Friday, October 2, 2020

Decision 2020 Is About More than the Presidential Race

 

Do you vote Yes, No, or Bypass Ballot Questions?

Voters have hard decisions outside of casting a vote for president. When it comes to answering ballot questions, the language used is often jargon that is confusing or convoluted. It leaves some people simply guessing or in extreme situations, bypassing the questions. Every Friday leading up to the November 3 election, we'll share what we find online via BallotPedia as it relates to Louisiana. 
 
Here's a look at one of the ballot questions Louisiana voters will see, https://ballotpedia.org/Louisiana_Amendment_1,_No_Right_to_Abortion_in_Constitution_Amendment_(2020)
 
A "Yes" vote supports adding language to the Louisiana Constitution stating that "nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion."
 
A "No" vote opposes adding language to the Louisiana Constitution stating that "nothing in this constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion."

 Feel free to share questions on your state's ballot in our comments section.

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

MY TAKE ON CHAPTER 48

 Family, Friends and Faith Set the Stage for my Chapter 48

Birthdays have a way of teleporting you back to the future.  This year is undoubtedly different. The entire world is on pause in several ways because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Still, at 48 years old, I'm READY for the next best of everything. A BIRTHDAY is just that, a day to give birth to something and develop throughout the year.

Here is my list of a few things I'll continue to do as I launch into the pages of my Chapter 48.

1. Thank God in advance in all prayers.
2. Make new memories with family and friends.
3. Treasure every minute of every day because life is full of lessons.
4. Embrace opportunities to personally and professionally grow.
5. Wholeheartedly love my friends. We are rocks for each other, when situations demand we cheer,  cry or critique.
6. Experience a marathon of cultures, festivals, recipes, and accomplishments with my husband.
7. Set the tone as a mother, wife, Christian, friend, and professional I want my child to embrace.
8. Realize my child is a reflection of everything wonderful about me and thank God daily for angels who watch and order her steps.
9. Build on the foundation set by every adult you met in your childhood.
10. Be adventurous. Sometimes normal is mundane.
11. Never pass up a 75 percent off sign at my favorite department store.
12. Consider the aftermath that will follow a decision BEFORE you I make a decision.
13. Understand people are just that, people. Everyone has a different reason they do things their way. 14. It's okay for things to be okay.
15. See and seek peace in the glass always being half full.
16. Redefine fitness to meet personal goals 
17. Nothing says reboot, release and relief like a vacation. Traveling is the best way get a taste of something different and experience  
18. You don't have to like   
19. Dance, on or offbeat doesn't matter. I can move to my own groove.
20. Share everything about life with anyone younger who'll hear me.
21. Keep a mental log of everyone who's on my team.
22. Smile whenever I think about Karter Barthelemy. He's forever in my heart. His short life changed the lives of mothers and children we'll likely never meet.
Enjoy my flashback of photos below that highlight a few laughable and lovable moments.  

































Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Lessons Learned Wearing Summer Locs of Love


Don't Sweat the Summer Hair Stress
By Maniko Barthelemy
NewsHeels@Gmail.com
August 20, 2019
 
Decisions! Decisions! Decisions! As much as we love the warmer temperatures, delight in Daylight Saving Time, and smile at the thought of packing away sweaters and boots in exchange for flip flops, maxi dresses, shorts and tank tops, the summer, with all of its benefits, is not all bliss. For many women, the heat and humidity pull them into an unavoidable hair battle.

Whether it's flowing, curly, cut close or reminiscent of Disney's Rapunzel, getting your hair to look and stay summer hot is often a time-consuming and product-demanding reality. What do you when you want to retire hairspray, unplug hair tools, plus keep the lid on chemical straighteners for months?

How do you cut your time in the mirror, care for your hair, keep frizz away, while still being cute and carefree? Ponytails are always a quick remedy! Sure it's a clutch look for a run to the store or perhaps the gym. You could opt for "the big chop," which gives you complete freedom to shake and go.
 



But for me, the perfect solution to the long Louisiana summer and keeping my natural hair healthy was a hairstyle that dates back centuries. Braids are as pragmatic as they are eye-popping and popular. From box braids, traditional cornrows, and lemonade braids, to twists and faux locs, thick, thin or colorful, there's no question, you have options.

Thanks to runways, reality TV and the Internet, there's a virtual plethora of head-turning styles. You can literally find the best look and length for your face and lifestyle.

  Braids blend classic glamour with contemporary charm. 



Once you lock your top looks and find a stylist, remember it is going to take time and your scalp may be tender at least a day or two. The process requires precision, patience, and particular products. On average, you could spend at least 90 minutes sitting in a salon chair. Your stylist meticulously weaves, stretches and connects your natural and synthetic hair, stitch by stitch. Just like weave, it's best to check with your stylist to confirm if you need to buy a specific brand of hair to your appointment.

