All Things Women

Australian Girl Birthday Video Competition 2010

2010-10-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

Hayley & Sarah Solich - Beyond the Winter Debut Single

2010-06-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

Enjoy my 12 year old daughter, Sarah's debue single, a duet with me entitled Beyond the Winter!

Choices for Women Workshop, 5 June 2010

2010-05-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

How to get your creative juices flowing

2010-05-03T23:16:00.000-07:00

Hayley Solich: 5 tips to a fabulous website.

2010-05-02T05:46:00.000-07:00

You just never know where your words are going to end up!

2010-02-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

I was on Twitter chatting with a friend and I told her about my daughter and something she had said when she was a young child. She'd drawn a picture of the family but her younger sister was missing from the picture. When asked where she was, she replied with a very serious face, "She's still in the pencil, silly." We all erupted in laughter because she was such a funny little thing.

Well, Dr Lynn Dorman Phd, an American Psychologist was in the process of writing her e-book, "You can totally screw up as a mom and still raise great kids!" She sent me a direct message asking if she could use that quote in her e-book.

Well, surprise, surprise, her e-book is finished and there is Sarah's quote on Page 84.

I love the thought that a 70 year old woman would take the time to share her wisdom with the younger generations. There is just something very special about our Elders and it touches my heart when they desire to reach out and pass on what they know.

Here is some info about the E-book, just in case you are interested in the book.

Dr Lynn Dorman, a 70 year old New Yorker with a Ph.D. in Psychology and a law degree is the author of "You can totally screw up as a mom and still raise great kids!"

She says, "I managed years of teaching, doing therapy and psychological evaluations, and engaging in developmental research. I wrote some textbooks, got married, had a son, got divorced and through it all kept playing sports and keeping my sense of humor and of the absurd. [Which was sorely needed at times as I practiced law in the area of child abuse and neglect.]"

She also goes on to say that if she, a fully qualified psychologist with all her years of practical and theoretical experience, can make mistakes, why are you expecting yourself to be the perfect parent?

Lynn writes a completely practical, at times very insightful, expose of life as a parent and addresses the questions for which most parents are desperate for reassurance and answers.

Her wisdom gleaned from a lifetime of service, her humour and candidness are worth far more than the cost of this e-book.

Highly recommended as an easy read with tools that will help you to discover the answers to those questions that are most pressing in relation to parenting.

Click here to purchase your copy of Lynn Dorman Ph.D.'s book.

Make-it-happen Personal & Business Mentoring Program

2010-02-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

When I first came up with the concept of the Make-It-Happen Business & Personal Mentoring Program, it was because I saw so many of the women that surrounded me full of vision but with no pathway towards that vision.

Sure, we all have ideas of what can happen, but how many of us really transform those ideas into reality? How many of us know how to "make-it-happen"?

So what stops us from being able to bring into fruition those things that we see for our lives? It may be:

Procrastination - it looks hard so we think we'll do it sometime
Lack of knowledge or skill - we know what we want but we really don't know how to go about it
Lack of motivation - we would like to do it but there are just some blockages in our beliefs or values that are keeping us from moving forward in leaps and bounds
Lack of vision - an inability to see the pathway towards achieving the goal
Frightened of failure - we are frightened of letting ourselves and others down
Worried about what others think - we live in the fear of being rejected
Lack of focus - we are so busy responding to opportunities we lose sight of our direction

Or a combination of many of them.

Whatever your reason, there is always a way where there, it is often just a matter of finding the will to find the way. As my mother always said to me, "There is no such thing as can't, only won't!" and I have to agree. Sometimes we just need someone in our lives to not only keep us accountable, but to also give us the practical support.

When I founded Women Can International Inc in 2007, it was in response to a desire I had to reinforce the message that Women Can. 'She can turn her can'ts into cans' was the topic I was invited to speak on at a ladies meeting and as I was leaving the meeting to drive home I felt the responsibility of carrying that message further abroard. Consequently, Women Can International Inc was born and carries the vision to help women to find and take the next step in their journey.

Since then I have seen so many women with desire, some with the motivation to achieve their goals, but many lacking something, some key ingredient to their life recipe.

It is my pleasure to work with women to achieve their success and I am seeing real results.

An example of how this program is working...One of the women I have been working with for the past 12 months is Kath Mazzella OAM.

Kath Mazzella is a Gynae Cancer survivor who is transitioning from community volunteering to a much higher public speaking profile. When I met Kath she had lots of ideas but no clear pathway. We were able to sit down together, to plot out where she was, where she wanted to get to and a pathway. I call this my 3C's approach:

Clarify the vision
Crystalise the plan
Create the pathway

Through this process, Kath and I identified some areas where her skills or knowledge needed improvement and put together a plan of how to overcome these. Her Action plan was an empowering co-creation process.

12 months on and Kath now has her promotional kit together including: her website, business cards, promotional DL sized cards, a powerpoint presentation for her Communications Workshop, a speaking tour of NSW lined up, a grant proposal for a WA speaking tour prepared, she is featured in Finally at 40 magazine in March edition 2010, has a book that I am writing with her 60% completed. Kath's also been given speaking opportunities at our Petticoats & Pearls event, plus a range of positive connections that will keep her inspired and busy for the next 12 months.

We are connecting once a week to keep her projects moving forward and on track, because it is so easy for Kath to get other ideas and chase after them. Sometimes you need someone to say, "Hey, slow down and focus." Kath is really blossoming through the whole process. Plus we have had the added bonus of a very special and rewarding interdependent relationship.

Kath is just one example of the many women that I am working with in my business, The Creaticians. Others include public speakers, trainers, artists, small business owners in a range of busineses, authors, online business owners, and business consultants. Visit my site and read the testimonials of my clients. These are real women, living real lives and experiencing real change in their businesses.

If you are looking for someone to come alongside, to inspire, connect, facilitate growth and encourage you to "Make-it-happen", then why not claim your free 30 minute consultation with me valued at $90. Those that have taken up this consultation offer, often tell me they get way more than they expected out of the opportunity.

To find out more about the Make-It-Happen Business or Personal Projects Mentoring Program visit The Creaticians website.

