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New PBA Champ Kelly Kulick
Yep, she did it. Last week Kelly Kulick became the first woman in bowling history to win a regular PBA tour title, winning the 2010 Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas on January 24, 2010.
Rock on!
Drop me a line, Kelly. I have a t-shirt waiting for you. 
My classmate Cristina posted links to these great organizations on Facebook last week and I bookmarked them so I could share with you. Check them out:
WomenForWomen.org – Women for Women International provides women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with the tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty to stability and self-sufficiency, thereby promoting viable civil societies. We’re changing the world one woman at a time.
Peace X Peace – (pronounced Peace by Peace) multiplies the power of women by the power of leading-edge communications technologies. The Peace by Peace global network is the secure social networking space where women meet to build peace across cultures.
Very cool! Thanks, Cristina!
Thank you to all who purchased Girls Can’t WHAT? designs for themselves or as gifts for others during the month of January. At the end of each month month, 20% of the profits from Girls Can’t WHAT? are invested into KIVA to lend to women across the globe who needs a loan for their business – like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. This past month, we were able to help two more women take a few steps closer to their dreams. Read their stories below and feel free to join me in supporting other women through KIVA!
Ana Gloria Chavez Castro, 46, lives in Armenia, located in the Sonsonate department. She lives with her husband and her two children who are in school. Gloria has a store where she sells food products, household necessities and home-made snacks. Fried cassava, empanadas, and “atol de elote” (a drink made of corn) are the names of some of the typical dishes that Ana prepares in her home. She has very good references since she is a very hardworking and enterprising woman who makes the most of her business by providing the best service to her customers. Ana requests a loan that she will use to buy raw materials for the production of food, such as cassava, corn and other items, all with the aim of offering more products and increasing her earnings. These earning will support her family and provide them with economic stability, as they depend heavily on this business for their livelihood.
Davaa is a math teacher who lives with her husband and their 3- and 7-year-old daughters. She has lived in the city for the past eight years. She took out a clean-fuel loan to help her save money and to reduce air pollution in the city. Davaa said that the fuel “has many advantages, including the need to use less of it than regular fuel and that keeps us warmer. It is an especially nice opportunity for people who have a low income to purchase the fuel through a loan. By using this cleaner fuel, we use less fuel. For example, we previously had to burn extra fuel at night, but now we don’t need to do that because the new fuel burns longer.”
KIVA.org is open to everyone. Join me in changing the world – one loan at a time!
I have a real problem with the whole “giving to get” mentality I have seen lately. You know what I’m talking about. You see them on TV… some telethon that offers you a “limited edition” something or other if you’ll just pledge or give $xxx to help people in need.
First of all, I have a problem with the hype. That’s a lot of overhead just to get people to give. That “limited edition” item wasn’t free. It cost money to make and cost money to promote. Waste. Read more
I just returned from accomplishing one of my biggest goals in life. By the age of two, music was an integral part of my life. I grew up listening to my dad play his guitar every single day and if he wasn’t playing, we had tons of records to tickle our ears. I knew I would grow up to be a musician.
Last week, I had the privilege to go to music row in Nashville and record my band’s first album. It’s still like a dream to even get to say that, but it really happened! I have pictures to prove it! There’s still a lot to do before the album is actually released, but I feel like I made it to the top of the mountain and it’s all downhill from here.
So what happens next? Read more
The following is a guest post from Christina Alex who is filling in for me while I am in Nashville recording an album with my band. Please check out her site at ChristinaAlex.com/. Christina Alex is a writer, speaker and licensed master’s level social worker with a passion for inspiring teens to pursue their dreams.
Check out this great blog written by Callie Herd with tons of scholarships and summer internship opportunities in fields ranging from media/journalism to science and nursing. There’s something for everyone. High school juniors and seniors who want a paid summer internship in media, apply by January 15th. Need a boost to get ready for college? Click here. And check out Callie’s college preparation blog. If you are Hispanic, check out these scholarships. Do you want to be featured with a milk mustache in an ad and receive a $7,000 scholarship? Write a short essay by March 5. Artists up to age 18, enter the Live Your Dream contest! So start scrolling – look on the right sidebar to search by category and organizations and apply apply apply – you can’t win if you don’t try!! Please spread the word and thank Callie for such a great public service!! Make 2010 the year your dreams come true!
The following is a guest post from my friend Marci who is filling in for me while I am in Nashville recording an album with my band. Please check out her site at OvercomingBusy.com. It’s full of great information on keeping clutter out of your life and focusing on what really matters.
A couple years ago, when our daughter Dallas was 4 or 5, she started to get the concept that stores are full of cool stuff. Cool stuff that can go home with you and all you have to do is give the store some cash or a little plastic card. This started the “I want that” phase. Instead of telling her a flat out “no” when she would beg to have whatever caught her eye that day, we decided to make this a teachable moment. My husband and I would say “Great! Where’s your money?” At first, there was the confused look. Then, the mad look because she realized she had no money. “How am I supposed to get money!” she would cry. We would answer “Earn it.”
