Grand parents are the salt of the Earth! We have raised our families and worked for most of our lives to take care of ourselves and our families to the best of our ability. Providing safe shelter, clean living conditions, healthy food, a balanced environment free from abuse or neglect, was my goal for my children. Maintaining this level of clean drama free living requires discipline, focus and determination to live life with a consistent level of devotion to giving your children the best life you could.In our 50’s, 60’s and beyond we should be able live the life we have earned and do whatever we want to do in our retirement years. For some this is not until until the late sixties or even 70’s, now retirees work part time either out of necessity or to stay active. It is not so easy to retire nowadays unless you have a sound financial plan in place to cover the cost of living a comfortable existence.Health care, housing, food, life insurance, transportation, are essential whether you are a married or single retiree. We don’t want to be a burden to our children, we want to live the “golden years” when you can travel, indulge in your favorite hobbies, become a serious gardener and play with our grandkids when we want to.Read moreOmitunde, Publisher of African American Family ConnectionAn online magazine about African American Family values and community.Visit AAFC for the latest issue each month and a copy of "The Ripple Effect".
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Toni Morrison is also known for her first book, The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Sula and Beloved just to mention a few of those most well known. A Mercy is her ninth novel recently released this fall.Born Chloe Anthony Wofford, in 1931 in Lorain (Ohio), the second of four children in a black working-class family. Her parents moved to Ohio from the South to escape racism and to find better opportunities in the North.Toni Morrison is the first black woman to receive Nobel Prize in Literature. Her stories explore the experiences and roles of black women in a racist and male dominated society and celebrates the unique cultural inheritance of African-Americans.Storytelling is a tradition in the Black family as a way of sharing time together Morrison recalled listening to the older relatives use homespun wisdom when telling tales for hours at family gatherings when she was growing up in Ohio. Morrison’s relatives had her retell the stories she had heard from their mouths, a challenge she said she reveled in, adding her own embellishments to make the stories more outrageous. The stories, many of which she described as violent and “really terrible,” whetted her appetite for books, and to this day influence her writing.Read moreOmitunde, Publisher of African American Family ConnectionAn online magazine about African American Family values and community.Visit AAFC for the latest issue each month and a copy of "The Ripple Effect".
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Tis the season to be careful!Everyone will be doing some serious shopping no matter what is reported about the economy. Nothing stops us from spending money during the holiday season. Where there is a will, there is a way and we will find a way.So while you are out there finding all those bargains to make your loved ones happy, what about someone stealing your identity and taking all of your hard money, or using your identity to make their own purchases. Identity Theft, what is it?This can happen, don’t think for one moment that just because you use a debit card and have direct deposit, that is cannot happen to you.This is the crime of obtaining the personal or financial information of another person for the purpose of assuming assuming that identity to steal it and use it to make purchases or establish credit without the victims’ knowledge.Read moreOmitunde, Publisher of African American Family ConnectionAn online magazine about African American Family values and community.Visit AAFC for the latest issue each month and a copy of "The Ripple Effect".Read more…
My favorite is Cornbread Dressing! I learned to make my mother's dressing from "Scratch" as they say and I am the only in my family that can make it!I make the cornbread, I make my own broth and I get the whole family involved in chopping the veggies and preparing other dishes. At my house we celebrate the Harvest Season with a Harvest Meal. It is truly a time of being thankful as a family for everything about our lives that we take for granted.Tell me what is your favorite meal and I may share my recipe for Cornbread Stuffing....Omitunde, Publisher of African American Family ConnectionAn online magazine about African American Family values and community.Visit AAFC for the latest issue each month and a copy of "The Ripple Effect".
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Posted by Christine on November 14, 2008 at 8:09pm
How many times have you heard those commercials that claim you can make thousands of dollars working at home for two or three hours per day? Being an entrepreneur is a role that many aspire to, but not everyone can be one. Although it sounds simple, becoming a successful work at home entrepreneur takes diligence, patience and determination.Before you run in and quit your day job, you need to sit down and evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Not everyone has the temperament to be a work at home entrepreneur and it’s best for you to be honest with yourself from the start. After you have completed an honest evaluation of yourself, the next step is to determine if you can manage an online business for yourself.Organization is a key strength for running an online business. If you are selling information products, you must organize your time to compose, upload and set up the process by which you will sell these products. If you are selling physical products, you must organize your product and delineate the time for inventory, packing and shipping. In the beginning, you should also be able to work alone because guess what – you’re the boss now! It’s YOUR business and you have to be responsible for it.Let’s go back to those commercials that say that online businesses can be run without many problems. Don’t believe the hype for a minute, because even with an online business, you still have to deal with business issues. These issues cannot be avoided, because they’re just a part of doing businesses whether you’re doing business online or offline. You can avoid some of these issues just by doing a bit of homework and choosing the best home based business for you and your working style.Running an online business is not easy. Because are both boss and employee, you have to manage your time wisely in order to not become overwhelmed and discouraged. You must be a risk-taker, a self starter and have the understanding and temperament to deal with all types of people.As an work at home womenpreneur, take the time to make an assessment of your skills and temperament, then move forward in the field or industry that you feel works best for you. Working in a home-based business requires dedication, hard work and excellent time management. Much success to you in your endeavors!
