Find your HAPPY and more....

Hellooooooo all,

I hope the Holiday Season, no matter what you celebrate, has brought you joy as we approach the New Year. Let's be grateful as we move forward to 2017.

First, let me conclude our Elvis Sightings for this year....

# 11. Elvis was an answer to a jeopardy question .
#12.  Elvis was a special guest on America's Got talent Holiday Spectacular.... yep, they brought in Terry Fator !!!!   Love him. If you are not familiar, Terry is a ventriloquist who won the show in Season 2. He now has a home on the Las Vegas Stage doing great things with his puppets. He sang Blue Christmas with his Elvis pal on the holiday show and it was amazing !

and we end with # 13. ( Day after Christmas, however it was fitting to end with 13)

Art and I had the pleasure of a gift certificate to the fabulous LB ONE steakhouse . On the walls there are photos from great classic movies and some great memories of film etc...
One of the photos features the "Hollywood Diner" showing Marilyn Monroe, James Dean...couldn't quite make out the other person in the photo however Elvis was unmistakable.

And there we have that chapter.... maybe we will visit that again next year....

On to finding your HAPPY !  
Life is too short to agonize over things that are troubling us. I know, we have heard this all before, we have said and done all the things to give us clarity as the year closes out..... ok, if you have done that, continue on that path. If you haven't done that, think hard about the things that make you feel good and feel happy. THAT is where your success will lie in both business and in life. Positive begets Positive and happy releases positive chemicals in your body that make you feel good. When you feel good you do your best work, your best "play" and your best Happy !  It is all too often that we hear sad news around the holidays.... life it too short. Don't wait on finding your Happy. Let that  take whatever is going on into another direction .You will be able to handle it better.

Find your Happy as we move into 2017. I look forward to writing with you all year and being Happy in all of our Journey's.

From our house to yours, have a wonderful , safe, fun, and Happy New Year !

Enjoy !

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Elvis Sightings and more....

Good Tuesday morning,

Finally back in the swing of things as I return home from "N'awlins".  What a great city. Trying to make it a yearly tradition for my daughter's birthday.... so many great sights, sounds and the food...... unreal !

We will do some more cool stuff from NOLA on the Friday Blog.... ( couldn't post from there, just not enough time)

Now, up to "Elvis Sightings"# 7, 8, 9 and 10....

These first couple are small  then it's gets to a build.... I have to thank my good friend and Biz Associate Mari Dattolo for sending me #10...brought tears to my eyes....

#7. A conversation about the movie "Death Becomes Her". I was asked if I remembered the party scene where certain people that want to live forever attend this party and it goes that they don't want to be known..... if you know the movie , you know the scene, and Elvis  is a prominent figure in that scene.... You should see it, cool movie...

#8. Elvis on a new Stamp... I tried to send over the photo of it yet it just wont' send.... check that out....

#9. At our hotel in New Orleans...

 

....This photo was being auctioned off in the lobby with a handful of other photo's, sports related, music etc...... 

#10. comes to us from my friend, Mari....this is a video that is so inspiring... I could not believe it wasn't Elvis singing..... the tears came when Ellen told this young man he would be singing at the upcoming Elvis Birthday Celebration in Graceland..... how cool is that ? !!!

Enjoy !

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The "Elvis" sightings rolling in #'s 5 and 6....

Here we go with  Elvis as we get closer and closer to the holidays......

So #5 belongs to an Insurance commercial where we get to hear LOVE ME TENDER, the first Elvis movie song....

and # 6  goes to X FACTOR UK contestant Ryan Lawrie as he opens the show last night with
JAILHOUSE ROCK .  This is movie week on the X FACTOR UK for the last handful of contestants....

Both sightings have to do with Elvis in the movies.....

So let's talk PIE !

Hey all,

Is everyone getting ready for the upcoming Holiday Season? It seems like as soon as Halloween hits we are ringing in the New Year in the blink of an eye.....this week....THANKSGIVING !

 Well for many of us it is Turkey and all the trimmings. I know there are many out there that don't even celebrate this holiday as this blog is read all over the World.... so let's just say that we give thanks no matter what we celebrate. Each day we can all find something to be thankful and grateful for.....

Now let's talk PIE....

According to Food and Wine the pie that comes in as the all time favorite is  (drum roll, please...)

                         PEACH PIE....also one of my favorites....

Here is a recipe I grabbed from the story.... Also, feel free to send me your own favorites.... maybe I'll even try one of your recipes !!!! 