Gone are the days of braiding hair and burning the ends with a lighter to ensure each braid looks flawless. Most hairstylists use a hot water smoothing technique. The hair is braided nearly to the end and looks frizzy. Section by section, the stylists dips the frizzy tips into extremely hot water. The contact smooths the ends. However, depending on the quality of the synthetic hair's texture, the hair may not do what's expected. To avoid that mistake, always consult your stylist.

Braids, while fascinating, exceptionally flexible and functional, look easy to maintain. Many people mistakenly believe, as I've heard people say, "I'll get braids so I don't have to do anything to my hair." That is a myth. The importance of hair care doesn't disappear. It's low maintenance, not no maintenance.

You have to keep your hair fresh. Washing your braids weekly, moisturizing your hair every two days and wrapping it at night should be part of your regimen. Failing to do so may lead to damage: hair breakage, split ends, dry and brittle hair.
 

The products in the photo below are a few of the brands that work best for my naturally thick texture. When you make your list of products for your regimen, consult again with your hairstylist. Be sure to include a clarifying shampoo, a good detangler and a leave-in conditioner, especially if you're removing your braids on your own.

Expect about an inch of hair growth per month. Consider changing your hairstyle every three to four weeks. It gives your hair a quick breather.

The S-Curl Activator works wonders. I preferred to spray it in my hands and then run my hands through the braids. Expect a light residue on your hands. The Creme of Nature Shine added the sparkle in the sun kiss to my trendy tresses. The Garnier Fructis Style Humidity Control spray minimized fly-away hair. The BB Tropical Roots foam helped separate the ends that sometimes tangled at night, as a result of being wrapped. Anti-itch oil is an item of special note. The first hair oil I used to moisturize my braids horrendously irritated my scalp to the point of me taking allergy medication.

Include a clarifying shampoo on your list, a detangler, and leave-in conditioner.

As much as I loved unplugging the straighteners and putting the chemical perm on pause for weeks, the facts about braids made me fall in love all over again. According to historians, Africans mastered hair-braiding 5,000 years ago. African women, according to experts, often sent secret messages in the strategic patterns of each style. Braids in some tribes signified a person's social and marital status.

What message did your summer look send? How did you enjoy your summer hairstyle?
Feel free to share your tips and a candid photo of your favorite look.


Tuesday, July 30, 2019

New Louisiana Law Offers Stillbirth Certificates


Moving from Anguish to Advocacy, After my Miscarriage

BY MANIKO BARTHELEMY
July 30, 2019

(Baton Rouge, LA)- Imagine delivering a baby you know is immediately going to heaven and finding out after delivery, your child wasn't considered old enough for a death certificate. That's exactly what happened to me and motivated me to change the law in Louisiana.
Louisiana State Rep. Steve Pugh, R-Ponchatoula, joins me in holding a ceremonial copy of LA House Bill 177. Shortly after meeting with Rep. Pugh in January, expressing the need for a new Louisiana law redefining stillbirth, he drafted and introduced new legislation in April. (Photo taken by Kayla Barthelemy.)
Prior to Louisiana State Rep. Steve Pugh, R-Ponchatoula, introducing LA House Bill 177, mothers in the state, like many across America, only qualified for a death certificate if their baby was stillborn at or after 20 weeks of gestation. Effective August 1, 2019, Louisiana mothers who miscarry at any time during her pregnancy have the option to pay for a stillbirth certificate. Florida is the only other state in America with a similar law.

Karter Barthelemy at eight weeks of gestation.
So, why the change in Louisiana and why now? Until September 7, 2017, I was clueless to Louisiana's definition of stillbirth. I'll never forget the blank look on the nurse's face, when she said, "Let me get the doctor." The maternal-fetal physician came into the room, looked at my stomach, looked at the ultrasound machine, and there was an odd silence before he turned to me and said, "There's no heartbeat."

I was numb. I had clearly heard the doctor's words but thought, hoped and prayed by some small miracle, he was wrong. In the detached way some medical professionals attempt to express compassion, he said, with his head tilted to the side, staring at me, "I don't understand what went wrong."

There was nothing left to say. I'd suffered from placental abruption. My placenta separated from Karter, leaving him with no oxygen. The next step was deciding whether to immediately go into preterm labor and deliver Karter that same day or wait. I waited. I wanted to talk to him a little more. I needed to have another day to talk to him. With the exception of my daughter, Karter is the only person who knows how and why the rhythm of my heart, happiness and hurt fall into or out of place.

