New Year's Eve on a Budget

Working Divas...it's time to put on your hottest heels and kick up for the New Year. Going out may not be an option, but you can have a great gathering for less. Check out these great ideas from wisebread.com. Now start calling your friends and celebrate 2009!

Keep The Food Simple
It's tough to have a New Year's Eve bash without food and drinks! Keeping your party expenses on a budget is possible if you remember to keep it simple. You don't have to serve a three course meal to entertain party guests – go for finger foods and appetizers! They're easier to serve, easier to eat while standing around chatting with friends, and far less expensive than trying to feed a big crowd a full meal. If you start your party later in the evening, most guests will have dinner before they arrive, anyway!
Ask everyone on the guest list to bring along their favorite snack or dessert to share. This is becoming extremely commonplace and surely your friends and family will be more than happy to contribute to the party.
Stock The Bar
Most home party goers would not expect you to have a full bar. One way to keep your beverage costs down is to decide on one or two signature drinks, such as Martini's or Daiquiri's, and then provide beer and some non-alcoholic options. Alternatively, you could ask guests to bring their own beverages, or make a fruity punch to share. Make sure everyone drinks responsilbity! If a friend has had too much to drink, select someone at your gathering to drive them home.
How do you know how much you need without overbuying (or running out half-way through the party?) You can expect guests to have two drinks each the first hour and then about one drink every hour they hang out at your party.
A Bottle of Wine: 5 servings
A Bottle of Champagne: 6 servings
One Liter Alcohol: 22 mixed drinks
Create Ambiance
You don't have to hang balloons and paper streamers all over the house to prove you're having a party. Dim the lights, light candles, and consider hanging red Christmas lights around your home to create a party ambiance. Complete the look with a red table cloth and red carnations in a pretty bowl or vase and the mood will be set for an evening of entertainment!

ENJOY!

Downsized...Now What? 6

Here are some helpful tips if you or someone you know has lost their job. It's time to get you and your finances in order. Plan your work and work your plan, Working Diva. No matter what your situation, there are great things in your future. Love ya!


What to do over the next few weeks (source)
• Prioritize your bills. Mortgage and utilities should be paid first.

• Manage your debt. If money is tight, you may need to make just the minimum monthly payments on your credit cards until you get back to work. If that's a problem, try to negotiate a payment plan with your creditors. They may be willing to reduce your minimum payments or waive interest until you're back to work.

• Review your insurance policies. Contact the insurer if you're having trouble paying premiums. Some companies will give you a 30-day grace period.

• Avoid canceling your life insurance. If you let your policy lapse, resuming coverage later could cost more. You'll probably have to undergo a medical exam, and you could be denied coverage if the physical reveals health problems.

• Avoid taking money out of your 401(k) or individual retirement accounts. You'll have to pay taxes on money taken out, plus a 10% early-withdrawal penalty if you're younger than 591/2.
Selling stocks or funds in a non-retirement investment portfolio won't trigger those penalties, but it involves other issues. Most stocks and funds have lost money this year, so you'll probably end up selling at a loss. If you really need the money and have exhausted other options, sell judiciously, Stives suggests.

• Give yourself a break. Many workers blame themselves for layoffs, even though the job cuts had nothing do with their performance. Kristen Payne, 36, says she was "beyond depressed" several years ago when her employer, a Houston-based Internet start-up company, let her go because it wasn't making enough money. "I equated it to being fired." she says. "It was just terrible."

Her story has a happy ending. After being out of work for 3 months, she found an even better job with a printing company. She's more careful with her money now: She usually pays off her credit cards and saves up for big purchases. Her advice to the newly unemployed? "You have to look forward," she says. "You can't beat yourself up. It's just business."

Melanie Brown wants to get you Totally Fit

Well, if your Wii Fit is on back order and you want a sisterfriend as a workout buddy...we have just the thing. Melanie B wants to help you get that bikini body with her new fitness video, Totally Fit. Sister-girl looked great on Dancing with the Stars just months after giving birth. If you ever said to yourself, I want to look like that! Spice up your workout and tone up now! It's a 28-day aerobic and resistance training workout. The two-disc box set is available NOW exclusively at http://www.totallyfit.com/. The site is a fitness lifestyle haven. Get nutrition tips and more. Totally Fit with Mel B is available in stores nationwide February 3rd. Check out the video now.

Downsized...Now What? 5

For the first time in a long time it's Sunday evening and I'm not thinking about what Monday's workday will bring. I just finished a game of Wii Tennis and watching Run's House. This is great, no worries about tomorrow's workday.

