CJ Sparkle
As a single mother of two beautiful girls, I am not your average, run of the mill story....I had my first child at 17, and 10 years later I am working on my Masters Degree, working full time, in a rock band, and providing my children with a full life, living and surviving by the seat of my pants-which I swear cannot wear any thinner....But we do it, day in and day out. My children motivate me and in turn I am proof that one life altering decision doesn t have to end a life full of potential. I believe less is more, and I have helped people see that to be true.
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- Page Views
- 1,744
- Content
- 47
- Fans
- 7
- Contributor since
- 1/23/2011
Education/Experience
Near completion of ME, BS in Business MGMT and HR, and a BA in Sociology/Anthropology with a minor in philosophy.Interests
I believe in being comfortable in your own skin, while dressing to impress. I was fortunate to volunteer with homless and womens shelters during my educational ventures, which taught me the importance of a first impression, how to maximize your clothes, yMotto
Take only what you need, give what ever you have left.Favorites
Fans
Displaying Results 1 - 47 (of 47) for All Content
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First Person: I Am Shopaholic for My Children's Future and I Am Broke Because of ItSo, let me tell you about my disease. It is called Affluenza. I want so bad to be wealthy, to appear mysteriously made of money, yet minimalistic in all other forms.
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First Person Experience: My First and Favorite Car!The best vehicle I have ever owned was my first car. A lot of learning, financial maturity, and love went in to that car.
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Let’s Talk Attachment: Are You Still on the Nipple?http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/jamie-lynne-grumet-defends-her-time-magazine-breastfeeding-180300346.html A commentary based upon the Time Magazine breastfeeding cover.
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The Workout Plan: A Single Working Mother on a Mission for Health and WellnessLet me introduce you to my lifestyle. My workout includes daily exercise choices incorporated in what I already do, and then some fun and relaxation techniques on the side. As long as I am healthy, I live fully.
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The Family Budget: A First Person Glimpse of a Single Parent Household Budget During a RecessionAt the close of 2009, I became a divorced single mother of two girls, and I was inches from losing our home. Something had to change quickly. A new life and a new budget, here we come.
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Depression from the Eyes of a MotherThe following story I am about to tell you is real. It is also not uncommon. Depression is a state of sadness and hard to break the cycle of, but can be done. This is my story.
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Eating Club Med…. Mediterranean that IsI have never been a person to restrict what I eat; I eat whatever I want whenever I crave it but on the flip side of this I don’t like the taste nor textures of a lot of foods, many of them are common practice foods in America.
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Unwavering Mother, Unparalleling WorldsA poem for mother's.
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First Person: I'm Living for the Future in My Dying TownRacine, Wisconsin is situated on the banks of Lake Michigan housed between Milwaukee and Chicago and is the fifth largest city in Wisconsin. Unemployment here is at 14.1%.
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A Lovely Wedding on the CheapHow we spent less than 1000.00 on our wedding in 2003.
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Marriage, Divorce, Kids, and Kurt CobainCalling it quits before the result is an "emotional holocaust" for the child.
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Wisconsin GOP: Romney or Santorum, and the Walker DivideI have been a Wisconsin registered voter for 10 years. In that ten years a lot has changed in my mind and for me personally that has taken me from Democratic utopia thoughts to Republican freedom and wealth.
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A Sample of Influential Children's AuthorsMy favorite and my children’s favorite author is Kevin Henkes, but those books that have influenced both my parenting and my children’s imagination that cannot go without mention, have come from the authors Maurice Sendak and Leslea Newman.
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The Non-Conventional Religious ConversionI explored through food, art, and reading the vast worlds of religions, and lifestyles, and cultures. But it was due to a course in philosophy of religion that I really felt the most comfortable with the fact I did not have to have one.
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Wine All You Want To, Wine Around the World-Picnic StyleWhether you bring a book, a person of great conversation, or just a meal and an afternoon to kill, there is something to be said for the simple pleasure of a picnic.
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Bow Button Boxers: April's FoolThey say vengeance is best served cold. I agree. Cold, unexpected, and miles from point of origin. Simple, sweet, and to the point with love..
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Hot Water on Demand: My Energy Efficient Choice for Hot WaterDo you dislike how you always get cold water as the last one to shower? With a tankless hot water heater, there is no longer that issue. Frees up space and water usage.
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Undoing Reliance Project (URP)Hi. I am a teen mom. I am successful. I have made mistakes along the way. I want to help others find the peace and happiness I have found even under the daunting circumstances of teen-parenthood.
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Siren: A Starbuck's Stir Stick SongHave you ever looked closely at the green thing in your morning starbucks?
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First Person: Home Prices in Racine County, Wisc. Are Still Half the National AverageAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average price for a U.S. home was just about $248,000 as of 2010. Where I live during that time frame it was about $132,000. I live in Racine County, WI.
