I am sharing this through my new blogger friend Cheryl Stober, a syndicated blogger on the BlogHer platform. She has been blogging for eight years, at a time when I was chasing after stories and yawning at township meetings for print media.
“You gotta cover that,” said the editor also yawning, “It’s our bread and butter you know.”
Among hundreds of posts, Stober caught my attention with her nice piece about getting ready for the conference. I was bummed that I couldn’t go so I literally devoured the article and commented and I got a comment back. And there you go we were friends.
My new BlogHer buddy Cheryl Stober
“I hope to meet you at the conference next year,” she wrote. “Follow me on @cherylstober.”
Her article included getting new business cards and clothes for the event. Of course fashion police at these conferences are on their toes.
Today, Stober tweeted she had lunch with my favorite Glee star, Gwyneth Paltrow. who is a keynote speaker at the conference. I am jealous, no just kidding.
With all the 4th of July holiday activities I fell a bit behind with the Emma Blogs monthly newsletter that I absolutely love to design on super easy MailChimp. I wish everything was that easy. The newsletter features correspondent Emma Palova-Chavent, MD and fellow word press blogger for the month of July Coach Leigh Ann Dickey. Palova-Chavent, MD resides permanently in France and works at the emergency center in Dijon.
Emma Blogs newsletter for July features Coach Leigh Ann.
Coach Leigh Ann started blogging on WordPress two years ago when she hit 40 and lost 35 pounds.
“i wanted to share my story,” she said.
However, after suffering a head injury on a bike,she wanted to figure out where she was going with her life. Coach Leigh Ann took the site down and went into design.
For full story about Coach Leigh Ann Dickey follow EW Emma’s writings on http://emmapalova.com.
The feature story 50 years of Fallasburg preservation takes you back in time. There is still time to make plans to visit during the Fallasburg Fall Festival on Sept.19 & Sept.20.
The featured photo on the blog with the banner is downtown Lowell getting ready for the annual Riverwalk festival that starts today and runs through Saturday.
Emma Blogs runs a summer special 25% off on blog and web design. Just submit the email with the newsletter.
To sign up for the newsletter, fill out the form at the end of this message.
Emma Blogs June newsletter is out now. Read about what’s coming up. You can sign up right here.
Emma Blogs June newsletter.
Pictured on the featured photo is Saint Patrick Festival coming up from June 26 through June 28 with famous chicken dinners on Sunday June 28th from noon until five. The cost is $9 for adults and $4 for children under four. The festival kicks off with a 5K run, a beer tent and Conklin Ceili Band on Friday, June 26th.
It also features a helicopter ball drop, festival auction, Las Vegas tent, a classic car show and a polka band, The Diddle Styx.
“Hoola” your dream for having a home based business
By Emma Palova
EW Emma’s Writings
Lowell, MI- Inspired by another woman at the Grand Rapids Women’s Expo last year, Sue Majinska started her home based business with Hoola jewelry seven months ago.
“I love the idea of having unique jewelry that nobody else has,” said Majinska. “And being able to get it at a reasonable price.”
Well, who doesn’t?
Sue Majinska surrounded by Hoola jewelry.
The Hoola interchangeable jewelry comes in individual kits with different pieces. From these kits, you design your own jewelry using a simple process. You start with a hoop, add a hoola, a second hoola and a third hoola or more if you wish. You get a beautiful piece of jewelry that looks a lot more expensive than it is.
The ever-changing jewelry sizzles and shines in daylight or night.
During the interview, Majinska showed two different kits and demonstrated the process how to put the jewelry together. The Silver Shine kit is for $49.99 and the Spring Bling Earring special kit is for $29.99. Each kit has a higher value. The shine kit is valued at $130 and the spring bling has a value of $70.
Hoola Jewelry is a new merchant this year in the GNO event.
“It’s a new concept to West Michigan,” said Majinska.
The Hoola business women are home based jewelry consultants or reps. They come into other houses for Hoola parties for 10 to 15 women.
Although one on one consulting is also available, the preferred way are the jewelry design parties with boxed starter sets.
“You just take a basic hoop and add anything you want to it,” said Majinska. “You get out of one kit over a 100 looks.”
Majinska, who is on the phone a lot, likes the jewelry because of its light weight.
The basic material is fine sterling silver with 7.5 percent alloy to prevent breaking. Sterling silver will eventually tarnish, not by defect, but as a result of exposure to chemicals, cosmetics, hairspray perspiration, direct sunlight, or humidity.
Other interesting materials used to make different jewelry designs are Mother-of-Pearl (M.O.P.) This is a shell with a natural layer of nacre, making it a close “relative” to the pearl. It has a similar luster to pearl and it works well in designing combinations together.
Sue Majinska put on a Hoola demo at the Lowell Expo last month.