You see, it use to hit me around 4pm every Sunday, I would call it the "weekend wrap up blues". Why do we put ourselves through such stress anyway? For me knowing that I didn't have another day to sleep in, spend time with family, or hang out with my sister friends would get to me. One of the issues is we spend so much time at work and letting work, work us; we don't take enough time to fully immerse into the joys we should be having with family, friends and ourselves. Personal time should be sacred. The balance of life and work is ideal to your sanity. Don't spend another weekend rushing to get chores and errands done or checking work emails. Give your self the gift of love and celebration every weekend. Then maybe when the sun sets on Sunday afternoon we won't have another episode of the "weekend wrap up blues".

Take time now to map out your week and don't let anything or anyone overwhelm you. And remember to include a little bit of weekend into your workweek schedule. Once I get back to work, I'll be joining you.

Wonderful Story about Eartha Kitt

We may remember Eartha Kitt as Lady Eloise in Boomerang or the Cat Women on the TV series Batman; yet when you take a moment to unveil her tremendous body of work you begin to see the energy and drive of this incredible Working Diva. Eartha Kitt is the picture of self-determination. With a burning desire to succeed she overcame issues of identity and poverty to gracefully ignite the great entertainer within. She had a range of talent that was monumental. I have found a wonderful story about Eartha...read on and Enjoy! Be inspired and learn that all things are done for your better good. Life must be joyous!

The Purrrfect Diva By Wil Haygood

Eartha Kitt Had a Taste For the Best Things in Life (source)

In her fantastical life, Eartha Kitt came to like a great many things. Men, sex, bawdy songs. I personally know about the lemon sorbet, the mango sorbet and the strawberry sorbet.
I found myself dining with Kitt -- who died of cancer at the age of 81 yesterday -- at the swanky Cafe Carlyle in Manhattan several years ago. I was working on a book about Sammy Davis Jr., once a romantic interest of Kitt's. Kitt's office suggested the Carlyle. Being on book leave, without a steady income and counting pennies, I gulped: The Carlyle wasn't the place for a penny-pincher. But I needed the interview, so I dared not back out of the chance to talk with her. Kitt had known Davis when both were very young and both were hanging out at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. (read complete story)

Legendary Entertainer Eartha Kitts dies at 81

Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died, a family spokesman said. She was 81.

Andrew Freedman said Kitt, who was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, died Thursday in Connecticut of colon cancer.

Kitt, a self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination. She also was nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys.

Her career spanned six decades, from her start as a dancer with the famed Katherine Dunham troupe to cabarets and acting and singing on stage, in movies and on television. She persevered through an unhappy childhood as a mixed-race daughter of the South and made headlines in the 1960s for denouncing the Vietnam War during a visit to the White House.
Through the years, Kitt remained a picture of vitality and attracted fans less than half her age even as she neared 80.

When her book "Rejuvenate," a guide to staying physically fit, was published in 2001, Kitt was featured on the cover in a long, curve-hugging black dress with a figure that some 20-year-old women would envy. Kitt also wrote three autobiographies.

Once dubbed the "most exciting woman in the world" by Orson Welles, she spent much of her life single, though brief romances with the rich and famous peppered her younger years.

In 1960, she married Bill McDonald but divorced him after the birth of their daughter, Kitt.While on stage, she was daringly sexy and always flirtatious. Offstage, however, Kitt described herself as shy and almost reclusive, remnants of feeling unwanted and unloved as a child. She referred to herself as "that little urchin cotton-picker from the South, Eartha Mae."

For years, Kitt was unsure of her birthplace or birth date. In 1997, a group of students at historically black Benedict College in Columbia, S.C., located her birth certificate, which verified her birth date as Jan. 17, 1927. Kitt had previously celebrated on Jan. 26.

The research into her background also showed Kitt was the daughter of a white man, a poor cotton farmer.

"I'm an orphan. But the public has adopted me and that has been my only family," she told the Post online. "The biggest family in the world is my fans." source

Downsized...Now What? 3

It's been almost two weeks since I was fazed out of my job. Currently I'm regrouping...personally and professionally. It may be another week or another month before I get the job I really want. The one thing I have learned is never jump at the first thing. Time...is on my side.

First and foremost I'm going to have a wonderful Christmas. The holidays have always symbolized a time of joy, giving and love for me...this year isn't going to change that... during hard times I am still thankful.

Spending time with my family is my top priority. I haven't had the luxury of spend two weeks with my family during the holidays since I started my radio career. It's always been about work. I've done all I can right now on the professional front. So as I relax in my son's room admiring all of his little belongs...I am reminded that I am truly blessed!

Downsized...Now What? 2

So, when you walk out the doors of your former job...what do you do? For me it's calling on my brain trust. I drove up the street, pulled over and pulled out the cell phone. They are the six people I reach out to for professional guidance, friendship, support, love and coaching. Everyone needs a brain trust. Do you have a handful of individuals in your field and in your personal life you can count? People that are for you through everything...the good and the bad. People that give it to you straight with no chaser. Please develop relationships with people that can assist you in your career and in life. I treasure my relationship with each of them. They are my rock in this crazy industry.

