social media – Page 2

06
Dec
2015

Smashing Goals and Then Some

The past few months have been interesting. Since I was turning 40 this year, I set some goals for myself to go with the big milestone birthday. I wanted to exercise more, fly in an airplane again, conquer Vulcan, get a tattoo and more. I’m happy to report that I did all of them! Even though I didn’t write about them until July, I had been working on them since my birthday in February and am glad I finally met all my goals this year (first time!).

I finished a 5k yesterday. For most people, that’s no big deal..for me, however, it was epic. I did one in August, but it was hellacious and I never wanted to do it again. But I attempted this same 5k last year and had to bow out due to pain in my foot. I wanted so badly to do it this year and get my medal. I still have the planter fasciitis, but with proper preparation, I was able to finish the 5k yesterday in much better time (and shape) then the August one. Having a wonderful crew and group waiting for me at the finish was the icing on the cake.

This month also finds me giving my second presentation on social media to a business group. I’ve never considered myself a social media expert, but I do believe in harnessing the power of social media to engage the community. I guess that has magically grown wings of its own and am humbled that people have asked me to speak on it. Getting to help others while talking about something you love is so much fun!

And the cherry on top of the sundae this month was being picked as the December Blogger of the Month for Alabama Women Bloggers. What an honor to be in the same company as some of the bloggers I admire most. I’ll be doing four guest posts for them throughout the month and will be sure to post links to them here when they are published. The theme is magic, so it’s perfect for December!

Please know that this post is not written to brag. I wrote it as a thank you and reminder. A thank you to the amazing support system and sisters who help me everyday. You know who you are. You are my tribe. My girls. My #girlbosses and I can’t do this without you.

And a reminder that you can do anything you set your mind to – I firmly believe that. Keep an open mind and an open heart doing what you love, you never know who is watching and learning from you. Be sure to help others as you have been helped, we all need it sometime. And most of all, believe in yourself. You should be your biggest fan. I’m happy to be a close second.

Bring on 2016!

12
Aug
2014

It’s not always rainbows and butterflies

categories: depression

The news of Robin Williams’ death made me gasp loudly when I read the alert come across my feed. Everyone knows I’m an, um, animated person and I visibly (and audibly) react to a lot of things, especially shocking news. It’s strange to me that I reacted so strongly to the death of someone I didn’t know, but I think it was the story behind the death that struck me.

I’ve seen hundreds of posts, tweets, and stories about depression since yesterday. Isn’t it interesting that everyone and their mothers is sharing information on depression resources and help now? Where were these thousands of shares a week ago? I’m guilty of the same thing – we’re a “what’s hot now” society and jump on the bandwagon. Granted, this bandwagon is for a good reason, but still…the bandwagon will leave the station in a few weeks and we’ll be back to our “normal” until something else happens. It’s the same with almost every issue or disease depending on the day or time – guns, mental and physical diseases, abuse, child obesity, the environment, rape, homelessness, you name it…we’re on it. While it’s a hot topic in social media.

I know you can’t spend every waking minute raising awareness for the issues that you believe in, but please don’t be so fair weathered that you’re only an advocate when it seems like the right time or popular. Speaking from experience, depression – like so many other diseases – is a 24/7, year-round illness that people live with. Share your story. Share your victories. Share your failures. Share yourself and help someone…not just today.

10
Jan
2013

Tornado Alley

categories: See Jane Write

Things have been moving at the speed of light these days at work, in my personal life, and extracurricular activities. I am not complaining – staying busy keeps my mind engaged, especially when I’m working with the creative talents behind the Jefferson Shelby County Chapter of the American Red Cross‘ Paint the Town Red event scheduled for April 20th right here in downtown Birmingham. I went to my first meeting last night – I’m volunteering as part of the Social Media team – and let me just tell you, they are planning AMAZING art for Birmingham. I cannot wait to go to this!

I have been busy with meetings and meet ups with See Jane Write, Theatre Downtown, Paint the Town Red, Magic City Post, the next Birmingham Dance Walk, and working my my goals and fitness thanks to Iron Tribe, losing weight, and seeing my man! Whew – I’m tired just thinking about the past few weeks and the weeks coming up. But they are worth it – these are some great organizations that do so much for our community.

The past two days of challenges for 31 Days to a Better Blog have been to 1) be more engaging on Facebook and Twitter and b) sign up for a blogging conference or seminar. Well, I’ve already blown #1 out of the park apparently as my sister, who I adore, posted on Facebook that I was updating too much and she was a little tired of it. lol! There are worse things, but it does tell me that I’m engaged. I loved Javacia’s tip today on posting more quality and not just quantity on social media – you can read her post here. And I’m also attending the See Jane Write event tonight: Blogging and the Future of Community Journalism. So I’ve got those two covered. I am still working on a new header, as well as whether I want to change my URL, title or platform. We shall see, but they are great tips in the series.