Dallas determined she needed a job. So, we gave her extra jobs around the house (outside of her normal chores) and my husband even took her to work with him and gave her jobs there. We paid her according to her tasks. But, it wasn’t long before the money was not enough motivation to get the jobs done. She started saying “I don’t want to do those things. Why can’t you pay me for doing something I like to do?” There was another teachable moment for us! Have you ever heard the quote “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”? Our daughter had stumbled on this wisdom and not even realized it. My husband is self -employed and lives this quote. Though he works very hard, it is so much more rewarding than any job he’s ever had. He chooses what he wants to do. So, we were excited when our daughter figured this out all by herself.
So, we started to explore what Dallas likes to do and how those interests could be turned into a business of her own. She has two loves: animals and art. We explained that she can either make money selling things or selling services. She started out designing custom gift bags and selling them to friends and even to a local gift shop for resale. It was simple enough to do, but unique enough to be marketable. As she got older and more responsible, our neighbors noticed her love of dogs and gave her the job of taking their puppy outside everyday while they were at work for $1 a day.
Over this past summer, Dallas kicked it up a notch. She discovered the world of beads and how to create earrings with them. After getting good feedback from a few friends, Dallas set up shop at a church craft sale and at the neighborhood garage sales. She was excited about the money, but was motivated by the response she got from people who bought her jewelry. When it came to her other love, animals, Dallas made fliers and put them in mailboxes all over the neighborhood advertising her dog walking and dog sitting services. She has 3 clients so far!
Last September, Dallas caught me searching through etsy.com and artfire.com looking at all kinds of treasures. I explained the concept of the sites and how people put their handmade art and jewelry and other wonderful things on their online shops. A light went off inside her. “Am I too young to have my own online shop?” A couple weeks later, we launched the online shop for “Dallas Designs” on Artfire.com. In her shop, she has the most adorable, fun earrings. She has such fun creating them. But, even more important, it has been a great opportunity for my husband and I to teach her about the value of money, how to handle money, how to keep track of expenses as well as income and the risks and benefits of being self-employed.
Dallas Designs had a pretty good Christmas season. Now, Dallas has to not sit back and relish her past success. She is working on a new set of jewelry and other projects to re-fill her Artfire shop for another idea she has for February. (She wants to do a St. Jude Children’s Hospital Fundraiser!) It is great to be able to teach her, hands-on, about business and money. But, the best part is being able to nurture her self-confidence and creativity and teach her to think “outside the box”. These are lessons that she can benefit from her whole life.
As you read this, I am in the final preparations for one of my biggest dreams. Tomorrow morning, my band and I will be headed to Nashville to record our first album. I say “one of” because it’s just one of several things I want to do in my life. I have a lot of dreams, don’t you?
Before I pack up my gear and hit the studio, I just wanted to let you know I have some guest bloggers who will be stepping in during my absence so be sure to stop by and check out what they have to say. I know you won’t be disappointed!
If you’re curious about my band, you can check out our web site at Amplified417.com and join our Facebook fan page for daily updates while we are in the studio next week.
Until next time (which should be on or about January 26th), have a great week!
There are basically two types of jobs. One is where you work a number hours and report to someone else in order to get a paycheck. This could be an hourly job or a salaried career. Either way you have a pretty set income with maybe a raise or a bonus if you’re lucky. Most people have this type of a job.
Then there’s the job you design for yourself. This is the kind of job where you follow your passion and do the things that inspire and motivate you to JUMP out of bed every morning. Rather then being paid an hourly wage, this kind of job allows you be a creative spirit and still earn an income. An example of this type of work might be that of an artist.
An artist gets to be creative all day long, designing as much or as little as she wants. She can then sell her artwork for whatever she deems it is worth and earn an income. Many types of creative works can also be duplicated, made into prints, digitally copied, etc. and bring in a residual income. A residual income means you can spend one day creating a design and have it continually bring you income over the course of your life time. So instead of getting paid say $100 for a day’s work at an hourly job, the artist can earn thousands of dollars for that day’s work over her lifetime. See where I’m going with this? Read more
Ok so this post just randomly came to my mind as I published Intentional Procrastination Can Boost Productivity a few seconds ago. Normally I have scheduled writing times, but I’m breaking my normal pattern to bring you this brainstorm…
G O A L S S U C K !
In the last paragraph of my previous post, I wrote “Just be sure it’s something YOU really want to do.” And I got to thinking about that and perhaps all of the “set your goals for 2010″ posts I’ve been reading in my RSS reader are brewing in my subconscious and I just need to borrow Kelli’s soapbox so I can stand up and tell everyone exactly why their goals suck. Read more
