Home And Family

Everything man-made we see and use nowadays has got a creator. This creator held an idea which turned into a concept. From that concept came the vision. Then the vision became reality, but with reality follows several questions such as ‘What will it look like?’, ‘is it needed or wanted?” or ‘how will it be applied by the end user?’ these all need responses. With every new product made, it can then be adjusted by somebody else who has another vision and so the cycle of production continues and grows.

A man named Cleven Goudeau A.K.A (also known as) “Goodie” bore such a vision, which was way back in 1963. Mr Cleven Goudeau’s vision has granted many including myself to participate in the journey he began so long ago. A journey of acknowledging that black art and culture exists and should be seen.

Goodie is rightfully the Pioneer and Innovator of Black Contemporary Greeting Cards. It had to start somewhere and it began with this man. Black greeting card businesses nowadays whether they are an internet site or a market store in your local town didn’t exist. Come to think of it when Goodie’s artistry talent was 1st printed in a newspaper in 1951, the internet, which we have come to depend on today didn’t yet exist since the World Wide Web was born in 1969. Nothing on these lines existed when Goodie took those bold 1st steps and developed his 1st black card in 1963. Other people didn’t even realise these steps needed to be taken. But that is the beautiful thing about ideas, it only takes one individual to envision something special and to follow up on it. Then that idea contributes great changes to society and then society adjusts to let in those great ideas. It’s taken numerous years for this man “Goodie” to be acknowledged and granted such a title of “Pioneer of Black Greeting Cards”.

He has opened many doors for ethnic greeting card designers like me, yet many black people still don’t know this courageous man exists and the achievements he reached. I truly believe without his vision in 1963, we would not see black cultured greeting cards today.

You have to also remember that when Goodie’s vision happened segregation was still about. A time when black people where looked down upon, not worthy of sharing the same schools with our white counter parts. With all this happening, what Goodie did was a heroic accomplishment up there with Rosa Parks, riding at the front of the bus accomplishment. Its people like Goodie that inspires me and makes me really love my black culture. A culture, that’s overpowered numerous obstacles and is still breaking down barriers today.

The turning point for Goodie was when his mother was sick and had to go to hospital. Wanting to give her an exceptional card he designed his own Get Well card. The doctors and nurses enjoyed it so much that this single black greeting card found its way around the entire hospital. With such an outstanding response his first line of “Goodie Cards” was born. Which I find ironic for that was the reason I began my line of greeting cards, but I designed my black card for mother’s day. His cards sold at local speciality stores in 1966. He attempted to get help with a business loan of $50,000 but was refused. Goodie was entering an industry with a brand new product which had no rules, no standard, and no nothing. An outstanding product for over 20 million black people to enjoy but the white establishments in the industry didn’t understand. The greeting card industry then was worth $800 million annually and had only four major participants. Yet these major participants weren’t creating black greeting cards. In 1968 Goodie became the co-founder and executive creative director of Onyx Enterprises Inc. This was the only greeting card company that created black greeting cards and white greeting cards side by side nationally. Sadly Goodie departed the greeting card business in1973 due to unsatisfying sales and complications with marketing.

His product had its own merits and required nothing more than equal acceptance by the companies already in the greeting card industry. For he was in a time when black people had to prove themselves. This great vision wasn’t embraced like it ought to have been all because they didn’t want to understand what black people needed and wanted. Thanks to the most high and his blessed gift his range of Goodie Cards allowed him to put three kids through college, however Hallmark and other greeting card companies will happily support the statement that ‘there was no market for black greeting cards’ and completely deny the black market. Yet their statement just doesn’t add up, why because black people have always existed and we have the same demands as any other culture. So if white people have a way to share happy celebrated moments by sending greeting cards, why would not their black counter parts want the same.

Nowadays Goodie works with students introducing them to the world of cartooning through classes at Micheal’s in Vallejo, while also teaching classes at the Vallejo Arts Foundation.