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (4 ounces) cold solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup ice water

FILLING

• 8 large, ripe but firm peaches (3 1/2 pounds)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, thinly sliced
• Egg wash made with 1 egg yolk mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• Bourbon Whipped Cream, for serving

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

1. In a food processor, pulse the flour with the sugar and salt until combined. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and sprinkle the ice water on top. Stir with a fork until a crumbly dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until the dough comes together. Cut the dough in half and form into 2 disks; wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes or overnight.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each disk of dough to a 12-inch round. Ease one of the rounds into a 9-inch glass pie plate and transfer the other round to a baking sheet. Refrigerate the dough.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Using a sharp knife, mark a shallow X in the bottom of each peach. Blanch the peaches in the boiling water for about 1 minute, until the skins begin to loosen. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peaches to the ice water to cool. Drain and peel the peaches and cut them into 3/4-inch wedges. Transfer the peaches to a large bowl. Add the sugar, lemon juice and flour, toss well and let stand for 5 minutes.
4. Pour the peaches and their juices into the chilled pie shell and scatter the butter slices on top. Brush the edge of the pie shell with the egg wash and lay the round of dough from the baking sheet on top. Press the edges of the pie shell together to seal and trim the overhang to a 1/2 inch. Fold the edge of the pie dough under itself and crimp decoratively. Brush the remaining egg wash on the top crust and cut a few slits for venting steam.
5. Transfer the pie to the oven and place a baking sheet in the bottom to catch any drips. Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°, cover the edge of the pie with foil and bake for about 40 minutes longer, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is deeply golden on the top and bottom. Transfer the pie to a rack to cool completely. Serve with Bourbon Whipped Cream.

MAKE AHEAD

The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 1 month. The peach pie can be stored overnight at room temperature.

NOTES

As an alternative to the Bourbon Whipped Cream, serve the pie with vanilla ice cream.

ENJOY !

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Elvis sighting # 4

Hey Hey Hey...moving along....sighting # 4 comes from a post from my Sister on FaceBook....

It's the evolution of Dance video going from the Roaring 20's up to the 90's....take a peek and see who's music they used in the 50's segment...

ok...so I've spent an hour trying to get the video in here...it's on FaceBook at the Ava HollyLewis-Korth page....
It was sent to me so I thought it would make a great entry here.

 In meantime, here is a clip of Elvis doing "Hound Dog" as You Tube's evolution of Dance Songs....then they go into Chubby Checker doing the twist....

So entry #4 is the video clip on my FB page, that was sent to my timeline, with Elvis music featured as the segment for the 50's....

Ok...Elvis sightings begin.....

Good Morning, 

So this is part of our "Balcony Blogger Challenge" where we are posting anything "Elvis" related as we move close to the Christmas/Holiday Season.  So Elvis loved Christmas and they do a big celebration at Graceland. They also have places to post your Elvis sightings on the Graceland page.... 

We are doing our own....sightings/events/ experiences.... happenstance.... around Elvis . 

So as I mentioned, I hadn't seen anything or heard anything for days, except for what I hear on the Elvis radio channel....

Now I've got:

# 1  Late night TV mentioning Elvis in one of his stories... 

#2 Yesterday, I was visiting with my in-laws and we were discussing the new Elvis CD THE WONDER OF YOU with the Royal Philharmonic. We couldn't get it to play on the player they had so I pulled up one of the songs to share with them on my phone.... just then, I get a text from one of my networking buddies asking me for the name of a restaurant owner we had met..... too funny, his name is ELVIS !

#3 This morning watching the voice taped from last night's show.... Garth Brooks is one of the advisors for the top 12 and mentions Elvis being one of the World's greatest singers...along with a handful of others.... 

So we are up to 3   in the countdown to Christmas and Elvis experiences ! 

Join us in spotting YOUR Elvis related events.... Have fun..........see you for our regular Blog post at end of week.... 

Ava

Direct, Direct and Direct....

Hello this beautiful Friday here in South Jersey....

Well, it just amazes me how the Universe works....so many stories, so little time... so let's get DIRECT...

First , I have to share that since I posted about our "Elvis Sightings" in the  Balcony Blogger Challenge, I haven't seen ONE thing.... that's just amazing for I've seen Elvis stuff every day which made me want to chat about it and invite you all in..... I'm not even counting the Elvis Channel I have on my radio dial.... so today, I heard something cool.... Elvis' Grandma, Minnie Mae Pressley was also known as "Dodger"..... that's interesting. Makes one wonder how or why she got THAT ncikname!
Let's keep it all going as I'm still waiting to post # 1.....