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Ladies I need to share this with you. That's what blogs are for right? Well, I recently attended the Delaware Black Awards a couple of weeks ago. I am proud to say that Big Gyrl Clothing was a finalist for the Best Retailer Award! Unfortunately we did not win, but we are all winners. Well, according to previous emails sent from DelawareBlack.com, it was going to be an elegant affair so I immediately starting thinking about a fabulous dress to make. Life becomes extremely hectic and busy in an instant and I did not get a chance to make my dress until 3am the day of. I finished the dress at 10am Friday, ran errands like a maniac, and by 6pm, was ready to attend the event. The dress is chocolate brown on the bottom and mint green on the top. There is gold detailing on the bottom of the dress with mint green and chocolate straps on top. The neckline was a braid of mint green and chocolate material. The dress was sleeveless with a train in the back. I wore my open toed gold shoes with an amber stone in the middle. They were strapped around the ankle. The event was held at the Grand Opera House which is a very popular place for comedy shows, concerts, orchestras, and other events. So my man and I finally arrived at the event. While we waiting in line I looked around excited seeing who was there and checking out other dresses. The only thing i saw were suits, business suits, jeans, a couple of plain garments, nothing elegant. Oh well, I always stand out no matter where I go, its just a positive nature and disposition that I have and carry with me, especially at a networking event. What I did not like were elevator eyes looking back at me. I will smile at everyone but most women would look like 'umph'. I am familiar with it, I have always and presently receive the Umph look everyday, but what bothers me is that 1- you are a grown a** woman looking at me like that because I have a beautiful and flattering gown on and you decided to where something casual, who's fault is that. 2- Do not hate on the big gyrl of the room and whisper and laugh when you cannot say anything to my face, who is the weak one? 3- We live in a country now that has a black president and you want to keep a petty mentality like this, come on, are you serious? I tell you ladies of BBC and I hope that I am not talking about anyone here and I pray that you do not act the same way as some of the ladies at the event was. Don't hate on the woman doing her thing. I am a fashion designer, I take risks in business, life, love, and clothing, I am not afraid of wearing anything and do not have a care in the world who talks about me. Until you live for yourself, you are not living at all. For us to overcome the major obstacles of racism, glass ceilings, etc. we must remove the hatred amongst each other. Who was standing there crying at Barack Obama's acceptance speech, Jesse Jackson. Did you know that he was on live television earlier this year saying he wanted to cut barack's testicles off? But yet despite all of this, he was overjoyed that obama won, he stood there crying tears of joy, not hatred and it takes a real man like obama to have someone who said such a thing to be there. I go through the same 'umph' situations at work but eventually the same chicks that talk all that mess, come around and ask where did I get this from, and they learn to respect me and my business. The awards night was wonderful and I met some great contacts for business. I did receive compliments on my dress as well, met some future models, and politic'd with the guys. All in all, with or without creating enemies, I had a great time. This is the first entry of the big gyrl now blog series where I will speak of various big gyrl comedies, tragedies, and life issues and successes. Hope you enjoyed this and if you are a hater or umph girl, don't you think its time you made a change? Maybe if you focused your energy on yourself instead of someone else, you will be halfway close to where they are.Keep motivated and have a fashion fabulous week!SRead more…
Posted by Andrea Fields on October 5, 2008 at 5:33pm
If it is true that what we love is our path to greatness – then it is also true that everyone who is working for barely makes do wages or less doesn’t have to. It also means that people who feel trapped in well paying jobs don’t need to. The question now is: How do we transform what we love into cash.I once heard a story of a man who had an infinity for fixing small electrical things. Radios, mixers, sewing machines; whatever – he could fix it. He never had any formal training in electronic or electrical repair. It was just something he instinctively knew how to do. Friends and family members often brought things to him to repair. Eventually his wife got sick of all of the money he was spending on tools and repair parts and him not making any money for his efforts. Finally he decided to rent a small room so he could continue to indulge in his love; but keep peace in his home. So to pay for his work space, he started charging people a nominal fee to do their repairs.As fate would have it, a time came he got laid off from his job and his wife didn’t make enough to support them. So, he began to call to check on a few offers he had received from customers to teach, to be on call to properly set up major appliances etc. Within a month he was making more money than he had ever made at his job.The answer to the questions: How do we transform what we love into cash is: For some people, transforming what you love to do into cash is a matter of making some decision and following through on them. For some it will take a business plan, investors . . . . Still others will simply stumble into their gift. The key however is to take the time to regularly work at that which brings you joy and a sense of fulfillment.Armed with this information, I finally put aside all of my reasons, excuses, meanderings … and dove into one of my favorite activities. At first it was awkward and felt strange – like I had never made a good living sewing before. As I moved forward and started on my second piece it began to feel good. Wonderful memories of past accomplishments began to appear in the forefront of my mind one by one. As I worked on my third piece, I began to relive the emotions that made me decide to become a seamstress in the first place.I’ll keep you posted on the outcome.
