FLA$H CA$H GIVEAWAY

ONE DAY ONLY!!!

Here is a quickie giveaway for you!
Who doesn't need an extra $20?

Enter below, win by tomorrow!!

Giveaway opens at 9 PM EST 1/31 and ends at 9 PM EST 2/1!

DWP Tuesday: Yours Truly, Michelle

Happy Tuesday Divas :)  I hope everyone is rockin' and rollin' today!!! Today's Diva With A Purpose is absolutely fantastic. I cannot say enough wonderful things about her.  She's none other than....ME :)

Seriously, I was going through my lists and realized that I'd never taken the time to really answer the questions that I pose to women each week. Divas With A Purpose is like my 5th child and I truly appreciate everyone that takes the time to stop by each day to share and grow with each other.

Be Blessed Divas and, remember, to be a blessing to others!!!
~Michelle

Money Monday: Easy Money Saving Tips

Happy Monday Divas :)

I hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. This is my first official week back at work full-time....yay!!! Ok...I've got a little more enthusiasm than that. I've had a pretty sweet break so I'm ready to rock and roll back into action.

A little over a week ago, I stressed the importance of having an emergency savings and the fun contest hosted by Mint.com and DailyWorth.com to save $1000 in 90 days.  This week I'd like to share some easy and painless ways to trim from your budget and, of course, get your feedback on actions that worked for you.

~~Taking my lunch to work or going home on my lunch breaks. I've always had this thing about taking my lunch to school and work. Even as a kid. I just didn't like it. But when I sat down and really looked at how much I was spending on a weekly basis, I was floored and quickly changed my ways.  I still eat out but I have a budget of $20 a week. Once it's gone - it's gone. This forces me to be very creative.  Now that we've moved about 2 miles away from my job I find myself going home more often and enjoying about 45 minutes of alone time in my house

Stream of Consciousness Sunday: Relaxation

Today's Prompt:
Describe, in detail, the way you like to relax

Kids in bed. Check. Hubby in his man cave. Check. Kitchen cleaned. Tomorrow morning's things laid out for kiddos. Lunches packed. Check. Check. Check. It is now time for some "Michelle time". My new favorite dessert - a caramel Magnum bar - and a cup of coffee. The bedroom and TiVo box all to myself. What more could this diva ask for???? I can catch up on my favorite tv shows from the past who knows how many weeks without having to watch commercials or waiting an entire week for the surprise ending. I love modern technology!!!

Wait! Is that the door creeping open? Yep, here comes my baby boy...but it's okay because I've finished the ice cream and hidden the evidence :) Now for part 2 of relaxation.  He snuggles up next to me, gives me the sweetest smile and says the words that melt any Mommy's heart - "I love you, Mommy" - as he falls back to sleep in my arms. Priceless.

My 101 in 1001: The Complete List

Excited is not even the words to describe how glad I am that I finished this list prior to my deadline.  When I first started, I didn't realize how difficult it would be to come up with 101 SPECIFIC things that I wanted to complete and hold myself accountable to completing within a specific timeframe.  But I did it and my kids and I did a happy dance when I was finished...we really did, I promise! We're silly like that :)

If you're not familiar with The 1001 Challenge, it's a challenge to complete 101 definitive goals in 1001 days.

Wish me luck, Divas!!!

Friendship Friday - Inspiration

Friendship Friday is a weekend blog hop that's designed to help the participants:

~Foster friendship between the participants
~Share you and your blog's uniqueness
~Grow your blog and social media networks

Each week a question is posted to help the participants get to know one another better. To participate you just need to create a Friendship Friday post with the button and/or link back to the original blog.

You can find out more and join the hop by going to Create With Joy's blog.

Fun Friday Facts: Champagne

Some interesting history and facts on the bubbly.  It's a tradition with my oldest friend to celebrate our birthdays with some delicious homemade cake and champagne.  You only live once and I truly believe in living life to the fullest in all that we do.  I stumbled across the website, Wine.com, and they have some pretty awesome deals on champagne, wines and gifts for you and your diva friends!

Thankful Thursday: Week 4

Happy Thursday Divas!!!

