Breathtaking blooms, beautiful butterfly sightings, lush greens, rain, clear skies, fresh air, happy people…I can smell the spring, even taste it (okay maybe that’s extra) but I love this season. It gives us a lovely sense of renewal, compels us to step outside, open our windows to breath some fresh air, and clean out our homes after the long and cold winter months. What’s not to love!
So bye bye first quarter of the year and welcome spring! We can’t help but be intrigued by how fast time went by, how much we’ve accomplished, and how much we’ve learned. In these short three months:
- We discovered we live longer than men by 5 years and how this information impacts our future
- Celebrated the women and men who inspired us in 2018
- Attended the 2019 Women’s March and witnessed an unforgettable force of solidarity and sisterhood
- Honored 3 phenomenal women during Black History Month
- We were inspired by your response to the women we celebrated during Black History Month – more than 650 likes and 297 shares! That’s nearly 300 more people that know about these amazing women! Thank you for spreading the word and for all your great comments too! 🙂
- Discovered LONA, a superb non-profit organization that empowers women by investing in their ability to create economic empowerment for themselves and their communities:
- Met the superb women behind LONA to celebrate Women’s History Month and sisterhood
- Began volunteering at the organization
- Our biggest take away from our meetup: money is not your only option for giving back. You can give “social capital”; i.e., economic empowerment by providing women access to your personal and professional networks. #iknowagirl
- Grew our gapmuseWomen membership to 90 women strong!
- Completed our first-ever book meetup with a discussion of Michelle Obama’s best selling book “Becoming“
- Organized our first-ever community hiking event to kickoff the spring on March 31. It turned out to be a beautiful, breathtaking, and rejuvenating experience!
Beautiful. Breathtaking. Rejuvenating. - Planned our first-ever personal finance workshop to help women plan better for their future (given that we live longer!), which is scheduled for May 18
Want to enjoy our future events including our upcoming personal finance workshop? Join gapmuseWomen, a safe community for women to connect, collaborate, engage and thrive together in our daily lives.
- Achieved a major milestone of 700 fans on Facebook
- Created my first digital vision board for FREE using Pic Monkey and seriously, I can’t tell you what took me so long to do it! It’s been the best tool I’ve ever used to keep me focused on both my short and long term goals. I’m using it as my screensaver on my laptop so I can see it every morning when I log in and every evening when I log out. What a way to keep your eye on the ball! You must try it, gapmusers! It’s super easy and fun!
- We saved a duck (yeah, really!) Because we believe everything and everyone deserves a second chance.
We’re always thankful to make it through the first quarter of the year. Most importantly, we’re grateful to you our readers for staying connected with us, reading our blog posts and engaging with us on social. We couldn’t stay motivated to keep doing what we do without your support. 🙂 In case you missed it:
Here’s our best of the past 3 months:
Most Popular Posts
1. gapmuseBookshelf: 14 Profound Takeaways from “Becoming” [+Book Tour]
Do any celebrities make you lose your cool? You know, the ones who make you feel all sorts of giddy! Those who would cause you to mumble your words, trip over and probably embarrass yourself? Go ahead! You can admit it. There’s no shame or judgment here! I confess to two! Prince (RIP) and Michelle Obama! The thought of being in their presence gives me the kind of childlike excitement I recall having as a kid when two things happened typically during the Christmas holiday. First, finding out I was going to get new shoes or clothes, and second, the house would be stocked with European chocolates or cookies. Yeah, I’m pretty easy to please and we’re going way back!
So imagine how ecstatic I was when on a typical uneventful afternoon in October 2018, I discovered Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming, was going on sale, November 18, and I could pre-order. Now, you know I love books but rarely do I get excited enough to pre-order! This time was different, though. It was Michelle Obama’s memoir! Other than my mom, eldest sister, and Maya Angelou, there are few women I hold in such high regard as the First Lady. Her intelligence, compassion, devotion to advocating for women and children, grace, courage, and class make me want to do and be a better role model to women and girls every day. Read on…
2. 36 Valuable Financial and Investment Resources for Women
Did you know that women live 5 years longer than men? This longer life expectancy has two key implications for us:
- We will need more money and healthcare, and
- We have to prepare differently for our future
According to a women’s and financial wellness report by Merrill Lynch, women not only live longer than men but also end up being the caretakers of their spouses/partners.
Keeping this information in mind, we compiled an ultimate list of 36 financial and investment resources to help you better manage your finances and prepare for retirement. They include websites, blogs, podcasts, online newsletters, and online/offline classes. The good news is the majority of these resources are free and easily accessible online. Read on…
3. 10 Women (and One Man) Who Inspired Us the Most in 2018 [+Video]
Every beginning of the year, we recognize and honor women who inspired us the most in the previous year. These are women who exemplify what it takes to be a role model and advocate for women and girls across the world. We do it in the hope they can empower you and give you the tools to thrive in the new year.
Our list features a diverse set of women; from the FLOTUS, a Supreme Court Justice, and Metoo movement founder, to the fictitious Women of Wakanda, a tennis icon, and two of our dear friends. These superb women taught us how to be graceful, courageous, fierce, persistent, compassionate, funny, and brave.
Similar to last year’s post, we’re showcasing one man whose actions demonstrated his commitment to fighting for gender equality. Read on…
Best Blog & Social Reviews:
“Beautiful post. Salute to all the great women who are fighting for gender equality. I appreciate the effort you put for promoting this.” – Manu Adams, View Through My Window Blog
“Love these posts!” – Toneta A.
“Love these history lessons…” – Bonnie G.
Best Videos
Best of Instagram
Best of Facebook
While we may not have been able to achieve everything we had planned for, we’re eager for the next phase of the year and to pursue our goals vigorously.
One of my favorite quotes is the one above by Women Who Change The World “Life offers you a second chance. It’s called tomorrow.” I challenge you to let this next quarter of the year be your second chance – to reset if you need to, to accomplish the goals you set out to achieve in the 1st quarter but didn’t, and to forgive yourself for any shortcomings. Let this be your fresh start. Here’s to a rejuvenating and vibrant spring! Be inspired.
What were your proudest accomplishments of the first quarter? Please share with us and our readers so we can cheer for you too.
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