This great man ought be part of black history and be commemorated for what he’s done, for so many of us striving to succeed in the greeting card industry with our own range of black greeting cards. He’s accomplished a lot and collapsed so many barriers for us, yet this great man is so humble, he is truly blessed.

His words, is the only way to finish this epic story:
“I create things that can’t be denied”.

Happy Learning.

With all the traditional holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving, we sometimes overlook the lesser known holidays that have come along more recently. Well these days need to be observed just like the rest. But since you may not have heard of all of them let us clue you in.?Some of these holidays are really funny or just plain bizarre. Decide for yourself.

6. National Whiners Day

National Whiners Day is observed on December 26th each year. As you can imagine this is the day to whine about anything and everything in life or whatever. If you’re already a whiner this will come easy for you. For someone who’s not usually a whiner, find something that’s annoying you and whine incessantly about it. You may not be able to change it, but you can gripe and whine your heart out about it today. Go ahead and whine because no one can blame you for whining like a baby today.

5. International Panic Day

International Panic Day is always observed on June 18th and is a day for everyone to be worried and concerned. There is no one reason that is provided for the panic, just that this is the day to observe widespread and mass panic. There is also a Panic Day that is observed in March.

4. Blame Someone Else Day

You can celebrate this day on the first Friday the 13th of the year. This is the day of the year where you can take every mistake you’ve ever made and put the blame on someone else. Go ahead, blame the Democrats, the Republicans or anyone in between. Find someone to blame for everything you’ve ever done poorly or started and never finished. Be careful though because remember others can blame you for their shortcomings this day too. Once this day passes it’s all your fault again, so remember to use Blame Someone Else Day wisely!

3. Have a Bad Day Day

Have a Bad Day Day is always observed on November 19th each year. Have a Bad Day Day is observed by encouraging people to wish other people to have a bad day. Instead of saying have a good day all the time, this is the one day a year when it’s okay to instead say “Have a bad day!”. So, I hope you have a bad day!

2. Get a Different Name Day

Get a different name day is for people who do not like their name or the name that was given to them at brith. That’s okay, because you didn’t have a choice at birth, you had to go with whatever your parents gave you. If you like your name that’s great. But if you don’t like your name, then this day is definitely for you. Take advantage of the day and change your name. Get a Different Name Day is actually a copyrighted holiday. Even if you like your name you could still changed it up on this day just for fun. Get a Different Name Day is observed on February 13th every year.

1. National Inane Answering Message Day

Observed on January 30th every year, this holiday encourages you on this day to bring an end to all of the mindless and endlessly long answering machine messages that annoy and waste the time of callers. Or, you could leave a long, drawn out, insane message on your machine this day. The choice is up to you.

October 31st, All Hallows Eve, Halloween. How do you celebrate Halloween? Or the question could be – Do you celebrate Halloween? There are many families that do, and also many that do not. Me and mine, we celebrate this holiday to the max!

This holiday is one the most fun nights of the year. Only it doesn’t have to be just a one night stand. Start early and have fun with the idea. Every year around the beginning of October the neighborhood scenery begins little by little to change its appearance. You see that house that starts to appear just a little spookier. You know the one I am speaking of – the cobwebs in the windows, the ghoulish characters that spring up from the ground, and the ghostly figures floating in the trees.

October begins the holiday season- Halloween, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas leads to the New Year. The leaves are changing, time to put away the lawn mower, close up the pool and prepare for the winter. October is the time to bring out the ghosts, goblins, witches and scarecrows. October is Halloween time.

Is Halloween just for kids? I should say not! This holiday is celebrated by kids of all ages – from babies to the elderly. Even pets get into the spirit. There are parties all along the block and at the workplace; it is simply a fantasy time for everyone. Not invited to a party this year – then host one. Invite your friends, family, neighbors and enjoy the season.

