March Is Women’s History Month. Who Are Your Female Role Models?
March 11, 2010 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 1 Comment
March is Women’s History Month in the US. Groups everywhere are promoting it. Barnes & Noble has done a great job as evidenced by my unnecessary purchase tonight. Apparently, you can judge a book by its cover.
But what’s more meaningful to me is what’s happening in the nation’s capitol surrounding the topic of women and more specifically, women making history.
Yesterday morning, Vital Voices and Avon hosted a Breakfast Meeting of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Women. According to the US Department of State, “Secretary Clinton founded the Vital Voices Global Partnership, a leading international NGO dedicated to supporting emerging women leaders, after the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing to promote the advancement of women as a U.S. foreign policy goal.”
As I sit here miles away from Washington D.C., I ponder about my role models. Who are the women that have made or are making a positive difference in my life? Who do I want to be like? Whose characteristics and qualities do I want to embrace? Who empowers me?
What about you? Who are your female role models?
What about these gals? Ten winners of the International Women of Courage award recognized last night at the Vital Voices Awards Dinner. One article quotes: “We are honoring women from around the world who have endured isolation and intimidation, violence and imprisonment,” Clinton said. “Many have even risked their lives to advance justice, freedom, and equal rights for everyone. Their stories remind us of how much work there is left to do before the rights and dignity of all people—no matter who you are or where you live—are respected and protected by the world’s governments.”
Imagine being able to get a glimpse into these women’s lives. Powerful! What can we learn from them? How can we, too, show courage and make a difference?
Photo courtesy of AvonPRNewsflash.Giveaway! CoverGirl Smoky Eyes Makeup Prize Pack
February 18, 2010 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 559 Comments
Have you seen the Smoky Eye makeup look recently? Dying to own it? With CoverGirl’s help, now you can!
Prizes
Three winners will receive a CoverGirl prize pack, valued at $100, including each of the following:
- Smoky Eye kits (3)
- Make-up Bag
- EyeShadow kits (6)
- Perfect Point Liners (3)
- Pencil Sharpener
- Lash Curler
- Pack of EyeShadow applicators (3)
- Clean Make-up Remover
- Shadow Blast Duos (3)
- Lash Blast Length Mascara
Entry Requirements
Please do the following two things to enter for a chance to win and leave a separate comment for each:
- Visit http://smokyeyelook.com, check out the various looks, and leave a comment here, sharing what look you’d most like to try.
XXXX - Post these messages on Twitter and leave comments here with a link to your tweets:
GIVEAWAY! Enter 2 win CoverGirl #smokyeyes prize pack (3 winners/ARV $100 each) http://bit.ly/akfG8l #gno PLS RT
XXXXWant the #smokyeye look? Need tips? Visit #CoverGirl’s site to learn more: http://smokyeyelook.com PLS RT
Extra Entries
The following three entries are completely optional and will earn you one extra entry each. Leave a separate comment on this post for each completed optional entry.
- Follow @momitforward on Twitter.
- Become a Friend of Mom It Forward’s Google Friend Connect (see box in right sidebar).
- Subscribe to the Mom It Forward RSS feed (click on orange heart at the top of the right sidebar).
Terms and Conditions
No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway ends at midnight ET Wednesday, February 24, 2010. No more than one entry per person via each of the methods listed in the Giveaway details. The odds of winning a Giveaway depend on the number of entries. Winners will be selected randomly by Mom It Forward. All decisions of Mom It Forward are final. Employees of Mom It Forward and the Giveaway sponsor are not eligible to participate. All entries received after the Giveaway closing date and time will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified via email and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If the winner does not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants who are residents of the US 18 years and older. Void in Maine. Void where prohibited. Taxes on Giveaways are solely the responsibility of the winner. Winner agrees to permit Mom It Forward and the Giveaway Sponsor to use her or his name, voice, photo, or likeness for reasonable promotional and marketing purposes for up to 90 days after the end of the Giveaway. Mom It Forward and Sponsor are not liable for late or misdirected entries, entry errors, or transmission problems. Mom It Forward reserves the right to terminate the Giveaway in the event of technical problems, or to correct typographical or technical errors, or to amend these rules. All participants should review the Mom It Forward disclosure and privacy policies. By entering, participants agree to release and hold harmless Mom It Forward, Sponsor, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, and agents from any and all liability or any injuries, loss, or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with a Giveaway. Mom It Forward will provide the name of the winner for any Giveaway, upon request, for 90 days after that Giveaway’s entry period ends. Unless otherwise provided by the Sponsor, no substitution, transfer, or assignment of prizes is permitted. Non-winning entries from one Giveaway are not carried forward to future Giveaways.
Balancing Life 101 Part 1
January 20, 2010 by TiaHejny · 10 Comments
By Camille of www.makeitworkmom.com
Of all the occupations in the world today, I believe the one most challenging, emotionally charged, and time-consuming is that of motherhood. It is a full-time job in and of itself. Then, if you add a career of any sort to that occupation, you’re dealing with quite the juggling act! Where is the balance? And how do you find it?
