzVnxiiaXt8Cddj6kXHHQwOnnrP" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="424px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="IMG_0274.JPG" height="261px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/T8JcpjDdQ1S5EFy_vq9pLs-Uzqra7ugBNzvP619WzNHJKzPYXVrYed-JusLxGcSiyuvr-AWg15xh1YscEI4dFUJ5DHvZ2O1T82dZPiFA1i9Fn1IPwMsINRIsrlBqodcOeTl5zH2U" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="392px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Moms and Finance workshop is approaching and we only have 5 slots left. If interested in attending please send me an email at mrsjessicamarieb@gmail.com. It will be held on November 14th from 2-4pm. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL76sKcjxTmWCjzG5p9TCzR5OOro9BKIcsPuzFYxDZ5pXZSGMAxrCf61tQPwqk8gKhCTjAErwN8UIBWJXs0IRIcjgbh6hLbMDUnBADjWzTko7OOlTVZInBOH6voyqhdcM89uLJuYszbZs/s200/blogger-image-673404874.jpg" /><br />
<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jessica M. Byrd is the parent of a two and one year old. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">She is the founder of <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif;">Detroit Moms Rock</span> and believes </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: "comic sans ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">every mother should live a life on purpose!</span></div>
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<br />The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-49525750996519681282015-10-28T10:30:00.000-04:002015-11-25T14:06:10.872-05:005 Steps To A Better Financial Future<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since we have almost 2 months left in 2015, I want to do a pulse check to see where you are. Did you set goals in January to help guide you throughout this year? If so, how did you do? If you aren't where you want to be, then there is still time to start over and take some critical steps towards achieving a better financial future. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-vMqfM95KrZLb8abvIYV04ImdI_fGYeerDZk93I0kwqM10nfwB_C2MPpu2efPLA50eboYvXT_py80BzRnk2x65Ak4sJR88kQ44y780-qo2OjIqDgjFRpiiXMAM2EnW37mgsVXvNo23m4/s1600/Aisha+Taylor+promo+headshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-vMqfM95KrZLb8abvIYV04ImdI_fGYeerDZk93I0kwqM10nfwB_C2MPpu2efPLA50eboYvXT_py80BzRnk2x65Ak4sJR88kQ44y780-qo2OjIqDgjFRpiiXMAM2EnW37mgsVXvNo23m4/s320/Aisha+Taylor+promo+headshot.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">By: Aisha Taylor</span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: magenta;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Step 1. Determine your why.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span><span style="background-color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your why is your reason for making the decision to do something different. Making changes in your life, behavior, and habits takes work. Having a strong why will help motivate you to keep going and make the necessary sacrifices to have the life you really want. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: magenta;">Step 2. Create your financial blueprint.</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Creating a financial blueprint consists of a budget and a strategy to achieve your goals. Look at your current bill structure and then determine if there are areas to cut. Also, look at monthly subscriptions and charges to see if you need them of if they can be modified. Also, identify ways that you can increase your income to achieve your goals faster. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: magenta;">Step 3. Understand and strategize around your blind spots.</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Your blind spots are areas in your spending that you don't notice. For example, you may buy a lunch everyday without thinking twice. This is why it is so important to track everything that you spend. This will help you to identify and quantify the items that you buy out of habit. Understanding this will help you to determine what you should keep it cut to be more intentional about how you spend your money. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: magenta;">Step 4. Grab a friend.</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Similar to a gym buddy, embarking on a new journey is more fun with a friend. Remember we are more likely to break our promises to ourselves rather than other people. Let your friends know that you want their support to help to hold you accountable towards achieving your goals. Then, ask them to participate with you. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: magenta;">Step 5. Have fun responsibly</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: magenta;">.</span> You don't live to work; you work to live. There is nothing wrong with having fun; just do it responsibly. Include items in your budget that are fun and bring you happiness. If you want to have your morning latte then get it. Just make sure that it is included in your budget. Figure out the things that give you the greatest value and then make room for it in your budget without sacrificing your goals and priorities. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now that you are equipped with simple tasks to build a better financial future, you can start now. Don't wait until January because everyday that you wait is another day that you spend not working on creating your ideal life. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you will do next. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you want more tips and resources, download your </span><a href="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1578190235.htm" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FREE Hotsheet</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that will show you the best online savings sites and apps! </span><a href="http://forms.aweber.com/form/35/1578190235.htm" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Click here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to download!