atlanta

Amazing Music from How Sweet The Sound Atlanta

September 13, 2012 By DanaJ Leave a Comment

Monday night, I attended Verizon’s How Sweet The Sound. I invited my mom to attend with me because she loves gospel music.

All images taken with my Samsung Galaxy SIII from Verizon

Before the concert started, we had a meet and greet with the hosts and judges. Unfortunately, I missed most of it because of ATL traffic. I did get to see the judges and hosts backstage and take a quick photo before they escaped to get ready.

Competitions judges Bishop Hezekiah Walker, CeCe Winans, Erica Campbell of Mary Mary,

hosts Donald Lawrence and Yolanda Adams and competition judge Fred Hammond

The show included six choir performances mixed in with performances from the judges and Yolanda Adams. Donald Lawrence even preached about how we all need to live in our own grace. Powerful message! The stage setup and ambiance made the experience truly one of a kind. The choirs all sounded fantastic and looked great too. Some wore robes, while others wore coordinating black outfits. One group wore these flashy blue dresses. The women looked fly in them

Remember when I mentioned that I really wanted to see Atlanta West Pentecostal? They did NOT disappoint. The choir took home the big win here. Their energy from the stage was so powerful. Everyone in the audience was on their feet. I believe they were strategically placed last in the competition order they rocked the place. I got some video of them with my Samsung Galaxy SIII but it is taking forever to upload. I DID find a church members video of the performance on YouTube. It’s excellent:

If you have never attended How Sweet The Sound, it really is a great event! Pre event, we enjoyed the Verizon photo booth and United Healthcare was on hand to discuss health plans and perform health screenings. Backstage before the concert one of the Atlanta West Pentecostal Church choir members extended an invitation to me to attend their concert this Sunday at 6pm. It’s a free event and you can check it out on their calendar here for anyone interested.

Huge thanks to Verizon Wireless for extending an invitation for me to attend. My mom and I had a wonderful time. My giveaway winner did too. Have a great Thursday!

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: atlanta, gospel, How Sweet The Sound, music

Verizon Wireless How Sweet the Sound Giveaway

September 3, 2012 By DanaJ Leave a Comment

For the past five years, Verizon’s How Sweet The Sound^TMGospel Celebration has paid tribute to gospel music and provided choirs a platform to showcase talent. Earlier this year, choirs entered to compete for a chance to win cash and prizes during the nationwide competition. Verizon extended an invitation for me to attend with a guest! I’ve been looking up the choirs competing on YouTube in anticipation of the big day and they sound fantastic. I’m excited to see Atlanta West Pentecostal Church Choir. They are the returning champions:

Don’t they sound so good? Here’s a preview of the 2011 Finale:

The competition is coming to Atlanta on September 10 at Philips Arena at 7:30pm. Verizon Wireless reached out to me and fellow Ambassadors to giveaway 2 tickets to the show for our blog readers to enjoy. If you would like to enter, please make sure that you are in the Atlanta area and able to attend on Monday, September 10th at Phillips Arena 7:30 pm! Feel free to enter from today until Thursday. I will announce the winner on Friday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For the Tweet, you can use this sample: I just entered to win tickets to @HSTSCelebration in Atlanta from @TheGreatDanaJ http://ow.ly/dqjSO

(from)

For more information about How Sweet The Sound, check out the website here.

Filed Under: Contest Tagged With: atlanta, contest, How Sweet The Sound, verizon wireless

Relaxing in Atlanta

January 7, 2011 By DanaJ 3 Comments

Just before the end of 2010, I had the opportunity to visit Exhale Atlanta inside of the Loews Atlanta Hotel during their Exhale Atlanta tweetup. In early 2010, I toured the unfinished Loews and I even came back to visit the spa on a few other visits before it was completed. This was my first time seeing the completed spa, wellness and fitness areas and I have to admit, it was worth the wait! The beautiful decor and convenience of a gym, spa and wellness area make Exhale a unique gem in Midtown.

Here is the nail bar where they offer Pure manicures and pedicures.

They use Butter London non toxic nail color

Relaxing therapy room where they offer spa therapies like massages and facials. They also offer healing therapies like acupuncture and cupping.

The state of the art gym area overlooks midtown. Each machine has a personal tv, and you can plug your iPod or mp3 in. The view of the city was gorgeous at night!

This sign was a great reminder of how we should disconnect and just relax!