On another note, you can use the word direct to mean a lot of things... in this case let's call it direct shopping !!!   With direct sales being hot, hot, hot, how would you like to be able to shop at your favorite stores on line and get cash back???  How would you like to receive deep discounts on line for fabulous products???  How would you like to purchase gift cards and double dip???  All this and more when you find out about one of the hottest sites out there,  www.shop.com/eefirst 
Now you can direct where and who you want to shop under, yet you get the same benefits as if you were just shopping at your favorite stores... You can even DIRECT, your sales to go to a place where you can pick up your on line orders.... If you are in the NJ area ( Southern NJ)  there will be an event to show you exactly how this works on 10/10/ 16 in Egg Harbor Township , NJ.... inbox me at Face Book on the 4 A STAR page for more info on the live event. In the meantime, for those of you not in the area, here is some DIRECT Information....

Let's start with James and Lauren Ridinger of Market America. James had a vision, along with his spouse and family, for people to be able to buy anything they want, get paid for it and have everyone benefit from that experience. Well, that has been DIRECTLY going on for over 24 years now...

About 4 to 5 years ago, shop.com was purchased by the Ridinger company and has been growing and growing ever since. There is even a way to have your non-profit shop and the non-profit can earn funds all year long without changing anything they do.....and at NO COST TO THEM !

My friend and business partner, Linda McLaughlin, along with her husband Mike have been working in the business for over 13 years.  Now I have other friends and associates involved and it's just a DIRECT win win for everyone.... How cool was it to blog about this, when today, we put our foundation into the program to earn funds for the National Brain Tumor Society !

In this time, many people have climbed aboard the Market America train for various way to DIRECTLY shop !  There is LaLa, J-Lo, and Marley Coffee !!! Yep, Bob Marley's brother who opened a partner store with Market America where you can buy your Coffee---Mon !!
There is also a line of coffee DIRECTLY  in the company itself called Mochatonics. It's an exclusive line for energy, fat-burning, and mind enhancing ways to drink coffee ! Yum....

So Market America offers just about anything you can think of from make-up to music, healthcare and weight loss to financial services and now.... on line shopping World Wide.  ( with no cost to be a customer !)

You can visit our new site at www.shop.com/eefirst  to check it all out !

In the meantime, it's a DIRECT  win at least look it over, be a customer for free, sign up a non-profit for free, come to a live event for free  OR learn about all the other ways to DIRECT the way you shop and earn !


Enjoy !

'

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Good Monday Morning,

Yes, I'm in here on a Monday, my day off..... Well, it's Halloween and the close of another month.... Before we start a new month and head into the Holiday Season, I wanted to get in here and try out a few ideas......
First, I'm channeling a massive prayer for my Sister, Robin, who is undergoing open heart surgery as we speak.... when I'm done here, I'm heading to the hospital in hopes that she is out of surgery and beginning the recovery process !

So I wanted to share some happy Halloweening thoughts for the day..... I know there are many people that don't celebrate Halloween. It's cool.... do what you feel.  I enjoy the Holiday for candy, seeing fun kids' faces and spending some time with friends handing out candy and visiting.... Oh and I love wearing wigs at Halloween. I dressed up for our Township Trunk or Treat on the 29th. Today just a mild Halloween scarf as I am around the day for my Sister..... May do some visiting tonight !

 Found these cuties on line today !  

Next, and probably a most brave "Balcony Blogger Challenge" for you.... we are going to implement something until Christmas and see how it goes....

So, lately, I've become the most crazy Elvis Fan !  I mean, I have always loved Elvis , just finding out about all the things they do at Graceland , everyday, for millions of fans, makes me want to learn and know more about the original King of Rock and Roll......Some of you may remember my good friend TED PRIOR who was the ultimate Elvis Tribute artist that passed away some years ago. He passed from the same illness that took my Mom. I think of him often, especially when I hear an Elvis song.... so ..... all that said, I have been laughing lately at all the music, signs, mentions and innuendos  surrounding Elvis that I see on a daily basis.....well, almost everyday .....

I've decided to do another "Balcony Blogger Challenge" with the Secret Elvis Sightings.... I think this is so fitting right now for they just opened the brand new "Guest House at Graceland" the other day. With Christmas being one of Elvis' favorite holidays, I thought this would be fun....
So the regular blog will continue on Friday's ( except for today... LOL)  and starting tomorrow, I'm going to get in each day that I see something ELVIS... I have heard there is a beautiful song of his backing up a new Prada commercial, yet I haven't heard or seen it yet..... So let's see how many days we have a secret Elvis sighting , in any way shape or form , between now and Christmas !  Let's have some fun !  ..... in Style....  feel free to add your own sightings as we embark on another segment of ...
"The Balcony Blogger Challenge"......