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aisha Taylor is a #1 Amazon Best Selling Author of the book “</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/FNPhenomenal-Ways-Without-Killing-Lifestyle/dp/0615934994/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445988406&sr=8-1&keywords=fnphenomenal" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5+5 FNPhenomenal Ways to Save $100 This Week Without Killing Your Lifestyle</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">”, the Founder of </span><a href="http://www.fnphenomenal.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">FNPhenomenal (Frugal –n- Phenomenal)</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, and creator of </span><a href="http://www.fnphenomenal.com/live" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Live Phenomenal Program</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. The Live Phenomenal Program is a program designed to give you the tools that you need to totally transform your finances, and stop living from paycheck-to-paycheck. It’s time for you to be Financially Phenomenal! Book your complimentary 20-minute financial clarity session with Aisha </span><a href="http://forms.aweber.com/form/81/1998688281.htm" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">here</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "pt sans";"><u>BIO</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "pt sans";">Aisha
Taylor, the founder of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frugal-n-Phenomenal
(FNPhenomenal),<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">financial freedom expert</i> who brings a
modern and fresh twist to wealth consciousness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "pt sans";"><o:p> </o:p></span></i><i><span style="font-family: "pt sans";">As the founder of </span></i><span style="font-family: "pt sans";">FNPhenomenal she has dedicated her life to
building up others and equipping them with the knowledge and resources to be
true and legendary change agents within their communities. FNPhenomenal helps
women break the vicious cycle of bad money habits by providing them with simple
“Every Day Living Principles” that will show them how to live frugally yet
phenomenally.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "pt sans";">Aisha
holds Bachelor degrees in Public Policy and Economics from Duke University and Master’s
degrees in Business Administration and Health Services Administration from the
University of Michigan. Aisha is also a license and certified Financial
Planner. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prior to launching her company
FNPhenomenal, she spent years working in Corporate America as Senior Financial
Analyst where she gained experience in business development, budgets &
forecasting, creating and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>developing
financial reports, financial model development, contract analysis, profit and
loss statement management, and revenue/profit strategy optimization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has also had the opportunity to work as a
project manager where she was instrumental in restructuring the accounting
processes for many governmental grants. <s><o:p></o:p></s></span></div>
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<br />The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-71606765138180566502015-10-26T19:27:00.000-04:002015-10-26T19:29:21.067-04:00She’s Somewhere in the Middle<div class="s3" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px;">
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<span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">I think men everywhere have been asked “What do men really want in a woman.” The answers to that question can vary in so many different ways. For some men, it’s all about the looks. For others, intelligence is key. There is no one conclusive answer. What I do think no man will deny is that a key part in the quest for companionship is balance.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2">I like a woman with class. A woman who can take care of business in the boardroom and</span><span class="s2"> still</span><span class="s2"> has a favorite song </span><span class="s2">by the </span><span class="s2"></span><span class="s2">Migos</span><span class="s2">. A woman I can take home to Momma that could possibly have some big, gold earrings that spell out her name</span><span class="s2"> amongst her jewelry collection</span><span class="s2">. It’s something special about balance.</span><span class="s2"> For example, a good blend for me would be “Fancy” from the Jamie Foxx show and “</span><span class="s2">Lavita</span><span class="s2">” from the Steve Harvey show. </span><span class="s2">Fancy was classy and sophisticated yet lacked a little edge. </span><span class="s2">Lavita</span><span class="s2"> was ride or die- a bit rough around the edges but she kept it real in way I can appreciate. </span></span></div>
<div class="s4" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2">I don’t want to have to wor</span><span class="s2">ry</span><span class="s2"> about the woman I’m with getting into a fight while we’re out but I don’t want her to be</span><span class="s2"> a push over either. I don’t really get into</span><span class="s2"> the snooty type that </span><span class="s2">are too good to talk to people but I also would not like it if she was too friendly</span><span class="s2">. </span><span class="s2">I know the importance of being equally yoked with a woman and I know how important sharing a spiritual identity can be when building a long term relationship but I still tend to not date church girls. Why? It’s all comes down to one thing- balance. </span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2">In </span><span class="s5" style="font-style: italic;">my personal</span><span class="s2"> experience</span><span class="s2">, </span></span><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Typically, women are less interested in sports than men. I am a football fan. I don’t need the woman that I’m </span><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">with to be Michele Tafoya. However, there is something very attractive about a woman who can throw out a statistic about her favorite player in the middle of a game. </span><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">If your man is a </span><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">LeBron</span><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> James fan just mention how </span><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">LeBron</span><span class="s2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> was the first person to lead the NBA finals in Points, Rebounds and Assists. It may seem small to you and you may not even know what it means but your man will be… very intrigued.