We hit a slick spot on the road while going about 55 miles per hour during a steady rain. The car begins to spin as you feel like you are losing control of the vehicle. We are spinning and spinning—you don’t hear anything. It’s pitch black—no lights, no nothing, just darkness. There’s no noise other than the music coming from the speakers. My friend was mostly silent with an occasional grunt or moan. No screams, no yells of help. The road is black and desolate. And we are spinning and spinning  and spinning out of control. It seems like an eternity and you just want the car to make impact if it’s going to. We both are bracing for it because, at any second, we going to hit something. Or a car coming our way is going to hit us.

More spinning. You try not to panic but you know it’s not looking good. You can’t think straight because this may be the end of your life.

And then, the car stops, suddenly. We haven’t hit anything, but are on a major highway facing the wrong way. You and your friend are okay. The car has not a scratch. But you are frozen; paralyzed at the event that had just occurred. You need to move the car or you will be hit.

My friend tried to shake me out of my daze and told me to move the car—because it’s dark and a car will be coming and they will be moving too fast to stop. And then it will be all over…

I got out of my fog and try to move forward, but the car won’t move. So I began to think fast—I backed the car up in reverse onto the grass divider on the highway, where we are now safely out of dodge.

All of this happens within a minute and a half.

You both are alive. You both are blessed. You don’t have a scratch on you and neither does the car. The song you were listening to before the sudden chain of events is still blaring in the speakers.

It’s over. And everything is alright.

This happened to me and my very good friend Thursday night. I probably have never been as scared as I was at that moment in time. My life and everyone in it flashed before my eyes.

An experience that has definitely given me a new perspective about what’s really important.

TheCubicleChick.com continues to grow and evolve, and it’s because of my readers that I’ve been able to do the things I am doing. I never wanted to be just a blogger; I wanted to be a conduit for others to help them grow in whatever it is they wanted to be. I’ve been working on my second book, SHINE: 30 Days of Positive Life Affirmations, and will be releasing it soon. By far, this is the largest project I’ve worked on, and I really hope it’s received well.

Here’s more of what’s been going on in my Cube:

On Thursday, I was a guest on the Bag Ladies Radio Show, alongside therapist and Today Show contributor Dr. Argie Allen, and we discussed talking to kids about tragedy during their Mommy Midday segment. Click HERE to listen.

Not sure if you’ve heard or not, but I am also Completely You’s new Smart Mommy Manual writer. You can check out my latest articles on the site, which is a web portal from Crest, Oral-B, and Scope, that provides editorial content that matters to women. Click HERE to read the Smart Mommy Manual on CY.

I’m heading to New York City for Time to Play’s Spring Showcase (April 29th-April 30th), and I will be bringing everyone all of the tea in regards to family entertainment and toys. Follow my social media streams for updates.

Oh, and I was just announced as one of the first round of speakers for the Niche Parent Social Media Conference taking place Sept. 5th-7th at the Westin Diplomat Resort and Spa in Hollywood, FL. My presentation is titled: Shine! Yes, Your Words Can Create Change and I am really excited about giving real-life experiences regarding my blog and my passion—helping others. Tickets are on sale now, so visit Niche Parent and learn more about how you can register.

For my St. Louis folk, I will be co-paneling a session during St. Louis Social Media Club’s Social Media Workshop which is being held at the Regional Arts Commission on Friday, May 31st from 12-4pm. Tickets are just $25 and the day is jam packed with fabulous speakers. If you are into social media and live in or near St. Louis, you need to attend this event.

I’m also in Philly this weekend for the Type A Parent Advanced Conference. So looking forward to learning from the best and brightest bloggers and social media power users out there!

I’ve been named a Blogger Ambassador for AVON, and will be sharing more about that on TheCubicleChick.com!

I think that is it (for now). So many good things happening. And I appreciate all of your support

If it’s shot in Technicolor, begins with a Overture, and is shown on Turner Classic Movies, then chances are, I am a fan of it. I have loved old movies ever since I can remember. It all started with the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s which I first saw when I was fifteen years old. Holly Golightly and her tale of being a woman of the night living in New York City intrigued me. It was then that I began watching old movies, especially those starring Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood, and Doris Day.

Thanks to my DVR, I have tons of old movies that I can watch at my disposal. My favorite remains Peyton Place, the soap opera like tale of a small New England town during the brink of World War II. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this film, and pretty much know the script by heart. I also love Splendor in the Grass, A Summer Place, Carmen Jones, and the gold standard of old movies, Gone With the Wind. I adore that movie so much that when I was in Georgia earlier this year, I dragged my friends to Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mead’s house on Peachtree Street. It’s the house where she wrote the epic novel which was turned into a award winning film, and it was not too far from that house where she died a few years later after being hit by a drunk driver.

I don’t know what it is that connects me with these old films. I come from a different generation of people, and most of these stories do not resonate with me personally. But I think I long for the days back then when it was a simple time. The story lines, no matter how fluffy, had deep meaning and were written and directed in such a way that isn’t prevalent in movies of today.

The fabulousness of Audrey in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The lovesick angst in Splendor in the Grass. The Civil War torn South of Gone With the Wind. They all make me feel something.

Now excuse me while I cue Sidney Poitier in A Raisin in the Sun. Another epic. Another masterpiece. Another classic film.

Author of Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell’s home in Atlanta, Georgia. It is now the Margaret Mitchell Museum.

So I have a few questions for you. In terms of topics, what would you like to see me discuss during a Google + Hangout? What days and/or times work for you? Are weekends better than weekdays?

In addition, would you like to see my Google + Hangout recorded and for airplay on my YouTube channel? Would this be something you would watch?