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Here is what I receivedCongratulations. We have reviewed your application and you have beenapproved as a Daegan Smith Partners affiliate.No matter what your business is....You need Customers!!!!!You need proven way to attract and keep customers!!!I figured this out long ago, however, the time it take to put togethera solid customer attraction program can takes years.I do not have years and suspect you do not either......So I have partner with Daegan Smith, The man who does not make calls to getcustomers. Oh yeah, that what I want , people contacting me to DO business.Ok to kick this partnership in gear, I am giving at no cost a FREE CD to youto help grow you business and get you some solid info to continue growing yourbusiness.Just go to http://www.juniques.comand get your FREE BUSINESS BUILDING CD!!!!Ps..you may want to partner with us to grow your income even moreof course I have provided info on that too!!!!To OUR success!!!RickeyHave a Most Productive day.The Cell Phone Revolution Has BegunGet Paid for other people cell phone billingListen to the Story that has never been told.Go to www.juniques.net
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Purchasing a home is an intimidating process without the news reports about the current mortgage crisis, repeating terms like sub-prime lending and balloon payments. Families are losing their homes at an alarming rate and it has been reported that African Americans have been the target of mortgage lenders processing high cost loans by qualifying those with poor credit scores for high interests rates and hidden costs like balloon payments. Sub prime is a type of loan that is offered at a rate above prime to individuals who do not qualify for prime rate loans.Dedrick Muhammad co-author of a report from United for a Fair Economy called “Foreclosed: The State of the Dream 2008, cites the sub-prime mortgage crisis as the source leading to the greatest loss of wealth in modern US history for people of color who stand to lose over $200 billion dollars. Dedrick Muhammad is senior organizer and research associate at the Institute for Policy Studies.It all seems overwhelming to our desire to own a home and have our own piece of land to cultivate overshadowed by the anxiety we all feel for those families that are victims of foreclosure due to predatory lending practices. We dread the thought of losing a home before we even purchase one. If you have ever lost a home is it a paralyzing experience. The feeling of shame, blame, and guilt to feel your home slipping away can be devastating.Read moreOmitunde, Publisher of African American Family ConnectionAn online magazine about African American Family values and community.Visit AAFC for the latest issue each month and a copy of "The Ripple Effect".Read more…
Advertise your business free.It's a black community.If you are a Black Business Owner an need more clients to provide them with your products and services,Go to: www.BlackBusinessNetwork.com/RahimaIf you are not a Black Business Owner but would love to support Black Businesses getting a check for doing it without you having any products on hand only at the website,Go to: www.BlackStarOpportunity.com/Rahima
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Hello Community, Just reporting in.I have voted and have the sticker!!! May everyone cast their vote today. It is a moment to treasure.Networkingly yours RickeyThe Cell Phone Revolution GuyStart your own wireless store for $49.99www.juniques.us
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I grew up during a time when African Americans loved each other and lived in neighborhoods and communities that were interconnected like the web of love. A web of love and support that looked like women cooking for other families when there was illness or taking food to a repast for a family grieving the loss of a loved one. Yes, I was one of those children thatwas corrected by a neighbor and again when they informed my parents of what I was guilty of.Today we are not that close knit community. If you say something to a young person today, you could get cussed out or worse, physically attacked.Reuniting the African American family is very important to me and I hope is it important to everyone who cares about the future of African American children. Have you ever looked around at the people that would come to your aid in a crisis? If you are the head of your household, who would come to assist your loved ones if something happened to you? It is urgent that we reconnect and become strong again.Read moreRead more…
Posted by Ronke Lawal on September 7, 2008 at 5:30pm