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Sonnet: On Through Drunkin' WeatherA fantastical description of walking against the weather.
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A Correlation in the Change of "parenting".....Obesity And Thank You NotesAs a parent , you never want to bury your baby. Make the time to help them, their life depends on it. They are worth every second of the fight. And if to you, the parent, they are not then you should never have had the privilege to have them at all.
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Rebuilding a Financial Life: Part 2: Divorce and AdditctionsPart two: Rebuilding a Financial Life:(see part one here: http://voices.yahoo.com/rebuilding-financial-life-part-1-7802862.html?cat=3 )
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Vegetarian V. Meatitarian: My Path to Many Meatless NightsI became a vegetarian by accident. But what I found along the way became a more important passion.
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Technoloy, Technology - Oh How You've Blessed and Cursed Me!Hello cloud, and central bearer of my information, today was the day my internet ran away, and no longer could I reach you.
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Cost-Effective and Eco-Friendly Packing and Gifting SuppliesBeing an eco-advocate, it have found much fun and creative stimulation by figuring out a secondary life for items, while not collecting and cluttering up my house. There is a fine line between waste and hording.
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The Anti-Decorating Approach: White Walls and No ClueI live in a 2500-square-foot loft apartment with my two daughters. I have huge spanning super high ceilings, white walls, and no decorating skills.
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A Parent's Guide to Fighting the Winter BluesIt is time to remember as parents, what playing looks like. Here are some ideas for fun interactive snow day activities!
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Good Clean Fun! Fighting Winter Blues for Kids Ages 4 and UpI live in Wisconsin. Thus cold and snowy winters are normal and expected. This is what my kids and I call “hibernation season.” This results in issues of inactivity and stir craziness.
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Snowy Day Crafts for Girls, Ages 4-14I am a mom. I have been snowed in multiple times. Some creative ways to play the day away and bond with your daughter(s) are below. I have done them all with mine over the years!
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2012 Green Goals for Personal GrowthGoals for a green life are not easy. They take time and thought. Remember, you have to crack a few eggs to make a cake, but the cake will taste better if the eggs came fresh from the farmer’s nearby.
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Parenting Gone Awry: I Wish My Kids Came with Directions!I wish my kids came with directions! But because they do not, I get a good giggle.
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Farm Fresh, Even in Winter!I live in Wisconsin, enough said. In winter, finding "fresh" is like finding the wind chill above 25 degrees!
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Dying to Quit: The Story of How and Why I Quit SmokingI started smoking "for fun;" or so I told myself, as a handful of us preteens huddled in a corner with a stash of cigs stolen from our parents, shivering in the bitter cold, talked about boys and when and how we were going to get more smokes.Also published on:
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Memories of ChristmasI was raised Roman Catholic, Italian, and Christmas as a child, I remember tables of food all over, a tree stuffed with presents, lit up and a warm house a glow with the most welcoming noises of family gathered and the smell of tradition.
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1 Million Tears, 1 Million Fears: A Mother's Take on How Sept. 11th Changed My Perspective in ParentingSept. 11th and the 10 years that have followed has changed and affected my life in many ways. I was not there that day, but the arms of conflict from the nuclei of the towers, would tear apart my family years later.
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A Prayer to Mother Nature:A Prayer to Mother Nature: a poem reflective of the indistinguishable culmination of weather posisbillities.
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Religion's Path to MeMine is not necessarily a story of conversion, but rather a story of religious development and the focus on self-peace, God, and a code/lifestyle to which to try to live by.
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Beneath the MistA story about a girl who stumbles upon her secret past and the murder of her twin sister when they were babies. I wrote this story in 8th grade for a literary competition. -
To My Friends Service BoundA tribute to the soldiers My friends in all the branches. -
When the Time Has Come to Say Good ByeHow do you know when it is time to quit your job? Better yet, how do you know if it will serve you better to not only quit your job, but make a career change?
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Whatever Weather WisconsinMy advice to anyone with children, show them how important being prepared is. Make them aware by being a living example to your children the importance of planning ahead. Pro-act don't react.
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A Social Distortion Ethnographic EncounterWhat was the susceptibility for normal humans to go feral? It was as if the music had somehow hypnotized the normality and created these animalistic behaviors that were being played out before me. -
Rebuilding a Financial Life: Part 1About 8 years ago, I laid the groundwork financially that would save me, multiple times.
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What is One Man's Trash is Another Man's TreasureTwo loves diverge at a yellow road-the friend kind and the relationship kind.
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A Case Study on Ethics and MoralityThis is a case study written for a presentation in an MoE program; based upon what happens when the lines blur in a teacher, parent, and student relationship. The insightful thinking questions follow.