Decorate your yard, your house and yourself. You can put pumpkins and hay in the yard for starters. Hang ghosts from the trees, or witches flying on brooms. Add eerie lighting, creepy music and you are on your way. Be creative, use a scary theme or a Disney theme, this holiday does not have to be limited to fright effects.

You don’t need a party to have an excuse to dress up. More and more individuals are wearing costumes to work just because. Because it is Halloween! Remember playing dress up when you were young and how exciting and fun it was? Reignite those feelings and wear a costume to the door to entertain the neighborhood children.

Trick Or Treat – Smell My Feet – Give Me Something Good To Eat
Brings back good memories doesn’t it? Except of course the stomach ache that resulted from attempting to eat 5 pounds of candy in one evening. There is nothing more satisfying than watching the kids come and go in various outfits, their smiles and giggles, some of them terribly shy while others more direct with their requests for treats.

Christmas ornaments can get expensive, so instead of buying some new ornaments this year, why not make some? There is nothing more special than having your family members get together and make some Christmas tree ornaments together. It can serve as fun activity for kids, as well as a sentimental tradition you can continue for years to come. It doesn’t have to be complex either — you will find that some of the most treasured ornaments are not always the most ornate. Here are a few ideas to make your own.

• Salt-dough Ornaments– make your own dough and color with food coloring, or wait until after they are completely dried and cool, and use paint or glue and glitter. Shapes can be created by hand or with cookie cutters. Before cooking make sure to make a hole with a straw to hang the ornament. When finished apply a quick coat of acrylic to make them last.
• Pine cone Ornaments — get some pine cones, roll in glue and and glitter. They make beautiful natural ornaments. You can glue a ribbon on the top to hang them with
• Cotton-Ball Snowmen– run a pipe cleaner through the center of three cotton balls, making a small coil at the bottom for a base and leaving most of the pipe cleaner at the top to curve and hook onto the tree, glue the cotton together and decorate with candy or googly eyes, or use construction paper to cut out hats and other accessories.

When you use your imagination, you can create many different ornaments at home for a very low cost. Your family will have fun, make your Christmas Tree more personal, and create the kind of sharing that can never be bought in a store.

The return address was from my Aunt Phyllis. She is 80 years old. She lives in Maine. For the past few years she has sent me Christmas ornaments that she has hand made. Thinking this was what it was, I was eager to open the package. We had not been in touch for many years before because of the separation of our family. Later, after foster care, my life was so messed up with abusive relationships. I really didn抰 know my aunt anymore; we lost touch with each other.

I brought the envelope in to the house, usually I let my dog Candy, bring in a piece of the mail but I was excited so I hurried inside. I carefully opened the envelope, using a small steak knife to cut the tape. I pulled out what looked like a piece of denim. I unfolded the material. Inside the material were several small gifts. One gift was a bell ornament that had my name on it. Another was a tea pot made of cardboard. It had a pocket in behind it. Inside the pocket was a tea bag, not an ordinary tea bag, it was a special breakfast tea bag梐n English Breakfast Tea. Along with the tea bag there was a note which said, she wished that we could sit and talk about all the news together but since we can抰 we can have a cup of tea together and dream.

A Christmas pot holder was another gift. On top of that was a poem. The small piece of paper started out as, Smiling Is Infectious, and went on about starting an epidemic to infect the world with a smile. I had tears in my eyes at this point. The next gift I saw was a red Christmas ball with a spider on it. I抦 sure you have heard of the Christmas spider. She sent me the story of the Christmas spider wrapped around the ornament.

The denim was an organizer with several pockets in it to put items. 揌ang me on the wall? it said in one of the pockets on a piece of paper. 揧ou抎 be surprised at all that I will hold? Every gift had a note or poem attached to it or in a slot or pocket.

The most precious gift that was wrapped inside the organizer was a small wrapped gift. It was wrapped in paper, lavender ribbons and white silk flowers. Rolled up梩ucked under the ribbon it said,

揟his is a very special gift that you can never see. The reason it抯 so special is it抯 just for you from me.

