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Ways to give back to your community
Thanks to Walgreens for sponsoring my writing. Help Walgreens help others! Visit their Facebook page here to learn about their charitable partners and decide which cause Walgreens will donate to with a quick vote. Many of us are pretty lucky. Yes we may have bills that never stop coming every month, and kids that may have us screaming “Calgon take me away”, but for the most part we are lucky enough to keep a roof over our heads and provide more than the basic necessities to our family. There are however many people in our same communities that are not as fortunate. Many people for whatever reason are living in poverty, lack…
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Thank You!
It’s been awhile since my last blog post geez!! *Warning* This post is kinda long so go grab a snack. So much has happened, and its a miracle I didn’t go screaming off into the night somewhere 🙂 Let’s see, since my last blog post I attended quite a few events and also competed at the Ms. Belleza Latina 2012 pageant where I came in as first runner-up! That experience is a blog post in itself… Today I wanted to thank my sponsors, friends and family that have supported me throughout this year. Going to events can be loads of fun, meeting celebrities and working (snap snap) the red carpet. I have…
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Glam Fest GIVEAWAY for Endometriosis Foundation of America
What is endometriosis? From the Endometrisis Foundation of America, when women have their monthly menstruation, the uterine lining or endometrium is shed monthly in response to normal hormonal changes. Generally lasting from 3 to 7 days, we in turn bleed or have our “period” as its more commonly referred to. www.health.com Sometimes, some of these fluids are kept in a woman’s body and implant in areas outside of the uterus. They continue to accumulate on our bladder, bowel, ovaries and even nearby organs leading to the development of adhesions and scarring. This causes symptoms such as painful periods, chronic pelvic pain, infertility, pain with intercourse and urinary pain or difficulty.…
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Part of the new “Rat Pack”
This past Friday I was featured by LATISM (Latinos In Social Media) by @juanofwords. It was for me first, quite an honor to be featured and then imagine my surprise when I was put with an amazing group together forming our own “Rat Pack“. What is a “rat pack”? Hopefully you have heard of legendary entertainers Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford. They were the original “rat pack” a group prominent in the entertainment industry who broke traditions, formed their own path and had a certain “aura” to them. Our LATISM “rat pack” can be considered a group with shared interests, we are up…
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Conoce las preguntas ??
Please welcome Dr. Ponce-González, Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality (AHRQ) Scientific Review Officer, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services who explains the new “Conoce las Preguntas” (Know the Questions) campaign. What are some of the reasons that AHRQ launched this campaign? We need Latinos to engage with their doctors. Research shows that Hispanics tend to seek medical treatment advice from friends, co-workers, and even casual acquaintances rather than going to the doctor, unless they are very sick. Also, a variety of fears prevent Latinos from going to the doctor and asking questions: fear of the exam, fear of the diagnosis and fear of the unknown. The proportion of…
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Save the Date for Tamika & Friend’s New York Chapter Annual Walk September 17, 2011
Cervical cancer – have you heard of this horrible disease? The more I talk with women and various groups they tell me they “have heard of it” but do not know the facts nor how common it actually is. It is a cancer of the cervix, the opening from our vagina to the uterus and caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). www.tamikaandfriends.org Some facts There are many strains of HPV, some cause genital warts, while others (mainly 2 strains) are responsible for up to 70% of all cervical cancers. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Approximately 20 million Americans are currently infected with HPV. Another 6 million…
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Don’t forget your sunscreen!
Memorial Day has now passed and most of us have cranked on the air condition in our homes and are finally enjoying being able to step outside your door without a couple feet of snow greeting you. Yes, mi gente, it’s finally summer! Along with your cute sundresses, d’Orsay pumps, and your favorite sunglasses, make sure you apply some sunscreen before you step out the door. Why? Well you don’t want skin that makes a tomato jealous, or even worse, that matches your favorite leather purse. All jokes aside, it only takes a few minutes a day to apply sunscreen to help avoid from developing skin cancer. Skin cancer is…
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Happy Mother’s Day – Feliz Día de las Madres
Yes that’s me! Happy Mother’s Day to my mom Juana, whom I affectionately call “Mamá Juana” (just like the rum concoction). I love her with all my heart! Yes we bump heads, and yes I’ve counted to ten in my head many times, saying “Dios ayudame” when she can’t understand where I am coming from. I’ve also dodged (and missed) a few chancletas here and there as she very quickly let me know that she will not tolerate any disrespect. It all makes me remember how much the world and our roles and expectations as women have changed between our generations. While she may not fully understand what I am…
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Motivation Monday!