Here are a couple of photos from the new Gorgeous 450 room Guesthouse at Graceland.... The first pic is of the outside of the place.... the inside photos are amazing.... The 2nd pick, with the purple bedspread , is so cool. The mirrored ceiling was inspired by one of Elvis' capes.....

Happy Halloween and Happy Elvis sighting......
Enjoy !

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How to shake hands, and what your handshake says about you !

Hello all,

I can't believe it's the middle of October already ! Halloween is just around the corner and the Holidays will be upon us before we know it. Time just seems to fly anymore....

In all the hustle and bustle, let's get into the "greeting" scene.  How do you shake someone's hand when you introduce yourself? What is the proper way to shake someone's hand and what does that handshake say about you.

I have observed a few You Tube videos and I selected one that I thought was really good in showing the different types of handshakes and how they have become a sign of introduction and respect.

I have also seen a few small presentations, over time, on this very subject.

My Mom used to say that she hated people who shook your hand as if their hands were
WET NOODLES !  Wow, what do you think that says about you !

From my own learning and observation, it is a sign of respect to stand up, and to greet someone with a firm handshake. I'm not talking about a BONE CRUSHER shake, that you will hear about in the little clip below, or the WET NOODLE shake that will always make me hear my Mom talking.

Your handshake should be web to web, straight across and with a firm and confident grip.
A handshake knows no gender, so keep that in mind as well.

Since we are in an age of confidence and empowerment, I wanted to share the fact that there IS an art to a good solid handshake.

If you are in business, your handshake can say a lot about your confidence.

There are also acceptable ways to shake someone's hand when it is in a more relaxed, or personal setting and not in a business environment.

So take a look at the clip I found and make your own assessment of the HANDSHAKE.
It's about 5 minutes long.... I like the way this is presented so enjoy it....

Have a great weekend and we will talk again soon !

Enjoy !!!

                                         

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When Fashion is your Passion....

Hello All !

What a great day to discuss a Passion for Fashion.....
With our line of handbags and accessories getting closer everyday, bumping into fashion finding designers/events/ bloggers etc...is easy....finding quality in those bump-ins is something else.... I have always had the ability to read people. It doesn't always work out the way we plan , right? That said, more often than not, I am able to find the richness and the beautiful people I want to spend my precious time with , collaborate with, and share life's joys with.... First, let me start by introducing New York Model, Fashion Concierge, Runway Coach, Event Coordinator and proud to say,
 4 A STAR Model  among other places.....Nanette Rhodesia Swain..... Nanette will be doing a fashion blog segment on our web page for the next few months...head over there and check it out...Nanette's Fashion Blog at    www.4astar.com    See her wonderful introduction.....

Today, I want to celebrate Designer and fellow fashion expert  Clavon Leonard of Clavon's Wear.

It's always interesting to me when I make these great collaborations, how the story evolves.... and I love this one..... 

So let's go back in time to Clavon's 12th Birthday.... only a little way back... LOL.....

.... he wakes up, day before his Birthday, with a dream in his head of a runway.... people walking down the runway.... bright lights, cool clothes all that goes with that image..... 

So he proceeds to tell his parents about this dream he had..... he says that his parents thought he was crazy....

 Now let's fast forward to 2014 and Clavon's Wear is walking the runway in it's first show. WHERE is that runway???? You think it might be in a hometown show, a friend of a friend or something like that but no....Clavon makes HIS debut at NEW YORK FASHION WEEK !

Let's back up again..... it's 2013 and and Clavon is attending Fashion Week in N.Y.  Afterwards, during the mix and mingle, one of the producers of the show is talking with him and says, "Hey , that's a really nice suit. Where did you get it?"  "I made it", replied Clavon. "Really?", says the producer, "Are you a designer?"  And the story goes...... 

Clavon was studying HR at Rutgers. He learned to sew from his family tree and he made his own suits from time to time. He made them so well that he wound up making suits for a few friends too. A week after that encounter in 2013, Clavon was called to N.Y. by this producer to put a line of clothing together to show...... and the rest is History ! He put 15 pieces together for that show in 2014. Many things have just blossomed from there. He took a trip to Europe handing out LOOK-BOOKS wherever he went. Befriended someone who said that he had to see HIS friend who makes leather goods..... Now, Clavon makes gorgeous Leather Duffel bags and is expanding into wallets.  He has traveled the World and is ready to keep things moving in the Fashion Industry. He has even expanded into model management/talent management and we talked about a collaboration in those areas too.... as I also did with my Awesome friend, client,  and Global Designer Samina Mughal !