First of all, you need to determine what “balance” means for you. For me, balance is achieved when you find a system that allows for everyone to be happy, while still completing the necessary survival chores. In this balancing act are three main factors: Your children, your partner, and YOU! In a three-part series of posts, I’ll focus on each factor and list ways that can help achieve that balance for which we’re all searching.
Probably the main factor you’re mostly worried about in this balancing act are your children. Am I spending enough time with them? Are they happy? Will our relationship be as strong as if I were to stay at home with them? Of course! Here is what I would suggest:
- Lose The Guilt! It’s not like you’re going to a salon every day, getting pedicures and massages for yourself! Your circumstance requires you to be working, in order to provide for your family. There is nothing wrong with that. You can make adjustments to your lifestyle that will allow for time spent with your children, to strengthen that bond you may be worried about. If you need more convincing, check out www.workingmomsagainstguilt.com where four working moms have collaborated ideas on how to “resist the guilt and embrace the journey.”
- Incorporate your kiddos in your daily chores. Life doesn’t stop because you have kids. Dinner still needs to be prepared, the house (somewhat) cleaned, etc. I keep a play “station” by the kitchen with books and crayons to keep the kids entertained while I make/clean up dinner so we can still interact. Both bathrooms and kitchen have step stools handy for involvement from my little people. And we try to make cleaning together “fun”.
- Schedule “fun” time. No one in your household will survive if you stick to a rigorous routine. Break away from it every once in a while to take your kids to the park, bowling, or on a nature walk. Play dress-up, give piggy-back rides, or read books in a makeshift fort – anything that relieves the stresses you may have felt during your workday and puts the focus on you and your family.
- Maximize the quality of time spent with your children. Because of your work schedule, and by the time your kids go to sleep, you really only get to be with them 3-4 hours every day. Be creative with dinnertime, bath time, bedtime, etc. Take time to have conversations, sing, and play with them. These times you spend with your kids are the memories that will stay with them throughout their lives, much more than memories of a dirty kitchen floor!
About the Author: Camille is a thirty-something mommy with two beautiful daughters, Ad and C8, living in two worlds. By day, she works full-time as an employment recruiter/ staffing supervisor, with a 100-mile daily commute, living in a world governed by policies and professionalism. And by night, she transforms into a mother, living in a world where everything is governed by “Eenie-Meenie-Miney-Moe” and fun. Like so many other moms, she wishes she could stay at home with them, but certain situations require her to work full-time. To learn more about Camille visit www.makeitworkmom.comor contact her via twitter @makeitworkmom.
Giveaway! Path to Peace Prize Pack From Macy’s ($250 Retail Value)
December 6, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 121 Comments
Spearheaded 3 years ago by Willa Shalit and her company Fair Winds Trading, Path to Peace developed an American market for Rwandan women’s crafts. It creates trade partnerships with artisans in recovering regions to bring the power of change to Rwanda. Shalit believes that women helping each other can change how Rwanda rebuilds its society, empowers women, and sustains economic development beyond traditional assistance. Macy’s has partnered with Fair Winds Trading to give an online space called Shop for a Better World where the crafts can be sold.
Mom It Forward is partnering with Macy’s to promote Path to Peace. On Tuesday, December 8, we’ll be tweeting live from New Orleans with Willa Shalit. Feel free to join us, stream live with us on UStream, and/or tweet with us during this week’s #gno event. Also, enter to win a gift pack of Path to Peace products, including baskets, textiles, and jewelry. Approximate retail value $250. (Gift pack items may vary in color or style from those featured in this picture.)
Entry Requirements
Please do the following two things to enter for a chance to win this week’s giveaway:
- Become a fan of the page http://bit.ly/facebookp2p and leave a comment there, sharing your favorite item from the Path to Peace collection.
- Post these two messages on Twitter and/or your Facebook profile page:
Giveaway! Enter 4 a chance 2 win a $250 prize pack from Macy’s #path2peace products. http://bit.ly/8B77St here PLS RT
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Join #gno live from NOLA Tues 12/8 (9-11 ET) as we celebrate holiday giving w/ #macy’s & #path2peace http://bit.ly/8knoi5 PLS RT
Extra Entry Requirements
You have the option of getting one extra entry in this week’s giveaway. Make sure to leave a comment on this post for this entry.
- Leave a comment on one of the Path to Peace Whrrl stories.
The Fine Print
No purchase necessary to enter. Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. Macy’s, Path to Peace, and Mom It Forward employees are ineligible to participate. All entries received after Wednesday, December 9 at midnight PT will not be considered. Entries that do not follow all of the entry requirements will not be considered. Winners will be notified and will have 24 hours to confirm receipt of the e-mail. If they do not reply within 24 hours, another winner will be selected. Open to participants in the US and Canada 18 years and older. One entry per person.
Inspiring Women—Strengthening Each Other Through Our Trials
June 26, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 8 Comments
I attended an event last night sponsored by Cherish Bound where I was taken back to my childhood as I listened to professional story tellers share their growing up tales. If I were an artist and could have captured one sketch of the room it would have included women laughing, sharing, talking, delighting in delicacies, and relishing in the beauty of a simple, yet rejuvenating girl’s night out. And yet, one element would have been missing, because how do you capture strength and dedication in a drawing?
