Series Archives - Page 11 of 20

3 Reasons Why a Woman Needs a Ride Or Die Chick

July 10, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 7 Comments

I know a lot of hoopla is made about how “impossible” it is to trust women.

Women are described as catty “rhymes with witches” who will stab you in the back the first chance they get, throw you under the bus, steal your man, hate on you and undermine you . . . yadda . . . yadda . . . yadda.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that from infancy I’ve always had more – and stronger – relationships with boys/men than I had with women. (Blame my Dad and 2-brothers-no-sisters family for that).

And yes, I’ve experienced at the hands of women just about all of the things I’ve listed above – except the “steal yo man” part, even though Lord knows some have tried. (That’s another post).

Even more disheartening is the theory that Black women definitely can’t be each others’ friend.

Well, I’m calling B.aloney S.andwiches on all that.

No assessment of a group is all-inclusive. Exceptions always – yes, always – exist.

A few women in my life fit the bill of those women who can be trusted.

Why does a woman need a “Ride or Die” Chick?

No woman is an island. I don’t care how self-sufficient you are, you don’t live in this world alone. The time will come when you will need someone, and what better someone than a Ride or Die Chick – even if that Chick is your Mother.
A Ride or Die Chick is someone who is tried and true. You don’t have to worry about what she will or won’t do, because your relationship is established enough that you already know. You don’t have to watch your back when she’s around – because you know she’s covering you, and vice versus.
You need a Ride or Die Chick because life is so much better with one than without one. If you have one, you know exactly what I mean. If you don’t, see #1 above.

I don’t have a lot of Ride or Die Chicks, because if you have one, maybe two good ones, you don’t need any more.

Today, I celebrate one of the truest friends I’ve ever had. I celebrate one of the very few women I can say has been a “thick or thin” friend to me. Someone who doesn’t try to change me, accepts me as I am and loves me in spite of me. She’s proven her loyalty time and time again, and has been a backbone to me during some of the lowest points of my life.

Happy Birthday, Cynthia. Love you, Girl!

Happy Birthday, Cynthia Hargrave!

May you live long and continue to prosper. Thank you for being my friend.

Join in the Fray: Who’s your “Ride or Die” Chick (or Dude)?

I’m blogging every day in the month of July in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

Welcome To “Da Berry!”

July 9, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 12 Comments

New Iberia, that is.

I’ve been chuckling at the number of emails I’ve received in the past few days asking me “Where are you moving to?”

I get it; enquiring minds want to know.

Whelp, After an intense search through 5 -6 cities I decided to move to New Iberia, Louisiana, a.k.a. “Da Berry” and “Queen City of the Bayou Teche.”

(Talk about having to kiss a lot of “frogs” before finding my “Prince” – more on the selection process [and frogs!] in another post).

New Iberia is a quaint, beautiful city full of diversity and culture. Several major festivals are held here, including the Sugar Cane Festival, Laotian New Year Celebration (New Iberia boasts a large population of Laotians) and the World Championship Gumbo Cookoff.

(Next to ice cream and popcorn, gumbo is my favorite food in the whole wide world. Just so you know, all the vegan/vegetarian bets are off when these events roll around!)

I’m in easy driving distance of Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport and Houston, and Dallas is pretty much the same 5 1/2 to 6 hours away.

Any who, I’m one day closer to my countdown of moving in to my new place.

Shucks, I’m even thinking about moving the date up. Why wait?

Join in the Fray: What is your favorite cultural highlight in your city?

I’m blogging every day in the month of July in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

Countdown To My Big Move!

July 8, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 7 Comments

Yesterday I admonished you to buckle up and get ready because a move is underway.

In March after some twists and turns on the road of life, I realized my dream of changing careers and landed a wonderful job as Co-Editor of Acadiana LifeStyle magazine.

Love the people, love the job. Being there is Awesome Sauce with M & M’s on top – except for the long, traffic-filled commute there and back.

Ugh.