Clavon's Daughter Lelsie Leonard is the lead model in his Couture Line ZSA ZSA

Clavon's other daugher, Alexis Leonard, is a make-up artist and her name sports the leather bags as LEXI BAGS.

Clavon's Son , Luis Leonard, is a photographer and model. 

Clavon is making gorgeous men's and women's suits, couture, leather bags and more to come......

I'll say it time and time again.... it's all about the collaboration and learning how to help each other grow and prosper in all areas of our abundant lives..... THAT is how we move forward....together.... 

Find Clavon's newest event coming up with his own show on Feb. 10th, 2017 featuring celebrity host, model and Chef=  Carla Hall..... Make a day of it in N.Y.C. and attend Samina Mughal's Global Catwalk event on Feb. 11th, 2017. You can come and meet me there..... I can also offer you vendor tables and info on getting your designs onto the runway !  Just contact me at www.4astar.com for any and all information...... 

I  want to give a huge shout out to just a few of the amazing people I am excited to move forward with in the industry.... including:

Supermodel and Fashion Blogger  AVADORA MIMOUNI find her on Facebook

4 A STAR models from N.Y.  Glenda Collins, Naim Keyes and Nanette Rhodesia Swain....find them on Facebook and check out Nanette's Fashion Blog on our web page through the end of this year.....

Magazine Moguls: Orlando Gordon ( Olanquan Fashion Networking)  Tirusha Dave of Bravura Magazine  Sofia Davis of Fashion Avenue News Magazine 

Gio Delavicci, Anne Laura West, Jeana and Lamont Bowling, VeVelle scarves, Swag Kueengs, Lainy Gold Designs,  and Awesome TV.....

 Our Liaisons in Las Vegas and Florida Keoni Alferez and Lisa Diane Hall........All of our connects here in New Jersey.....Wow, the list goes on and on..... these are just a few of the amazing people I love being connected to..... and there are tons more....so keep your "Eye" on our Fashion Blog at 4 A STAR as we keep our "Eyes" on you and your success  

You can always come here to  Ava's Allocations and be sure to check out the Amazing 

CLAVON LEONARD

WWW.CLAVONSWEAR.COM 

 NAIM

NANETTE

                                                                        GLENDA

                                                                                                                                                                                        

SAMINA MUGHAL FASHION DESIGNER

ENJOY !

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Are YOU familiar with Sneaker Violence?

How the Universe Works from one Holly to another Holley......

Register for the 5K run 

What is sneaker violence anyway?  Did you know that 1,200 people die each year over sneakers???

Let's go back to how the Universe works... it's amazing. I think if more and more younger people would take heart into the way of the Universe, the World will become a better place overall. I see it every day and I'm constantly saying that I want to instill the laws of the Universe into our youth...... so let's go back....

Some years ago, I had the pleasure of working with one of the nicest men you'd ever want to meet. His name , David Holley. Since we shared the same last name minus the "e", we would always address each other as Holley. Didn't know him well, yet we did have many a cool conversation. He met my Mom a few times at some special events... Funny, I saw David just a few days before he passed away.....he looked right into my eyes and spoke about my Mom, who had already passed away.... the Universe was speaking as I felt a haunting when he was talking to me.....
As if my Mom was talking to me.......

Now, years later, I meet a bright young man, my daughter's age, on the radio where I am now doing a segment on Saturday evenings....
 His name, Dante Holley.  I didn't make any connection at first. I fell in love with what he is doing and wanted to interview him for this blog.... as we spoke about meeting etc... I asked him if he knew David. I mean they had the same last name AND they both had the "e" in it..... Dante is David's son.............. and here is the story...............

Last year, on Sept 17th, Dante and his family lost their home to a fire.  At first, he was upset having lost many "material things" including his sneaker collection. When the initial shock wore off and Dante went to re build his life..... He saw a TWEET from Kanye West about a contest he was having. The winner would get a pair of brand new  Yeezy Boost Private Blacks. Boy, did he want them..... he had to answer a question . He answered 5 times and his 2nd answer was the right one. There were 30 winners..... the other 29 all came in 2nd . Dante had the first winning answer.... not only did he get the sneakers, he also got VIP treatment at one of Kanye's shows.... he was interviewed on MTV, Fox News and countless other places.... it was overwhelming............
When he returned home, social media wasn't the same anymore..... it was filled with notes from teens and young adults all over telling Dante how inspiring he was to be there representing N.J.  and all that......Dante said to me, "There was more interest in this Sneaker Contest then there was about him losing his home."  Over 3 million people entered this contest......
The Universe was starting to talk to him...... He realized that kids were classifying others by their shoes !!!!   What do they look at first? Do you have this sneaker? This shoe? If not you are bullied, robbed and the like............ to the tune of 1,200 deaths a year !

