Are you a baby boomer woman with a book or product in need of promotion? Great? Have we got a deal for you!!!

We want to share your talent with the world on June 20, 2008 from 10 am - 3 pm. The 2nd annual Baby Boomer Diva Day.

For the low price of $10 we'll showcase your produce for 15 minutes giving you the opportunity to sell your product to boomer women from all over the world. A few vendor slots are still available, so don't let this opportunity pass you by.


Also, there will be plenty of prize giveaways with special guest speaker, Heidi Richards, who will discuss how blogging can turn into $$$ for your business or product.

You'll have fun displaying your products, we'll have fun purchasing them, and we'll celebrate being boomer women.

Go to http://www.keybusinesspartners@verizon.net and get more information. You'll be happy you did. So will we!

See you on the 20th!

Labels: baby boomer, blogging, Diva Nation, heidi richards

One word.

Empowered.

That's what I took from the retreat last weekend. Empowered. I don't know if "took" is the right word. More like it was given to me. Bestowed upon me. Anointed upon me.

Divas. Divinely. Inspired. Vivaciously. Anointed. Divas. Wow, did I meet a lot of Divas last weekend. Women from all over the country came together in spirit, song, friendship, and love to network.



Network in a way that I'd never seen before. We went to workshops. We learned about how to plan for retirement. We learned about ways of "networking" on the Internet. We even learned how to improve our physical image, but more than that we learned how to network our hearts.

Friendships bonded, addresses exchanged. Business cards flurried back and forth. I basked in the warmth generated.

Beverly Mahone gets all the credit for creating the first of many annual Diva Girlfriend Retreats. She worked herself to exhaustion, creating a memorable experience for all of us. I even created a photo album of our memories. Code word "boomer". Many of us were part of the audience of a special PBS taping of a Baby Boomer Q&A of a panel of experts. It went exceptionally well.




I brought a suitcase full of clothes and I used them all, as we changed several times throughout the days for television shows, receptions, workshops, workouts, pageants, pajama parties, etc.

Did I mention pajama party? Yes, I did!

What a HOOT! A DJ played music, there was plenty of chocolate and drinks, and we danced and danced and danced. I know because I woke up Sunday morning with aches from muscles I don't remember ever using in a long time!

Not only are my Diva friends full of love and laughter they are truly spiritual. The invocation on Sunday morning moved me to near tears and made my heart sing. Never had I felt closer to God than then.

The time for us to say good bye came much too fast. We lingered as long as we could, but eventually we had to go. We hugged, we kissed, we said our good byes again. We promised to stay in touch. We had our e-loop to go back to. And our memories to take home. As for me, I'll never be the same again.

Empowered.

Labels: baby boomer, Diva Nation, retreat

I had the most wonderful opportunity to be invited by an extraordinary woman to join a unique group of women called Baby Boomer Divas. Divas. Divinely. Inspired. Vivacious. Anointed. Women with power. Women with class. Women with sass. And a lot of flash. Hot flashes!!

Beverly Mahone is the brainstorm behind this wave of excitement and I'd like to introduce her to you as I ask her a few questions about the weekend retreat she has planned for us baby boomer divas. (If you'd like to see what's planned visit here) If you'd like to learn more about Beverly visit her website

Vicki: Beverly what was your inspiration for the Baby Boomer Girlfriends' Spring Break Weekend Getaway?

Beverly: Initially, the idea was to have a Pajama Party for boomer women over 40. In my mind, I visualized us all gathered together in a hotel somewhere laughing, dancing and sharing hot flash stories! But as the idea began to evolve and more people wanted to help out with the event, it expanded becoming a three-day weekend. The concept of calling it a "Spring Break Weekend Getaway" comes from the fact that many of us used to go on Spring Break when we were in college and the memory of this time was fun. Although we've grown up and matured, we can still have fun. In an interview I recently did I told the audience this: "We spend 362 days out of the year taking care of husbands, children, and pets; dealing with obnoxious co-workers, traffic jams and nosey neighbors-----but for three days (April 18-20) we are going to throw caution to the wind in Daytona Beach, FL and do something just for us." Of course, it's a different kind of fun but it gives us an opportunity to socialize and network with fellow boomer women around the country.