Today I take time to stop and appreciate all that has happened not only since the past six months as Ms. New York Belleza Latina 2011, but also the past two years! My life is so different and I tell everyone I meet, that the “Universe” gives you a chance to do a U-turn with your life at any age. As I continue on my journey I have to thank my family, friends and sponsors that have helped me along the way. Just like some say it takes a “village to raise a child”, I believe along with an authentic personality, it takes a good network to become successful. It…
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Earth Day 2011
What exactly is Earth Day you may ask? Well it started over 39 years ago by Senator Gaylord Nelson(WI) and is now “the largest secular holiday in the world, celebrated by more than a half billion people every year”. Simply put, it is a day where we focus our attention on the environment, and see how we can collectively take steps to change public policy in order to protect Mother Earth. If you are like me, you are probably already disturbed by all the tornado’s, floods, tsunami, getting snow in spring, that is clearly indicating that something is not right. Most of us have hectic lifestyles, but that does not…
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4th Annual OMG! Cancer Summit for Young Adults
On Saturday I attended the OMG! Cancer Summit for Young Adults held at the Altman Building in New York. With me were other cancer advocates and survivors from across the United States, including the founder and CEO of the cervical cancer organization I work with Tamika & Friends, Tamika Felder, and Patti Murillo-Casa, President of the New York Chapter of Tamika & Friends. Matthew Zachary, CEO of “I’m Too Young For This!” kicked off the festivities with his hilarious speech highlighting the many changes that have happened since last year’s summit. Having attended many medical and professional conferences, the ease with which he spoke to the crowd as if we…
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What image do you see? A talk with Life Coach Susan Korwin
Please welcome guest blogger, Susan Korwin About 10 years ago, I decided to become a lifestyle consultant after being stopped consistently in stores, museums, etc. by women asking me where I bought my dress, my bag, and just about anything I would have on. While on line in the grocery, I would have women (and men) ask if they could look inside my cart to see what I ate because I was thin. After dishing out free advice, I had an idea to make this a service to others that I could get paid for. What I found was that while taking people shopping and being in the dressing room…
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High Volume Fashion Show for Icla da Silva Foundation
With Dr. Robert Rey in my SISA Design dress. Saturday, March 19th, I joined Dr. Robert Rey of E! Channel’s Show, Dr. 90210, Brazilian Top Model Camila Brant and Dr. Jason A. Worrall, D.C. at Casa do Brazil for the High Volume Fashion Show. The show was organized by Christina Madrona and Caio Castro. High Volume Fashion is a Latin Charity Trunk Show that welcomes new Latin designers to the New York Fashion Industry, while bringing awareness for children and adults in need of Bone Marrow transplants for the Icla da Silva Foundation, a nonprofit organization. The Icla da Silva foundation was established in 1992 in memory of 13 year-old…
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Eating disorders: what I learned from my day with NEDA
When people mention eating disorders, and then find out I hold a title as a beauty queen, I start to cringe internally, I know I’m going to get asked “that question”. I know with wearing this crown on my head, I also carry the burden of being associated with everything negative within the beauty industry. During my history of competing in pageants, have I seen women engage in destructive behaviors, YES. However, I do have to point out that I also saw similar behaviors while a college student and also just from various people I’ve encountered in my life.. Taking the information I knew, I boarded an Amtrak train and…
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National Women & Girls HIV/Awareness Day
Although March 10th is the day marked for National Women & Girls HIV/Awareness Day, I urge everyone reading this to make sure they take time out throughout the month of March to learn something new about HIV/AIDS, strategies to prevent infection and also for those affected, how to get the care they need to extend their life. At the very least, you should know what your HIV status is. As stated by the Office on Women’s Health, “women account for an estimated 27 percent of new HIV infections in the United States each year and 25 percent of those living with HIV. Many women do not know they are infected”.…
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Climb to the Top with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
On February 27, 2011 I got up out of the most comfortable down bed I have slept in over at W Downtown in NYC in wee hours of the morning. What time exactly? Well Sandra, Ms. Belleza Latina International 2011 and I were supposed to get up around 3 am but somehow we managed to ignore both of our cell phone alarms ringing, had last minute negotiations with each other on what exactly our call time was and finally leaped up at 4:30am in full panic mode. With a flurry of clothes flying, flat irons pressing and applying eyelashes in 1 minute flat, we made it to the event in…
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Women’s History Month – Mes de la Historia de la Mujer
March is Women’s History Month. The theme for 2011 is “Our History is Our Strength”. Let’s celebrate the many accomplishments made by women of all cultures that contributed to our history. There are so many women to highlight, so many different paths they took so that we can enjoy the life and the choices we have right now. Some were born leaders, others could not even imagine becoming one, but were simply fed-up with the situation around them and decided that particular day to make a stance, however uncomfortable they may have been doing so. It is because of them we have women doctors, entrepreneurs, pageant queens, and stay-at-home moms. …
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Happy Valentine’s Day, Feliz Dia del Amor y la Amistad
Happy Valentine’s Day! For some Latin American countries, it is also known as Feliz dia del amor y amistad (day of love and friendship). Then there is my personal favorite guaranteed to make you laugh, “Single’s Awareness Day” (S.A.D). I love seeing all the Facebook and twitter statuses and hearing everyone’s different opinions about Valentine’s Day regardless of whether they are in a relationship or not. From the straight to the point “cupid rhymes with stupid”, to the people professing their undying love online it’s all good. Some people believe its just an excuse for the greeting card companies to make some money, or that gifts of roses and chocolates…