This morning driving in to work, I began reflecting over what to write in today's post and all the wonderful things in my life that I had to be thankful for.  Someone "accused" me earlier this week of being "too happy" and I had to have some "happy pills". Too happy? I'll take that. When I think of where I've been and how far life has brought me - mentally, financially, emotionally, physically - I can't help but be filled with joy and happiness. I have been blessed beyond measure in so many ways that it literally brings me to tears sometimes.  Do I have it all? Far from it. My husband and I still struggle financially when it comes to balancing a new baby and a new house in less than 6 months.  But I'm thankful for both and that each month we find a way to pay what needs to be paid.  There may be some months we go without extras, but we have the necessities and I'm more than thankful for that.

I get angry when I see people that have been blessed and still seem ungrateful and complain about minute things.  The power of life and death is in the tongue...in the way we speak.  We have the ability to speak life and renewal into our different situations.  Often times, we do the opposite and speak death and destruction over our households, our relationships, our finances, our children, our livelihoods, etc. etc. etc.

Character Speaks Volumes

I had a mommy moment yesterday. My oldest son came to me upset that someone at school had been teasing and using profane language towards him for close to a month. An entire month??? My first instinct was to ask why he waited so long and remind him that I and his grandfather regularly ask if anyone is bothering him in any way. But I didn't. I showed the care and compassion that Mommy's are supposed to. Even though the Momma Bear in me wanted to go to the school and give this little boy that was bothering my first born a piece of my mind.


As soon as I got to work, I sent his teacher an email to make sure she was aware of the problem and see what needed to be done. In today's day and age, you can't be too lackadaisical when it comes to bullying among our kids. She assured me she would keep an eye on the boys and move them from sitting next to each other. I was satisfied. Until about 3:15 when my baby calls me almost in tears. The little boy had said something very ugly to him during another class. My son wrote it down (as soon as he said that I knew what was coming) and was going to show it to the teacher after class. At some point the teacher saw the paper and my son got in trouble.

FLASH Cash GIveaway

ONE DAY ONLY!!!

Here is a quickie giveaway for you! Who doesn't need an extra $20?

Enter below, win by tomorrow!!

Giveaway opens at 9 PM EST 1/24 and ends at 9 PM EST 1/25!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DWP Tuesday: Sherika V. Washington

Today's post is written by one of my favorite people and an all-around divalicious woman :) I'm so blessed to have her in my life.  She is the type of friend that will give it to you real, but it will be said with love and be completely genuine.  (I definitely need the realness from time-to-time!).  She's been my rock during some rough patches and is someone that I look up to as a wife and mother (she recently celebrated her 18th wedding anniversary!!!). I hope you are blessed by her words and her purpose!

My name is Sherika V. Washington and I am stepping into my destiny! My passion has always been writing. I would always say, “I want to be able to provide for my family with my writing.” I didn’t know how that was going to happen but the door was opened and I am now contributing editor for an amazing magazine geared toward women in South Carolina’s African American community. The publication is IMARA Woman magazine and I am blessed to be a part of it.


At this stage in my life I believe my relationship with God is my inspiration. Anytime I feel like giving up on my dream I remember that God is able and that nothing is impossible with Him. So, I have to keep going and keep believing.  


Three words that I want to be associated with are:   Determined; Positive; Transparent

The first “big” step I made toward my destiny was publishing a collection of my poems. The effort was huge because it included poems from my pretty and not so pretty young adult years. While, I wasn’t able to promote “Speak Life” efficiently my faith was catapulted. After all, the book has been published and is available at AMAZON.COM. (Check it out!! The support is long overdue.)


My most recent endeavor is Worthy Words by Sherika, a writing service that I am offering. When I say I love to write that means anything. From business related letters/forms to plays and skits, I want to write.  So many people dread writing anything and often miss opportunities because they choose not to write or don’t do a good job. I want to step in and remove that dread. I provide this service to senior citizens for free. 


In the future, I will be writing and distributing inspirational booklets and holding lectures that accompany the booklet material.

“I’m walking all up and through my destiny and I’m not turning back!”

More information is available at http://www.worthywordsbysherika.webs.com/

If you know of someone that should be spotlighted on DWP Tuesday, please submit their information to divaswithpurpose@gmail.com


Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!
~Michelle

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Life of Purpose

Sometimes no additional words are needed :)
Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!!
~Michelle

Stream of Consciousness Sunday

Today's Prompt:  

How did you spend your Sunday mornings growing up?  What are some of your favorite memories?

I have to admit I have very fond memories of Sunday mornings growing up.  