Vicki: What is your main goal for the Event?

Beverly: I don't have just one main goal. I want this event to inspire women in many different ways. In addition to being a fun weekend, it is also designed to educate and empower us as women. There will be seminars to address our concerns and needs as we grow older. This is also the opportunity to network and fellowship with women you probably wouldn't be able to connect with otherwise. There are women coming from Ohio, Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina, New Mexico and even as far away as California. For me, personally, I'm excited because this is the first time I will get to meet fellow members of the Boomer Diva Nation Group. I met one woman (Linda Alexander) last year but I've only associated with the others through online networking so this will be an absolute thrill for me! When it's all over, I want women to walk away with renewed strength and encouragement. Our group's motto is: Women on the Move and Making a Difference. I hope they will take that statement to heart and go back to their home communities and be the change they want to see in their worlds.

Vicki: What is the most unexpected thing to occur since putting this event together?

Beverly: The most unexpected thing to happen was getting a telephone call from someone representing People Magazine saying they might be interested in covering the event! I was in the grocery store the evening I got the call. You would've thought I had just been told I won the lottery. I was rather loud with my excitement and enthusiasm! To think that People Magazine had heard about this event and wanted to cover it was simply amazing. I was so curious as to how they found me and the young lady said they "googled" Spring Break and up popped my event. I was instructed to ask the fellow members of Boomer Diva Nation to share their thoughts about attending the event so I immediately everyone and as I understand, they were flooded with emails from our group. We haven't heard yet whether or not they will actually be coming but just the fact that they contacted me was a true blessing and a moment that took my breath away!

Vicki: What is next for Boomer Diva Nation?

Beverly: First of all, I'm already planning for the next Spring Break! :) As far as Boomer Diva Nation goes, we are continuing to grow. We're actually global with Diva sisters in Australia. There is so much talent in this group and I want to make sure the whole world knows about the wonderful resources these women have to offer. One of our missions is to offer an annual scholarship of some kind. We're still working out the details for that.

If you missed the blog tour post, click here

And please be sure to check out tomorrow’s post for this blog tour here

Labels: baby boomer, Beverly Mahone, Diva Nation, Spring Break

Has Hell frozen over?

Really? It hasn't?

I could have sworn that I'd own a Mac computer only when Hell froze over. Or other words to that affect.

My computer died earlier this week. It was a Dell laptop. I'd probably killed it considering how much I made it do and the fact that I used it probably a good 8 to 12 hours a day or longer. It was old anyway. Probably four years old. I think that's long in computer years, isn't it? Isn't the life expectancy of a computer decrease significantly the moment you remove it from the store and then the day the warranty expires it goes on life support?

So, four years of good service. Not bad for the little laptop that I used as my desktop. Oh, let me tell you how it died. It wasn't anything dramatic or spectacular like sparks or flying pixels. I hadn't rebooted it in a while and I wanted to use my scanner so I thought I'd reboot and clear the memory cache before I started scanning my bills. I closed all the files and applications I had open. Then I clicked on the Shut Down button.

It shut down.

I waited. Giving it some time to rest. The poor thing needed it. Then pressed the Power button.

The computer whirred, the DVD drive spun, then stopped.

Nothing.

I waited. I waited some more. Then I pushed the Power button again. The computer whirred, the DVD drive spun, then stopped.

Nothing.

You'd think by now I'd be freaking out. Amazingly, I was calm. I don't know why. My freakin' computer wouldn't start and I didn't have a recent back up. (I know, I know. 40 lashes with a wet noodle. My most recent back up was July 2007) Although, to be fair, all of my important documents were stored on an external drive.

I didn't even call my husband and cry over the telephone.

I got up from my desk chair. Turned off my office light. Took my parrot and dog with me and we watched Grey's Anatomy episodes I'd recorded until my husband came home from work. When he came home, I let him get relaxed and situated before I said, "oh, by the way, I think my computer died today."