Whenever you are lonely or ever feeling blue, you only have to hold this gift and know I think of you.

You never can unwrap it. Please leave the ribbon tied. Just hold the box close to your heart. It抯 filled with love inside? My Aunt hand wrote that to me on a piece of paper.

She sent me a letter as well. I cherish her letters. They mean the world to me. She said in her letter how excited she was about the new book again. She told me of her son, my cousin, and of the grand and great grandchildren. She said there wasn抰 much to tell about there梚t was cold but only a few months and then spring.

My Aunt Phyllis, a very special lady. I wished that we could have stayed in touch all the years before. She is my inspiration now for writing my new book, a fiction fantasy. She supported me while writing my first book, 揕iving Nightmares of Abuse? Like she said, it was a story that needed to be told but now I can concentrate on writing what I really like to write.

Aunt Phyllis called me after reading the letter that I had sent to her with a synopsis of my new book. She said she was so excited about the book that she couldn抰 wait to write, she had to call me instead. She knew by reading the synopsis what the fantasy was based on梥he was right條ike I said, she抯 a smart lady. She read the synopsis to her great grandchild of ten. He wanted her to go out and buy the book for him the following day. Aunt Phyllis explained to him that the book was not finished yet. She told me that she has already sold several copies of my book. She has truly inspired me to finish my new book soon.

My Aunt Phyllis knows the true meaning of Christmas. It is the gift of love. There is no better gift to give. I will always cherish her gift, I dearly love her too.

One thing that is uncommon to see when Halloween rolls around is father and son costume “pairings” – to be more specific, a father and a son who dress in costumes from the same animated series – such as “Curious George”.

For the curious, let me draw you a picture:

The father dresses as The Man in the Yellow Hat and the son dresses as Curious George. Usually the child will be on the younger side – probably between the ages of four to six. The father must be young at heart (and very patient) to pull off this role! Fathers and sons can try this out at local neighborhood parties, pumpkin picking, mall events, or perhaps even a costume contest.

If you are a father looking for a novel, entertaining way to bond with your son this Halloween, perhaps you should consider dressing up as Curious George and the Man in the Yellow Hat. Imagining and acting out the roles should not be too difficult for the father considering how curious little boys can be. I should know – I used to be one!

That being said, when I heard of this idea, I thought it was absolutely adorable. If you or your son (or both) like the book (or the movie), you will love this costume pairing idea. I wonder what H.A. Rey and Margret Rey, the creators of “Curious George”, would think if they saw fathers and sons walking around in costumes based on their story? I would think, at the very least, that they would be flattered.

Family Reunion T-shirts over the years have become so run of the mill.牋They all爃ave the Family name and usually a picture of a tree representing all the members from the root patriarch and matriarch down to each new budding baby.?Sometimes there will be a list of names printed on the back.?Sometimes a proverb or slogan that would make Great Grandma proud.

That’s the basic formula for reunion T-shirts.?As many Reunion Planning committees experience a changing of the guard and a younger crew steps up to coordinate the activities & make decisions, one of the first places this change is showing up in the artwork for the t-shirts.?The message remains the same but with a different look and feel.

A trend among African American families planning reunions over the last two decades is the inclusion of African and Hip Hop cultural themes.?From Adinkra symbols and African Proverbs to loving images of the strong urban family rooted in a verse of scripture, artwork on family reunion t-shirts nowadays is really starting to become a marriage of tradition and a determined vision for the future.?/p>

Some of the most amazing work in Family Reunion T-shirt art is coming out of Washington DC. From the heart of Nigeria to the halls of one of the most prestigious Historically Black Colleges a synergy has occurred producing some of the most amazing designs to ever be worn at a family reunion.?If you need to decide on a design for your reunion don’t miss the forest.?Look beyond the family tree.