If I spent the weekend at my grandmother's house, I would wake up to an awesome breakfast (grits, bacon, eggs, sausage, you name it).  After breakfast, my youngest aunt and I would make the walk to our church for Sunday School and church service.  After church, I looked forward to stopping at The Pantry (a corner gas station) with the two shiny quarters I'd earned the day before from one of my favorite uncles to get a Jungle Juice and a box of Johnny Appleseeds.  The absolute highlight of my week :)

Sundays in the spring were my absolute favorite! The ultimate Daddy's girl, I would get to go with my Daddy to the baseball field to watch him and his teammates slaughter the other teams.  I'd spend hours cheering him on and reading on the bleachers or under a tree.  After the games we would often stop by one of the small country stores to get slices of lunchmeat and a rare treat of a Nehi Grape Soda! 

I just realized my two favorite memories involve sweets...not much has changed since I've gotten older :)  Now that I have my own family, I realize that I'm making memories and setting the foundation for how they spend their Sundays when they get older.  Most of our Sundays involve going to worship service.  However, I don't feel guilty on the Sundays when we all curl up together and just rest and relax after a long week of work, school and chores.  We need that down time to prepare ourselves for the upcoming week.

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post.  Thanks to MrsRKFJ for her post and introducing me to the concept.    This is hosted by all.things.fadra and is 5 minutes of your time and a brain dump.  If you'd like to try it...here are the rules:

~Set a timer and write for 5 minutes

~Write an intro if you'd like but don't edit the post. No spellchecking. No proofreading. Just raw writing.

~Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. Your back door to your blog, if you'd like, but make it accessible.

~Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post

~Link up your post at all.things.fadra

~Visit your fellow bloggers and show them some love

Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to other!

~Michelle

My 101 in 1001: 36-55

Hi there Divas! Hope you're all enjoying your weekend :)

I'm here with some additions to my 101 in 1001 list.  Last week, I shared items 1-35 with you all.  I have to admit, creating the list is becoming more challenging than I envisioned.

If you're not familiar with The 1001 Challenge, it's a challenge to complete 101 specific action items within 1001 days. 

Here are my additions for this week! Still looking for takers to join me in the challenge by creating their own list :-)

Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!!
~Michelle

36 - Do something for a person that has made a difference in my life



37- Cook at home for a month


38 - Organize my picture albums and photos


39 - Clean out/organize my closet


40 - Plant a tree on Earth Day


41 - Read the entire Bible


42 - Volunteer to feed the homeless for Thanksgiving


43 - Buy a piece of art


44 - Have a candlelight dinner with my husband at home


45 - Take my kids to the MLK Memorial in Atlanta


46 - Take my family to tour Birmingham, AL and the historic sites


47 - Create a vision board


48 - Have a picnic


49 - Deposit $5 in savings for each goal completed


50 - Ask 20 friends to suggest one book, and read them all


51 - Have a couples weekend getaway w/ no kiddos


52 - Create a family mission statement and frame it


53 - Decorate my house


54 - Create my office space


55 - Build and fly a kite with the boys

Friendship Friday Blog Hop

Ok...I have to come clean...I am addicted to blog hops!!! I've gotten to "meet" some awesome new bloggers that I wouldn't have normally crossed paths with.  One that I came across today really piqued my interest enough to get me to write up another blog post :0)

Friendship Friday is a weekend blog hop that's designed to help the participants:

~Foster friendship between the participants

~Share you and your blog's uniqueness

~Grow your blog and social media networks

Each week a question is posted to help the participants get to know one another better.  To participate you just need to create a Friendship Friday post with the button and / or link back to the original blog.

You can find out more and join the hop by going to Create With Joy's blog.

Friendship Friday Question of the Week

What inspired your blog's name?

Originally my blog was called Diva's Domain because it was my space to be me and connect with others.  Soon after I started blogging the idea for Divas With A Purpose came to me and I've been rocking and rolling ever since!

Have a fantastic weekend divas!!! Be Blessed and remember to be a blessing to others :0)

~Michelle 

Financial Friday: Emergency Savings

Happy Friday Divas :0)



Made it through another work week and facing a busy weekend!!! One of the perks of having a large family is that there is almost always something to do and somewhere to go...one of the downfalls of having a large family is that there is almost always something to do and somewhere to go!

Last week's Financial Friday focus was on teaching our kids - not just telling them - how to adequately prepare for adulthood with budgets, savings, bill payment, etc. One thing that many of us struggle with - mainly because it was not stressed as we were growing up and we weren't really held accountable for it is savings.  I'll admit that I've gotten better over the past few years with retirement savings but I still don't have an emergency fund setup somewhere that is easy to access if needed but not TOO easy to access just because.