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Chatting with the Chicas about Cervical Cancer
This past Thursday, Patti Murillo-Casa and I were fortunate enough to be able to chat with one of the hosts of blog talk radio show chicas chatting, Jennifer Hutcheson about cervical cancer. As one of the more preventable forms of cancer, Latina women are still disproportionately affected, at almost twice the rate of any other ethnic group. This is almost always die to lack of awareness and not going for routine checkups with their gynecologist. Early detection is key to increasing your rate of survival, and vaccines are available that help protect against 75% of the different types of HPV (human papillomavirus) that cause cervical cancer. As always, please be…
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Feliz Día de los Tres Reyes Magos – Happy Three Kings Day
On Thursday, January 6, 2011, El Museo del Barrio held its 34th annual Three Kings Day Parade winding through the streets of Spanish Harlem. For Latin-American countries, and also Christians throughout the world, the Epiphany or Three Kings Day, is traditionally known as the day when Balthazar, Caspar and Melchior followed a star in the sky which led them to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem, bringing gifts of incense(myrrh), frankincense and gold. At the private breakfast before the parade, I was in awe of the many Public Elected Officials in attendance along with the many honored guests of the parade. Every year, three honorary “kings” are chosen to lead the parade. This year they were,…
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Catching up with Christine Baze from the Yellow Umbrella Organization
January is Cervical Cancer awareness month and what better way to kick it off than an interview with Christine Baze, founder of the Yellow Umbrella organization. At the age of 31, you were diagnosed with Cervical Cancer, underwent a hysterectomy, radiation and chemotherapy, all within four months. What do you remember most about that time? After 13 normal pap smears, the thing I remember the most during that time was being overwhelmed with feelings of terror, disbelief, anger, sadness and pure fear – yet having to get up every day and deal with those feelings and do what was needed to be done to kick cancer’s butt. Which,…
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Happy New Year! Feliz Año Nuevo!
Happy New Year! The following questions are from Tony Robbins, “Date with Destiny” seminar as listed by Mastin Kipp. Besides the usual well wishes for a Happy New Year, I wanted to post this so you can join me in examining our current actions, so we can all stop negative beliefs and cycles and make 2011 truly different. The “universe” is endless and success, in whatever form you may define it, is available for us all. Harmful competition, greed and envy are all works of our ego, and not part of our true selves. So again, ask yourself: 1. What are you MOST happy with about 2010? What good things…
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Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!
Just a quick post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! I am so grateful to be able to spend time with my family! We like to open our gifts on Christmas eve. Then we work off the pernil, arroz con gandules and pasteles my mother makes by dancing up a storm. We get a kick out of seeing the little nieces and nephews dancing, showing each other their best JLo and Marc Anthony impersonations and of course, their ability to know every step to any line dance that is currently popular. “Jump on it” and “Cha Cha Slide” made the list this year. Always makes for great memories. Remember to…
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The end of a DREAM?
This past Saturday, the DREAM Act (the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act), fell five votes (55-41) short in the Senate. This proposed bill, which has been in the works for about ten years now, was blocked by the archaic yawn fest otherwise known as the filibuster. No seriously, our elected representatives failed to push forward a bill that some considered a moderate attempt to fix an otherwise flawed immigration process. You have to keep in mind that we are talking about an age group where many have been raised here for the majority of their lives and consider the US to be their homeland. Now a bit…
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Girls on the Run – New Balance 5K
This past Saturday morning I volunteered for the Girls on the Run 5K held at Asphalt Green in New York City. Girls from the ages of 8 to 13 participate in this program and train for twelve weeks to run a 5K (3.1 miles). What makes this program unique is that in addition to training for the race, each session is combined with a “topic of the day” where they actively participate in discussions which can range from body image issues and bullying, to what having a positive attitude means. The lesson plan that this curriculum follows highlights three main principles of individual values, team building and community, and has…
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Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving! A time to recognize and appreciate our simplest pleasures, family and friends. There are too many things that I am grateful for to list, that in itself is a blessing. Normally we have hundreds (not kidding) of people that come by my parents home throughout the day. My mother lives for days like this! She breaks out what we call the “party caldero”, or the “party pot”, this huge pot that takes over all 4 burners on the stove and makes arroz con gandules. This year, for one reason or another we are having a quiet Thanksgiving. Not that I am complaining at all! It is 11:18am,…
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New beginnings!
What a wonderfully crazy year this has been for me so far, professionally and personally. I’m so thankful that I have the support of a loving family, and friends to keep me centered. My “new beginning” meant lots of new experiences, mixed with many old feelings and memories, trying to hold me back. Sometimes I think we try and resist change because we’re afraid. It’s only when we let go of old beliefs, habits, and people that were holding us back, that new doors and the life that was meant for us, arrives. ” Today I will tell those that hurt me thanks. Without them, I might have never known…