As I described in How to Survive Holiday Blues (part 1), the Christmas holidays can be stressful times. Family matters and conflicts in relationships are just one factor of making the holidays a depressing experience.

The bad news: every person has some of the blues feelings during the holidays to some extent.

The good news: it is possible to change some things and enjoy the holidays.

Just like in medicine, there are preventive measures, short term symptomatic measures and long term measures you can take to get the best results.

Preventive measures to holiday blues

1. Before the holidays, take care of your physical health more than any other time. Remember, a vacation is no fun if you are sick. Eat well, drink plenty of water and keep your sleeping routine
2. During the year, put money aside for the Christmas holidays. There is no point stressing out a month before Christmas that you do not have money for what you wanted. Saving money slowly is much easier than living on credit.
3. Set a budget for Christmas and tell your kids about this budget. Have a family meeting to discuss what you can do with the budget you have to enjoy your time. You will be surprised to discover that kids are very understanding once they know the circumstances. They will come up with creative ideas for celebrating without spending too much money.
4. Think of the holiday in June, not in November.
5. When there is not enough money, go for a cheap holiday. A camping holiday in nature costs less than a fast food dinner and the fun lasts a lot longer.
6. Agree with your partner about a fair system to celebrate the holidays with his/her family. We had an agreement that we celebrate the evening with my family and the day at Gal’s family and it worked well for both families. Other years, we just alternated – one year with my family and one year with his. Get the stress out of the whole event by making it a technical decision with no hard feelings.
7. Decide your Christmas companion long before the holidays. Ask friends about their plans and be confident to say, we would love to celebrate Christmas with you and stick to spending the holidays with people you like and happy to be with.
8. Work out the holiday schedule in such a way that every family member is involved and taken into consideration. Write down exactly what you are doing every day of the holiday. Even if you leave a day blank for everyone to do their own things, it helps everyone deal with family expectations.
9. To handle the overwhelmed, make lists and follow them. Start the lists 2-3 month before the holiday. Have a list of people you wish to send Christmas cards to with the addresses for the Christmas cards. Have a list of gift ideas and a list of gift requests. Have a list of food you would like to make for Christmas and a list of options for things to do and places to see. Remember: the opposite of forgetting is writing down!
10. Prioritize your lists. Not everything has the same importance, so write next to every item of your list how important it is and go over your list in order of importance. Over time, priorities change, so you may have to update the lists, but the more you plan upfront, the easier it is to be ready for Christmas on time.
11. Do not spend money you do not have. Using credit is renting money and costs an arm and a leg. Paying later is painful and is not worth it.

Short term symptomatic measures

1. Accept the fact that the holiday season is a stressful time and allow yourself to have feelings about it. Just remind yourself it will not stay forever and you have the power to make things better. Whenever you feel sad or overwhelmed, ask yourself, “What can I do right now to feel better?” The answer will come.
2. Do a random act of kindness for someone. It will lift your spirit.
3. Plan something special and different for this period. Changing our routine gives us a refreshing feeling. Decide that once a year, you are doing something special to yourself and see what happens.
4. Avoid alcohol. Yes, it is a holiday, but alcohol is a depressant, so why overload your system when it is overloaded already?
5. Go over your happy list and make sure to experience happiness every day of the holidays.
6. When things are tense for you, remember the others are tense too. Holidays are not a good time to fix relationships. It is just a short time and you do not have to say all that is your mind. Let go of hard feelings towards others. It will help you go through the holidays in peace and feel lighter. Leave the past where it belongs – in the past!
7. Drink plenty of water to allow you to feel full and energetic. Remember that alcohol, coffee and tea do not count as fluids. The formula is 1liter for every 22kg of body weight – if you stick to this for a week, your life will change already.
8. Look at food and remember this is not your last Christmas. There is plenty of food, so you do not have to eat it all. Use the same rules of eating as always. There is plenty of variety, but paying for it with 3 months of dieting again is not really worth it.
9. Be creative with your celebration ideas. Make love letters for each other, play the gratitude game, make each other’s favorite food and sing each other’s favorite songs.
10. Look for free activities that will bring a lot of joy and will not cost much. It will take the financial load off your shoulders.
11. Have realistic expectations of yourself and others during the holidays.