 In June, 2017, when the doctor confirmed my pregnancy, my emotions were a combination of awe, worry and agitation. Only my husband knew I meticulously followed every precaution doctors instructed me to take. After all, I hadn't changed a diaper in 18 years and at 45, becoming a mom again definitely shifted me into a new nervous normal.

From the moment I heard Karter's heartbeat for the first time, I evolved into a researching machine, relentlessly reading articles about high risk pregnancies. Finding information about middle-aged moms and pregnancy survival rates, nearly became an obsession with news stories, studies, special reports, documentaries, etc.

But an avalanche of cold statistics did not add any level of comfort. According to the March of Dimes, 10 to 15 out of every 100 pregnancies end in a miscarriage. Primarily, the first trimester is the danger zone and if the mother is older than 35, risk factors escalate. 

Despite glaring hard numbers, we were happy and hopeful. Karter was a surprise and a bit of a secret. My husband and I told our daughter, immediate family and our close friends. Everyone we told, had a perplexing look on their faces before saying something supportive. It was hilarious.

Kayla, our daughter, was anxious. She actually gave Karter his name, which, according to www.TheNameMeaning.com, means transporter of materials. "Finally, I get a little brother," Kayla said. I'd imagined Karter growing up and becoming a powerful attorney. My husband saw baseball and wrestling in his future.

Overall, I was healthy but my age made a healthy delivery touchy. Doctors visits were different and difficult, honestly, scary. In addition to seeing a gynecologist for routine check-ups and observations, I met monthly with a maternal-fetal specialist. That always bothered me. Still, I precisely followed instructions given to me by both doctors about restrictions, diet and exercise limitations and minimizing stress at all costs. Ultimately, dreading the real possibility of a miscarriage.

Sadly, our plans to expand our family and watch Karter grow into a wonderful young man, surrounded by a strong supportive network did not become a reality. September 8, 2017, the day after I got the heartbreaking news, I was in a pre-term labor. It lasted several hours. Having my family in the room, telling jokes and teasing me about all of the things I couldn't eat, helped a little. However, the harsher each labor pain hit me, the more withdrawn I became, bracing myself for he inevitable.

Finally, I looked at my husband and said, "I'm tired." I was. I was tired of the nurses coming into the room for what seemed every 15 minutes, checking my vitals, changing my IV, giving me medication, etc. I guess God and Karter knew I couldn't bare the pain much longer. I felt him coming into the world and ordered everyone out of the room. I was right. Within a matter of minutes of clearing the room, I delivered him. His birth was pulchritudinous and melancholic.

Shortly after delivering Karter, I held him and talked to him until I got tired. I studied his features from head to toe.



















Once I delivered Karter, a nurse said he wasn't old enough for me to get a birth or death certificate. I was baffled, devastated and furious. Immediately, I thought the nurse was mistaken.  The reporter in me anxiously awaited getting home to heal and scour the Internet again, researching birth certificates, or at least some form of an official Louisiana recorded acknowledgment of the life and death of all miscarriages. If the state allowed me to hold a funeral for Karter and to even bury his body, why didn't his life equal official recognition?  That's when I discovered the jarring truth. The nurse was right. In Louisiana, a baby was only considered stillborn, if the mother miscarried at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy.


Luckily, at the urging of my mother-in-law, a hospital chaplain baptized Karter, which meant we got his baptismal certificate. Additionally, a hospital photographer took excellent care to capture Karter on-camera. The hospital gave us the photos as keepsakes. None of it was enough to stop me from wondering and worrying about mothers who do not come from religious families or may be too distraught to remember to ask for their stillborn baby's baptism. That was awful. Knowing there's a chance the next Louisiana mother who miscarried would essentially not have a document confirming her baby's short life, if the child was born, like Karter, too soon according to existing state law.

Losing Karter was something I'd feared but didn't voice. In my heart, I knew something and someone had to ensure Louisiana redefined stillbirth. January 1, 2019 marked the one year anniversary of my family planting a Magnolia Tree in our backyard as a living memorial to Karter. I still had to do more. The tree, the photos and the baptismal certificate were all helpful but something else needed to happen to help other mothers cope with the loss of their infant child.
A Magnolia Tree sits in our backyard in memory of Karter. 
With research in hand, my personal story, and passion to make a difference, a few days into the New Year, I visited State Sen. Pugh, shared my story with him and he did everything else. I know getting full support of House Bill 177 was daunting and I followed the bill's progress from the first day of the Louisiana Legislative Session in April, tracking its movement through the system weekly. When I got the alert June 4, the bill landed on the governor's desk after months of legislative drafts and he SIGNED it, first came the silent scream with clenched teeth and then an outburst of joyful tears. 
Gov. John Bel Edwards signed HB 177 into law during the 2019 LA regular legislative session. 
The new law, https://legiscan.com/LA/bill/HB177/2019, gives any Louisiana mother who delivers a stillborn child at any point in the pregnancy, the option to request and purchase a certificate of stillbirth. In a strange and satisfying twist of faith, Karter is living up to the definition of his name. For that, I'm ever grateful. While I know the law helps women I'll never meet, I'm comforted knowing my son's birth was truly divine intervention and he's in heaven proud of his mother.

