The Half-Year Review

We're now half way through the year, so this would be a good time to think about some of the goals you set for yourself, and how you're doing. Even better than that might be writing about it! It may help give you some perspective, and you can get support from others. So think about it, and email us at chicksrockblog@gmail.com with your guest post!

Friday Forum: Summer Retrospective

This summer at CHICKS ROCK! we're taking some time to celebrate our blogging history with a Summer Retrospective. We'll be reposting some of our past content, in addition to adding new posts, featured links and discussion topics as usual. What are some of your favorite posts from the past that you've read here on CHICKS ROCK!? We'd love to feature them again for our new readers!

Lessons Learned While Blogging

CHICKS ROCK! welcomes back Diana as a guest blogger who let us interview her last week about her newfound passion for blogging. Here's the second part of her interview:

Diana enjoys transforming ordinary recipes into guilt-free, healthful meals that bring pleasure to the palate. She shares her latest ideas, inspirations, reviews, interviews, and plenty of food for thought on her food blog, Between the Tines.

What have you learned while blogging?

So many things have come to the surface for me, personally, as a result of writing this blog. Because of all the research I have to do before writing, I’ve become very aware of not only the wonderful aspects of food, but the issues and problems in and around food as well. For example:

1) I became painfully aware that childhood obesity is an overwhelming issue in this country and that it leads to life-long health problems.
2) The hunger crisis here and throughout the world today is out of control and is simply unacceptable.
3) The rampant spread of food-borne illness is distressing. I’m also a Certified Food Safety Manager. The training was very intense with emphasis on how food gets contaminated and that we really can prevent most of it.
4) That government and corporate America work hand-in-hand and are immersed in the food industry and driven by profit, not what’s healthiest for people. From genetically modified foods to hormone-treated cattle, have we considered the long-term effects of this and why are we allowing this to happen?
5) On the lighter side, I’ve realized that I need to go to culinary school at some point. I’m working on giving myself permission to do that right now.

What is one thing that has surprised you about blogging?

People actually follow me and subscribe!

I like to write from somewhat of a humorous, sarcastic perspective and I try bringing attention to things that need to be said but that aren’t being said without being particularly defamatory. I believe this humorous, sarcastic approach contributes to the fact that people enjoy reading my posts. I’ve had some great feedback. When I hear someone tell me that they look forward to my next blog, or that it has given them a laugh or two means a lot to me.

I’ve recently been invited to be a contributor to two additional food blogs, so I know I’m doing something right!

One is The Feed and the other is Bromography, both of which I’m very excited about.

What do you hope readers take away from what you write about?

I hope readers learn about eating well and eating healthy. I hope readers learn about some of the pressing issues in and around food and the food industry. I hope my blog makes people laugh while providing a little insight.

"Are You Hungry?"

CHICKS ROCK! welcomes Diana as a guest blogger who let us interview her about her newfound passion for blogging. Here's the first part of her interview:

Diana enjoys transforming ordinary recipes into guilt-free, healthful meals that bring pleasure to the palate. She shares her latest ideas, inspirations, reviews, interviews, and plenty of food for thought on her food blog, Between the Tines.

What inspired you to start a blog?

A certain career coach by the name of Kristina Leonardi was instrumental in inspiring me to start my food blog. I’m sure my answer doesn’t surprise any of you!

Kristina is quite intuitive about reading people. She’s gifted at helping when people come to a crossroad in their life and need to make important decisions about how to move forward. She truly has the ability to cut to the heart of the matter and get down to the business of seeing what a person is passionate about, what they should be considering as an alternate path, and then finding a way to help guide them to take that first step.

Kristina gently pushed me to start blogging because I had something to say and because I really needed to explore this creative outlet. I’m a Creative Director for the marketing industry by trade so I’m very used to dealing with the copy aspect of design. I simply had to rethink my work experience and apply it to something that was specifically for me, rather than the corporate environment I was so used to focusing on. I’m convinced that it’s all about rethinking who you are and realizing that you really can recreate yourself.

Why did you choose to focus on food?

My focus is on food because that’s where my true passion lies. That’s all I think about! I’m a food-and-healthful-eating-junkie. Throughout the day my thoughts swirl around my next meal, what I’m going to prepare, and how I’m going to prepare it. I drive everyone at home crazy because I’m planning dinner at breakfast time. I got excited when the last gifts I received were a black truffle and fermented garlic! One day I took a survey of all the magazines I subscribed to. Every one of them was a cooking magazine. At that point I was beginning to get the message.