The first person of my brain trust is my husband. How was I going to let him know we had been hit not once but twice by the economy. Just a week prior he was laid off from his job after 7 years and four months. When he came home after being laid off he was totally upbeat. He came in, put the blue envelop on the chair and said, "I've been laid off...I'm fine...and I'm headed to the patio to have a cigar. I needed a break. It's time to celebrate". WHAT?! I was waiting for the blow that never happened. Now with my fate ...how would he take it the second time. "Really"...the only word that came out of his mouth. After a few seconds, which seemed like an entire commercial break he said, "Just come home and we will talk about it. Everything will be fine. It may be time to go". Cool! He took the news well. But I'm sure my mother who was sitting next to him wasn't so cool. Naw, I can't go home yet. I need more time to digest the situation so I can go home and deal with a mother's love and concern.

I sat in my car dialing away and every call went to voicemail. You gotta be kidding me. Not now! I have some serious stuff to talk about and I can't get through to anyone. Was it my phone? "Dang, T-Mobile work with me". Now I start talking to my phone. OK, I'm really about to lose it. With the next few calls I started getting through to everyone. As I broke them the news, I kept hearing the same thing. "Really"? "Not You". Here's the kicker...they all said something like... you will have a new job in know time, just be positive. Start thinking and attracting the job you want. Go back to grad school. Get ready. Everything will work out. I was already in a good place about things this just make the situation feel a whole lot better.

Then one shared this with me, the best advise of the day. I would like to share with you. When you are moved out of a situation take time to be still. Be quiet. The good Lord has something to tell you. If you keep moving and worrying about what you are going to do next you won't hear what he has to say. "Karen, be still". Don't think about radio for the next three weeks. Do nothing.

Have you been moving so fast on your job or worrying about the job you lost; that you haven't taken the time to sit still? Image being still like a flower growing quietly in a garden. I know it's the hardest thing to do. It was hard for me too. Just sit quietly and let positive thoughts come into your mind. Don't worry about the bills, don't stress about the kids, don't think about updating your resume. Just be quiet.

As I wrapped up my last conversation...we are going on two an a half hours later. I was ready to be quiet and still. Well, until I hit the door at home with my mother waiting for me like I missed curfew. No more talking about the former job, no more career strategy sessions, no more texting everyone back telling them it was true. It was time to do nothing. During my drive home I turned on XM and listened to some straight up jazz. With the movement of the rhythm I got lost in the music. OK, so I'm not totally doing nothing. I told you it was hard. But I did zone out enough to hear my inner voice say, "You are loved, get ready for the next chapter. It's coming sooner than you think".

Downsized...Now What?

Like so many Americans, I have been affected by the current state of our economy. If you or someone you know is facing this up hill battle like my family...know that this is not the end. There are more possibilities ahead of you than you know. Just think positivity and surround yourself with like-minded people.

I'm sharing my story with you because I want you to know, you are not alone. All things are done for your better good. God doesn't want you to worry or stress. Just start preparing yourself for your next career move. Use this blog forum as a resource for positive change. Even if you have to vent a little. I know I will.:-) I look forward to your comments. So, let me share with you my story.

"Therefore...you will be left without a job". These are the words I heard after it was explained to me my position was being fazed out.

When I was called into the office I knew what was going to happen, but isn't REAL until you actually hear the words. So, I'm sitting there with the GM, PD and HR directors. Taking this all in slowly; like my grande-one equal-soy-chai latte I had earlier that morning. Wow, this was really going down and I was pseudo cool with it. This happens in broadcasting. You go on the air. You do the best air-shift ever. Afterwards they call you in the office and tell you it's been nice. No good-bye to listeners or co-workers. For me it has never happened like this; so blunt, so instant, so...final. But I was prepared. Amazingly, it felt like a choir was standing behind me saying, "Ahhhh!" Was this my Ahhhh Moment? I thought Oprah only had those.

As we wrap up the conversation, I said something like, "it's been great and we all will do great things in radio...blah, blah, blah". Then, in my mind of course, Jill Scott starts singing..."Heaay" "ooahh". I look up and say to myself, You're Damn right...keep singing Jill. "Livin' my life like it's golden, livin' my life like it's golden, golden".

I leave the GM's office and go up stairs to my office (old office) to collect my bag and headphones (of course). Then I roll out escorted by the HR Director. I'll come back for everything else. Too much to deal with right now. And my girl, Jilly from Philly, is still singing her heart out keeping my mind on the right track. "Livin' my life like it's golden, golden, golden, golden." I feel like getting another latte, but I gotta watch my pennies now.