You’re Beautiful, Woman! Wins a gold medal for ethnic beauty!Just one day after the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing; 8 Beautiful women came together on the 9th August 2008 to organise a wonderful event celebrating black women’s beauty in all its forms. From Black Hair care to foot care, from spiritual well being to fashion this event held at The Imperial War Museum was a huge success.With a diverse business background the self-proclaimed Dream Team were able to organise this superb event with so much positivity and grace that people are already asking when the next event will be!Some of the feedback on the date:Just wanted to say thank-you for organising such a nice event yesterday. It was very informative and fun. I look forward to the next event.Kind Regards,AThank you for what was a most inspiring and enlightening event on Saturday. The Seminars were well organized and apart from the technical hiccup went very well. I attended all seminars apart from the Health & Fitness by Lorna (due to my enjoying a wonderful facial) and I got a lot from each and everyone. From Vivienne's make-up session, Angie's enlightening info on hair to Hannah's inspiring talk, both my friends and I had everyone one of our objective boxes ticked. My 'Sisters' came for 'confidence boost' and 'next step' inspiration for radical career moves and they got it. We met some lovely people during the networking sessions which we will follow up on.It is clear that a lot of hard work went into this event and only the good Lord knows how you managed to bag such a wonderful venue as the Imperial War Museum.With best wishes,MThe Dream Team consisting of 8 beautiful black women are as follows:Ronke Lawal - www.rslmanagementservices.co.uk - Sophia Jackson - www.afridiziak.com - Angel Smith www.shoelagoon.com - Ronke Adeyemi www.themusingsofondolady.blogspot.com- Angie Brice www.thehairoine.com Hanna Hunter www.activateachievement.com - Lillian Ogbogoh www.vividoccasions.com - Maggie Udofia www.vividoccasions.com -For more information on the You’re Beautiful, Woman event please email urbeautifulwoman@gmail.comwww.yourebeautifulwoman.comhttp://www.myspace.com/urbeautifulwoman
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I am ranting about Dads today....Mom's generally have most of the responsibility with children. Even if mom works full or part-time, they are expected to do everything. Even when father's are in the home, mother's do most of the work.Mothers manage every aspect of their child or children's lives. There are some Dad's who do these things too. So why is to special and amazing when a man does these thing but just responsibility when a woman does it?Not every woman may do everything on this list. This list reflects the things that children need. They can exist without all of these things, But they deserve this and more. If you are not doing all these things, this in no way is a reflection of you or how you live and/or take care of your children.These things are done by most women, and not meant to reflect every possible situation. Whether a women is married or has a partner, these items are the what every women should be doing for her children if she has them.Work in or out of the home to make a living to maintain basic needs of her familyBuy and cook for their children on a regular basisShop for whatever it is that children need, based on what they can affordClean up behind them and teach them to maintain a clean environmentPrepare children for private/public child care or school by potty-training, manners, communicate, share, etcBathe them or make sure the bathe everydayComb or cut their hair, wash it and teach them to take care of itEnsure that children brush their teeth at least twice a dayGet them to school either by walking/driving or pubic transportationMonitor how much television they watchMonitor how much time they spend playing video games or using the computerRead to them, and teach them to readHomework is essential to be done with at least one parent dailyBeing their biggest fan and letting them know they are celebratedWipe their butts and teach them to wipe their own buttsWashing, storing, taking care of clothes that they grow out ofPurchase what they need - from A to ZSort through what they have outgrownMake sure they dress appropriately for the weatherSupport them in social activities and sportsInspire a desire for learningOkay so this is not what I would call is an extensive list, so what do Dad's do?????If you are a dad and you do these things, great, but what happens if you want to go out with the boys, or watch the football game? Why is it easier for men to go about doing whatever they want to do and the women is always expected to take care of the children? The children belong to both parents even if they do not live together.Omitunde, Publisher of African American Family ConnectionAn online magazine about African American Family values and community.Visit AAFC for the latest issue each month and a copy of ."The Ripple Effect"Read more…
I went after a job in a place where I believed I could make a difference providing a service to Black people, my people that I feel most connected to. The revolutionary side of me is passionate about affecting social change and making a difference. All fired up after finally completing my undergraduate degree I was idealistic and proudly anticipating working at a Historically Black College.My intent was to connect with African American parents and students to assist them in securing funding through Financial Aid effectively as someone who understood the anxiety they may have been experiencing. My belief is that I understood the challenge of feeling intimidated and overwhelmed but together we could come up with a plan that worked to the advantage of the student and parent and secured their admission, tuition, and housing requirements.The work proved to be more than challenging and even though I anticipated it to be difficult I expected to be trained well enough to meet the challenge. A very wise woman that had been in the industry for almost 30 years taught me as much as she could in between the demands of her own student load and time lines.The office operations were flat and loosely structured and the environment was highly charged by politics and big egos. When I needed help I would go to my co-workers and make every effort to get the right answer for the best outcome. In almost every instance, I received a different answer no matter who I went to. Seasoned individuals performed procedures the way it has always been done like before computers became the focus. It was effective in its time although time consuming. Fairly new professionals performed procedures in whatever way allowed it be done the fastest. Mistakes were made but time lines were met most of the time.Read moreOmitunde, Publisher of African American Family ConnectionAn online magazine about African American Family values and community.Visit AAFC for the latest issue each month and a copy of "The Ripple Effect".Read more…