Kath Mazzella on Sexual and Gynae Health Awareness

2010-01-19T11:31:00.001-08:00

Kath Mazzella is a Gynae Cancer survivor and this is her address to those gather for the Vulva Awareness Day in Perth, Western Australia, 2009.

Kath Mazzella

2009-12-16T06:18:00.001-08:00

Kath's incredible message to the world about losing her genitalia.

The Easy Way - How a Woman Deals with A Man's Reluctance to Maintain His Plumbing

2009-10-14T09:23:00.003-07:00

This video explores the female/male partnership in relation to maintaining the plumbing in the household. Check out how this diminutive woman motivates her husband to desert the TV to go fix the leaking tap!

The Easy Way - How a Woman Deals with A Man's Reluctance to Maintain His Plumbing

2009-10-14T09:23:00.001-07:00

Susan Boyle ~ ''Wild Horses'' by TommyUSA

2009-10-10T20:32:00.001-07:00

Just love this. Can't wait for her CD to come out, cause it's going to be sublime.

Life's Wisdom

2009-10-10T19:32:00.001-07:00

Enjoy what life has taught me.

Online Marketing Proformas - successful or not?

2009-04-10T04:27:00.001-07:00

I have been watching online marketers for many years now. You know, the ones that work with a one page proforma where they make you an offer, tease you with a free product, in the hopes of securing your email address or even better, you buying into the product. Then they bombard you with testimonials about how great their product is, kind of like the midday and middle of the night commercials you see on television. My question is, do these really work?

For me, I look, see that they are the same old standard approach and immediately they have lost me. Is this how others feel?

As someone who is involved in packaging and marketing, I'd really appreciate the feedback of my online friends as I am going to be advising my clients in relation to these processes. What are the outcomes for this type of marketing? Is anyone doing it and having huge success?

I know this probably sounds just a little cynical, but I've seen a lot of people selling business and marketing systems and having a bit of success with selling the systems, but how many who buy these systems are also experiencing success? There is lots of talk of growing rich online, but I'd like to see the evidence of it. Anyone who has an opinion is welcome to post a response. I am truly interested in what you think.

It just makes you wonder about Twitter Grader.com

2009-03-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

I have been studying Twitter Grader for some time now, as I can see that people put a lot of value on being ranked highly there.

In my study, I have noticed how easy it is to influence the rankings merely by conversing with others, by retweeting their tweets and by increasing the number of followers you have and the quality of those that are following you and your ability to engage them interactively.

Then I thought to myself last night, how would I be ranked if I were in America instead of Australia? So I decided to do a little test. To change my location settings in Twitter.com to New York, USA. The outcome was astounding. I was ranked in the 600's when my location was Perth, Western Australia. Then suddenly I ranked in the top 200's when I changed my location to New York. This raises a lot of questions about the validity of the rankings system. My rating of 99.98 went up to 100 as well and the only change was a change of location!

This tells me that the whole Twitter Grader.com site is biased towards people living in America.

I have decided that I will no longer support this site in protest of it's rating system.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

"I" Live

2009-03-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

Just love Kurt's gorgeous voice. Goes straight through you.

If you like this, you'll probably love the Shrek Hallelujah version he does, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2NEU6Xf7lM&feature=related

Do you have WISDOM to share?

2009-03-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

The 1 pound miracle baby

2009-03-21T23:59:00.000-07:00

Saw this video and it made me cry. What a miracle of life and determination on the part of one so small. Also, you could almost tangibly feel the love of the parents pouring into this child.

An invitation to women in Perth, WA

2009-03-20T03:58:00.000-07:00

I'd like to extend an invitation to all women to come and meet us at the Portabello Restaurant and bring along your girlfriends.

9:30am, 4th April, 2009, Portabello Kinross, 3 Shin Way, Kinross 6028.

Looking forward to seeing you girls there!

All Things Women Radio Show: Interview with Beth Graham-Aumau

2009-03-19T00:56:00.001-07:00

Today on the All Things Women Program I interviewed Beth Graham-Aumau from the Small Business Centre, North-West metro office based in Joondalup.

Beth shared her personal business journey and also valuable information about what the Small Business Centre offers small business owners and also tips for people starting out in business.

To listen to the audio, click here.

All Things Women Radio Show: Interview with Chantal Vanderhaeghen from Franc

2009-03-19T00:50:00.001-07:00

Today on the All Things Women radio program on Twin Cities FM 89.7 I interviewed Chantal Vanderhaeghen, the founder and owner of Franc, a natural range of skin care products.

Chantal was invited to share her business journey and how she created this range of original, completely natural skin care products.

Here is the audio of the interview.

For more information visioin Chantal's website.

The Great Aussie Tweetup - Anzac Day

2009-03-15T05:56:00.000-07:00

Arising out of the positive feedback we've had from our Leederville Tweetup video on YouTube.com, the desire to create a mexican wave of Tweetups around Australia was born.

So, we made an executive decision, that's @womencan and @ausi1, that we should Tweetup on a signficant day. So the Anzac Day Tweetup is a celebration of the Anzac spirit that pulls all us Aussies together.

#aussietweetup and #town are the hashtags to use to tell everyone about your event.

We are challenging, from a very positive place, anyone out there that would like to start a mexican wave in your area, to start to tweet about this event.

For all the Perth crew, we are going to have our Tweetup at Kings Park Cafe, Kings Park (next to Fraser's Restaurant) and make the most of the Anzac Day spirit that Kings Park embodies at 2pm on 25 April 2009.

Wouldn't it be great if all Tweeters around Aussie got on board and filmed their events and posted them to YouTube.com and then tweeted the links under the #aussietweetup hashtag.

The challenge is on...which town or city or place in Aussie is going to have the best attendance and the most creative video uploaded???

Ranked 15th in the Top 100 Most Influential Twitterers

2009-03-15T01:24:00.000-07:00

According to Social Networking News Daily, the list of Australia’s Top 100 Influential Twitterers was created and is powered by @nickhac of ShiftedPixels the Online Influence Agency based in Sydney, Australia.

