I Survived the First Week of College

I've been reading quite a few blogs this week written by parents whose children have gone off to school for the first time. Many parents express sadness that their little ones are growing up and beginning to leave the nest.

On Monday, my daughter began her freshman year at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro. She's an "Aggie"---whatever that is. Her first class on Monday was at 8am---Math---a subject she not only hates but hasn't done well in since elementary school. She says it's remedial math so all of the students are on the same level---which she finds refreshing. But she did tell me she's starting out with a 4.0 average so I should be proud.

She's also taking some other courses that seem to have nothing to do with her major but that's how it seems to be for incoming freshmen. Get them acclimated to college life before you stick it to them in the classroom.

She called me every day this week to give me an update on her campus experience. The food in the cafeteria is terrible; there are parties EVERY night; she needs a computer; she hates walking everywhere and her room mate loves watching The History Channel.

Although she would never admit to being homesick, today's she's back home with her dirty laundry. (Since she has no car, I had to drive up to get her).

It looks like we both survived the first week.

My First Blog Tour

It's really cool when bloggers come together to support each other. I've seen it done on other blogs but didn't know how it actually worked. That's where Virtual Assistant Teresa Morrow stepped in and offered to help me promote my upcoming Baby Boomer Girlfriends Spring Break in Daytona Beach. She found bloggers who were more than willing to offering some helping fingers and blog space. To all of you, I say THANK YOU and I look forward to returning the favor:


Heidi Richards http://www.virtualwomansday.blogspot.com/ 28-Mar
Karen O Bannon http://www.solspeaks.com/karens-joint 29-Mar
Mary Eileen Williams http://feistysideoffifty.wordpress.com/ 30-Mar
Vicki Taylor http://www.vickimtaylor.com/blogs/ 31-Mar
Debbie Zipp www.inthetrenches.com 1-Apr
Lisa Fredette www.lisafredette.com/blog 2-Apr
Karyln www.yeahmom.com 3-Apr
Corrie Peterson www.virtualfreedom4you.blogspot.com 4-Apr
Rosie Horner http://www.rosiehorner.com/ 5-Apr
Judy Davids http://mydols.com/judydavids.htm 6-Apr
Kathie Thomas http://www.vadirectory.net 7-Apr
Heidi Caswell: http://www.connectsimply.com/blog 8-Apr
Pam Archer www.archerfitpress.wordpress.com 9-Apr
Karyln www.wahmbuds.com 10-Apr
Judy Davids http://www.mydols.com/judydavids.htm 11-Apr

Meet the Bloggers from the Hallmark Conference

After I accepted the invitation for the all-expenses paid trip to the Hallmark Bloggers Conference in Kansas City, I learned I would be one of about a half dozen bloggers from around the country attending.

I kept thinking to myself, “How did they find me?” It was the SAME REACTION I had when I was interviewed for the New York Times. My Publicist says I’m more popular than I think I am. Well, if that’s the case, why haven’t I sold a million books yet?

WHATEVER!

Anyway, my first contact with the others came on the morning of the conference. (I got in too late to try to socialize the night before). I wasn’t surprised that I was the only African-American but I was a little surprised at the make-up of the group. Four of us were Baby Boomers and the other three were Echo Boomers I guess (all under the age of 30).

The person I recognized right away was Dotsie Bregal for the NABBW. She looks just like her picture on my Baby Boomer Diva Web of Fame.

The person I seemed to gravitate towards almost immediately was Jerry Stearns. Jerry has a blog called: yourlifeafter50.com I learned that Jerry was from Fargo, ND. He’s the first person I’ve ever met from there. He’s married with children and he’s not someone who sends cards just because---but what man really does? I liked Jerry. He wasn’t pretentious and I learned during lunch that he had a softer, gentler side.

Jennette Fulda is apparently known as the PastaQueen. Why I don’t remember. I must have been having a menopausal moment when she was talking. But to tell you the truth, she was the quiet one in the group---so quiet that I hardly knew she was there unless she was right in my face. I recall her saying she lost quite a bit of weight---50 pounds or more I think. She was from Indianapolis.

The “Valley Girl” in the group was Stephanie Quilao. Her website is: www.backinskinnyjeans.com Stephanie was proud to proclaim that she lost 25 pounds so far and she wanted Hallmark to offer cards of encouragement for people who were fighting the battle of the bulge. She was spunky and pleasant to be around and quite knowledgeable about the blogging world.

Elizabeth Thielke hailed from Nashville. She is the author of three websites. I like the www.busymom.net one the best. Her genbetween.com website is quite informative. I learned that Liz and I shared a few things in common. We’re both only children and taking care of our elderly parents. Her mother has Alzheimer’s---so does my mother-in-law.

Last but not least was Sylvia Hall. She was the only “local” person in the group. Sylvia loves to write and dreams of getting a Hallmark gig someday. In her “other” life, she’s a teacher. I learned that we also share something in common: we both write for www.passionateforlife.com

I visited her blog: www.sylvias-journal.blogspot.com. She’s very colorful with words and is obviously very passionate about her writing.

I’m glad I got a chance to meet these bloggers because, otherwise, I would’ve probably never interacted with them in cyberspace.

My picks would’ve been different because it would’ve been based on who I’ve already been in contact with and interact with the most:

Mark: GoingLikeSixty.com
Rhea: thegeminiweb.com
Shirley: fabulousafterfifty.blogspot.com
Eileen: feistysideoffifty.com
Carine: whats-cooking.blogspot.com
Sharon: babyboomeradvisorclub.wordpress.com
Angela: angelabetts.com
A representative from womensvoicesforchange.org
And Me, of course!