Long term measures for holiday blues.

The main idea here is to remember that holidays are magnifiers and that broken things cannot be fixed in one dinner or even 3 days of intense celebrations. If you are sick and tired of feeling the same every year, work on your relationships – with yourself and others – throughout the year.

Have you ever wanted to learn how to make your own Christmas tree skirt? Well, now you can! There are many attractive skirts sold in stores around the holidays, but sometimes, you may find that you just can’t find the one that would be best suited for your home. In these instances, you may elect to make your own! Keep in mind that the directions listed here are simply basic ones intended to act as a guide.

The skirt that you create will depend upon the size that you desire. You should purchase up to about six and a half yards of fabric, some lace for the trimming, and some thread. I will instruct you on how to make your own Christmas Tree Skirt with these materials.

The first thing that you will want to do is measure the amount of space that you want your Christmas tree skirt to cover. Now that you have your measurements, you will want to measure off the fabric in a circular shape. You should then carefully cut it to reflect this shape. Be sure that when you do, you cut a slit in it so that it can be wrapped around the tree appropriately.

Next, you will want to take out the sewing machine, and thread it with the color thread that matches the fabric that you are using. You will want to actually turn the fabric with the inside facing out and then sew it like this, leaving about a three to six inch slit open.

Now, you should visit your local department store and go to the craft section. You will want to look for small, soft mesh bags of potpourri that smell like pine, cinnamon, and other Christmas scents. You should purchase no more than two separate scents to place in the Christmas tree skirt. When you get home, simply slide in the scents and sort of mash them down so that the do not bulge out. You may even choose to empty them out.

Then, you will want to sew up a couple of inches, and leave a slot of about one inch. Be sure to turn it outside on the out prior to putting in the scent! Next, apply a small piece of Velcro and close it. You now have a Christmas tree skirt that not only reflects the design that you choose, but that also has a special scent. You should then outline it with lace, and you are done!

Halloween is all about spreading the spooky spirit and spending time with the family. Whether children, youngsters or elders; all of us love to decorate our homes for the Halloween with self made craft items. Especially, among kids it instills great sense of pride and achievement.

Like many other crafts, the activity of creating egg carton bats creates a lot of awareness among children. They learn about several valuable tools. They can use these tools i many other places as well, like their school. As they turn an ordinary egg carton in to an interesting decorative bat, they feel a sense of pride and gain confidence that they were able to create something great!

Egg carton bats are among the easiest Halloween decors that people of all ages would love to make. One can be as creative as they wish to be. Imagine showing a home full of bats or bats hanging through the trees in the yard. Well, here are 2 easy means to go about it.

1. Pick out an empty egg carton from the near by stores. They are quite readily available. Check that it must be a clean piece. Now cut out 3 of the cups and keep them attached together. Further, cut out the front of 2 outer cups. These become your bat’s wings.

You might also cutout the back parts of the 2 outer cups as well. Now, paint the bat black. Use white paint to show eyes. You can also opt to glue googly eyes. These are conveniently available in all craft stores. The center cup is the face.

To give your bat a sinister look, paint on the fangs. Further, poke a hole on the top of centre cup. Pass a string through this hole and knot it in the end to affix the string to the hole. Now, go ahead, make loads of these to hang every where and create a spooky home!

2. You can also choose to apply a rubber band string on the egg carton bats. This would be real fun as your bats would then bounce around. Try using a Styro-foam egg carton teamed with waterproof paint. Hang many of these bats on the trees surrounding your house. To add to the spooky flavor of your yard, use glow-in-the-dark googly eyes. You can also use glow-in-the-dark paint. As the name suggests, these would make your bats glow during the scary Halloween night!