This situation is not going to keep me from living my life and building my career. I have worked too hard. A quick memory came to mind when my first PD Dave Allen asked me for the first time, if I was available to produce the Saturday Night Live Broadcast. I felt like I had just won the lottery. "I'm In"!, "It's On"! I feel the same way now. I was just let go from the station and all I can think about are positive things that are going to happen as a result of me leaving my job of 7 and a half years. This is not the end of a job, but the rebirth of a career.

Segment 2- The positive aftermath with my Brain trust

Karen Vaughn Exits HOT 105 Miami

Dear Friends, Colleagues & Loyal Listeners,

I wanted to take this opportunity to make you aware that due to consolidation - resulting from the current economic climate - Karen Vaughn is no longer employed with HOT 105 as its midday personality.

For over seven years, Karen was our very own "Working Diva..Working Radio." She was an uplifting voice for women of all races. She was the sista girlfriend that we tuned in to each day for inspiration, encouragement and laughter. A mother, wife, on-air talent and radio executive - Karen did it all and is a modern day "superwoman." Her unfortunate and untimely departure from HOT 105 will leave a tremendous void in this market. Karen was and is a true champion of women, children and families and her presence on South Florida radio and in our community will be greatly missed. I know that you join me in wishing Karen and her family continued good health, prosperity and success.

If you would like to share your personal well wishes and thoughts with Karen, you may contact her at KVaughn22@yahoo.com or at http://www.karenvaughn.com/ . She has shown South Florida "love" for so long and now it is time for us to do the same. I know that Karen will appreciate the heartfelt support. Please know that her future is bright and her attitude remains extremely positive and her actions forward moving.

Sabrina Russ

President/CEO

The Russ AgencyEntertainment Publicity & Marketing Solutions

Ph:(954) 730-3116

Fax: (530) 732-3116

New Music: Heavy D is back with Long Distance Girlfriend

Heavy D has always been one of my favorites. Back in the day when one of his songs came on in the club, you had no choice but to hit the dance floor. I sweated out many a perm cabbage patch'in to "Mr. Big Stuff". And now I'm ready to hit the dance floor again to his new song, "Long Distance Girlfriend". Check out the video featuring actress Nia Long as his love interest. LOVE IT!

Five Minute Fix December 4, 2008

Gabrille Union hits the small screen for NBC
Gabrielle Union and X-Files writer/producer Frank Spotnitz are reteaming to develop a new series for NBC. The duo, which worked together on ABC's short-lived Night Stalker during the 2005-2006 TV season, is developing a procedural for the Peacock, according to Variety. Spontitz will write the show and Union, best known for her role in Bring It On, will star as a detective who must race to save someone's life before it's too late. The project is a collaboration by Union and Spotnitz and will be produced by Universal Media Studios. (source) You can see Gabbie on the big screen in Cadillac Records also starring Beyonce when it hits theathers December 5th. Above, Gabrielle with her mom that the New York Premiere. That LV bag is to die for.

Hot Chocolate Couple
Eva Pigford and Lance Gross look adorable as they attend the LA movie preimere of Nothing Like the Holidays.

Jealousy lead to Hudson family Murders

What a shame. Jennifer Hudson's estranged brother in law, William Balfour, killed her mother, brother and nephew because he was angry that Jennifer's sister Julia was dating another man. (read more)

Five Minute Fix December 3, 2008

Obama Double Dose
President-Elect Barack and the future first-lady Michelle Obama grace Special Edition covers of Essence Magazine on newstands December 12th. There is a 56 page tribute to their outstanding campaign featuring photos and words of inspiration and praise from some of today's popular writers and photographers. The Tribute is a timeline recording Barack's childhood to the present. The Obama daughters, Malia and Sasah are also featured as they become the youngest residents of the White House since Amy Carter.

Ciara catwalks for Victoria Secrets
Singer Ciara has signed on with Victoria Secrets. Look for her ad campaign in early 2009. Here's what her rep Lisa Cambridge had to say, “It’s a perfect fit. It plays with her personality and her coming of age. It’s tasteful, sexy and beautiful, just like her.”


Vanessa Williams and Son team up with Allstate
Allstate Insurance launched their national Home For the Holidays teen safe driving campaign in New York yesterday with Vanessa Williams to kick it off with her son, Devin. Vanessa and her son Devin both signed an Allstate Parent-Teen Driving Contract. As Devin gets ready to receive his learner's permit. It's going to be a minute before you get those keys, my friend. You can put your own contract together will your child at http://www.allstateteendriver.com/.


Soul Diva on a Chocolate High
India.Irie is giving gift of Chocolate to her fans this holiday season. She debuted the lead single, Chocolate High on her personal myspace page on Thanksgiving. Her new CD, Testimony: Love & Politics will be in stores February 10th. You know I will post a review of the CD when I get my advanced copy.