 I can clearly remember when Frozen, the Disney movie, came out. I remember seeing ads with a silly snowman and reindeer, and wrote it off as just another kids’ movie. It wasn’t until New Years Eve, when a friend told me Idina Menzel is the voice of Elsa, that I look another look. I thought she just had a song on the soundtrack; I didn’t know she IS Elsa!
I have been a huge fan of Idina since hearing her on the Wicked Broadway soundtrack in 2003, and have been following her projects ever since. I was a little embarrassed that I did not know about the huge part she had, but no matter, I went to see Frozen the next day on New Years day with my friend, Jason. I, of course, loved it! Frozen was not the Disney movies I grew up with (and was not a fan of). This was about family love. This was about powerful women that didn’t just live happily ever after with their prince (or give up their voice to be with him).
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 October 17, 2018 I got the call (as I was entering Home Depot) that my book was accepted for publication by Morgan James Publishing (MJP)! I had been in contact with Karen Anderson, MJP Associate Publisher, since January about my book and the work I still needed to do. So when she called me that day, it felt like a giant leap forward in getting my book, Discovering My Scars, into the world!
Fast forward over a year later, with my book now in hand and book to be released to the public January 2020, I got an email about the MJP Next Level training event.  I was unsure. I was nervous. I didn’t know how I would support myself.
But God knew, and that was enough for me to take the leap. Four years ago, I took a giant leap forward by quitting my full time job and becoming a full time online content creator and business owner. And now, 4 years later…  Is it just me, or does anyone else think it’s too much work to say nephews and niece??
My brother and his wife had two boys first, so I had no issue saying my nephews. But when my wonderful niece came along, I found myself saying just nephews, which excluded my niece unintentionally. I then tried my best to say “nephews and niece” as much I could.  A week ago, I got to experience the Disney Skyliner on opening day!
I was in Orlando a few days and realized I was going to be there for the day it opened. Sunday, September 29th, my parents, brother and his kids and I headed to Disney’s Hollywood Studios (my favorite park, which is also the park I used to work at) and got in line for our first ride on the Skyliner.  I kind of knew Christina Ray Stanton before reading her book. She grew up in my hometown of Tallahassee, FL, and I met her once in New York City. I knew she was in NYC during 9/11, but didn’t know much more.
A few years ago, my mom told me Christina was writing a book about her 9/11 experience, and I was very excited to read it. It was also interesting to me, because I had just started writing my own memoir, Discovering My Scars. I ordered my copy of Christina’s book as soon as it was available (May 31st 2019) and read it in one day. I planned to take a few days, but I couldn’t put it down! The book starts right where I remember learning of the events, the morning of September 11, 2001.  Ten months ago, I adopted my 4-year-old greyhound, Mac. She had some challenges right from the start. First, the adoption agency recommended getting a crate for her to make her feel more comfortable as this is the only “home” she had ever known.
Everything I read said the same thing, and that they might have accidents in the house if not in the crate. Well, she hated the crate- hated it! I tried so many hours to get her to like it, but she never did. She even started having accidents in her crate (which they said never happens). Then, I found out she had a urinary tract infection (by observing blood in her urine). So just days after adopting her; I had to find a vet to treat her. Shortly after, I also learned she had hookworm (most retired greyhounds from Florida have it), AND she had bad separation anxiety when I left home.  This November will mark three years since I started writing my memoir, Discovering My Scars. I had layers of fear about sharing my story with the world, one of them being the fact that I’m dyslexic.
At the beginning of first grade, my teacher was pregnant and left a few months later to go on maternity leave. When she returned, she was the first to notice that I wasn’t progressing like the other students. I was tested, and diagnosed with a reading and writing learning disability (dyslexia). I was in regular classes, but pulled out for a few hours a week for special one-on-one teaching. I was taught differently, as I learned differently than others in my grade.  In 2015 I became an Online Content Creator, which just means I’m in the business of creating content (videos, pictures, text) and sharing it online (social media, youtube, websites). Other titles frequently used are blogger or YouTuber.
My company, Mother Daughter Projects, all began with a belief that there was value in visually sharing the projects my mom and I were doing around the house. I thought others would find encouragement in seeing us, a mother and daughter, working together to accomplish these tasks.  While I was writing my book, Discovering My Scars, I started listening to the Morgan James Radio Podcast. The show hosts interview many authors about their journey and share advice. Along with learning from the show, Morgan James Publishing (MJP) was the company I was considering to publish my book. The CEO, David Hancock, is one of the hosts of the podcast and listening helped me get to know him and his company. That connection is what ultimately led me to choosing MJP to publish Discovering My Scars.
That got me thinking about the power of podcasting and push me to start my own podcast! Not everyone knows the ends and outs of a podcast so I thought I'd do a short primer about podcasts as a way of introducing you to mine. |
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