If you want to see the bloggers go to, www.enjoyyourmenopause.com/hallmark_bloggers.html

Then check out the blog contest and add your name to the winners list, like Karen O'Bannon from Louisville, KY. http://www.enjoyyourmenopause.com/hallmark_contest.html

When You Care Enough to Send For the Very Best

Hallmark Cards put its famous slogan into action this past Thursday when the Company invited seven (7) bloggers from around the country to attend the First Bloggers Conference.

“I” was one of the Super Seven chosen for this trailblazing event. Joining me were Stephanie Quilao, California; Elizabeth Thielke, Tennessee; Jerry Stearns, North Dakota; Dotsie Bregal, MD; Jeanette Fulda, IN and Sylvia Hall, MO. I’ll be telling you more about them and my impressions of them in a future blog.

How were we selected? Thru our blogging. That’s right! Hallmark Executives invited us to the one-day conference to get some feedback from those of us in the “cyberspace media.” We were selected for two reasons:

1) We have a visible online presence.
2) We’re writing about subject they’re interested in and we’re doing it in a non-offensive way.

Since I have several blogs, I was curious as to which one caught their eye. I would’ve guessed Boomerworld but they noticed Baby Boomer Talk & Other Stuff.

As a result, they rolled out the red carpet and gave us royal treatment. (Of course, being a Diva, I expected nothing less).

To try to tell you about the whole experience in one post is impossible so I’m going to break it up into a few posts over the coming days.

I want to thank all of you who gave me your thoughts and ideas to share. You’ll be happy to know I did exactly what you asked.

For those of you who want to know about the travel experience and what airline NOT to fly, please visit my other blog: http://www.boomerworld.blogspot.com

For those of you who want to participate in my “What Happened in Kansas City DOESN’T STAY in Kansas City” contest, click here: Contest. The first correct answer will win and receive some complimentary Hallmark Cards that you can give to your family and friends. (Bloggers who attended the conference are not eligible to participate---nor are any Hallmark employees).

Next time I'll introduce you to the bloggers.

Who says you have to be a Size 6 to be considered fabulous? WHATEVER!

I’d like all of the Fabulous and Bodacious women of the world to stand up and be counted! I’m talking about baby boomer babes who are 40 years old (plus) and are sassy, classy and spiritually motivated. I’m talking about the women who aren’t afraid to step out on faith and pursue their God-given creativity. I’m talking about the women who can “give you a piece of their mind” in the nicest way and who can make a size 12 (and up) look stylish and sexy. I’m talking about all of the sophisticated ladies!

If you are someone you know falls into that category, why not nominate them for the F.A.B. Woman of the Month---FABULOUS & BODACIOUS. This is NOT a physical beauty contest. It’s about what you exuberate on the inside.

Just send in a picture (full body preferred), along with the nominee’s name, city/state, age and brief description as to why are nominating her. Be sure to also include your contact information.

Each monthly winner (and the nominee) will receive a special gift and next year, a grand prize winner will be selected and a SPECIAL GRAND PRIZE. (how does a trip to the Bahamas sound?). Men are also eligible to nominate their favorite baby boomer babe.

Please go my website to submit your nomination information. http://www.talk2bev.com/

You know, I just love it when the creative juices are flowing. But I guess that’s what being a writer and a baby boomer babe is all about!!!

Peace & Blessings,
Beverly

I've Turned Into A.....

Oh, my God! I never thought such a thing could happen to me!

I’ve turned into a computer geek! Lord knows, I don’t know how it happened because it wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t even want to turn the thing on. I only bought one because I figured my teenage daughter would have to use it for research, essay papers or Whatever!

I’m a member of the baby boomer generation. We didn’t grow up with computers. Besides, what would be exciting about sitting at a computer all day? That, to me, would be the equivalent of a “time-out” or punishment. As children, my friends and I entertained ourselves outdoors with fun “interactive” games like Hide and Seek, Tag, You’re It!, Kick the Can, Double Dutch jump rope, Red Light, Green Light and so on and so forth.

Homework was done using brain power. And if you didn’t have it, you worked and worked until you got it. I’m not ashamed to say I used my fingers to do math problems sometimes. That may be because we didn’t have calculators, but we did have the Abacus. Remember that, baby boomer buddies? Reading was fundamental back then but we did it by reading the ENTIRE book---not using cliff notes. I’ll never forget the time my 9th grade English teacher made us read “Moby Dick” as an assignment. I thought she must have been insane! But, in hindsight, I can now say I’m proud to have read one of the classics from cover to cover.

But now here I am, thirty-five years later, doing the unthinkable. I wake up and---even before I’ve brushed my teeth or had breakfast---I get on the computer and start checking emails and responding to messages and browsing for News I Can Use for my website. But it doesn’t stop there. I’m BLOGGING….(a word that wasn’t even in my third edition of the American Heritage Dictionary)… and I’m also networking with other folks who, for Whatever! reasons, are glued to their computers just like me. We exchange thoughts and ideas and sometimes even prayers. I do take periodic breaks to do less important things like exercise, cook meals and clean the house. But after that, it’s me and my computer until bedtime.

I’m also learning there’s lots of money to be made through this machine! I haven’t quite figured out how that all works yet, but you can best believe when I do, you won’t be hearing from me as much anymore. I’ll be off somewhere enjoying the fruits of my labor and giving my fingers a much needed rest!