Designing and Living Your Fullest Life with Execumama and Naturi Beauty

EDITOR'S NOTE:
CONGRATULATIONS, KRYSTAL GRANT—you're the winner of the ticket to Execumama's "With Mom in Mind" event. Akilah will reach out to you with details on how to retrieve your ticket.



I’d already written two stories, put the finishing touches on a book proposal, had a phone conference and several lively email exchanges with a handful of aspiring writers, sat through an intense book deal negotiation, pulled homework duty, served up dinner and took notes at a two-hour meeting with a board for whom I serve as the secretary, but that didn’t stop me from sitting down to my MacBook at midnight, convinced I could push out a deep post on the exploitation of black girls in advertising.

Um, yeah. I got out all of one sentence, and then my fingers, my eyes, my brain—all three gave up. I was dog tired and just didn’t have it in me to be deep. But I definitely had it in me to feel guilty about it. You know, the way we women—and especially us moms—do.

My sisterfriend Akilah of the fabulous EXECUMAMA, put a stop to the madness.

"You have 6 bazillion pots on the stove, and for damn sure, you have earned the right to stop trying to cook every single pot of stew perfectly right. Let it go, and leave the guilt at the bottom of a glass of wine where it belongs. No one will die or get hurt if you don't do that particular post tonight. Two days from now, will you even remember this concern? Probably not, because another pot will be bubbling over and you'll be Denene-Millnering it with finesse! Let. It. Go."

See? That’s why I love me some Akilah. My girl, author of Execumama: A Pocket Guide For the Twenty-something Mommy on the Move, is expert at helping moms like me find balance—to understand that it is possible to have it all, be happy, and let go. Akilah writes for the young mommy set, but this older mommy can most certainly still identify with her call for women to "define, design, and live your fullest version of womanhood."

Now, my girl is taking her concept off the pages and bringing it to life in her new women-focused workshop, With Mom in Mind™—an afternoon designed to help new and veteran moms and moms-to-be infuse healthier eating, less stress, and more focus to our everyday lives. It's not about piling on—this workshop is about learning how to let go and enjoy our lives in all their manifestations.

Akilah's built quite a team to help her help us moms; she's bringing with her the talented culinary artist (and MyBrownBaby "Taste" contributor!) Shelley Chapman of Naturi Beauty Concepts; Christine Martinello, educator, speaker and author of the bestselling book, The Momager Guide: Empowering Moms to Leave A Loving Legacy, and; certified Yoga instructor Tiffany Campbell, each of whom will share quick, easy, healthy recipes, time-management tips, and an interactive yoga session respectively with attendees.

Akilah promises great conversation, giveaways, and, most importantly, useful resources for moms looking to live their authentic life.

Want to join in on the fun? The inaugural event of With Mom in Mind™ will be held April 24, 2010 from 12:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. at the Studioplex on historic Auburn Avenue, here in Atlanta, GA. TIckets are $40; for more information, click HERE.

For my Atlanta connects: Want a chance to win a ticket of your own to this spectacular event? Leave a comment telling me how you "let go" when mommy stress threatens to overrun you, and you could win a ticket to With Mom in Mind™. A winner will be randomly chosen; the prize value is $40, and does not include transportation to the event, though if you live outside of GA and have an ATL-area friend who could use an afternoon of mom power, you, too, can qualify to win. The contest ends at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 9, 2010; the winner will be announced Monday, April 12, 2010.

Good luck—and congrats, Akilah, on what is sure to be a fabulous event!