Social Networking News Daily says that there are many lists out there on the web like Meg’s effort on Dipping into the Blogpond to keep the Top 100 Australian Blogs list updated, and Leigh’s list of the Top 100 Australian Women’s Blogs however, no-one has posted the Top Twitterati from Australia… so Nick took it upon himself to Be The One to do it… and why not seeing as Twitters growth is escalating at a very rapid pace.

Further, originally, he thought to list 50 of the top Aussie Tweeters and once word got out, they all came out of the woodweb and left their ID’s or were recommended in the comments. Hence, it has become a list of Australia’s Top 100 Influential Twitterers.

Of course, if it means getting the positive 'you can' message out there to women, I am thrilled to be listed...

Tweetup at Leederville

2009-03-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

A new ship to launch...

2009-03-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

I am privileged to be working with Kath Mazzella, an international women's sexual and gynaecological health campaigner.

Kath was recently awarded by the Moment Women's Forum in Perth and presented by the Governor-General an award for being an inspirational woman in the community.

Kath, a cancer survivor, has been valiantly campaigning for the past 15 years!

Many say Kath is 5 years ahead of her time and I know that it is going to be my privilege to help her get her message out to the marketplace. Here is a photo of us together today...

Here is also a promo that I did for Kath last September to promote the International Gynae Awareness Day on 10 September.

How to Get the Biggest Bang for your Buck

2009-03-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

Watch this video - it will get you thinking...

2009-03-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

Perth Girls Tweetup @WomenCan's!

2009-03-10T01:19:00.001-07:00

@EliseBerenger came over for a cuppa. While she was with me we had some fun with my iMac computer.

We took a photo with the photo booth capacity.

And stuffed around with making a video...

Had we both not been on Twitter we would never have met, despite living only one suburb apart.

To quote Elise,in relation to Twitter, "To connect is just brilliant!"

Gorgeous artwork...Music stunning.

2009-03-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

Check out this beautiful video.

A very moving video about life...

2009-03-09T08:03:00.000-07:00

Very inspirational, touching and incredibly real. Awesome typography!

Another hard life lesson

2009-03-08T20:28:00.001-07:00

Since the blog post about my painful life lesson it seems that life has taken me on, seriously.

The life lesson was that I need to listen to my inner voice and trust it more and to give voice to what it is telling me.

Since the workshop, life has been placing me in situations that have caused me to have to look at my childhood and how it is influencing how I am now.

As I went back in time I revisited the abuse I'd suffered as a child that had robbed me of my voice. Suddenly, every day became filled with an issue that related to my "lack of a voice" and the pressure has become immense on me to change.

So today I am taking back my personal power. I have decided twice today what I do and do not want to accept into my world and I have grabbed hold of my voice and started to use it again. It has truly been liberating.

If you are reading this and you relate to what I am saying, please leave a comment. Every day we have the power to decide how our world will be. I do not need to be that voiceless child that was disempowered. I can be an empowered adult who is able to say no to things that are not positive in my life.

Hayley's Chicken Pies

2009-03-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

Here is my recipe for the Twitter #recipeXchange:

Hayley's Chicken Pies (Makes 8 pies)

4 Puff pastry sheets
2 chicken breast fillets
1/2 tin Campbells (or other) Chicken and Corn condensed soup
Crushed garlic
Soy Sauce
Olive oil

Method:
Dice the chicken into pieces.
Brown the chicken in olive oil in a hot fry pan, lightly coating with garlic (about a teaspoon) and soy sauce (pour over chicken enough to lightly coat each piece of chicken).
Once chicken is just cooked through remove from heat.
Cut pastry sheets on the diagonal in half.
Place several pieces of chicken (about 3-4) in the middle of the triangle.
Add to the meat a tablespoon of condensed soup (do not pre-heat the soup)
Then fold the edges of the triangle on the longest side in to meet the bottom point of the triangle. (Should make the triangle now look like a square).
Use a fork to press the edges together along the edges that are not sealed (one edge is a fold and doesn't need to be forked)
Place in a hot oven (approx 180-200) and cook for approx 20 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.
Serve with a side salad or vegetables.

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 20 mins

This is what love is...Misty Edwards

2009-03-07T20:17:00.001-08:00

Saw this video today and it sent a wave of tingles through my body. This is what love is...

Embedded Video

All Things Women: The Value of Twitter!

2009-03-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

All Things Women: The Value of Twitter!

http://twittalk.tv/

First Segment - Had a Blast!!!

2009-03-05T07:32:00.000-08:00

Today was my first session of the All Things Women radio show on Twin Cities FM Radio, Perth, Western Australia.

It was so exciting, because I am now the official Radio Announcer for the time slot 9-12 on a Thursday morning.

It is also exciting because now I can finally launch into my style of presenting. I've already lined up a cast of women to be interviewed over the coming months and I'm really starting to see the show take shape.

There was so much valuable information shared yesterday on the program. The focus of the morning was "Women in Business" and we asked the question, "If you were giving someone starting a new business advice, what one piece of advice would you give them?"

I thought I'd share some of the responses here so that my readers could appreciate the great wisdom that came out of my Twitter friends (a special thanks to you all that contributed!).

The Fitness Guy says… Make sure you believe in what you are doing and be willing to take the time to plan. Does it make you smile?Make sure you believe in what you are doing and be willing to take the time to plan. Does it make you smile?

The Fitness Guy also says… Here's another piece of advise...Join groups and/or get coaches that are successful at what you want to do. Huge impact!

Amit from Vienna…. Keep the faith in yourself above all else

Janet Beckers from NSW says… Outsource earlier than you think you can then spend the free time on marketing & product development & more marketing & more marketing

Jim Yiapanis from Melbourne … Know your strengths, know your weaknesses and establish your support network

Tessa from Singleton Hi Hayley,my advice: Be optimistic.A disaster can be useful-if you learn from it! Be creative with resources. Looking forward to your show Hi Hayley,my advice: Be optimistic. A disaster can be useful-if you learn from it! Be creative with resources.

Peter Fletcher from Burswood Do something that you'd do even if you weren't being paid.