Dante again said to me, "How are people going to take a 20 year old, black teenager, with no college under his belt yet seriously?"  He found one of the largest foundations out there donating shoes to people who can't afford them.... SOLES 4 SOULS ( www.soles4souls.org)
He partnered with them to create awareness and preparedness for what he is on a path to unleash......

Sat. is the first 5K run to raise awareness for SNEAKER VIOLENCE.  The event is 9/24 Sat. from 8AM-2PM starting at Kennedy Plaza on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. If you are in the area, you still have time to register at www.sneakerviolence5k.com   Proceeds to benefit God's Gift a non profit organization associated with the Kingdom Academy. They offer kids instruction  during after school hours to pursue their passions.....singing/acting...whatever they dream....

Over the past 3 months Dante, along with the efforts of  soles4souls  , has collected over 1,000 shoes. Saturday will be the last drop off location and shoes will be distributed Globally. Dante wishes to set up these 5k runs across the Country. There were drop off locations set up all Summer all across N.J.   See the list below.

Thank you, Dante Holley, for raising awareness..........for helping us to realize that material things are fun to have. They are not EVERYTHING. They are not to be used to bully people , to rob people over and to kill. Shame on those that do that !

More to come on this story as we follow it into the future and see where we can tie it into some of our other work !

HW4L RECORDS & SOLES4SOULS 2016 SUMMER SHOE-DRIVE DROP OFF LOCATIONS

- Kingdom Academy Pre- School (253 North New Road, Pleasantville NJ 08232)

- 2nd Chance Sneaker Boutique ( 130 new jersey Ave, Absecon NJ 08201)

- Atlantic City PAL (250 N New York Ave, Atlantic City, NJ 08401)

- Boys & Girls Club of Atlantic City (317 N Pennsylvania Ave, Atlantic City, NJ 08401)

- A&O Barber Shop (1002 New Road, Northfield, NJ 08225)

- Mt. Zion Baptist Church (353 S New Road, Pleasantville, NJ 08232)

- Sneaker Villa (1625 Atlantic Ave, Atlantic City, NJ 08401)

- Pleasantville Rec Center (400 Brighton Ave, Pleasantville, NJ 08232)

- Highgate Apartment Building (655 absecon blvd ac nj 08401)

- Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Jersey Shore (75 south Pomona road, galloway 08205)

- Price Memorial Ame Zion Church (525 Atlanta Ave, Atlantic City 08401)

- Highgate Apartment Building of Atlantic City (655 Absecon Blvd, Atlantic City, NJ 08401)

-   All Wars Memorial Building (1510 Adriatic Ave, Atlantic City, NJ 08401)

Enjoy !

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For the Love of BREAKFAST !

Hello all,

What better way to set up this next blog post than to center it around FOOD !  LOL

I had the honor and the pleasure of meeting Melanie Ruggles today at a new hot spot to eat breakfast and lunch. For me, it's all about the Love of Breakfast.... the most important meal of the day !

We have our share of great places to eat here in Galloway , NJ.  Hopefully, I'll get to share some of them with you in the blogspot !  We have even had Guy Fieri out at a few places in the surrounding area... Maybe we can get him to visit the new Hot Spot.........THE CRACKED EGG. 

If you want to chat with Melanie, the first thing she will tell you is that she is NOT Norman Bates' Mom !  Guess you have to be a local to understand that one. You know you can always send in questions or comments and I will do my best to answer and get to know you better .....

So Melanie, originally from NJ, had a business in Florida. She studied Hotel Restaurant Management and found herself living in Florida. She came back to NJ with her husband and wound up working for Ford. Yep, she worked in the Ford Dealerships. Wanting to get into a business in her field, she decided she would move back to Florida to pursue that dream...

One day, her husband was driving down the road and saw the restaurant space for lease at the Ten Acre Motel in Galloway. The rest is history as they say.... ( Who is THEY anyway???)

After a remodel and a run through of a couple of chefs, Melanie hit the hot spot with an article in the Atlantic City Press .  She also wound up hiring Chef Marina, a  former Restaurant owner herself....

