Your Big Sister - One Year Later

I cant believe it has been a year (and two months) since my book, "Your Big Sister's Guide to Surviving College", was released! It seems like yesterday that I was pitching the concept to Nancy, my publisher (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing, Inc.). I am always asked if this was this the book I knew I would write. The answer is a resounding NO! I almost didn't write at all! I had this preconceived notion that I had to be degreed in English or Literature and well read on the "classics" to be a real "Writer"... at least that is what all of the writing magazines and references I studied lead me to believe. Being that I have a book on the market now is a true testimony to don't believe everything you read! This was a book from the heart...not to mention it was easy to write because I had already written it 10 years ago... I just had to revise for a wider audience.

Having "published author" on my list of accomplishments is HUGE! I am just so grateful to this whole experience because of the other professional doors it has opened for me. Everything I am doing now is a direct result of this book and I am so glad I took the leap of faith.

So what am I writing now? So many of you have asked for and are anxiously awaiting a sequel... the next installment of the Big Sister's Guides series. Well, I am happy to say....I'm working on it! I actually have several topics in the works, I just cant seem to focus on one at a time. I am writing them all simultaneously and it is a snail-race to the finish line. I just go where my writing muse takes me, ya know!

To all of my loyal fans (most of whom are related to me) thank you so much for your continued support. Please continue to spread the word about Your Big Sister!

My Hybrid Mom Magazine Article

I am so excited right now!! I wrote an article last summer for Hybrid Mom Magazine. It was my first paid freelance piece and I was very proud. At the time, HM was just getting off the ground so they were not able to send me several copies of the magazine nor a presentable electronic clip. Luckily, I was able to hit up a local Gymboree where the magazine is sold and they gave me several copies that I proudly distributed to my family. Well, HM has certainly gained momentum over the last 9 months and they have a spectacular online presence these days. I was browsing along...joining forums and their online communities and I notice a little box that says "Search Hybrid Mom Articles". Not expecting anything...especially since my article ran so long ago...but still curious, I typed in the first word of my title "Queen". You can imagine my delight when I saw "Queen of Convenience by Christie G. Crowder" proudly displayed on the list of results. I immediately clicked on it and copied the url, printed a copy and made a PDF of the page! I am full! I am immortalized once again in cyberspace! Now everyone who did not get a chance to read my piece in a tangible glossy medium can do so by clicking RIGHT HERE! If you enjoy it, please leave a comment!!

Detours on Our Journey

Spring seems to be finally here… at least calendar-wise…though I think the weather may be a bit confused. Nevertheless it is the time of renewal…as in my last post about emerging from our cocoons into the authentic butterflies… but it is also a time of reflection or re-evaluation. As your new inspired life is taking shape, you may find yourself at a fork in the road of your path to authenticity. You ask yourself what now? What does life have in store for me?

You think you are heading in one direction and something comes up… a detour…and you wonder what it means for your journey… especially if it is a good detour…or maybe a detour that you may have thought about but never entertained or figured that now was the time to take that route. And now low and behold, you are practically forced in that direction! That may bring you to question the original path and it's validity to your journey.

Click the title to hear the full PodCast

Clock Out!

I am trying to teach myself a valuable lesson...learning to "clock out". As an entrepreneur, I am so conditioned to working 24/7, I have trouble shutting off. Hence, having my computer with me at the hospital when I was giving birth to Jackson. I have to sometimes remind myself that I changed professions (from Relocation Consultant to Author/Life Coach) so that I did not have to work so much. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. It is so hard that sometimes when there is no work...I actually invent it...I make up some important task that needs my immediate attention! I should be using that energy elsewhere, right? I am not embracing change! One night after the kids were in bed and my body was limp with exhaustion, I still crawled in bed with my laptop, notebooks, and client files. I actually found myself getting a little miffed at the fact that my inbox was empty and I had nothing to respond to. I really had nothing I needed to be doing at that moment except, well, SLEEP! I had to tell myself, hey girl, CLOCK OUT!

Click the title to read the full article on Divine Caroline

The Authentic Life Cycle

My 3yr old daughter Kennedy and her preschool class are doing a unit on birds and bugs and within that the life cycle of the butterfly...You know, how a caterpillar creates a cocoon and stays there until it emerges as a butterfly. It made me think about how we come into our own authenticity. It is pretty much like that insect life cycle.

At the beginning of your journey…actually before you make the decision to live authentically… you are mundanely going about your daily life like a caterpillar. However, inside you there is a longing for something better, something greater, so you begin to search. You gather information… you take classes, read books, hire a life coach (hint, hint)… just as the caterpillar begins to gather and stuff herself with food before she prepares her cocoon. You use what inspires your imagination, your desires and dreams, and the information you have gathered to build your own cocoon. Just as the caterpillar begins her metamorphosis inside the cocoon… so do you. Working in your journal, discovering things about yourself, trying new things…you are in your cocoon of inspiration thinking an growing authentically. Just as the caterpillar does when she is ready, you also emerge from your cocoon a beautiful authentic butterfly. You move about the world in color and light. People smile when the see you and want to be touched by your grace. I don’t want to by any means suggest that your life will be as carefree as a butterfly's life…for all we know they have hectic lives as well. But you have come out of the shell of your former life with a renewed sense of purpose, a renewed sense of self, and new way of looking at your world and everything in it.

So as you are inching along as a caterpillar preparing your authentic cocoon…think about the kind of "butterfly" you want to be. Stock your cocoon with items that support and inspire you to emerge as majestic as the monarch or as exotic as the blue morpho… okay, so I have watched too many episodes of Go Diego Go… but I think you get the picture!