Earlier this week I got an email from DailyWorth.com - a great money site (in my unbiased, unsolicited opinion) for women.  They send daily emails with tips, ideas and motivation on topics such as budgeting, saving, investing, increasing your earnings, and wise spending.  DailyWorth has recently partnered with Mint.com (another one of my favs!!!) - an online account management site that gives you a snapshot of all your accounts and helps you create budgets and savings goals.

According to DailyWorth, approximately 25% of Americans do NOT have an emergency fund - a cushion to help cover crises that may arise in our day-to-day lives.  DailyWorth and Mint have partnered to encourage their users to save $1000 in the next 90 days for an emergency fund.  As an added incentive, 3 people will win $1000 if they meet the goal!

Sounds daunting, but if you break that down it's about $11 a day.  For many of us, by eliminating some extras for a short period of time, we could easily put aside the additional money that could help provide us with a little extra security and peace of mind.

If you're interested in entering, go to DailyWorth.com for more information and to subscribe to their emails.

Now I know for some people, they're at a point where saving even an additional $11 a week seems impossible.  I would encourage you to put SOMETHING aside each pay period and not touch it.  You may need to come up with some side ideas to make extra money - a yard sale, selling items on eBay or Etsy, etc.

If you chose to take part in the challenge, share with us so we can encourage each other along!  What ideas do you have to help save an extra $1000 over the next 90 days?  Your ideas and encouragement may spark some interest and motivation for someone else :)

Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!! Have a fantabulous weekend :)
~Michelle

Disclaimer:

The views expressed in this post are mine and mine alone.  I was not contacted by DailyWorth.com or Mint.com to promote them.  They are both sites that I find useful and chose to share with my readers. I am receiving no compensation of any kind for promoting either site or their contest.

Thankful Thursday: Week 3

Hello Divas!!! Happy Thursday :)  We've almost made it through another week!  I pray and trust everyone has had a productive and positive week! The kiddos and I are finally getting our morning routine down and it's making it quite easier to get up and moving in the mornings.  The little diva has discovered babbling and giggles which is a joy to experience.  Report cards come home today.  Thanks to the school district's online parent portal there are no surprises, but I still like to mess with my oldest and make him sweat...the joys of parenthood, right???

Time for my favorite post of the week...Thankful Thursday...YAY!!!

This week I am thankful for...

~one of my dearest friends (and my oldest son's godmother) is a Mommy!!! Her little boy was born yesterday and I cannot wait to get my hands on him!!!

~my awesome mother who always seems to know when to call/text with an encouraging word

~my 10% discount at Rite-Aid through their rewards program good through 2012

~hugs and kisses from my bambinos

~my husband who puts up with my crazy mood swings (can I still blame them on the baby hormones 3 months later???)

~being able to find an episode of Law & Order at virtually any hour of the day

Sharing time Divas!!!  What are you thankful for this week?

Be Blessed and remember to be a blessing to others!!!

~Michelle

Striking for SOPA???

Today you may find many of your favorite bloggers, FB and Twitter friends unusually quiet.


Why?


A massive Internet Strike has been called to protest 2 bills set for vote in Congress - the Stop Online Piracy Act in the House (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act in the Senate (PIPA).


A blackout has been called from 8 AM EST to 8 PM EST.  Many large names are participating:

Wikipedia

Mozilla

Reddit

WordPress

Boing Boing

Craigs List

As with any movement, I urge you to do the research and make up your own minds as to whether you believe this is a cause you should support

KalleyC at Blogging While Nursing wrote an awesome post with some great points and links on yesterday to get us started in our research.

Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!!!

DWP Tuesday

Thank you all so much for the response from last week!!! I've got a few divas lined up - but I wanted to post this again for my new followers (and procrastinators...LOL)...I'm still working on balancing family, work, blogging and my many other hats after returning from maternity leave (how long can I use that as an excuse, I wonder???)

Take a moment to catch up with our previous Divas With Purpose and have a superb Tuesday!!!

 WHO: Any DIVA who is Driven, Inspiring, Victorious and called to Action

  

WHAT: A weekly spotlight of one divalicious woman

WHERE: Right here on Divas With Purpose

WHY: Because we can all learn, grow and be motivated by one another. You never know when your paths may cross and you'll be able to help one another.