Kay Ballard The truth? Have lots of cash and don't expect people to be charmed that you are boot strapping! LOL
Essentially, “boot strapping” means self-financed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bootstrapping

Henry Harris from Maryland in the US - Good morning, in starting a business, keep the business a separate entity. I carried the credit personally and now it shows.

CrozfromOz I couldn't wait for success so I went ahead anyway

Jennifer Givler from East Fallowfield, Pasadona in the US says… Be clear about WHO you help and HOW you help.

Patricia Rossi, Protocol Coach from the USA says…Get Mentored By Leaders That have Been in the Biz You Are Getting Ready to Go INTO. Ask about Their Highs&Lows Surprises Good&Bad.

Danalynbyers says I suggest taking the time to complete a business plan to review monthly so the new venture doens't go off track.
Teresa Morrow from St Peter’sburgh Florida Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Lee Amon 1)Make sure you have the resources to get through hard times, 2)have a plan. 3)Do one thing really well

Yogesh Goel from India says…Have lots of persevereance & patience & committment & punctuality. what else do u need.

Jude from UK Make sure you're passionate about your company and your products/service

The Value of Twitter!

2009-03-04T23:04:00.000-08:00

I have been on Twitter for the past 12 months. During that time I have built up a following of approximately 2800 people and am currently ranked in the top 10 in Australia on Twitter. (See http://twitter.grader.com/index.php?Action=TwitterUsersByLocation&Country=AU

Some people have asked me "What is Twitter?" "Why do you spend so much time twittering?"

To answer that question I would say Twitter is probably the most instant social network I've ever seen. The conversations, the level of relationship you can build, happens very rapidly and as far as I can see,the quality of the friendships is very rich and rewarding.

If I have a question about anything, I simply twitter that question and within seconds I have people tweeting back to me their thoughts, their knowledge, their network connections and my question is well on the way to being solved.

For example, I have a radio show on a Thursday morning. I have introduced a "question" every week that gives my listeners the opportunity to interact with me. I simply post the question on Twitter and people from all around the world post their comments back to me. Within 30 minutes I have enough material for my whole radio program. It really is extraordinary and amazing!

Another example, I decided recently to write a book called "Life's Lessons - Collective Wisdom". I recognised that between us we hold so much wisdom from our life experiences and wouldn't it be great to share that wisdom with others. So I put up a request for submissions for the book. Within a very short space of time, I had people emailing me with their suggestions and submissions. This is unheard of in the "real" world.

Another example, I am a musician and I recently connected with a professional musician in the States. In one conversation with them I was able to unlock a whole software program to get my music moving forward. Access to professionals like this is difficult in the "real" world.

People may have an attitude about "cyber" relationships but I see the beauty of people from all around the world sharing their knowledge and resources collectively for the good of the majority.

If you want to follow me on Twitter, I am WomanCan. For the investment of time and effort, I am heaping huge rewards. I value the people I meet and what we can exchange and am so thankful for this opportunity to connect worldwide.

Here are some videos that will help you make the most of your twitter experience:

This is a video that explains Twitter in plain English.

All about Tweet Deck - This is a great free program to download to make your Twitter experience smooth.

Want to know a secret to getting your housework done joyfully?

2009-03-03T07:36:00.000-08:00

Today I was feeling a little blue. House was a mess. Kids had issues with the school. Life was giving me some pretty nasty feedback about my lack of order and perfection!

So tonight I was understandably in despair.

But then I decided to do a little music therapy and this is the result.

This music piece will help you to get your housework done with a great attitude, quickly and get you ready for that reward you've been promising yourself if you get your house in order.

It's really motivating...so go on and listen!

Jingles a hit!

2009-03-01T05:12:00.000-08:00

Posted a couple of jingles on Twitter for friends projects and both were a total hit. I've been encouraged to offer this as a service to the masses, so I thought I'd ask my blog followers what they think. Do you think I should offer jingle writing and music clips as a part of the service I offer my customers?

To get a feel for what I'm talking about, here are the links to a couple of jingles I've literally just thrown together. Blokeslib jingle, which incidentally is going to be uploaded on the www.blokeslib.com home page anytime now and the #twitterwedding jingle, which is just a bit of fun for those who are on Twitter.

So do you think I should add this to my repertoire???

All Things Women: 3 Hour Radio Program goes live 1st week march!

2009-02-28T18:31:00.001-08:00

Great news. I have been approved to host a 3 hour radio program on 89.7FM radio, Twin Cities FM radio station, Perth, Western Australia.

There will be a monthly focus for the program and I am looking for guests to interview on the following topics. If you are interested, please email me.

March - Business

April – Community Service

May – Creativity

June – Family

July – Education/Career

August – Adventure

September – Health

October – Managing Your Resources

November – World View

December - Spirituality

I am very excited because I believe this program will be a valuable asset to Twin Cities FM and to all of the community. Join me Thursdays, 9:00 - 12:00, Perth +8:00 GMT

Heartwork Heather's How to Cooeee instructional video

2009-02-28T06:21:00.000-08:00

My funny friend Heartwork Heather's Instructional Video - How to Cooeee!!!
http://gallery.me.com/heartworkheather#100815

I helped my friend on Twitter, Heartwork Heather, teach people who are not from Australia how to Cooeee on video. Cooeeeing is an Australian traditional way by which you can get the attention of someone, especially if they are not within eyesight range.

After our one-to-one instructional phone session on how to use imovie on her Mac, she went away and created this video. I was very proud of her efforts as this was her first video she had made with imovie.

I really enjoyed helping Heather with this project and I know there are other women out there that sometimes struggle with learning new technology or like Heather, just are not sure where to start with a new program and just need a leg up.

If you need one-to-one tuition in how to make the most of some of the technology that surrounds you, especially Mac users, please feel free to follow me on Twitter (WomenCan) or email me and I can let you know what I offer through my business, Up Front Training & Motivation.

Post by Heartwork Heather on Twitter today, 28 Feburary 2008 @ 20:18pm.

@womencan helped me do the cooeee video over the phn!! U're a gr8 1-to-one trainerHAYLEY *giggle* thx heeps! We make quite a team!

A prayer song for my soul...

