Thriving Mindfully as the Real You!
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1) August 10 at 8:00 p.m. EST – Natalie McNeal, the founder of The Frugalista Files blog (http://miamiherald.typepad.com/frugalista) and savings expert for www.geezeo.com, a financial site;
2) August 12 at 8:00 p.m. EST – Denene Millner, the founder of MyBrownBaby blog (www.mybrownbaby.blogspot.com) and co-author of What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know: The Real Deal on Love and Relationships, What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know About Sex, and Money, Power, Respect: What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know;
3) August 13 at 8:00 p.m. EST – Holly Buchanan, a women’s marketing consultant (www.thesoccermommyth.com) and co- author of The Soccer Mom Myth;
4) August 14 at 8:00 p.m. EST – Lucrecer Braxton, the founder of Art-Slam blog (www.art-slam.com);
5) August 15 at 8:00 p.m. EST – Deb Rox, the founder of Deb on the Rocks blog (www.debontherocks.com) and author of 5 Ways to {Blank} Your Blog;
6) August 17 at 8:00 p.m. EST – Kamy Wicoff, the founder of SheWrites.com (www.shewrites.com) and author of I Do but I Don’t: Walking Down the Aisle without Losing Your Mind and I Do but I Don’t: Why the Way We Marry Matters; and
7) August 24 at 8:00 p.m. EST – Bronx Bohemian, the founder of Bronx Bohemian blog (http://bronxbohemian.wordpress.com).
Sisterhood, the Blog Radio features one-on-one conversations with women about sisterhood, self-discovery, self-expression, spirituality, self-care, self-expression, social justice advocacy, and social media. Sisterhood, the Blog Radio supports the following social media projects:
1) Facebook Group – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=23050254985;
2) Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/sisterhdtheblog; and
3) WordPress – http://sisterhoodtheblog.wordpress.com.
Me and my father Dr. John F. Leeke affectionately
known as “J” hanging out in Adams Morgan in DC
Happy Wednesday!
Join me for a juicy conversation with my father Dr. John F. Leeke (a/k/a “J”) about fathers and daughters on the July 31st episode of The Ananda Leeke Show at 8:00 p.m. EST on Talkshoe.com. Click here to listen to the show: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/15820. We will discuss how our father-daughter relationship has impacted my life choices, creativity, and career.
We will also share our thoughts about the book, Daughters of Men: Portraits of African-American Women and Their Fathers (http://www.daughtersofmen.com) by Rachel Vassel. I recently gave this book to “J” for his 70th birthday. It’s one of his favorites!
If you miss the show, don’t panic. You can download a recording to your computer or via iTunes a few minutes after the show airs or whenever you have free time. Click here to download a recording: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/15820.
What is your relationship with your father?
How has your father impacted your life choices and career?
Enjoy your day!
Peace and Creativity,
Ananda
Happy Monday!
I am back from Blogher 2009 (www.blogher.com). I had a grand time with the Blogher ladies and sponsors in Chicago. I also had so much fun using my Vado Creative Cam and filming webisodes of Ananda Leeke TV (www.youtube.com/anandaleeke). I was able to create a groovy series on Black women bloggers who attended the conference. Look for the webisodes later this week. I also filmed some fun episodes featuring me sharing my insights and chatting with Sam Smith, one of the coolest guys at Blogher. I did something unexpected and participated in two video projects. One was for Tropicana Juice. I gave my healthy tip on eating oatmeal with raisins and honey for breakfast. My webisode will be posted on Blogher and Tropicana’s web sites. I also gave my two cents on what advertisers should consider when marketing to women in a documentary filmed by Holly Buchanon.
The Windy City weather was fabulous. I had time to meet my cousin Ellen and sistalove Mari for dinner at two Indian and Nepalese restaurants. I also went to the National Museum of Mexican Art. I will post videos from Ananda Leeke TV featuring my museum visit later this week.
Be sure to tune into Sisterhood, the Blog Radio Series on Blogher 2009 (www.blogher.com) beginning Tuesday, July 28 at 8pm EST on Talkshoe.com: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/42015. The first episode will feature yours truly sharing my reflections on Blogher 2009. I will reveal my reasons for attending the conference on July 24 and 25 in Chicago, favorite Blogher moments, and lessons learned from Blogher workshop sessions. I will also give a preview of the August series of interviews featuring approximately nine Blogher participants.
If you miss the live show, don’t panic. You can download a recording to your computer or via iTunes a few minutes after the show airs on July 28th. Click here to download: http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/42015.
FYI – As of today, four dynamic women in the blogosphere have confirmed their participation in the August series on Blogher 2009. See below.
Natalie McNeal
1) Natalie McNeal, founder of The Frugalista Files blog (http://miamiherald.typepad.com/frugalista), will be interviewed on August 10 at 8pm EST. Natalie is a journalist and currently works for the Miami Herald. In 2008, she launched The Frugalista Files as a personal finance blog. She is the savings expert for www.geezeo.com, a financial site.
Denene Millner
2) Denene Millner, founder of MyBrownBaby blog (www.mybrownbaby.blogspot.com) will be interviewed on August 12th at 8pm EST. Denene co-authored several books with her husband, writer Nick Chiles: What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know: The Real Deal on Love and Relationships, What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know About Sex, and Money, Power, Respect: What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know. They also wrote three novels: Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, In Love and War, and A Love Story. Denene partnered with writers Mitzi Miller and Angela Burt-Murray (Editor-in-Chief of Essence Magazine) to write The Angry Black Woman’s Guide to Life and The Vow, a novel. Denene and Mitzi penned a new teen novel series featuring HOTLANTA and If Only You Knew. For more information about Denene, visit www.celebrateblacklove.com.