Hope your October is colorful and beautiful!Here's a toast to Women in Business and the abundance of the Harvest season!May your business grow and grow and grow and the seeds you plant yield prosperity!Check out the Current Issue of my magazine.Sign Up to Stay In Touch and receive a free copy of The Ripple Effect - a personal development EcourseGo to http://www.africanamericanfamilyconnection.conLinda
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If you’re on Twitter or any other social media site for any length of time, you’ll certainly run upon advertisements for teleseminars and webinars on many different topics. Ever wonder why many business owners and entrepreneurs work as speakers for these outlets? Well, it’s because they know that these methods can be used to advance their business in more ways than one. As a business owner or entrepreneur, you should truly consider using teleseminars and webinars to your advantage.1. Present your business, product or brandOne obvious benefit of participating as a speaker in teleseminars and webinars is that these outlets can be used to introduce a previously unknown company, product or brand. New business owners, especially online business owners may find it difficult to introduce themselves to their target audience because of their lack of history or background in their field.Teleseminars and webinars allow the new business owner to represent his or her business and give it a personality. As many business owners understand, customers are buying your product or service because they trust you. By participating in teleseminars/webinars you can give your business the personal boost it needs to reach your target market2. Brand yourself as an expert in your fieldAs a featured speaker on a teleseminar or webinar, you are building your reputation as an authority in your field. This is important for new business owners who are new to their industry and are attempting to create a buzz about themselves or their product.A successful teleseminar/webinar will assist you in building a solid following in your target market. In addition, further successes will help you to expand and reach a wider segment of potential clients and customers.3. Promote products and/ or servicesThese seminars may also be used a vehicle to promote a product or service. While not as “pushy” as an infomercial, they can serve the same purpose, as many speakers will have books, e-books, podcasts, videos and other products that they market to their target market via these outlets.The key is to reference the product in the discussion with the audience. The audience is then motivated to purchase the product to be used as a guide or instructional material to achieve the end results.4. Increase salesA well-delivered teleseminar or webinar can assist in encouraging sales of the product or services. Because you are working with potential customers in real time, it increases their knowledge of the product or services and thus may be more motivated to purchase.5. Allows you to personally communicate with clientsBecause you are selling yourself as a person as well as your product or service a good teleseminar or webinar is a way to communicate with your potential clients on a more personal level. They can hear your voice, get a sense of your personality and by doing so decide whether they like you or admire you enough to purchase your product or service. If there is an open discussion period included in the teleseminar, then customers are able to get their questions answered on the spot, without waiting for a phone call or email.6. Low overheadIn order to truly succeed in business, money has to be spent. For many business owners, however, money is tight and often sunk back into the business for necessary expenses. A teleseminar or webinar can be a low cost way to provide a lecture over the phone or via the Internet. Furthermore, if done well, they do help to raise a customer’s awareness of you, your brand and your products or services.
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Paulette West M.B.E describes her business as "Growing Aspiring People by profiling and showcasing positive role models, promoting excellence in leadership and bringing financial, educational and entrepreneurial success to the heart of the BME community".In addition to this work, she holds a senior leadership role with Barclays Bank.Paulette will receive her M.B.E. from the Queen next month.Join us on the Success Strategies radio show this Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. UK time. Plus you can liste to recordings of the previous shows. Click here to listen.
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