2009-02-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Tonight I was feeling quite sad and burdened, as you do after going through some major heart work. So as I sat at my computer I decided to sing a prayer and record it. I didn't judge the words or melody, I just let it flow out of me. Then I layered voices over it. This is the end result - I hope you enjoy it. :)))

Sweet Music by Hayley Solich

Processing...the inner workings of the heart.

2009-02-20T05:04:00.000-08:00

When you go through something significant and painful, I find it is the most extraordinary time where there is so much going on below the surface.

For example, if you suffer an injury. The injury may be healed, but the memory of the injury just seems to linger.

So I guess it is no wonder that almost a week on I am still "sore" about what happened last weekend when I learned my painful life lesson.

Is it that I am in "victim" mode, looking for someone to blame for my bad choices? Or is it that I am genuinely trying to comprehend the "why" about what I did. Or could it simply be that this one small event has triggered a heap of unresolved issues that are suddenly surfacing???

Part of me wants to believe that I am relatively in touch with my own emotions and do not need for work on the inner being but another part is saying that all the pain from the years of abuse as a child, the abandonment as a young woman and the ongoing dramas as a mother and wife simply need to find room for expression to be released from my life.

I have been reflecting on the time I spent passing through the "valley of the shadow death", that deep dark place of despair and depression following my son's birth in 2002. Was I just tired and overwhelmed, retreating into a space that protected me or did I have a chemical imbalance due to multiple births in a short space of time? How did I end up there? What could I have done better?

Once again, part of me wants to believe that the children were to blame but another part of me sees it as an accumulative effect in my life and that I chose an "out", the most accessible "out". For it was easier to blame a condition, than to accept the reality of my choices.

So, here I am cogitating...vascillating...contemplating. Which way will I jump? Self-condemnation or self-acceptance. Time will tell.

The beauty of a life lesson learned - Got a story to share?

2009-02-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Time...the great dealer and great revealer...marches on.

As I am reflecting back on my life lesson, the lessons just keep on rolling. Isn't it funny? You sit with yourself and suddenly, after all this struggle, you feel comfortable, in control and able to shut out all the noise, centre and focus.

So what can you expect from the I Can Woman in the future?

An abundance of wisdom - all learned the hard way - and I would love to invite others to post their life lessons. Why not email me your story so I can post it on the All Things Women blog? What hard life lesson did you learn and how?

I'm really looking for some great stories to include in my book that I am currently writing entitled "Fat Girls Can Dance!" - Defying the critics. So if you've got a great story of a difficult life lesson you learned and the inspirational outcome, please take the time to make a contact. If you're not a writer, let us connect on Skype and I can write your story for you.

I look forward to hearing all those wonderful life lessons! I was amazed at just how many people popped by and read my lesson, then took the time to post about it on Twitter or on the blog. You could be making that kind of ripple in the pool of life, so please, contact me or post in the comments.

You live and learn...sometimes painfully!

2009-02-15T07:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I attended a personal development seminar. It was the usual stuff...DISC personality types, vision statements, blind walks, discovering your purpose and passion etc. There was the usual hype - what do we want? Success...Whose success? Mine...What will we give? 200% Yes! There was dancing and team chanting, questions and answers, video clips and the opportunity to name your fear and smash through a piece of board with your bare hands.

By the time the board came around, everyone was on a bit of a high from the day's proceedings. We'd been well fed, revved up and prepped for it...now the time to put our faith into action. We were told, name your fear, write on the board what you want, then focus your energy and smash that fear in your life. Everyone was encouraged to do it...in fact, it felt like to not do was to acknowledge that you didn't have the strength of belief that you could do it.

As I stood in the room full of people, chanting, panting to have a go, I kept seeing Hitler and the masses chanting his name. As I was saying along with those beside me, "1, 2, all the way through" I was watching the older women bang their hands on a piece of wood, one, two, three, four times before they broke through it. And inside my heart there was a stirring of unease because I could tell that it was hurting them a lot.

Yet when I came to the front of the queue, like Mel Gibson in the Braveheart clip we'd just seen, I marched up to that chopping block intent on smashing it through with everything that was in me. What had I named as my fear? The fear of not being good enough. The fear of being rejected. Of being found wanting. And as I brought my hand down with everything in me, it collided with the off-centre part of the wood, the strongest part, and I felt the pain rip through my wrist. Yet I lined myself up again and slammed it down in the centre, breaking it in two.

The strange thing was, as I bent to gather the pieces of wood, which incidentally I had been told to write what I wanted on so that I would be able to focus on the breakthrough I was seeking, I felt like I had just smashed apart something inside me. Why had I done that to my hand, my right hand, my income hand, my creative hand, my doing hand? Why had I smashed my desires in two? For I had not overcome a fear...I had surrendered completely to it. For I had not felt completely comfortable with participating...internally something was screaming at me that this whole process was not right for me, yet I had ignored that voice.

Then afterwards as I embraced a friend I started to cry...not from the throbbing pain in my wrist, but at the thought that I was letting go to something that had been a part of me for a long time. And immediately that friend distanced themselves, looked at me and demanded "Those are happy tears..." and I obediently reassured her that they were, knowing full well that I was letting her believe what she wanted. For they were really tears of grief.

As I left the building with my arms bulging with books, bags, pieces of broken wood, a roll of paper for me to do a vision board on, I felt confused, angry and sad. Why had I not listened to the inner voice of wisdom that was telling me not to participate, that something was not right for me. Why didn't I risk not fitting in, not being thought worthy enough, actually breaking my fear of rejection instead of just surrendering to it and doing something so destructive to myself?

There were so many life lessons that came out of that one destructive decision I made and I am grateful for those. Every time I wince with pain when I go to grab something or I have to type with my left hand or struggle to sweep the floor one-handed, I am reminded of what I learnt.

When they asked everyone why did you come today, my answer was simple, I said a friend kicked my butt and told me to come because it would be good for me. My decision had been made on a desire to better understand them and what they knew, rather than to have a great learning experience for myself. Would I do this again? No. Will I listen more to my own voice within? Yes. Was the lessons learned valuable? Yes.