OMG the Omelets are so delicious !!!!!  I'm going back Tuesday and bringing someone new too !!

Find THE CRACKED EGG CAFE  on Facebook !

If you are in the Galloway area of New Jersey stop in at the Cracked Egg at 637 New York Rd. Galloway, NJ  and of course....tell them Ava sent you !

                                                                CHEF MARINA

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Want to expand your brand? Think Radio !

Wow...hello and where does the time go???
It seems to move faster and faster the older we get, huh?

In this industry, as many of you know, time even goes faster as you are setting up events, meetings, and plans for months, weeks and sometimes years in advance....

That said, we still move forward with those little "clock" hands ticking and we do it with hope in our hearts, pep in our step and a vision of a bright future for our families ....

The best way to move is to move.... and forward looks pretty good wouldn't you say?

Today, I had the honor and pleasure of being interviewed by long time friend and business associate,
LISA DIANE HALL ( Link for casual chat video)

https://www.facebook.com/4AStar/videos/10154522090434479/


For those of you that remember Lisa, she was on the local media scene here for many years. Now her talents take her to Florida where she has spent the last 4 years doing the same. She is currently the regional sales manager for National Christian Network Radio. Along with her sales manager role, she also produces shows for the network including her own LIVE WITH LISA DIANE.

So how do we do that???
The nice thing is that many  people today are moving into radio with support from networks such as this. In Lisa's case, you can buy your own block of time on the network from a 15 minute block all the way up to an hour block. You can obtain your own sponsorships , if you like, and really take your brand to another level. As Lisa says, " It creates a platform for people to promote and expand their brand".

Catch us today live-streaming on Facebook at the Lisa Diane Hall page and also on the 4 A STAR page...

You can listen to Lisa's show every Monday from 3-4 PM on WJFP FM 91.1 out of Coca Beach , Fla.

This is just one of many stations under the Christian Radio Network. Also, it doesn't have to be a religious show  that you set up for yourself. You can promote a business, service you offer, etc...

With over 25 years in sales , marketing and media I am honored to be partnering, and representing Lisa Diane in the dreams she follows that align with mine.

We will see more of her.... catch her on Facebook at Lisa Diane Hall where you can find her radio show and much more.

Other areas that house this network include :
WCNO 89.9 FM Palm City/Boca Raton/Ft. Lauderdale
WJFG which houses 5 locations....here are a few:
91.1 FM ( mentioned above) Ft. Pierce/Port Saint Lucie/ Vero Beach
107.1 FM   The Palm Beaches/Riviera Beach
88.5  FM  Clewiston-Belle Glade,Fl

Rejoice 103.7 FM  Orlando Fla.

WWBC 94.7 FM  Freeport, Bahamas

There are also a few AM locations on the airwaves.  Many choices for this network.

If you are thinking about radio to expand your brand, consider Lisa Diane Hall and stay tuned as we explore other areas in this field.

Once again, thank you Lisa for spending time on the CASUAL CHAT today and for interviewing me on your show.....

Enjoy !

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will have a whole new look in a few weeks !

What does "Social" mean anyway and how do you get it ?

Hello all,

Back from Vegas with another awesome experience there ! We are in talks with an affiliate there to bring you our "Eyes" from the West.... 4 A STAR West.... so stay tuned for that.... so much happening as we move into the Fall Season...

Let's talk about "Social".  How do you get that?  Well, many of you may remember that a SOCIAL was sort of an event where you went out to meet people and mingle. Today, you do the same meeting, AND you do it on line !  Hence, Social Media...

I am not the social media guru. Everything I know about anything on line I pretty much taught myself. I am, however, and expert in meeting and connecting people and today we are connecting you with one of the best in the Social Media World.... ERIN MERCER 

Let's go back a little..... Erin got started in the social media arena when she was working at one of the Casino's in Atlantic City. She was trained by a Social Media "EXPERT" along with other responsibilities she held there. When the Casino downsized, she was the one who was out....

She started looking for Social media jobs in the local market and couldn't fine anything.....
That's when she realized that Social Media didn't exist in this area yet !!!

The light bulb came on and Mainspring Social Media was born. She started offering her services, in the Social Media World, to small and mid-sized businesses. Among her clients were Restaurants, Real Estate Agencies and also doing speakers pages to name a few.  Now she offers these same services to anyone .  She even now has a band she manages social media for. She has expanded to include Attorneys, Wedding agencies and is available to speak and train at businesses who may want to keep their Social Media IN HOUSE.   Wow !