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2">Again, I know the importance of being equally yoked with a woman. I know how important sharing a spiritual identity can be when building a long term relationship but I still tend to not date</span><span class="s2"> the overly</span><span class="s2"> church</span><span class="s2">ed</span><span class="s2"> girls. Why? It’s all comes down to one thing- balance. In </span><span class="s5" style="font-style: italic;">my personal</span><span class="s2"> experience,</span><span class="s2"> it can be too much. </span><span class="s2"></span><span class="s2">If I can’t have a regular conversation without you quoting a bible verse, it won’t work. </span><span class="s2">If you have to say “blessed and highly favored” every time a person asks how you’re doing, it won’t work. </span><span class="s2">You love the Lord. Great, I do too. That does not mean that is all I want to talk about.</span><span class="s2"></span></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span class="s2">All in all</span><span class="s2">,</span><span class="s2"> my point is that it is all about balance- this applies to men too. Relationships are about sacrifice and flexibility. We all have that dream man or woman and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, just understand </span><span class="s2">there is no one that’s going to be that person fully. I think that as long as you’re willing to adjust (within reason) to what it is the person you’re interested in likes, things might go a bit further. Don’t be all of one thing. Diversify you’re interest. Balance it out! #MENtalNotes</span></span></div>
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Jerel Duren</div>
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IG: @jerelduren</div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046377100202442547.post-66899654350794271832015-10-26T12:07:00.003-04:002015-10-26T12:07:33.027-04:00A Mommy Minute with Jessica Byrd: God Knows Perfect Timing By: Jessica Byrd <br />
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God is really amazing! He knows our flaws, He knows our hearts
and He's always right on time! I'm in the midst of starting a new career,
and when I gave my previous job my two weeks notice, I had the option to go
right back to work, or take those two weeks off. As tempting as it was to go
straight back to work, I prayed ,and God told me to take a break. That
was the best thing he could of ever told me. After I had my son, I went
right back to work after only two weeks, and have been working ever since! Now, I'm on
week two from my break and it has been an amazing relief.<br />
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I had time to
actually spend the day time with my son, just me and him, since my daughter goes to
school during the day. I almost cried watching my son play because I
realized that our time together had been limited to after work hours and
weekends. During this break, my son decided that he was ready to use
the big boy potty! Perfect timing!<br />
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God knows
everything there is to know about us. His timing is perfect, and we
have to trust and believe that God always have our best interest at
heart! It's easy to allow other things to lead us like money, but
sometimes you just need a good break. I couldn't tell you the last time I had
two weeks off, but what I can tell you is that it was something I
desperately needed!<br />
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When is the last time you had some time off? Are you
overworking?! Do you have unused vacation days at work? If you can't take two weeks,
start with <i>ONE</i> day. Vacation time doesn't always have to be used
for trips, sometimes you need a day to just relax, be normal and enjoy
the simplicity of life!<br />
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This weekend we went to <a href="http://detroitzoo.org/events/zoo-events/zoo-boo/" target="_blank">ZooBoo</a>, The Detroit Zoo’s annual “merry-not-scary” Halloween trick-or-treat trail through the front of the Zoo in Royal Oak, Mi. It was crowded and a bit overwhelming, but the children enjoyed it!<br />
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms',sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img alt="Inline image 1" class="CToWUd" height="188" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=bb8c6e6e56&view=fimg&th=14d90f909457e0ed&attid=0.1&disp=emb&realattid=ii_14d90f7f996c8964&attbid=ANGjdJ-N6mjSe5-l35Nfy9z3qeuAeBPgMkR38f4UPOX11Cm5uK4rDEjYlpAFYNVx8Y2wyTCHfnV9OirADWHRdRsS1WD5RdxsAgBD0UJlHOQxWPt_zcfdJ66ij_EtNPw&sz=w236-h376&ats=1445869746110&rm=14d90f909457e0ed&zw&atsh=1" style="margin-right: 0px;" width="118" /> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms',sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jessica M. Byrd is the parent of a two and one year old. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><span style="font-family: 'comic sans ms',sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">She is the founder of Detroit Moms Rock! and believes </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-family: comic sans ms, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">every mother should live a life on purpose! </span></div>
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The A Teamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611702170208199120noreply@blogger.com0