I am writing all this to encourage each of you not to be swayed by public opinion, not to bow your knee to the demands of charismatic leadership and to listen to your inner voice. You know what is right for you, what is good for you, what will keep you safe. Listen to that voice. I wish I had and if my sharing my own failure to honour myself more helps you, then the pain will have been worth it.

Be true to yourself. Others will respect you more for it.

Exciting news re my DJ'ing on 89.7FM Radio Program

2009-02-12T00:07:00.000-08:00

I am broadcasting live on 89.7FM radio and in discussions with the management about giving me my very own ALL THINGS WOMEN segment!

In preparation, I have been asked to pull together a list of possible topics and range of speakers for my program. So I though it would be great to get some feedback from all the women that pop by my blog. Please post your ideas and/or pop me an email to let me know what you are interested in.

I'm thinking about doing a monthly focus on a broad topic, eg health, family, career, money, business, creativity etc. Who would you like to hear interviewed? What topics would you like discussed?

89.7FM broadcasts via the airways but can also be listened to live online. You can request your favourite song or just send a cheerio. Simply go online and fill in the form.

Post your comments or go online and give me some feedback please.

Community Weight Loss Challenge

2009-02-06T07:33:00.000-08:00

Exciting news!

Today I started the Community Weight Loss Challenge where I have a goal of losing 15 kilos in 12 weeks.

There were a wild group of women gathered who are determined to overcome their weight issues. With personal coaches on hand to weigh them in and get them fired up and motivated, the morning got off to a great start.

A few quick pics of the morning...

The Art Studio - A day with Heartwork Heather

2009-02-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Our lives are layered, just like a photoshopped Fine Art Composite

2009-01-25T04:00:00.000-08:00

You probably do not realise it but each of these pictures is a collage of more than three images layered to create one. Like our lives, each layer adds some depth, some colour or some texture to the overall effect. Without even one of the layers the image would not be the same.

How many situations in life do we go through that are dark? These are our contrasting moments, our opportunities to grow, to learn and to expand our understanding. Without them our vision of life would not be the same. So too, the light areas are our bright lights that lift us off the page and highlight our characteristics, our thoughts and our ideals.

What is the image of your life looking like right now? Is it like one of my pieces where I had many of the layers in place but it just didn't feel finished because it was missing a layer or two?

Whatever place you are at just know that today you are building a complex composite of your life. Today is the accumulation of a thousand yesterdays. You are all of those yesterdays. They are what defines you, what makes you special. They are your story! They are the image of your life.

The beauty is that you have a role to play in what the next layers are that will be layed upon your life. You can choose their opacity, their colour and their placement. Build wisely the image of your life that you will be able to view with pleasure, just as I view these and sigh in satisfaction.

The Challenge is on...

2009-01-23T14:06:00.001-08:00

Finding your passion is one of the greatest journeys in life. For some, they have a very strong sense of what that is as a child. For others, it is something that becomes clearer with time as life is experienced. For me, I have been passionate about so many things through the years but most have been within the realm of the creative. I don't know why, I just love to create. Be it, music, song, photography, graphic arts or poetry, I just love being able to get a picture or an impression of life and to transform that into something that others can admire and consider.

So it is with delight that I was referred to RedBubble.com, a site for artists. And on that site I found so much to inspire me in my photography and my artwork, that I have been on a bit of a creative bender to work out how others have achieved what they have achieved.The colours, the images, the textures...all of these layers of creating are important and to see them clearly is just an amazing journey.

And I liken this experience to life. If we examine life, layer by layer, identifying the things that are important in our daily interactions - our heart, our spirit, our body and how it connects with the world - and we start to connect what we see to wisdom, then this is where the joy of learning evolves.

I just wanted to encourage you to not be a spectator of life, but a participant. Study it by all means but make sure that you also connect with it. It is far too easy to be in the judgment seat, reviewing both yourself and those around you. Live in the moment. Breathe in the richness that every breath affords you. Laugh lots. Love lots. Enjoy all, because you are not guaranteed a long life.

This texture image is one that I have been given in a challenge to create a fine art composite. It will be just one layer that I have chosen to use. I'll post my final product here soon, so check back in a week to see how I transformed one, ordinary image, into something extraordinary. Just as God is transforming this ordinary life, into something extraordinary.

There's no place like home

2009-01-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

When I arrived home last night after a six hour drive from Albany, I had the strangest feeling. Firstly my house was clean - a miracle. Oh, yeah, that's right. That's how I left it for my guests who were doing a house swap with me. Then I noticed just how large it was. After staying in a beach cottage (3 bedroom home that overlooked a beautiful bay), the house just seemed so huge!

It kind of took me back to when I went home for the first time after growing up and moving away. Although this time it was in reverse. When I left this house it seemed so small and crowded, yet when I returned it felt so huge and spacious after being in the more cosy cottage. I guess it showed me that perspective is everything.

Suffice to say, I'm back home. I'm very grateful to have had the opportunity to see so many amazing things while I was away. Hundreds of photos later...

Just so you get a little glimpse into what I'm talking about, on our last day in Albany I took my four children on a tour of Frenchman's Bay. We stopped off at the Natural Bridge and the Gap, which are on the edge of the Antarctic Ocean. Probably one of the most beautiful scenes you'll ever get to see. I don't feel I did it justice, but here's a taste of my last day in Albany...

I'll be posting more pictures of the trip on my website, http://thefocusshop.com in the coming days.

The Big Albany Adventure

2009-01-20T03:37:00.000-08:00

The thought of traveling for five or more hours, on my own, to Albany was daunting to say the least, especially given that I was to have four young children in the car with me. Memories of the time I had set out on a similar journey to collect my mother from our home town of Wellington in New South Wales came rushing back. I fell asleep on the freeway in Sydney near Blacktown and rolled my car. Although I walked away with just a small scratch on my foot, it had really shaken me up. I was just a green 23 year old who had never driven a long trip before.

I can appreciate my husband's anxiety, as he knew that I hadn't been sleeping well. I'd been on a creative bender - so inspired that I couldn't rest. All I wanted to do was create art pieces. I don't know how many times he asked me the week before I left, "Have you been sleeping? When did you last get a good night's sleep." He even threatened to disable my car!! So you can imagine how that lack of trust was working on my subconscious.

