INSPIRED BY

image of Mama Africa via 

I was inspired by something that my husband (still sounds so weird!) said to me last night about my name. One of his good friends just found out he's having a boy this time around. Aaron asked him  if he would be named after him to which he replied "No", because he doesn't like his middle name. Naturally, this got us talking about my name. I still cringe when I'm meeting someone for the first time + as an adult I've mentally prepared myself for the fact that 9 times out of 10, my name will be slaughtered. 

That was such an uncomfortable feeling growing up, dreading the first day of school + hearing the little kids sniggle (snicker + giggle) as the teacher stumbled over my name. I hid my middle name for 28 years too - it's only been publicly shared with all my friends when we sent out wedding invitations. Yes - they said it at graduation, but nobody remembers that! Seeing something on paper...it sticks with you. 

I've grown to love my first name. It's my mom + dad's name smashed together - another symbol of the love that created me. As I've gotten older, I understand that + so I don't cringe nearly as much when meeting someone for the first time. So as we're talking I said "Well, I don't like my middle name and  would not pass it on." And then Aaron began to lovingly lecture me (it wasn't really a lecture but he can talk for days when he's passionate about something!) about how people make fun of things they don't understand and so forth and so on. And then he said "Your middle name is beautiful. Just think of how much knowledge of the world your young parents had to name you that!"

And that my friends is what inspired me. I'm named after this lady, Miriam Makeba. It didn't really click with me until Aaron made that statement. My parents were young when they had me - so it's amazing to me that they chose that name for me. And so now I have questions about why, although I'm sure it's because she was a civil rights activist campaigning against apartheid, causing her to be exiled from her homeland. And, I'm inspired! Choosing a name for your child is important! You can't give them just any name. A name shapes you and is a part of who you are. 

I'm thankful to Aaron for helping to remove the uncomfortableness around my name + I'm inspired by + thankful to my parents for giving me these names that have meaning behind them. Will I pass it on? I still don't think so. I really believe in everyone being given their own identity + forging their own path. I believe in giving my future children names that have meaning + will build a strong identity. 

What are you inspired by?

**You can learn more about Miriam Makeba, aka Mama Africa, here + here.**

WANDERLUST: MOZAMBIQUE

I'm seriously wishing I was still on vacation. Seriously. So, I decided I'm going to start  a new series called "Wanderlust" where I'll share places I'd like to go and eventually, HOPEFULLY, I'll begin to share places I've been!

Aaah, Mozambique. This was my first choice for our honeymoon and you can totally see why right? I wanted to go someplace exotic and different and Mozambique definitely meets that criteria! Of course, you have to save the big bucks for this so maybe we'll aim for our 5th anniversary?

"Mozambique is Africa’s undiscovered jewel – a melting pot of cultures and exotic influences, from early North African and Arab traders to Portuguese colonists who have all left their mark. A splendid array of flora and fauna is interspersed with traditional villages and flanked by a coralfringed coastline of translucent tropical waters" (Turquoise Holidays).

This beautiful place is the Ibo Island Lodge. I want to go. So bad. 

OUT OF OFFICE

image via

Today is one of those days where I feel like I just need to check out for a bit. Have you had one of those days? I feel like I don't want to be bothered, I need to assess + process my feelings, have a good cry and then pick myself back up to try again...tomorrow. I started to work on a post + just felt totally...bleh. So instead of whipping something together quickly just for the sake of posting, I'm going to be "Out of Office" today. And don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow! 

5 TIPS FOR PERSONAL BRANDING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

Personal branding has become increasingly popular and all the more important in today’s job market. It is ideal to cultivate a personal brand that is unique and refreshing. Social media will continue to play an important role in personal lives and within business, so it is only fitting that you create a  personal brand that will present learning, networking and business opportunities for you. Personal branding is creating a specific look, feel or message that is associated with your name.

Through social media, it is entirely possible for anyone to create their own unique personal brand. When deciding to build your brand, you must first identify your goals – this will help you create a strategy to meet those goals through the use of social media. Here are some key steps to being successful in building your personal brand through social media.

WEEKLY WISHES 12

LAST WEEK'S WISHES

---

//Recover. You know how you need a vacation after your vacation? I am so tired it's not even funny! And I want to get all these thank you cards out of the way as soon as possible. So this week I will be trying to rest and get everything back in order.  

//Work on business website. I really want everything under one space. I'm not ready to make that change yet - going to one site - so everything will remain as is for now. I'm still trying to figure out what that would mean for the brand I'm working on building and if I'll need to change direction a bit. But I do need to work on my copy and fine tune some things. So my goal is to start working on that this week.

//Finish these last four weeks of grad school strong. It's almost over!! That's all I have to say about that! Once I finish I can start focusing on some other courses I have my eye on like Blog Life, Brandgasm, and Photoshop. I've been trying to start the classes on my list for the year for a while but, school comes first. So glad I'm almost done so I can pursue my other interests!

This last week was a pretty laid back one. I didn't really get to relax because I was visiting with one aunt before she left and then the other came by too so I was basically wrapped up in family time. Not to mention my daddy turns the big 5-0 today! We celebrated with him on Wednesday and again on Sunday. I had three assignments due, some interviews..."recover" was a bust!! I did get a chance to brainstorm about my business website and make a few changes. I brainstormed some more yesterday and targeted some additional things I'd like to learn and implement. Still a work in progress though. YES!!!! THREE MORE WEEKS!!! I've decided that for now I'm going to let lynda.com go and take some classes on skillshare - it's cheaper and seems like a fun online learning environment. With lynda, there's just too much of a "freshman american government 101 with 200 students" feel to it. 

THIS WEEK'S WISHES

---

// Go back to personal training + Pure Barre. Oh my gosh! Pray for me that I don't die tonight. I haven't been since before the wedding and my trainer is not going to go easy on me. Oh and pure barre how I've missed you! Please be gentle to all my muscles as I stand on my highest tippy toes, tuck and pulse. 

// Get back on track with blogging. This means scheduling my posts and engaging. I still wish I was on vacation. I think the other thing is that I am overflowing with ideas and I am trying to focus on one thing at a time. It may be time to revisit my content plan to help me get back on track.

// Start skillshare course. So, I'm thinking I'm going to go with a Photoshop course first. I added a lot to my wish list, but Photoshop really needs to be tackled. Thankfully I have three weeks left so I can really start digging into the other subjects I'm interested in learning.

// Tie down business ideas. I guess it's okay to be flexible when it comes to this because I'm still figuring it all out, but it really feels (only to me-everyone I ask thinks I make sense so...) like I'm a tad bit all over the place? Any other business owners feel like this? 

// Thank you cards. Guys. There are still gifts at my mother's house. And gifts at my house. I have a four day weekend this week so I really need to start working on this before time gets the best of me. 

Best of luck accomplishing all of your goals this week! And, if you're anything like me, you should consider linking up with Melyssa for Weekly Wishes. They don't have to be weekly-they can fit your schedule however you see fit!