Thanks to the diligence of my publisher and the helpfulness of our sales coordinator, I am now Day 7 on the countdown to moving into a fantastic new place with a commute that is so short a tank of gas will probably last me a month.

*Whispering*

(And, with the move, comes The Great Social Experiment. More on that later . . . .)

Join in the Fray: Did you notice the rose petals???

I’m blogging every day in the month of July in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

Why You Need To Buckle Up

July 7, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 1 Comment

You need to buckle up because this week I will literally be on the move – I’m moving!

Yeppers, A Swirl Girl has some new digs in a new town. I’ll tell you more about the move, and this week you’ll also learn about my new “social experiment,” and how you can participate.

Lots of good stuff on the way.

Put your seat belt on, already!

Join in the Fray: In what way(s) are you “on the move?”

I’m blogging every day in the month of July in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

Roundup Report!

July 6, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 2 Comments

Whelp, I’m back from the Food Truck Roundup, and once again, I had a BLAST!

The skies were extremely overcast, and a cool breeze was blowing – a marked difference from the hot, pizza oven weather we experienced in June.

I was there to cover the event for the magazine. Once I went off the clock, it was time to bring out the Swirl Cam and survey the crowd for Swirlers.

Alas, the pickings were slim. I was hoping to see a BW/non-BM combination, yet true to form I only saw one Swirl couple – a BM/WW pair.

Ah, well.

Fortunately, I have lots of events to attend as the late summer-into-fall festival season gets underway so the Swirl Cam will be in full force.

Meanwhile, here are a couple of the sights and sounds that I can share from the Roundups I’ve attended so far:

An interesting – and energetic – band:

From the June Round Up:

Splash Fountain for the kids

Viva La Waffle! Everything they serve – from sweet to savory – is encased in a waffle.

Stay tuned for the full story coming later in the August issue of Acadiana Lifestyle magazine!

Join in the Fray: How’s the Food Truck scene in your area?

I’m blogging every day in the month of July in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

Headed To The Food Truck Round Up!

July 5, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 2 Comments

If you’re a Facebook friend or follow me on Twitter or Instagram you know this time last month I was out and about attending the Food Truck Round Up at Parc Lafayette.

Whelp, tomorrow I’m headed back for more food and fun! Last month the sun was blazing and though it was hot. as. Hades out there we managed to snag some delicious food and had a great time.

In addition to sampling the fare I’ll be on the lookout with my Swirl Cam in hand to see how many Swirlers are taking part in the good eats available on 15 or more Food Trucks.

One thing I’ve noticed since being back in Louisiana is the fact that Swirling in Acadiana seems to overwhelmingly consist of BM/WW couples. That’s all well and good – Hooray for them!

My focus, however is BW/non-BM couples so my eyes will be peeled to see if I spot any couples of that variation.

*Crosses fingers*

Stay tuned for the full report!

Join in the Fray: What’s the Swirl couple ratio in your area?

I’m blogging every day in the month of July in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

Happy 4th of July!

July 4, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 4 Comments

Happy Birthday to the United States! Our country isn’t perfect, yet I’m happy for the liberty we all enjoy.

I hope you’re enjoying a celebratory day. Get out there and mingle – I certainly am!

I’ve heard it a million times, yet I never get tired of my favorite rendition of the Star Spangled Banner:

Join in the Fray: How are you celebrating today?

I’m blogging every day in the month of July in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

The Price Of Pain

July 3, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 3 Comments

“People will pay for acute pain and passion, but they will not pay to alleviate chronic pain.”

~Danny Iny

What Danny is saying is that people are willing to “pay” if paying is what it takes to make an effective change in their lives.

Let’s face it: Unless your pain is acute, you’re probably not going to do a blessed thing about the needs in your life.

So what’s your Price of Pain?

What are you willing to pay – whether in money, time, inconvenience, moving out of a comfort zone, taking a risk or getting up off your seat of do-nothing?

I dare you to challenge yourself. I dare you to do something different. I dare you to take a step; to begin the process of actually making something happen.