Then there was the memories of my mother's fatal car accident to contend with. Each car we passed was a potential deadly weapon. She'd done nothing wrong, but was hit head on by someone who did.

So knowing all that about me, I'm sure you can appreciate that I felt a little anxiety myself, very well suppressed mind you, as I reassured him that I was perfectly capable of going the distance and that if I felt at all like I might go to sleep at the wheel I would pull into the nearest town and find a bed for the night.

And as I started out on the adventure of a lifetime, knowing that I couldn't back out because I'd arranged a house swap and my visitors were arriving as I was heading out of town, all I could wonder was do I really have it in me to drive all that way on my own? Don't I need someone stronger than me to be with me and hold my hand?

The funny thing is this is just another realm of my coming to know myself. Coming to know that I am a capable woman, that I can make choices and that they can be good choices.

Suffice to say, I arrived safely in Albany. The sky didn't cave in. In fact, apart from a quick stop off at Mt Barker Hospital to check if my daughter would survive taking too many travel sickness tablets (she'd been popping them every time she felt sick without my knowledge!) we had a very uneventful trip. The roads were very sparsely traversed by others, so we almost had the whole countryside to ourselves.

Stopping when there was a scene I just didn't want to miss capturing, the twin screen portable DVD player I purchased was a real Godsend. It kept my children focused and I only got one or two "Are we there yets?" from my youngest daughter.

And now we are here, the adventure continues. Having miscalculated on the funds side of things, we are having to live very meagerly, but there is so much you can do that costs nothing when you are on holiday and we have been so blessed with our accommodation. I don't know where I have ever had access to a better range of "girly" DVD's, board games and the good old computer and computer games! We definitely got the better deal in the house exchange!

Here is the view out of our front yard...

And a view of the beach where we went swimming yesterday...

And here is Catherine and I at the beach. I met Catherine through the Women Can International site on Ning.com and she's also a member on this site. It was great to meet her in the flesh as she lives in Albany.

"My Knight" Fine Art Print by Hayley Solich - RedBubble [2392302]

2009-01-13T16:29:00.001-08:00

"My Knight" Fine Art Print by Hayley Solich - RedBubble [2392302]

I entered a competition to create a piece that reminds you of happy days. I chose to use my wedding as the theme of my piece. This photo is my husband, Andrew and his two groomsmen. I've layered it over my wedding album cover.

I've so enjoyed experimenting with Photoshop and photography. It made me think about the All Things Women blog and to want to put up an encouragement to women everywhere to try new things. You just never know when you might find that you have a talent in a different area than you have been used to operating in your life.

I had a dream about four months ago and in that dream the Director of the Creative Arts school that I attended picked me out of a crowd and said to me, "I am appointing you an Ambassador to the Creative Arts". In the dream I thought to myself, "Creative Arts??? But I'm into Performing Arts, not Creative Arts. Creative Arts is the Fine Arts and I can't paint or draw for nuts!" I then was looking for other reasons why he may have chosen me. I looked down and I was wearing a red shirt. I thought to myself, 'Maybe he chose me because of my red shirt?"

The symbolism in this dream to me was the red shirt represented passion. I am definitely a passionate person and give 110% to everything I do.

The Creative Arts is as I thought, the Fine Arts and that is what this piece above is a composite or Fine Art piece.

Sometimes we have a limited view of who we can be because we have not yet encountered the person that is hidden within us. But when the time is right and if we are open to change, all things are possible!

I'd love to know what you think of this piece. Please leave a comment.

Wow!

2009-01-11T19:48:00.001-08:00

I am so excited because my fine art piece, Heart Talk - Expectations has been featured on the Live, Love, Dream group on RedBubble.com. This is a peer evaluated review.

"Heart Talk - Expectations" Fine Art Print by Hayley Solich - RedBubble [2371077]

Also, my piece, "Field of Pink" has been accepted on the Australian Photo Review website.

Considering that I have only just joined these sites, it was a real privilege. There is something very powerful about having your creations validated by your peers. Pop by and leave a comment.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

"Heart Talk" Fine Art Print by Hayley Solich - RedBubble [2367919]

2009-01-09T10:48:00.001-08:00

"Heart Talk" Fine Art Print by Hayley Solich - RedBubble [2367919]

Once in a lifetime you do something that creates a new sparkle in you. Something that is like this candle that has laid dormant for your entire life and you suddenly strike a match to it and your world is alive and wonderful.

This is what happened to me when I created Heart Talk. For years I have looked at other's artwork and thought how magnificent they were and longed to be able to create something that so resonates with my own soul that I immediately love it. Heart Talk is such a piece.

It is a collection of things I love - my daughter's eyes, my girlfriend's eyes, textures I love and my favourite font style. These pieces tied together with my favourite colour cause the picture to come into focus for me.

I truly hope that the world enjoys this piece as much as I have as it will be the first of many in my Heart Talk series.

They say that the eyes are a window to the soul...Let these eyes heart talk with you.

Enjoy and please comment.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Praise is soooooo addictive!

2009-01-07T08:35:00.000-08:00

A girlfriend suggested to me that I might like to add my photographs to a website called RedBubble. Basically, RedBubble is a community of artists who upload their works in the hope that someone will see something and like it and purchase it.

In theory it sounds great. The problem is, there are so many wonderful artists in there, all vying for their own space and I think that it may be a bit competitive for my level of expertise. However, in uploading my images, I have become quite hooked on commenting on other's work and receiving some praise for my own and it takes me back to the time when I was addicted to Poetry.com in 2005, then Helium.com in 2007. Is RedBubble.com my next big love addiction and do I really have the time to spare?

It does bring me to pondering about the human condition and how some of us are so geared towards praise that when we find someone willing to say nice things about us, we immediately want to chain ourselves to that person and suck them dry!

I guess I'll have to temper this new addiction with self-control. After all, I do have four children on school holidays to contend with. :) No wonder I'm still up at 1:39am writing this...