Let me know your thoughts.  Please reply in the comments and sound off

St. Louis Children’s Hospital is world-renown for their care in treating high risk children of all ages. Families from all over the world come to Children’s to get top-notch treatment, and the doctors, nurses, and care staff are the best in the industry. Frontline for Hope follows these little patients as they are treated at Children’s, and we get to learn about their families as well as the doctors and nurses who take care of them.

St. Louis has become a hotbed of reality television series. Starting off with Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s which is also locally filmed and produced (by Coolfire Media, the same production company that produced this series), and Nick Mom, Frontline for Hope will be broadcast on NBC local affiliate Channel 5 KSDK on Saturday evenings at 6:30 pm. Six episodes will air, the first being this Saturday, and there is even talk of the show possibly getting a nationwide broadcast.

Attendees at the screening got a chance to watch the first Frontline for Hope episode, which spotlighted little Madeline who was born with CPH, and fifteen year old Jessie, a diehard Mizzou fan, who had to have his colon removed through a risky surgery. There were moments when you laughed and cried, sometimes within minutes of each other. Seeing the miracles done at Children’s really fires up those emotions.

KSDK News 5 anchor Kay Quinn served at the night’s host and emcee, and did a fabulous job giving us information about the program before the screening and moderated a Q&A afterwards with several Frontline for Hope parents, doctors, and producers.

I hope that you will check out Frontline for Hope for yourself if you are in the St. Louis area, and show some love to this amazing medical center that is located right in our very own backyard.

Below (and after the break) are a few photos of the Frontline for Hope VIP red carpet event which took place at Chaminade Preparatory Skip Viragh Center for the Arts in the Frontenac area.

Special thanks to Erin at BJC and Amanda from Coolfire for the invite!

Click HERE to visit my online lifestyle magazine, TheCubicleChick.com!

So I ask the question: What do your friends look like?

When I say friends, I am not talking about people who you chat with online or in passing at an event. I am talking about people you put in time with—people that have been over to your house and vice versa. People you have traveled with, cried with. There are so many people I know that have friends, but ones that look just like them—no variety. Not that you have to have that in your life, but why wouldn’t you want to?

I’ve had a few of my Caucasian friends say “of course I have Black friends”. But when I ask them when’s the last time they’ve invited their Black friends over, they can’t answer. To me, that’s not a friendship. You are colleagues or associates.

I love that I have friends that are everything. I often go to lunch with friends who don’t look like me—and I like it. I get to learn from them and they can learn from me. The world has changed and doesn’t look like it used to. So in my opinion, your friends should look like the way our world looks.

One thing I noticed during the last election, was that the two parties looked like night and day. When I watched the Republican Convention, it looked like the country club set. Now there’s nothing wrong with that, but when I looked at the Democratic National Convention, it looked the way our current U.S. population looks–it wasn’t an exclusive set of people that were prevalent. There were whites and blacks and Latinos and Asians and women and disabled and I can go on and on. For me, I want both of my children to befriend people of all ethnic origins.

This is not a judgment post, but one that I hope provokes thought. What do your friends look like? Comment below and let’s discuss.

P.S. The picture of above is of my and my friend Janice Person, aka @JPLovesCotton. Get to know her on Twitter!

I moved into 2013 with a new perspective and agenda. Living life is good. Living life happily is even better. But living life with intention. Now that is where the good stuff lies.

I was once told that if you have to think about whether or not you want to do something, if it’s not an unequivocal yes, then it’s a no. Meaning if you have to question if doing whatever it is is worth doing, then you shouldn’t do it. This year and going forward, I don’t want to hem and haw about what it is I want to do. Whatever it is I do, whether it’s a project, a book, a blog post, or a travel destination, I want it to be an unequivocal YES. I want to attack everything I do from here on out with intention.

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines intention as a determination to act a certain way: RESOLVE.

Importance or significance.

Intention for me means when it comes to my life, my family, my friends, my work, I tackle it all with intention. No half stepping, no on the fence moments, no over analyzing myself out of things. Do whatever it is I tackle with zest and zeal, with my chest poked out, with confidence, and with the knowing that I am living my life each day without taking it for granted.

Life is too short to not live with intention. I plan on living with intention and making 2013 my best year yet.

This year, I decided to feature The Chicklet again, since she’s the one most of our relatives want to see anyway. And because she is the baby of the family, I am okay with that.

All you need to create some precious holiday cards is a digital camera, a great location or backdrop, and fun. Everything else seems to work itself out. I haven’t spent any money on a traditional Christmas or holiday photo shoot in years. And with digital cameras and tripods, you really don’t have to anymore.

I took about 75 pictures today of The Chicklet, and these are a few of the photos that I liked but didn’t make the cut:

I’ve uploaded 2 of the pictures I liked the best to Pear Tree Greetings, which is what I will be using to create our holiday cards this year. I used them last year, and they turned out well. They have 100′s of templates and designs to choose from, so I know I will be in good hands again this year. You can check out this post on TheCubicleChick.com to see last year’s holiday card and to get a list of other online sites that you can use to create your holiday card.

Take a look at the segment below and let me know your thoughts!:

The panel included author and advisor Peter Bregman, Personal Development and Happiness Guru Britt Reints.

Let me know your thoughts!

The event will take place on Monday, September 24th from 6 to 8pm at Milagro Modern Mexican in Webster Groves. The event is free but you have to RSVP to the event (currently the event is on waitlist, but there may be additional tickets being released prior to the date).

I would really love if you are in the St. Louis area to join me, the other panelists, and St. Louis Social Media Club.

Looking forward to seeing you there!