To say the least, I’m known in my circle of friends as a passionate cook. I love to have everyone over for dinner and it gives me great pleasure to hear that everything tastes wonderful. I get a lot of personal joy from feeding people. The first thing I ask when someone arrives at my home is, “Are you hungry?”

I also have to mention that a number of my daughter’s friends often show up “unexpectedly” when they hear I’m preparing a meal (and I absolutely love it). I’m quite flattered when I find out that a group of her friends are coming over solely because they heard I was having one of my “dinner-events”. These kids are all around 19 years old, and they think I’m cool because I can cook!

We've Got You Covered

This post is a bit different from what you might normally find on CHICKS ROCK!, but when we were asked to join "We've Got You Covered," the birth control blog carnival co-hosted by National Women's Law Center and Planned Parenthood, we couldn't say no.

You see, the Department of Health and Human Services will soon be deciding what types of "preventive services" will be made available through the new health insurance plans without a co-pay. That alone is pretty exciting -- but how much better would it be if birth control were one of the preventive services?

Birth control is an integral part of a lot of women's lives. It gives us the power to decide when to start a family, how many children we want to have (if any), and when we want to stop with the family we have. This power never stops being important, whether you're single or married with five children, yet the cost that comes along with this power really adds up. Even those of us who choose other methods of birth control, such as fertility awareness, respect the decision of those who choose other forms. And most of us can agree that the reason better access to birth control isn't a priority in health agendas is because of the stigma that still surrounds birth control and women's sexual health. Well, that needs to change, and this would be a great way to start.

So what can you do to make it easier for women to stay proactive in their sexual health? For them to not have high costs deter them from their right to decide when and how to start a family? You can take action today.

There's a petition you can sign to ask HHS to get rid of co-pays for birth control. Share this post with your friends and urge them to get involved as well, by signing the petition and spreading the word.

A Healthy Jumpstart

If you take note of Mays past with TWM and CHICKS ROCK!, yesterday's post about TWM's World of Wellness was probably no surprise. This is the time we usually start focusing on health and wellness around here. May is not only National Physical Fitness & Sports Month, but it's also Mental Health Month.

If you're looking to put your health first this month (and in other months to come!), be sure to check out our past content on TWM's World of Wellness Series and health, wellness or fitness in general.

Drinking Diaries, Holiday Style

I've got my tree. I've made my plans, but I'm not quite feeling the holiday spirit yet. However, I do find that the holiday spirits are flowing freely. It's that time of year--attending holiday parties, stocking up on wine for Christmas dinner, making New Year's Eve plans, chilling champagne. The time has nearly come to roll out the rum-laced egg nog and hide the car keys.

As far as my personal plans go, this is an exaggeration--my family are not big drinkers--but I find that the longer I live away from home, the more I've become aware of other people's holiday traditions--many of which center on imbibing festive beverages of all sorts. I admit I feel a certain romantic envy for that kind of holiday--boozing it up in front of a roaring fire, surrounded by people you love, eating and drinking until you can barely move for being so comfortable and sated.

I know that the rosy picture in my mind isn't always how things shape up. For all the lovely stories people tell, I've heard as many friends describe hurtful encounters involving tipsy slips of the tongue, inebriated arguments, or a feeling of needing to be three sheets to the wind to even get through all the wonderful family togetherness. Not very romantic.

There's a special holiday post series over at the blog Drinking Diaries, which I'm really enjoying, and would like to share with you. The basic premise of the site comes as no surprise: many women have a complicated relationship with alcohol, in our own lives as well as through our families and friends. Every Monday during this season, women post about their holiday drinking experiences:

• Ann Hood writes about cherishing her family's holiday punch bowl.
• Tara T. Handron talks about gratitude.
• Helene Stapinski shares her alternative New Year's Eve plans.

Each of these pieces struck a chord with me, and I suspect that no matter where you fall on the spectrum (non-drinker, casual sipper, holiday lush), there's something there for you, too.

Friday Forum: Self-Promotion

We're often asking you to submit your guest blog posts and leave links in the link love round-ups. But today, instead of sharing just one post of yours, why don't you share your whole blog?

If you have your own blog or write for a blog, leave a link with a short description of what you write about. We'd love to check it out!

We Turned Two & Need Help From You

Time moves so quickly that we almost can't believe it, but it's been two years since TWM launched CHICKS ROCK!

We wanted to create a space that was personal, inviting, and gave our bloggers, guest bloggers, and readers the chance to be open and honest. We wanted to touch on broad themes such as personal growth, finding your voice, etc., while also writing about topics like career, family, and travel, just to name a few. No matter what it is, the posts have a personal voice that allows readers to connect with the writer.

We're very proud of the work we've already done here on CHICKS ROCK!, but we're always looking for ways to get better. Our calls for participation sometimes get swallowed up by cyberspace, but we hope this is the one that gets through and sends back some responses.

We'd love to hear from you about how we're doing and what direction you want us to go in. It'd be great to know if you read the blog regularly or sporadically, what topics you'd like to see covered, perhaps even a list of other blogs you like to read, or any questions you might have about advertising on the blog. Send an email to chicksrockblog@gmail.com with your answers to these questions, and any other tips, advice and insight you'd like to share. What we do here at CHICKS ROCK! is for you, so we want to make sure that you're constantly using the space and learning a bit more about others and yourself.

We can't wait to hear from you and continue making CHICKS ROCK! the best it can be!

We Want YOU for a World of Wellness

As we announced last week, TWM is celebrating a World of Wellness this month (you can still sign up to be a sponsor!). Part of this focus will carry over to CHICKS ROCK! next week as we feature posts all about health, wellness, and fitness.

Have you been looking for a chance to guest blog on CHICKS ROCK! but weren't sure what to write about? Or have you been a guest blogger before and want to come back? Here's a great chance to write about something that affects so many of us. Do you have a physical or mental health problem? Do you struggle to maintain a healthy weight or diet? Did you recently reach a health or fitness goal?

Check out our guest blogger guidelines and submit a guest post! We can't wait to hear from you.

Are Random Thoughts Allowed?

So, sometimes very random thoughts pass into my mind, with no place to go but right on through. I'm talking about questions with no possible solution, little nagging wonderings, and all kinds of creative fireworks that are probably meaningless to anyone but me. Heck, sometimes they're meaningless even to me!

I assume this sort of thing happens to everyone because I've discovered that when you get to be friends with people, they start saying these little things out loud. That's one of the best and funniest parts of friendship, I might add.

All of this is to say that I don't have a theme for my post today, beyond randomness. I suppose blogging, in some sense, offers a place to float one's random thoughts, so here are a few that have come to me recently:

• Sometimes I look at M.C. Escher drawings and think that he probably would have understood my life.
• I don't understand what the phrase "The Great American Novel" is supposed to signify, so I get annoyed when people use it in conversation.
• I hate it when people talk in the movie theater. It makes me want to throw things. At them. So why, especially lately, am I always seated by the noisiest, talkiest people in the whole place? Grr.
• Why do museum exhibits always have to have those little plaque things that tell you what the art is about, where it comes from and how it's supposed to be received? Do the collections have more, or less, meaning without the deconstruction? Can't art just be art?
• Celebrities I'd like (or would have liked) to have dinner with: Muhammad Ali, Audre Lorde, Amelia Earhart, Robert F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Elizabeth Blackwell, Whoopi Goldberg, and Wangari Maathai to name a (very) few.
• The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The shortest distance between two people is an open-hearted conversation. Or a sharing of random thoughts.

What a Girl Wants....Love Me

This summer I've been contributing to a series of blog conversations with other women writers on diversity in teen literature. The topic we wrote on last week had to do with socioeconomic diversity. I posted about this series once before, so I'm not going to belabor it, but any writers (or readers) interested in diversity would do well to pop in and take a gander at this dynamic discussion.

Last week's topic was inspired by a photo essay entitled LOVE ME by award-winning photojournalist Maisie Crow. I want to call your attention to that today. These images, and the story they tell, are disturbing and soulful and screaming pretty loud from their stillness. They are well worth the time it takes to flip through, if you can stand to have your heart broken.

I can't look at these pictures without feeling the weight of everything that's wrong in the world. The worst bit isn't the poverty, either. It's the air of despair, of defeat, hanging over it all. I don't know if what's missing for this girl is education, or access, or self-esteem, or simply the chance to look in a mirror and see something other than closed doors all around. I wish I could hand her something better than hopelessness.

I count myself lucky to be far removed from the sorts of experiences that are playing out in the life of this girl, Autumn. I spend a lot of time in an intellectual and creative space, secure in the love of my family, my strength and independence, and all the possibilities of the future. It aches my heart that this can't be true of every young woman. Everyone has problems, yeah, but somehow images like this put a lot into perspective for me. It makes me want to reach out. It makes me want to try harder to change the world in the miniscule ways I might be able to. It makes me want to write more and live better and dream harder, on behalf of those who don't have the freedom to.

What do you feel, after seeing Autumn's story?

[Above photo copyright Maisie Crow]

One Year Later...

One year ago today, TWM hosted a launch party for a new program that would provide a vehicle for women to share their experiences related to diversity and personal growth. That program was this blog, CHICKS ROCK! Since then Kekla, Pauline, and I have written every week about what's going on in our lives and our reflections on the world around us.

In the past year, I've gotten to know my co-bloggers better. We all seem to share a clutter-bug gene and between the three of us, we may very well be able to open up a library from all the books we own. Reading about their travel experiences, as well as the experiences our guest bloggers have shared, inspired me to go on my upcoming trip abroad. And though all three of us are women of color, our individual cultural experiences are varied, so there is much to learn.

Writing here has also been a great way to learn more about myself. It's given me a chance to look back and try to figure out how much I've learned from the past. I've also realized how many possibilities are ahead of me. At any given point in time, there are many paths we can all take, and navigating that on a public platform such as this makes me feel less alone and more supported by others.

I think it's important to remember that this is what TWM's work is all about: promoting personal growth and giving women a chance to educate and inspire each other. We really do feel empowered when we can speak our minds and share our experiences with one another. And from that, we can start to get through some of the walls we put up around ourselves and move forward together.

As we look to the next year, we want to have more voices represented in the comments and especially from guest bloggers. We want to keep using this space to learn and grow, but we certainly can't do that without all of you.

So start now! What have you gotten out of the blog? What have you learned about yourself or others?

My Writing Muscles

Last month, I wrote about my experience this summer with the blogathon where I posted every 30 minutes for 24 hours to support my charity of choice. Looking back, this was a really great exercise and it got me thinking about writing in a new way. In the past, I considered it something small that I do sometimes for fun, but the truth is, I much prefer writing to almost any other activity I do.

So I'm considering ways I can improve my writing. The first idea is to read more. It's pretty much a given that being an avid reader will help my writing. Classic fiction, memoirs, contemporary novels, short stories, graphic novels... Over the last couple of months, and in the months to come, I will be reading works in different genres, including ones I've ignored in the past. I'll admit that I'm not only doing this to improve my writing but simply because I love reading and have hundreds of books on my "to read" list, but it will surely help my writing as well.

I've also been trying to write more. I try to write a bit each day, though I'm having trouble balancing my hectic schedule with my desired writing schedule. My first approach was setting a specific time to write, but that quickly failed. I can't wake up early enough, I work during the day, and the evening is usually my time to catch up on other responsibilities. A writer friend of mine recommended a word target rather than a scheduled time. She writes at least 250 words a day, and worries less about how she breaks that up. Given how unpredictable my schedule is, this might be a better approach for myself, though it will certainly require more discipline to make sure I actually do it.

With all of the great writers who read (and write for *cough* Kekla *cough*) the blog, I'm sure somebody must have some other advice to help me work out my writing muscles. What have you got for me?

Time for Some Housekeeping

Today, we wanted to make some announcements -- updates, reminders and the like.

First, we wanted to update you all on the upcoming events we've recently posted about:

The book club meet-up details were finalized and the post has been updated with the details. The book club is meeting next week, August 18, from 6:30 - 8 p.m. at Veniero's. Be sure to RSVP -- the easiest way is by sending an email.

The private make-over and shopping event we posted about last week has a change of location. That post has also been updated, but we wanted to make sure you all knew the correct address: the Esprit store at 600 Fifth Avenue New York, NY. You can get more info about this awesome event here.

Hopefully we'll get to see you at those events!

But even if we can't, we'd still love to hear from you! That's right, we're still waiting to hear from all of you with your guest posts. Check out the guest blogger guidelines and the wide variety of posts other guest bloggers have written, then send us an email. Let us know if you have any questions and be sure to include a photo and brief description of yourself.