If you could look closely—perhaps only possible through a 3D sketch, allowing you to go much further beyond the surface—you’d realize that the laughter and sharing was made up of far more than glee and fun. It was made up of experience, learning, and LIFE!
You’d learn that one woman in the room has breast cancer and had recently undergone a double mastectomy. One woman has Lupus and she made a choice to trade one night of connection for several energy-less days after. Of course, we only saw her laughter. One woman has had 42 staples in her head and 4 screws in her jaw from Epilepsy. Another is in and out of the hospital on a monthly basis with her toddler, hearing shifting diagnosis and unanswered questions. Yet another is fighting a court battle to keep her adopted son. A couple are on the brink of bankruptcy. More than one woman is pregnant and one in particular is experiencing the joys of all-day/all-pregnancy sickness. Another was experiencing her last hooray before uprooting her family to move them cross country for her husband’s education. More than one woman didn’t know a single soul in the room. One gal was recently divorced and many were single parents. A couple were empty nesters, vying for more time with their grandchildren. Yet another was fighting to keep her business afloat during these hard economic times. The list could go on, making the stories within the stories much deeper and richer in color.
But to look at the room—or the sketch I would have drawn—wouldn’t have told you all that. And yet, that strength, that dedication to endure and triumph through life’s challenges is what makes inspiring women out of us all. It connects us, draws us to each other, gives us the compassion and knowledge to support each other. Ultimately, it empowers us to change the world one mom at a time.
Today’s “inspiring moms” post is a dedication to women everywhere who have stories upon stories, some for public view and others under lock and key. The tightly woven and intricate patterns of your lives, with broken thread and mistakes and all, make the world a better place to be! Thanks for inspiring me!
@ClassyMommy Shares Tips on Working With Brands: Know Yourself, Find a Niche
May 20, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 5 Comments
The chatter on last night’s #GNO made my head spin. I think I’m still recovering from the stimulating and informative discussions on how brands are tapping into Social Media Moms as we enter the “New Age of Brand Evangelists.” Clearly, there’s a lot to talk about when it comes to this hot topic. Tweeters asked how bloggers and brands connect in the first place and wondered what triggered the relationship. Is it traffic stats, influence, twitter followers, or something else entirely?
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I think all of the above are important, but venture to guess that the “something else entirely” is the essential ingredient that triggers the lasting or more formal relationship with a brand. (And I think it goes without saying that bloggers obviously need to work with brands they are passionate about and are a genuine fit for their lifestyle, tastes, beliefs, family, etc.)
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For me, vlogging has been the “something else entirely” factor which has created my more formal relationships with brands. Before I ever imagined companies would send bloggers free products I started Classy Mommy to write about all my favorite finds and the gazillion products on the market for Moms and babies. Back in 2006 the one thing I did that was different and a natural fit for my style was start doing “video reviews” of products.
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Circa 2006: My 10 month old daughter tests organic baby food for one of my first videos. At the time the word vlogging was not even in my vocab, but for those who know me in real life, you know I talk alot and enjoy the camera so “vlogging” was an instinct for me. 3 years later, I still don’t use any script and find being myself on the fly is my best strategy for a fun video.
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This month, since I’m a professed microwave chef, I’m working on a vlogging campaign for Healthy Choice to showcase their products. Clearly, I’m still being myself as I let viewers in on the dirty little secret that is my jam packed freezer. I mean really have you ever seen a freezer like mine? I’m a disaster and my crazy kids are a pretty good match for my crazy freezer!
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And vlogging was the reason Wal-Mart asked me to join their 11 Moms campaign last summer as they were looking for Moms willing to share money saving tips on YouTube. This video I created about saving money with rechargeable batteries, probably also caught the eye of Energizer as I’m now a brand advocate for Energizer Rechargeables. So for me, I definitely think vlogging was the “something else” factor to trigger my brand relationships.
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Just like a a blog post incorporating a brand needs to be genuine, so does a video. I’m still doing the same thing as when I started messing around with the camera 3 years ago, but I have learned that my best videos are super short – cause even I don’t want to watch myself chattering if I start going over 1 minute!
Know yourself, your blog, your niche, and how you are different from everyone else. Are you a heavy tweeter? Really funny? An expert in living green? Do you have a large family? Wild kids? Love to vlog? Take phenomenal photos? In my experience, I see companies reaching out to bloggers based on how they differentiate themselves and how that particular angle might be a fit for a specific campaign or brand.
Mother’s Day: Moms Make All the Difference
May 8, 2009 by Jyl Johnson Pattee · 4 Comments
Moms: you are amazing! You give life. You comfort and take pride in your children. You lead the way, teach, share, and love. And you do all this on the good and the not-so-good days—while balancing your many roles and figuring out the secrets of motherhood success all without a guidebook. You rise above life’s challenges with resiliency and determination, committed to do it all over again day in and day out of an absolute love for your family. And, as evidenced by the many kind acts of service you’ve performed, you also take on your role of motherhood while serving others. In short, you are changing the world one mom at a time, starting with yourself, while focusing on your family, as well as extending your reach to your community and beyond.
Happy Mother’s Day! You are amazing!