The quality of your life is something you should never be willing to discount.

I dare you to pay the price.

Join in the Fray: What price are you willing to pay to end your pain?

I’m blogging every day in the month of July in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

How Acute Is Your Pain? – Part 2

July 2, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 2 Comments

So yesterday I asked you to think about what you need.

I was pleasantly surprised to get some emails from people who thought about the question, defined their need, and then categorized their pain as chronic or acute. (We’ll deal with passion later in the series).

I received the typical responses: The need for a loving and lasting relationship; the dream of writing a book; going back to school; eating healthy.

Can I say that I wasn’t surprised? That’s pretty much what I expected.

Which is why I asked the original question: How Acute Is Your Pain?

Don’t Talk About It – Be About It

May I interject some tough love?

If you’re not doing something to alleviate your acute pain, then it’s really not acute – it’s simply chronic.

That applies to just about every facet of life, from relationships to writing books; from eating healthy to going back to school.

You see, when pain is truly acute you stop at nothing to get some relief. If you have a migraine headache, you don’t just lay down and hope it goes away. No, you find some medicine – you move swiftly to find something that will take the pain away.

Want a relationship? Tired of being alone? Want to write a book? Want to go back to school? Want to eat healthy?

Then what active steps are you taking to make that happen?

If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.

So I’ll ask you again: How Acute Is Your Pain?

Is it acute enough to get you to make a move?

Join in the Fray: How acute is your pain? What are you doing to alleviate it?

I’m blogging every day in the month of April in Blogher’s NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment!

How Acute Is Your Pain? – Part 1

July 1, 2013 By Michelle Matthews-Calloway 1 Comment

So here we are in July! I’m ready to tackle this Blogher NaBloPoMo challenge so let’s get to it!

One of the things we’re discussing in my Business Ignition Boot Camp is the concept of needs.

Chronic Need

What do people need? Is the need a chronic one – something they know they should get/have/do. It’s that nagging thing in the back of their mind; the thing they need to address if they want that need met. The fact that the need is “ever-present” makes it chronic. (You know – the classic “dripping faucet.”)

Acute Pain

At what point does the need become acute? It becomes acute when it causes them pain – when they can no longer ignore it. The pain can be emotional, physical, financial – you tell me. The need has to be addressed, resolved, solved. (Think: The dripping faucet is now a steady stream that is adding a couple of hundred dollars per month to the water bill. Oh yes – that’s painful).

Passion

There’s also the concept of passion, where the need is neither chronic nor acutely painful. Passion occurs when you tip toe through the tulips with no stress – you basically do whatever it is you’re doing because you want to and because you love to do it. (This is Nirvana, if you will; the ideal state. We’ll get to that later in the month).

For the next several days – maybe the rest of the week – we’re going to talk about needs and pain.

I want you to consider what your need is.

What do you need?

What do you want?

Is your need chronic – or is your need acute and causing you pain? How acute is your pain?

Think about these questions and identify your need. Settle on an answer. Check in with me tomorrow, and we’ll talk about it.

***Side Note***

(I know it’s “late,” yet if you’re a regular reader of the blog you know how I roll. I’m a Certified Night Owl, so oftentimes my posts will come at what may seem like an obscenely late hour – sometimes at 11:59 p.m. CST, just to make sure I make that day’s deadline). If you’re a Newbie, just go along and we’ll get along!

***2nd Side Note***

(I can’t put it all on being a Night Owl – a lot of times my posts come late because I’m a glutton for punishment and I juggle a lot of writing assignments. Just work with me, people!)

Join in the Fray: Chronic, or acute?

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3 Reasons Why a Woman Needs a Ride Or Die Chick

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Welcome To “Da Berry!”

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Roundup Report!

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Headed To The Food Truck Round Up!

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Happy 4th of July!

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The Price Of Pain

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How Acute Is Your Pain? – Part 2

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How Acute Is Your Pain? – Part 1

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