Exhale yoga studio

After touring the spa, I had the opportunity to try one of the Core Fusion classes. The class was a great calorie torching one hour full body work out. The leg and glute work had me sore the next day. But I enjoyed the challenge and definitely can’t wait to go back.

The cool thing about Exhale Spa is the membership plan setup. You can select to pay per class, monthly, or become a member of Fusion. All of the customizable options ensure that each plan can be tailored to individual needs. I have started a list of all the things I want to experience on my next visit!

What’s your favorite spa, gym or nail place in Atlanta?

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: accupuncture, atlanta, core fusion, exhale spa, fitness, gym, midtown, spa, tweetup, wellness center

Light The Night Walk

October 10, 2010 By DanaJ 1 Comment

This weekend I participated in my first Light the Night Walk for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! I walked with the Maggies’ Marchers team. I found out about the event from a tweet by my friend Glissel. Atlanta Falcons player, John Abraham started the team to honor his mother and her aggressive fight against lymphoma this year. She aggressively fought lymphoma from spring 2010 through August. I’ve heard of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society before, but I have never personally been affected by leukemia or lymphoma. After learning more about the society and the efforts to fund blood cancer research, patient services and education, I decided that I would love to be involved in the walk. We met for a group dinner at Rise Sushi before heading over to the walk. As an added bonus when we arrived I found out that John Abraham personally autographed photos for each of his team members. I wasn’t suspecting that at all. I already framed mine!

This was my first walk! And in particular, I love the fact that it was a night event. The weather was perfect at about 65 degrees. Not too hot or too cold. The walk was 2 miles downtown. We started at Centennial Park and walked at a leisurely pace past the CNN Center, Georgia State, The State Bar of Georgia and down Peachtree Street with lighted balloons. Red balloons represented support, gold represented remembrance and white for survivors. I enjoyed the walk and the city skyline was a perfect background. I loved seeing the different teams and spirit throughout Centennial Park. While we walked the balloons swayed in the air lighted in recognition of the cause. The turnout was fantastic and I hope that a lot of money and awareness were raised for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! Feel free to learn more about the team and donate here.

Our group outside of Rise Sushi before the walk.

Filed Under: Life & More Tagged With: atlanta, Atlanta Falcons, John Abraham, leukemia, Light the night walk, lymphoma, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, tweet

Race Relax 5k

June 7, 2010 By DanaJ Leave a Comment

This past weekend I enjoyed running in the Virginia Highlands Summer Fest 5k! This was my second 5k but it was my first tweet-up/social media 5k event. I participated in Get Moving! Race and Relax with a group of diverse, talented and beautiful ladies. For some this was their first race, but for others this was just another race to add to the tally sheet. Overall, each of us were able to get together and enjoy the day first with the race, followed by a relaxing brunch sponsored by The Walt Disney Company at Einsteins ATL.

Me talking with The Broke Socialite

The pre race photo with everyone!

Our lovely event organizers Lorraine & Christie: The BlogRollers!

Me with Lisa

Me focused on finishing the race. This was one tough 5k with the hills of the Virginia Highlands and the heat. I wanted to set a PR, however, once I realized how hot it was and that I had not properly fueled up on pre race water, that wasn’t happening! I happily finished at 31:29. I didn’t beat my time from the Susan G. Komen 5k a few weeks ago. But I was satisfied nonetheless!

I smiled because I saw our photographer (@NuDad) ready to snap photos at the finish line!

All of us with the after race glow at the finished line!

Us with our trophies at Einsteins for brunch!

Our swag bag and all the gifts it gave! The bag was sponsored by Winesisterhood. The Disney Princess Half Marathon shoulder bag and spa gift certificate came from The Walt Disney World Resort. Our custom t shirts, trophies and pre race Cherry tart juice from The Cherry Marketing Institute. We received spa samples (which I tested out as soon as I got home) from Pampered by Adrienne. Maria Bailey (@MomTalkRadio) added the Zippity Do’s hair conditioner (which is FANTASTIC and I definitely plan to buy) and BioGaia to our bags. It definitely felt like Christmas in June!

I can’t wait until the next Race Relax event. I really enjoyed myself and met some great social media enthusiasts I can relate to. The best part was getting to know so many new people before the race and at the brunch. I’m so thankful I got to be apart of this fun day!

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: 5k, atlanta, race, relax, running, Social media