Today we are highlighting more fantastic moms from towns nearby. It’s amazing what us moms can do! You’ll love getting to know Lisa, Kelly and Donna. Two are authors and one is a mompreneur. All three feature items that every mom should know about – and could make great gifts or come in handy this holiday season!
If you missed our previous blogs, you can always click on the “Just For Moms” category and then “Moms on the Move” to read them. And if you know of a Triad mom you’d like for us to feature, please email me at Katie@TriadMomsOnMain.com.
Enjoy these write-ups …
Lisa Coleman
Have you ever tried to stay on a budget? Failed miserably? Clemmons resident Lisa Coleman and her husband Craig did, too. They couldn’t figure out where their money was going each month. So Craig, a software developer, wrote a web program that they could use on their smartphones. The idea was to keep track of daily expenses, like groceries, gas, dining out, etc. They started seeing what they were spending and it made it easier to save money.
In January of 2012, Lisa and Craig decided to turn this web program into an app for the iPhone called Spense. Spense is an easy to use, on the go way to track your daily spending. It lets you see what you are spending, so it’s much easier to save. Lisa’s main focus with Spense was making sure the design was clean, attractive, and user friendly. Lisa also designed the Spense website, www.spenseapp.com, and maintains the blog.
Spense was launched on September 4, 2012. Thanks to Lisa’ s marketing efforts, Spense was featured on three local news programs, in two local newspapers, and in thirty-seven national newspapers and news channels within the first two weeks. Lisa works daily to keep up the marketing for Spense, as well as maintain the website, work with social media, and answer any emails from Spense users. She and Craig are also working on an update to Spense, and soon will have an Android version.
Kelly Sipe
As the mother of two daughters, ages 10 and 19 months, Kelly (along with her husband John) maintain a busy home life in Greensboro, as Kelly navigates through the triumphs and tribulations of the onset of puberty and toddlerhood simultaneously!
In the field of education for over 17 years, Kelly currently teaches kindergarten at Greensboro Day School. She finds daily inspiration through her students and her own children, which fuels her passion to share what she has learned over the years with others. She has written blogs (including some for TMoM!) and articles on the topics of parenting, education, diversity and child development. She is also frequently a speaker/leader at workshops on topics such as kindergarten readiness, reading readiness, teaching empathy to children and how to build relationships and improve communication with your students and their families.
Kelly recently published a children’s book What It Takes to Be a Hero which provides a framework for all children to see the potential that they have inside of them; their voices are strong, their hands are big and the choices they make are powerful enough to make a positive difference in the lives of others. It just takes one small act of kindness or one small act of courage in order to be a hero to someone else. Through the social situations in the book, positive peer pressure is demonstrated. The back of the book houses discussion questions which will provide a framework for families and/or teachers to have thoughtful conversations around the issues of peer pressure, empathy and social responsiveness.
Her book is available online at Amazon.com or through her directly (kellysipe@aol.com). She will also be signing books at Barnes & Noble (Friendly Center, Greensboro) on Saturday, December 1. Kelly’s first book, Whispers In Your Ear, was published in 2011. This book began as a poem that she wrote for a former student who experienced the unexpected loss of a parent. This book makes a heartwarming gift for adults who have experienced the loss of a loved one.
Donna Small
Though some may think turning your dreams turn into reality is nothing more than luck, Donna Small knows that the true path to achieving your dream is persistence and a lot of hard work – hours and hours of it, in fact.
As a wife and mother of two, Donna (another Clemmons resident) keeps herself busy. Between shuttling her daughters to school, activities, play-dates, and working full-time as the Finance Director for The Centers for Exceptional Children, she has managed to pursue her dream of becoming a writer.
From the time she was able to read, she would develop stories in her mind and then put them to paper. To this day, there are several unfinished novels scattered throughout her house, some of which are being used as craft paper by her children.
Although she wasn’t able to write as often as she would have liked during her children’s infant and toddler years, her passion for the written word never dulled. Over the past several years, she has carved out some time every day (yes, every day!) to write. Though she has had some success with literary journals and on-line magazines, it wasn’t until recently that her dream of becoming a published author was realized.
After many attempts and enough rejection letters to wallpaper a room, she finally received word that her first novel was going to be published. This novel, Just Between Friends, was released in August of this year by Second Wind Publishing. It falls into the women’s literature genre and has been compared to Emily Giffen’s, Something Borrowed. Just Between Friends tells the story of Emma Stewart, who is in love with her best friend’s husband and how she handles the situation when her best friend begins an illicit affair.
The book can be purchased from Amazon.com, Barnhill’s book store in Winston Salem, and A.L.O.E in Lewisville .Feel free to visit Donna at www.donnasmall.com. She loves to hear from her readers!