The Spring Bling Earrings kit uses the mother-of-pearl hoolas for a colorful fresh look.
The company is a mother/daughter team, Laurel & Lauren Gravelyn based in Chelsey, Michigan.
For Hoola jewelry designers like Majinska, every day is like Christmas.
“How can you not go with that,” she said. “It’s no longer what am I going to do today?”
Most women like putting the jewelry together themselves. As a banker, Majinska deals with math every day.
“This is my creative side,” she said. “It allows me to be creative. I love being around people and socializing. Having a home-based business fits my personality.”
The other fun aspect of the Hoola business is that it moves with you.
“If we want to move, I can take it with me,” Majinska said.
Majinska carries all her Hoola jewelry in one compact bag.
And the company plans to grow all over 50 states. They have reps now in California and Florida.
“I think they would go international,” she said.
The Hoola business is allowing women to be independent and enjoy having options for jewelry that no one else has.
“You have a unique look,” Majinska said.
For Hoola parties, Majinska suggests having at least 10 to 15 people. She puts on a 15-minute demo, and then the hostess and the guests get to design their own interchangeable jewelry. The hostess earns her jewelry for putting on the party.
Majinska did well at last month’s Expo in Lowell.
“It was a great way to introduce the jewelry line to the local area,” she said. “It was time and money well spent. It was nice to see everybody in the community.
Majinska is taking the Hoola jewelry to Girls Night Out on April 16. She will be next to Advance Eye Care storefront along with Pauly’s.
For more information contact Majinska at 1-616-334-6744 or go to her Sue’s Hoola Jewelry facebook page.
The April newsletter is here. It’s been on my radar screen since I’ve established Emma Blogs, LLC. Every month, the newsletter will feature news from the blogs portfolio, blogging tips and editorial/marketing calendar. Features will include en excerpt from the story of the month and a featured blogger. You can submit who do you think should be featured and why, as well as a story,a poem or a photo with links to your blogs. You can also submit a story about your niche business with a link.
Emma Blogs newsletter for April.
The deadline for submission for the May newsletter is April 20. Happy blogging.
I have created a monthly newsletter so all can stay in the loop. It highlights news from my Emma Blogs including the flagship EW Emma’s Writings site on http://emmapalova.com
I will always feature in it: the current editorial calendar and excerpts from the editor’s picks for each month. The editor’s pick for the month of April is the story “IW Hiker babe walks 4,600 miles in memory of daughter.” I will also include valuable blogging tips both in content and in design. Eventually I will add marketing tips as well.
You can find the story on the company blog/website Emma Blogs on http;//emmablogsllc.wordpress.com
Blogging is a constantly evolving story. You can send your story with a link to your blog. Why did you start blogging?
Happy Easter and blogging to all from
Emma and the EW team
The last event in March is the local Lowell Expo on March 28th at the Lowell High School from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Lowell Community Expo
The calendar gives you a preview of stories and themes coming from the end of March through June. It is not set in stone, I always make it as flexible and versatile as possible.
It also gives an idea for marketing around the themes relevant to each month. It doesn’t exclude anything.
That’s the beauty of the Internet compared to print media; the speed and the versatility, as well as the turnover of stories. You can make it weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually depending on your blog and business.
I prefer quarterly because it gives enough leeway yet it helps stay on track and up with tasks. The calendar also depends on the frequency of your postings and the format of them.
Overall, it is worth spending time working on it rather than haphazardly writing about anything at hand. The calendar also organizes your overall strategy and thoughts into more manageable segments.
Check out the new editorial calendar for spring from the end of March through June on Emma Blogs, LLC. The calendar has listings of events and activities in the area from Expos to festivals, and customer appreciation days.
Lowell, MI- Watch for a story on spring sojourns in Venice, Florida on the Gulf Coast, locally in Michigan, and globally in Europe.
Today, March 20th, is the spring equinox. It is called equinox because the length of day and night are nearly equal.
Spring equinox signifies new life.
It is also the day of the total and partial solar eclipses depending on location, according to timeanddate.com
The first day of spring is traditionally associated with many customs like Easter and Passover. It is also a time for new beginnings and new life. Thus the symbol of the rabbit, a lamb and eggs.
Czech Easter lamb baked like a pound cake with decorated eggs.
In many Christian cultures, Easter eggs are synonymous with Easter. Also known as Paschal eggs, these are usually decorated chicken eggs that symbolize fertility and rebirth. They can be quite exquisite, and in many cases are considered an art.
Many Easter related events feature the Easter egg as the central theme. Traditional games like egg hunts, where colorful Easter eggs are hidden for children to find, egg rolling, where eggs are rolled down a hill, and egg dancing, where eggs are laid on the floor and people dance while trying to not damage them are held all around the world.
authoremmapalova 