Finding the Write Time

I recently participated in something called a blogathon. I posted on my blog, Jump off the Bridge, every 30 minutes for 24 hours. I did not do this because I'm crazy -- I did it to raise money for the READ Foundation, an organization that uses teen tutors to help young children learn how to read.

I've had some time to reflect on my experience, and realize that I've learned some things. 1) Coffee is my friend and staying up for 24 hours without drinking any was the dumbest idea ever. 2) Stretching can make me feel instantly better. 3) You can never be too prepared -- an outline can never have too much detail. 4) I really love writing.

I was having a dry spell on my blog when I signed up for the blogathon. I was posting once or twice a week, making excuses for not writing: no good material, no time, no confidence in writing ability, etc. So I looked at it as a way to raise money and awareness for literacy, but also as a writing exercise. I suddenly had to ignore my excuses and write 49 posts in 24 hours!

When I decided to participate, I started a list of things to write about, with rough outlines of what I wanted to say and links to include. Throughout the course of the 24 hours, I strayed from my outline at times and had several "can't write, can't type, can't think" posts. But for the most part, I had a lot of substance as well and, most importantly, I was able to finish.

Since then, I've realized that I need to stop making excuses and write what I can, when I can. If I only have time for a short post, I'll do that. If I want to share something with little commentary, I'll do that. I really love writing and it's something I want to get better at. There's no way I can do that if I sit back and let the world pass me by without documenting it.

Writing Everybody Else

A few months ago, I put up a post called Writing Black, in which I discussed a conflict I feel within myself, as an author: the desire to write books with black characters so there will be more of those out in the world vs. the desire to write any book I feel inspired to write, regardless of the main character's race. I have yet to resolve it in my mind.

Recently I've been participating in an online "round table" with a group of diverse female authors who write books for teens, called "What a Girl Wants." We're talking about a lot of things, but we're trying to get at the heart of what young girls want and need to hear from us, as their older sisters (in a community sense). We all take this role very seriously, even though our profession is pretty much fun most of the time.

Last week, we started talking about multicultural characters in books for teens. The discussion kind of blew me away, because there were so many sides all coming together. We all want to speak to a younger version of ourselves... by reaching the teen girls running around high schools today through our books. Does that mean we should each only write characters who are like us?

When I wrote the Writing Black post way back when, one thing didn't occur to me: if I write books starring non-black characters, how might those stories be received by non-black audiences? I worry about shirking a responsibility to represent on behalf of my own race, but should I also worry about overstepping my bounds and tromping on someone else's?

Some of the ladies in the round table say yes--the only authentic portrayal of any culture or race can come from within. Others say no--anyone can write about any culture, as long as they make a serious effort to get it right.

What do you think? Whose responsibility is it to tell certain stories?

Shedding Labels

There has been a lot of buzz around the feminist blogosphere lately about the divisions within the feminist movement, and how that is creating a rift among feminist bloggers as well.

I've considered myself a feminist for as long as I can remember, and I've been a proud, active member of the feminist blogosphere for a couple of years now. But for the past year or so, a lot of negativity has started to fester. The election season created an "us vs. them" mentality between supporters of the various candidates. A couple of very popular women of color (WOC) faced racism and felt isolated from the rest of the mainstream (mostly white) bloggers. These and several other episodes have left many, including myself, feeling uneasy and, to some extent, even unwelcome.

More than anything, what this has done for me is make me seriously question the label "feminist." While I recognize that you do not need the label in order to take action and fight for the causes important to you, there is a sense of community - however broken it might be - and togetherness. It's good to know that in an endless fight like women's rights, there are people behind you who share a common goal.

But what happens when the people around you who are supposed to be providing support also end up saying and doing things that you consider racist, homophobic, ableist, etc.? At what point do you say enough is enough and find a new crew or just fly solo?

I still feel deeply connected to the label "feminist," even with everything that's been going on. It has long been the only label I willingly use to describe myself and the only pigeonhole I've accepted regardless of the negative stereotypes associated with it. Can I really let go of something that has defined me for so long? It feels like cutting off my arm or denying an identity I've claimed my whole life.

What are some labels you've left behind and how did you feel once you let it go?

Friday Forum: CHICKS ROCK! Faves

Yesterday, we announced that CHICKS ROCK! will be highlighting some past posts for the next couple of weeks. It's got us thinking, what are some of your favorite CHICKS ROCK! posts? Are there a couple that stand out in your mind? If so, what about them did you enjoy?

We'd love to hear your feedback!