Lucrecer Braxton
3) Lucrecer Braxton, founder of Art-Slam blog (http://www.art-slam.com), will be interviewed on August 14th at 8pm EST. Lucrecer established Art Slam as an art journaling blog that inspires and cultivates authentic creativity. Art Slam is also a community of scrapbookers, journalers, and mixed media artists.
Deb Rox
4) Deb Rox, author of 5 Ways to {Blank} Your Blog (www.hotblogstars.com/book.html) and founder of Deb on the Rocks blog (www.debontherocks.com), will be interviewed on August 15th at 8pm EST. Deb is also a partner in 3 Smart Girlz(http://www.3smartgirlz.com), a consulting firm that helps others diversify, expand, develop new streams of income, and implement new marketing or operational technologies.
Dr. Regina Benjamin
Happy Monday!
I am so excited about President Obama’s selecting Dr. Regina Benjamin, a fabulous and fierce African American woman, as the new Surgeon General. What a way to start a Monday! Click here to read the article from the Associated Press: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_surgeon_general.
Dr. Benjamin is founder and CEO of the Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Her clinic is making a difference in the lives of the underserved poor in a small fishing village with approximately 2,500 people. She is a graduate of Xavier University in New Orleans (B.A. in Chemistry), University of Alabama at Birmingham (M.D.), and Tulane University (MBA). Dr. Benjamin was named by Time Magazine as one of the “Nation’s 50 Future Leaders Age 40 and Under. ” She was featured in a New York Times article, “Angel in a White Coat, ” and was chosen “Person of the Week” by ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, “Woman of the Year” by CBS This Morning, and “Woman of the Year” by People Magazine. Click here to learn more about Dr. Benjamin and her Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic: www.bayouclinic.org/SubMenu.aspx?id=10.
President Obama’s administration has a cadre of powerful African American women affectionately known as the “Obama women.” They inspire me to live a full life, do my best, and serve my community and country by sharing my gifts. I celebrate the “Obama women” in my new book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery(Summer 2009 – iUniverse, Inc.). See the poem below. Let me know what you think.
What do you think about Dr. Regina Benjamin?
Who are your favorite Obama women?
My favorites are First Lady Michelle Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Desiree Rogers, Susan Rice, Lisa Jackson, and Dr. Regina Benjamin.
Enjoy your day and week!
Peace, Creativity, and Power to the Obama Women,
Ananda
First Lady Michelle Obama
Desiree Rogers (standing) and Valerie Jarrett (sitting)
POEM
Sista7: The Obama Women
Copyright 2009 by Madelyn C. Leeke
When I checked my email this morning, I had a message from my father, a 24/7/365 supporter of President Barack H. Obama.
Daddy’s email greeted me with positive news.
It was a Washington Post article about the brilliant, bold, and beautiful Black women in the Obama administration.
What a way to start a Wednesday in March during Women’s History Month!
The article profiled the Sista7.
Valerie Jarrett, a Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Liaison.
Desiree Rogers, White House Social Secretary.
Susan Rice, United Nations Ambassador.
Cassandra Butts, deputy White House counsel.
Mona Sutphen, the first Black woman to serve as deputy chief of staff.
Lisa Jackson, the first Black person to head the Environmental Protection Agency.
Melody Barnes, the first Black woman to run the Domestic Policy Council.
They represent something new in Washington: the largest contingent of high-ranking Black women to work for a president.
Trailblazers is the word that captures it all for me.
These phenomenal women have emerged from the margins of American society to the position of gatekeeper in one of the greatest countries in the world.
Each one is a household name in my life.
Tracking their efforts on the Internet is one of my favorite things to do.
Watching them in action inspires me.
They have become an affirmation of what’s possible for Black women in America.
That’s why I claim them as my sheros.
That’s why I continuously celebrate their presence, passion, and power.
May we all do the same.
Photo of my grandparents Dorothy Mae Johnson Gartin and Robert Warren Gartin, Sr. of Indianapolis, IN
Happy 97th Birthday to my feisty grandmother Dorothy Mae Johnson Gartin affectionately known as “Nanan.” Nanan is my mother’s mother. She was born on July 10, 1912 in North Vernon, Indiana to Ione Goins Johnson King and John Johnson. Nanan currently lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. I wrote a poem about her and featured it in my new book, That Which Awakens Me: A Creative Woman’s Poetic Memoir of Self-Discovery (Summer 2009 – iUniverse, Inc.). See below. Enjoy!
What are your favorite grandmother memories?
Nanan used to make this mad crazy delicious peach cobbler when I visited her in the summers. Yummy!
Peace and Creativity,
Ananda
POEM
My Grandmother Dorothy Mae Johnson Gartin (born in 1912)
Copyright 2009 by Madelyn C. Leeke
Nanan.
She is a woman with a 97 year old history.
Some of which I know.
Other parts remain hidden.
I believe that those parts may remain hidden for eternity.
They are parts of her soul.
Everyone should savor parts of themselves in silence.
A woman with glazed donut skin and winter white and gray hair.
Nanan is taller than I could ever imagine being.
Her personality is fierce.
Her conversation is sweet and sharp.
She don’t take no shit from anyone and will handle her business and yours too.
She is a woman who walks the earth with many titles.
Widow.
Mother.
Grandmother.
Great-grandmother.
Great-great-grandmother.
Domestic worker.
Community volunteer.
Entrepreneur.
My greatest memories of her are wrapped in summertime spent
eating her homemade peach cobbler, golden fried chicken, and potato salad.
Nanan’s soul food left me feeling rich, full, and loved.