If you know anyone who's having a difficult time grieving the loss of their infant child, please visit, https://www.verywellfamily.com/miscarriage-support-organizations-2371339.

In addition to becoming an advocate, I have even more good news to share. Karter also is the reason I ran my first 5k, a few days after his birthday in September 2018. We wanted to do something that was unique and still impacted people on behalf of Karter. The Hope for Hemophilia organization supports people who are born with a blood deficiency, http://www.hopeforhemophilia.org/what-we-do.html. The organization hosts several seminars and fundraisers throughout the year but the annual SuperHero run/walk was perfect for us, http://www.superherohope.com/. It's become Karter's unofficial birthday party, allowing our immediate family to participate as runners or walkers in his honor.


The Superhero Run, held annually in September, is the perfect way for us to contribute to a worthy cause as we keep Karter alive. Here's a link to the organization, if you'd like to join us this year,  https://www.louisiananorthshore.com/event/superhero-fun-run-walk-benefiting-hope-for-hemophilia/337/.

I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to publicly comment here or privately e-mail me at NewsHeels@Gmail.com.


Wednesday, August 8, 2018

Tween Strikes Back at Bullies with Shoe Line


How Did She Go From Bullied to Brand Executive?

Photo Courtesy of Amiya Steed--Steed's sneakers exhibit positive affirmations to help girls feel good about themselves. The shoes are the result of Steed being creative while standing up to bullies. 
By Maniko Barthelemy

Who are you wearing? The question is directly asked and often associated with celebrities being interviewed at red carpet events. The answer is important, since clothing and shoes signify peculiar assertions about the designer and the customer.

That same pressure and pressure exists when it comes to children. It’s a sad but serious reality and begins as early as elementary. As students head back to school, the question about their clothes or sometimes more importantly, their shoes, is not asked as a compliment. Couple that with bullies preying on students, and you have a situation that stresses a child and frustrates a parent. “Two boys kept throwing pencils, saying rude things to me,” said 11-year-old Amiya Steed.
Photo Courtesy of Amiya Steed--Amiya Steed is an 11-year-old entrepreneur and emerging actress. In 2016, she launched AMAK by Amiya footwear.
That experience in the second grade for Amiya helped her hit back in a professional way and tap into her creativity and the pre-teen retail market as a CEO of her own brand of sneakers. “Why don’t I make shoes for kids just because of how they look and how they act with words that say you’re beautiful, pretty smart?”

As a third-grader, Amiya officially launched AMAK by Amiya footwear, her line of sneakers in 2016. Instead of a logo, she uses language that states exactly the opposite of what bullies spew. Self-expressive positive words like faith, wonderful, astounding, assertive, boss, etc. cover her black or white lace-up, low-top sneakers.

Amiya tailors every pair to her exclusive female client’s request. “My customers tell me the design,” she said. “I share that with the manufacturer overseas.” The lace-up shoes are comfortable walkers made with breathable cotton and have a soft rubber sole accented by a solid stripe circling the base of the shoe.  
Photo Courtesy of Amiya Steed-The low-top walkers with rubber soles are covered with complimentary words, some of which, clients request, when ordering the shoes Amiya designs.
The tween’s company independently markets and sells the sneakers but is plans to expand its brand by sharing space one day with heavyweights like Nike, Reebok and Adidas. Just as those multi-billion dollar industry giants deliver on the expectations of shoe and fashion fanatics, Amiya knows her target audience well. She markets specifically to girls between 9 and 13 years old who are vying to stand-up to bullies and solidify their identity through affordable fashion with a principle.

She does not have to go far to find out what they want, since Amiya actually sees potential customers daily.  “I love shoes,” she said. She proudly wears her shoes to school and some of her most loyal clients are her friends.

To find out more about AMAK by Amiya, visit www.AmiyaSteed.com . You can also follow her on Instagram @AmiyaTheCelebKid.

Amiya’s story is one of several weekly stories you’ll see here throughout the summer, as part of “How Did She…?” The series will focus on women who are defying the odds in various industries.
We value your feedback and story suggestions. Feel free to contact us at NewsHeels@gmail.com.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Vacation Notification

Thanks for visiting NewsHeels.BlogSpot.com. I'm on vacation until August 8. 

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