WHEN: Every Tuesday a different DIVA will be spotlighted

HOW: You - yes, you...LOL...if you know of someone or are someone who has the DIVAtude then reach out to me at divaswithpurpose@gmail.com for more information

Positivity Pays Off

Don't let the naysayers dissuade you from pushing forward with your goals.  As one popular quote goes - "Let your haters be your motivators"  I'll admit that I can be a tad bit stubborn at times and the easiest way to convince me to follow through with something I've put my mind to is to tell me that it's too difficult or I won't be able to succeed.


Often those that are speaking down are not striving for anything themselves and they want you to keep them company...JUST SAY NO :)


Remember, Divas, we're driven to accomplish our goals; we strive to inspire one another; we're victorious in the tasks we set our minds to; and we know that in order to be successful we have to act on our plans and goals.


Stay positive Divas! Speak as though you've already accomplished your goals.  Having a positive attitude makes our day-to-day life so much more enjoyable and brings more positive ideas, people and actions our way.


Be Blessed Divas and remember to be a blessing to others!
~Michelle

Making the Dream Reality

Today we celebrate the birth of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say."

Dr. King was many things to many different people.  He helped to spearhead a movement that changed the dynamics of America, the African-American race and culture, women's rights, and humanity.  At the end of the day, he was a man - a husband, father, son, friend.  A man that left an extraordinary mark for us all.


By remembering that he was an ordinary man with faults the same as you and I - yet, he was still able to accomplish extraordinary things and influence generations upon generations of people.  It gives me hope.  While we've come so far, we still have a ways to go.  Will the dream ever become a reality? I believe it will.


If we, ordinary citizens, make a conscious decision to accept others - despite their differences from us or mainstream culture - then we can accomplish extraordinary things.


If we, ordinary citizens, make a conscious decision to focus on the character of a person and not their race, religion (or lack of), social status, or heritage - then we can accomplish extraordinary things.


If we, ordinary citizens, make a conscious decision to teach our children that we're all created equal then we can accomplish extraordinary things.


I believe Dr. King's dream - "where they [his children] will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" - will become a reality.


All it takes is ordinary persons to continue to make extraordinary choices...


Be blessed Divas, be extraordinary in all you do, and remember to be a blessing to others!
~Michelle

My 101 in 1001: 1-35

Last week I told you all about my "things to do before I'm 30" list I wrote in my early 20s.  I need to thank one of my blogger friends, Cabrini from New Beginnings, for helping me to put things in perspective and realize that I'd actually accomplished almost half of my list and was actively working on most of the remaining items.  Thanks Diva for the push and reality check :) 


My goal for January was to compile my 101 in 1001 list and begin working on it. If you're not familiar with The 1001 Challenge, it's a challenge to complete 101 definitive goals in 1001 days.  You can get more insight and, even, create your own list, track your progress, network with other participants, get motivation and inspiration at Day Zero Project: The Home of the 101 Things in 1001 Days Project.


Once I've completed my list (target date: January 31st), I will begin actively working on completing my goals and, of course, share the journey with all of you :)


Below are my first 35 goals (in no particular order).  I'm excited about this challenge.  Any takers on joining in with me and creating your own list? Is anyone currently participating in this challenge or something similar? Let's motivate and inspire one another, Divas!!!

Enjoy your weekend, Divas!!! Be Blessed and remember to be a blessing to others!!!
~Michelle

1

Have at least $1,000 in savings

2

Go one week without swearing

3

Make a list of the 100 best experiences of my life

4

Take an IQ test

5

Write 5 letters to 5 people who changed my life

6

Answer the "50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind"

7

Write a personal mission statement

8

Meditate daily for 30 days

9

Make a list of 100 things I like about myself

10

Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years

11

Go up in a hot air balloon

12

Pay off all my credit card debt

13

Make a list of my 10 favorite restaurants to eat at. Eat at each and photograph

14

Go on a road trip

15

No fast food for a month

16

Have dinner by candlelight

17

Do some volunteer work

18

Become actively involved in a church

19

Blog about each completed goal

20

Throw a diva friends luncheon/dinner party

21

Take my husband to Disney World

22

Pay $10 towards a strangers meal in the drive thru

23

Bring Bradley's baby scrapbook up-to-date

24

Start Veronica's baby scrapbook

25

Once a month send a friend a "just because" box and note

26

Adopt a family for Thanksgiving

27

Go to Las Vegas

28

Blog everyday for a year

29

Start taking college classes AGAIN

30

Bake cookies from scratch

31

File for 501c3 status for my non-profit

32

Start a garden

33

Organize the garage

34

Start my kids on a budget

35

Complete my associate's degree