The Focus Shop - Finally uploaded!!!

2009-01-06T04:45:00.000-08:00

Photos...photos...photos... This past 48 hours I feel like I have been sucked in the vacuum that is the world of photography, processing, watermarking, and uploading images to my new photographic gallery, TheFocusShop.com.

I have been amazed that as I have sifted through the 7000 plus images on my computer, I have been able to pull a sizeable gallery of decent photos together. Further, it has spurred me on to capture more photos, with even more interesting content.

From nature scenes to children, dogs to ducks, motorbikes to helicopters... I love capturing life in it's many aspects, especially people and the many emotions we experience.

A sample of a couple of my recent photos are...

Come and check out the photos and leave me some comments. I love hearing people's reactions to my photography, which I hope brings a new expression of life.

Photos...photos...photos - Check out The Focus Shop.com

2009-01-04T02:50:00.000-08:00

It is with great excitement that I announce the opening of my photographic gallery, The Focus Shop.

The Focus Shop has an exhibition of my best photos taken over the past 12 months since I upgraded my camera and developed a real passion for photography arranged in galleries under topis such as nature, people, places, transport, my favourite things and beaches.

Please feel free to browse the galleries and to leave comments about the images. Some images are for sale, so if you like something, pop me an email with the name of the photo and I'll let you know if if it is for sale.

Enjoy!!!

Here is a sample to wet your appetite...

Was this a spiritual visitation? Can you explain it to me?

2009-01-01T16:29:00.000-08:00

For my New Year's Eve, I arranged a progressive dinner for some of the girls from Women Can International Inc. The night turned out to be the best New Year's Eve I've ever had. We started out by spending time with three beautiful labradors down on Yanchep beach. While they were fetching stick, we sat and had our gorgeous picnic and I snapped off heaps of photos.

Then we went to a friend's house and had a lovely meal, sitting out the back in the candlelight and discussing philosophy. It was such a precious time.

Then we sped off to another friend's house, determined to be in her spa with a glass of champagne and a slice of the most goregous cheese cake I've ever tasted. It was just a slice of heaven. This stint lasted three hours and eventually we decided we should shelve our discussions and make our way home.

It was then that we decided to upload the photos onto one of the girls computers to see what they looked like. Apart from capturing the most gorgeous beach shots, we were very surprised to see that on about 10 of the shots there were light orbs. These are simply unexplainable. We didn't see them at the beach. It couldn't have been something on the lens as they are not in the same position. There is even a motion blur on one of them, indicating to me it was something moving. The only explanation I can find for them is that they are spiritual beings.

Take a look and tell me what you think.

They were on the viewer in the camera and initially I thought perhaps they were a tennis ball we were throwing, but then I saw there were so many of them and in different places.

For example, the sun was setting so it's not the sun on the horizon. There was a moon and a star above it but they were quite high up in the sky. There just simply is no other explanation for them.

I'd love it if someone else could come up with a plausible explanation, so please post your comments.

I guess this little mystery adds something special to what was a wonderfully, warm and thoroughly enjoyable evening with girlfriends.

How blessed are we?

2008-12-26T00:30:00.000-08:00

As I sit here on Boxing Day thinking about the life we have created together, my husband, my children, my extended family and my friends, I have to say how blessed are we?

We were never promised a long life, just the opportunity to create something beautiful every day.

We were never promised riches, yet residing within in each soul is the capacity to build wealth. This capacity may lay dorment for a lifetime, but it still remains. It is the gift of creativity, innovation and of hard work.

We were never promised popularity, yet if we are confident in who we are and remain humble in that confidence, it seems like bees to the honey, others are attracted to us.

How blessed are we when we can reach out our arms and draw someone we love close enough to breathe in the scent of them and to feel the warmth of their embrace touching our souls.

How blessed are we when our hearts are turned towards a God who has not forgotten us, who daily wants to wrap us in His love and shower us with presents, just like a loving father does at Christmas.

How blessed are we that we have life, love, and laughter adorning our tables at Christmas.

I feel so abundantly blessed this Christmas and I just had to shower all with the joy that this Christmas together has brought to my heart.

There isn't a woman alive who doesn't love weddings...

2008-12-22T22:21:00.000-08:00

I have been working on another website for a different friend. Carol Sutton lives in Albany, Western Australia and after a friend asked me to take a look at a business card she was struggling to design, I felt strongly to give her the gift of a package of advertising materials. Occasionally I do this in my business. I help people who would otherwise not be able to afford to pay for the skills that I possess.

Visit the site to see the whole effect, which in my biased opinion, is one of my very best websites ever in terms of beauty, Bellerubies.com.au.

Here is a taste of the BelleRubies experience...

If you are a woman living the SouthWest of Australia, I'd highly recommend that you contact Carol and find out about her hire garments for both weddings and formal occasions. She caters for both men and women and has a good range of accessories as well.

If you don't live in the SouthWest, just enjoy the beauty of the site and allow yourself to dream...

Premium Holiday Rental - The White House Quinns, Perth, Western Australia

2008-12-18T01:36:00.001-08:00

A good friend of mine asked me to take on a project for her, promoting her holiday rental property called "The White House Quinns". It's fabulous holiday rental accommodation in Perth and is to let the whole year round.

Knowing I am a project junkie, she was delighted when I literally dropped everything to pop over and take some pictures inside the apartment.

I just thought I'd share my handiwork with the world, along with a description of the accommodation, just in case your planning a vacation in the near future and want to put Perth on your agenda. And if you do, make sure you let me know so we can hook up for some fun!

The White House Quinns awaits you...

A very modern 2 bedroom apartment that is light, bright and airy, with fantastic ocean views from the living room, dining and main bedroom, the White House Quinns is more than just a holiday home. It’s a home away from home.

Private, quiet and relaxing, this venue is perfect for a holiday or weekend getaway, with plenty of room for a couple or family.

It’s the perfect location for a writer’s retreat or somewhere to process your life plans, The White House Quinns is simply idyllic.

Tucked away in a quiet street well off the beaten track, and just a hands throw away from Perth’s beautiful white beaches, the White House Quinns has all the ