Keep On Truckin’

Image by danielle_blue via Flickr

Hi All! I’ve felt like I’ve been doing a great job this last month of August, managing 2 popular blogs-working on my ebook, writing for a new gig as entertainment features writer for City Connect. Com and hosting women stories over at authentic-woman.net, my motivational website for women AND working my day job on a part-time basis!

I’ll reiterate. I’ve felt like I’ve been doing a great job. But, now, not so much. I have to start promoting A Life Toward Authenticity, my ebook now that it’s finished. Send out another entertainment post to City Connect. Update posts at blogher and clara54 today (this is it) and complete an application for a free 10 week class in leadership offered by Depaul University…

Today, for the next several hours, I know I’m going to have to make like the little engine who could and keep that choo-choo train on track before relaxing for the evening. And yes, Patricia, I do sleep:)

Okay, back to work!

What about you guys, any writing woes?

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The Long Road from Closed Doors to Here

I come from closed doors.
doors locking me in,
doors locking me out,
doors closed by my mother,
her voice saying “Close that door!”
I come from doors I learned to close on myself,
and doors I was too frightened to open,
“Don’t go out” and “Don’t go in” and “Don’t Move”
never turning a doorknob, rapping knuckles in air.

I come from my mother’s voice saying
“No, you don’t need college”
declaring
“Learn typing and stenography.
That’s a real education.”
I come from fearing what might strike me
if I turned that doorknob.
I come from my father saying nothing.

I come from doors then closed to most women,
a society singing “No! No!” in chorus
Mother’s voice loudest of all,
her piercing descant of
“Typing, Stenography! Typing, Stenography!”
was all I could hear.

Yet, I come from books, newspapers, sermons,
from voices as shrill as my mother’s.
I come from the day when I finally noticed
how many women wait behind closed doors.
Closed doors were not just my personal secret,
Not my singular fate in my singular life.
I come from screaming
“All women are blocked by closed doors.”
I come from joining the banshees
wailing for all women.

I’ve made it my life’s work to fling those doors open,
to find those doors hidden in hallways and alleys,
to turn rusty keys and to oil creaking hinges.
I’ve pounded gates open from inside the fortress
and rattled them wide from without.

Many doors are now open,
but voices still caution…
some doors seem newly closed to me.
When I hear the voice of my aging calling,
she sounds like my mother,
though she wears a young face.

 

Marguerite Beck-Rex is such a wonderful 80 year old, inspiring “today’s woman!” She is a former editor, reporter and columnist for women issues! She is also a great artist and poet. She resides in Washington, D.C.  Marguerite ‘s skills as a group organizer for other artists are legendary. She has definitely become an unofficial mentor of clara54’s! Enjoy my dear readers and stay tuned for much more about this wonderful woman! Alright… you can visit her site http://inkpaintwords.wordpress.com/

 

Hi, Marguerite, thanks for inspiring me to keep going, Clara.

 

Have you met anyone that ignited your confidence lately?

 

 

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How Savvy Women Think “Business”

Image by NoWin via Flickr

I know, it’s Christmas for christsakes & why am I thinking about “business‘ on this special day to celebrate the birth of our lord & savior? Because The Lord knew when he created woman, he created the essence that moves heaven & earth- that’s why! Actually, the turkey is in the oven and the veggies, fixings for savory dressing ,and sweets for the sweetest are making great progress. How’s that for a multi-tasking woman in business for herself? It’s a well known fact that women are savvy creatures. Not only can we can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, we can serve it on a decorative platter as well! AND read a good book all in one setting… Well, we can also embelish upon the truth a bit too, but, that’s what makes us so special! The woman in business for herself becomes an attribute to men owned bussinesses and other women entrepreneurs– doing it for themselves…

As we celebrate the Holidays; Christmas and New Year, let’s also envision the new start to growing, creating, and visualizing our businesses. Women of authenticity read more good stuff clara54 wants you to know about women issues by visiting “authentic woman” @  http://wisewoman2.wordpress.com and spread the word! There’s a savvy business woman in all of us, don’t cha know? Now is the time to create your vision for your business and start the New Year off with a banging profit building enterprise!

Happy Holidays & think “business” in your future!

It’s about the “Ts”- Accomplishments & great things ahead for Clara54

That “t” in the headline stands for gossip for all of you folks in the “not cool” category…anyho, that’s the word according to Wendy Williams who has become this blog’s unofficial go-to-girl for the latest in celebrity news…not that Wendy is a walking Wikipedia mind you. Word is she gets her juicy tidbits from TMZ, In Touch Magazine, Perez Hilton, and a host of other Hollywood Insiders out there in celebrity land. I heard lots of stuff these last few weeks that you might not have gotten wind of yet. The gossip is that Miley Cyrus will be making a CAMEO in the new Sex And The City movie where she and Kim Cattrell wear the same designer duds, which in turn causes “drama”.

Kim from Bravos The Housewives of Atlanta and her “big Poppa” have finally called it quits… at least for now & our Chicago’s very own infamous former governor, Rob Blagolavich will be squaring off with The Donald on Celebrity Apprentice and my fave bit of juicy fruit? (just because I love his comeback so much) is that Bobby Brown will be joining Celebrity Fit Club with none other than Shar Jackson & her babies daddy (BRITNEY SPEARS EX) Kevin Federline, to lose some of those love handles…good for them!

I’m excited to report that information about When One Door Closes, Reflections from Women on Life’s Turning Points written by women for women and authored by Ms. Terri S. Nelson can be viewed at Terri’s http://www.reflectionsfromwomen.com and her blog right now. During the month of December, Terri will add your email address to her mailing list so you can be amongst the first to be notified of the books availability for purchase january 2010… I’m so excited & thrilled to see my name/story listed on the website along with such distinguished women who offer lessons for other women with true stories of their struggles & eventual triumphs…

There’s a young man I’d contacted in hopes of doing an interview with about his moving & thoughtful…some might say controversial film/documentary called A War For Your Soul. Reginald Bullock finally contacted me with good news…his film/DVD has received over 2.5 million viewers after only 7 months on the internet! The film’s popularity has led Reginald to start his own website @ http://www.warforyoursoul.com where interested folks can see the trailer and get info on speaking engagements & such. Clara54 commends his great accomplishment!

There’s so much more to report, but so little time right now. Just bid my overnight guests adieu…preparing for work this halloween weekend & following up on a proposal that is by far the biggest offer to come my way since deciding to grow my freelance writing biz, but because I’m a tad superstitious… I will hold off to spill on that later…

Splashes Of Red

I was watching Good Morning America segment highlighting the benefits of women wearing ‘Red’…A sneak peak into my closets would probably serve as a grave disappointment to all things feminine…Ok, so, I have a few splashes of color…worn when I’m feeling the need to get my ‘diva in red’ or ‘devilish, can’t touch this!” red on…  nothing overpowering… a top here,a purse there & a pair of ‘no place like home’ heels somewhere waiting to be plucked from obscurity.

According to one fella on GMA, red worn by women makes men eyes “Pop!” I ‘m all for grabbing the attention of members of the opposite sex, but, lets’ not get it twisted here fellas…When the lady wears red, it’s not all about you… It’s because I’m liking how Red makes ‘me’ feel…cool, calm, collected & confident:)

Now, when it comes to pitching/marketing my freelance writing biz to editors/publishers/ online and in print… where red becomes a SEO guideline stipulation? …  hey,not a problem…

I’m Thrilled!

I’ve recently  finished  an assignment from a new client I’d pitched a query to a few weeks ago…this is one of the 2 responses I’d mentioned in a recent post. After being away from my computer for several days, I do a quick run through of emails/ another response, asking what articles I’d like to contribute to said magazine!!!

To refresh my memory for this response, I revisited the Babyboomer site I’d also sent a query…there are a few hurdles I ‘ll probably have to overcome if given the gig, but, I didn’t hesitate in dashing off an acceptance letter! I’m keeping my fingers/toes crossed…

I answered an email from Sonya Carmichael Jones of MarketingBudda.com (she’s the expert in marketing I told folks about earlier, she also offers great/reasonable marketing classes for freelancers) if you haven’t visited her website/and you need help/tips on getting your work noticed, let me tell you, her tips work…

I visited my free article base and found that traffic to my articles had increased from 3,500 to 3,997 in a matter of just 7 seven days! visitors to my profile has increased at an amazing rate since starting clara54, so, of course, I’m thrilled!

I have since started a motivational site for women in transition based on a column I started writing online for women in midlife. So far, ‘Authentic Woman’, still in its early stages has gotten to a slow beginning…but because I’m so passionate that women on a journey of self-discovery in their 2nd phase of life might need to hear from someone who has  weathered the storm and can offer insights into midlife transitioning…Authentic Woman can be assessed at http://wisewoman2.wordpress.com 

It’s good to be home!

aging gracefully…

so yesterday I was having this woman speak moment with a couple of women I work with. A social worker, a dietitian and myself. We were talking about ‘eyeglasses’  their expense and why in most instances, they failed to do the job required of aging eyes… This was a particular concern of the social worker who admitted to be wearing not her prescription glasses for which she’d payed an exhorbiant fee for,but…over the counter reading glasses for which she’d payed only a couple bucks!

I thought that preculiar because I had also tried to find trendy reading glasses because they were so darn cute, but, never seem to find any. The dietitan admitted to wearing them for reading but, at 50, preferred her contacts to glasses…she went on to relate how her eyes differed in prescription lens…she then quipped how great it was that her husband’s vision was such that neither could tell how just everything was drooping/sagging as they aged.

I still believe in the grown up perception of aging gracefully. The fine lines, subtle wrinkles and gray hair didn’t really bother me so much…as I related how I still felt beautiful and got male attention attesting to that fact… it was the muscle aches,back aches, neck/shoulder pains I admitted to annoying the crap out of me… of course, we all busted up… the laughter bonding, strengthening, and reaffirming women in midlife transitions…

Dental Necessity

Just returned from seeing the dentist. Another day in the life, lol. Anyhow, I really didn’t want to go, this being my only day off from work, but because the appointment was made, yada, yada, yada…what can you do?! I was a bit perturbed because #1, the appointment was made on a day ripe for really get into my writing and #2, The View was coming on television and #3, I’m not a big fan of the drill and sharp scraper ma jig thing that the hygienist uses to scrape my sensitive molars.

When I arrived, there was still a bit of a waiting period…crying babies, 7 and 8 year olds running amuck!  Ok, maybe, it was a baby in a basket, a couple of younguns, but at my age, and with my creativity taking a back seat to personal hygiene; I’m allowed 🙂

All and all the visit to the dentist showed some improvements- no infection and I passed the pre-screen cancer test, something routinely done for people over 50. So now that it’s over, all I can say is, ” Finally!” For those women/men in midlife, next time you visit your dentist, ask for this simple cancer examine, believe me, it’s been the highlight of this writers’ morning…