Me. Calm. I have a panic attack at the drop of a hat and here I am calmly telling my husband my computer died. His solution? It's time for a Mac.

Now, my husband and I have come from a long life of using PC's. DOS was the language of choice and we only reluctantly accepted Windows when it was introduced by Microsoft. Although, as a programmer, he was pretty hooked on UNIX too. But, for desktops and laptops, we went with PC's. For years. Decades. When Mac arrived on the world's doorstep, we scoffed and scorned its simpleton ways. Only people who didn't know how to use a computer would use a Mac, we taunted. With a Mac, now anyone could use a computer, we said disdainfully.

I admit it. We were PC snobs.

Then, suddenly, this year, my husband starts making noises about wanting a Mac. I look at him as if he just grew a horn from the center of his forehead. I have to admit, most of what he told me about them went in one ear and out the other. A temporary phase, I told myself. He'll come to his senses.

But, he didn't.

One day, he came home with a Mac laptop. I mean, he brought it right in our house! And, it stayed. He actually installed programs and copied over files from his old laptop. He was serious. The more he used it the more he loved it and sang its praises. For my husband to love a Mac meant one thing. Apple had improved their operating system and the way they ran programs. No longer just a box with a silhouette of an apple on it, but it had power and performance too. My husband, the die-hard PC programmer, was convinced. Then, he uttered those dreadful words, "We should get you a Mac, too."

I resisted. I balked. I argued. For every reason I gave for not wanting one, he would answer with two or three reasons why a Mac was better. There were Mac versions of the software I needed. If there weren't, Mac could run Windows in parallel. The darn guy started to convince me. Was I betraying my PC brethren?

So, here I am. Using a Mac. After my laptop died.

Hey, do you think my husband had anything to do with...? Nah.

I'm not hating my new Mac. The transition was painless, actually. So, I click a red button on the left instead of an X on the right to close a window. It still closes. My e-mail works. My Internet works. I can open my Word documents. I can even update my website like I did before, using the same software. So, I've mellowed in my old age. Aren't we supposed to try new things? Well, here I am, a baby boomer, trying new things.

Oh, right. The scanning. That's what started all this in the first place, wasn't it? Well, I must admit, I haven't tried it yet. Maybe next week.

Labels: baby boomer, computer, laptop, Mac, PC

I think the majority of us Baby Boomer Women maintain a positive outlook to help support a strong sense of self. To others, that may seem like we have it all together. Maybe we do. I think we've become stronger women as we've moved into our boomer years.

For me, keeping a positive attitude works as well. Being negative isn't an option for me. What I've found I've learned through the years is that I have to make time for myself. No one else is going to do it for me.

If I don't go for a walk, no one else is going to tap me on the shoulder and say, "Dear, you really must go take a walk." Well, my dog will remind me that we have to go for a walk, but he's not consciously looking out for me.

Women, in general, have a really hard time putting their needs first. We've had it ingrained in us for so long that we are caretakers and must take care of everyone else before we take care of ourselves.

I think the notion of "having it together" goes along with taking care of ourselves. If we do that, most other issues in our lives have a tendency to fall into place. We're better equipped mentally, physically, and emotionally to handle any bumps that come along our way.

I know that when I feel good about myself and my life, then I tend to think more positive, and when thinking positive, I don't let temporary setbacks get me down. I can overcome self doubt.

When I take care of myself, then I'm better able to take care of others. And that shows in how others perceive us. As boomers, I think we're more secure in how we project ourselves. We're not pretending to be someone we're not.

While growing up, we're our parent's child. A girlfriend, sister, or aunt. Then we're a wife and we try to be the woman our husband wants. We are an employee in a working environment. We become what our bosses ask for, to fulfill our job requirements. When we become mothers, we give ourselves over to being the perfect mom for our children. We try to be all these different personalities, all the while eventually learning who we really are.

We face the reality of who we are to ourselves, seeing our inner self, maybe for the first time. Learning how to take care of ourselves first, gives us the confidence to be the great women we are.

Baby Boomer Women.

Labels: baby boomer, boomer women