More tomorrow, lovelies! Until then….

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.

23
May
2012

Whirling Dervish

categories: accident, friends, happy

It’s been an interesting few weeks. I feel like some bullets:

My super sleuth neighbor found the man who hit me and left. My insurance has left him a few messages, with no luck. I am now filing a Hit and Run report with the police department. (Who knew it was a completely different entity and you have to file separately from the actual accident report?) I am hoping he will respond to either the police or someone soon so I can get my car fixed. If not, I will pay for it myself (deductible, rental car, etc.), but it’s a bit frustrating. I gave all of his info to the reporting officer last week to add to the report. I am going to try to pick up a finalized report this week to send to my insurance company since it seems they have not gotten it yet. Thank you for the encouraging words and hanging out for the crazy journey.
I wasn’t able to go to Montgomery this past weekend as planned because I wasn’t confident in my car or the gas tank. It seems to be ticking down miles a lot faster than it used to. Could be paranoia on my part, who knows.
My brother had hip surgery this week. I’m not positive on the details, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t replacement surgery – just something to alleviate the pain that he’s been having. All went well and he’s in recovery in the hospital for the next few days. Thank you all for your prayers and good thoughts.

Now for the rest of the fun.

I am excited to be doing a bit of moving and shaking in my own little part of the universe. I went to a wonderful GNO at The Melting Pot here in Birmingham last night and enjoyed watching friends from different circles get to know each other. It was myself, Lee, Billie, Rachel and Cheryl. The evening was full of fabulous food (only once a year!), wonderful conversation and amazing ladies. It was neat to watch the different ladies find things in common among our age and background differences. I would venture to say some great new friendships were formed last night. I love when my online world collides with my real world. There were a few tweeps missing that would have added even more, but I’m hoping they can come next time. I need to plan that once a month around town and see these ladies more often!

I’m equally excited about a fun little meet up we’re having in a few weeks. I saw this Dance Walk video a little bit ago online and decided to share it with my Twitter followers and FB friends. It proved especially fun for those who were having a rough day like my tweep Jennifer. She got just as excited about it as I did and mentioned how fun it would be. That’s all it took – one equally excited person, a few tweets and people were excited for the #BHAM #DANCEWALKTWEETUP. We’re meeting at Railroad Park in downtown Birmingham on June 2nd at 3 p.m. to Dance Walk around the park. We’re piggy backing off the Birmingham Kitchen Table picnic in the park that day, so we’re hoping for a fun, great turnout. I’m still working on sound and trying to get the Dance Walk Master Guru to come down from NY, but it will be fun no matter what. We hope to see you there – you can RSVP here: www.facebook.com/events/304200246330605.

A few other highlights – my friend Stephen Vinson hit a HUGE milestone last week by hitting the 300 lbs LOST mark! I cannot believe how far he has come and how many people he inspires everyday..and his impact is just growing. He has steadily been gaining friends and fans since he started the journey and they even did a TV special on him on our local NBC station. He’s also having a celebratory dinner to mark the occasion – details and RSVP are here. Congrats, my friend! You continue to amaze and impress me everyday with your commitment, dedication and attitude.

I am still “up in the gym working on my fitness.” We recently got re-measured to see how far we’ve come in the first month of personal training. I was floored to find that I had lost 6 inches total over my body during this month! I couldn’t believe it. I posted it on my FB page and was instantly overwhelmed with wonderful comments and “likes.” I believe it’s my first post to receive that many “likes.” I am humbled by the outpouring of support and love that people are sharing. I am going to keep it up and hope to increase to 3 days with G57 Fitness and Training soon.

Another highlight of the past few weeks was getting to try Little Donkey for the first time. It was as delicious as everyone said and our table made a friend in one of the owners/chefs/managers after our meal. He treated us to a complimentary cocktail and dessert (popsicles). These divine treats are a MUST if you have room after your meal.

The rest of my world is pretty good. There are still some things I’m struggling with internally, but know clarity will come the time is right. I’m working on myself and that’s all I can do at the moment. I am hoping things work out the way I’d like, but know they will work out the way they should no matter what.

Also of importance: I have decided I’d like to be a whirling dervish when I grow up. Do you think it pays?

Signing off for now, but remember….

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.

Tag: social media