So you get a feel for her background, Erin has a Bachelor's Degree in Communications. She's a member of the South Jersey Network, was featured in South Jersey Magazine and has a staff that has been trained through schooling with degrees in marketing and journalism ( and/or communications.)

You can find Erin Mercer on Face Book.
As always you can contact me for any and all info on my blogs at www.4astar.com 
If you find old info on that site, just be assured it will updated this week. We are moving to a new format and the web page will have a new look in August.

Thank you for all of your continued support. We are now up over 13,200 readers !

Be back soon with lots of stuff to share from the International eWomen Conference.....

                                                     Meet Erin Mercer- Social Media Expert

                                                               Visit Our Web Page

So how can you FLOAT your troubles away ?

Hellooooooo all,

So good to be in here talking with you today. It's been a little traumatic as my daughter suffered a freak accident a couple of weeks ago and nearly lost one of her fingers. Not out of the woods yet. Doing fine after surgery.... just praying for an "infection free" 4 more weeks.....

Hope you had a chance to check out my post about being the LOCAL BARTENDER.... if not, take a moment and go back to it. I had the pleasure of meeting a local bartender who exemplified exactly what I was talking about. He has now taken something he stumbled upon to a new level. If you trust your instincts , they rarely let you down. I felt so comfortable with owner and operator
 JAMES GRISINGER, I could have sat and chatted with him for hours.....

So let's take it back a little.... James had been suffering from neck pain for quite some time. Working and standing up for long hours at a time didn't help his situation. He tried much medication, which he wasn't crazy about, and visited Doctor's to find out that he had some deterioration in his neck having bones rubbing together pretty much bone on bone.

Stumbling across a place to relax....James began to float ! Yes, I said it.....FLOAT !  What??? you mean just float?????  Coming from a family of swimmers , coaches, lifeguards and having a Sister who now owns 2 great Swim Clubs here in Galloway etc.... I just couldn't wrap my head around this concept. Me, the one who is always open to new things, didn't get it...... until yesterday !

This is such an up and coming form of meditation, relaxation, exercise for those who need extra sleep, stimulation etc....  Studies are even showing that floating can help with the stress of ailments such as Fibromyalgia  and Parkinson's Disease. Remember the word Disease...."Dis- ease" . Floating is designed to put your body at EASE. You can control your lighting with a small light up ball or use the lighting provided in the tank for a calm ease of your float. When your time is up, a gentle sound of music will come through the system to take you out of your "Zoning" or "Zen" experience.....

So let's get back to James.... owner and operator of STAYING AFLOAT right here in Galloway Township, N.J.  So when James started feeling better from floating, he was going to put one of these float chambers in his home !   Nah !!!!!!!    He kept telling people about it and they all wanted to try it. Well, here is the power of your connections. Through some friends, James was able to find and secure this great space as part of a chain of the new "common area" restaurants going up all over as well.  So in my talks with James, I found that there are 4 other float places in our general area..... 3 of them are about an hour away each.... now we have one right in our backyard in beautiful Galloway close to Stockton University.

The list is long for the benefits of floating. Just to name a few things:
It relieves physical and mental stress
Great for Meditation
Raises your "good mood" chemical body make -up  ..... 
......and much more.....

Your private tank area ( as pictured) contains about 10" of water and about 1,000 pounds of Epsom Salt.... Don't you remember the old adage, ".... go soak that in Epsom salt !" Well now you can and feel really good about it.

This is a very reasonable way to relax and rejuvenate  too. ( sorry for getting you with eyes closed in one of the shots, James... I know you couldn't wait to jump in and sleep.... haha)
And sleep you can as the Epsom Salt keeps you up and you can't roll over.  It's very hard to describe the feeling so my suggestion to you is to give it a try.... This is an up and coming trend so if you are not in THIS  area, look up FLOATING, and check it out....  If you are here, though, go visit James at

Staying Afloat  at the Exchange
80 W. Jimmie Leeds Road
Galloway, NJ 08205

www.stayingafloatnj.com

Make sure you tell them Ava sent you and let me know how YOUR experience was...
You can float for only $65.00 for 90 minutes
3 floats for $ 140.00
a 3 1/2 hour float for $110.00  and there are also member packages available.
If you are a Veteran, You can float for $40.00 for 90 min...... Way cool !

I'd love to hear about your floating experience.... stay tuned as we are going to feature James and Staying afloat at the Casual Chat sometime the end of this Summer.....

Enjoy and Float On.....

                                                                  Visit our web page
Page is under construction so bear with us. You can still get there. A new and exciting page will be coming at you end of July !  Thanks.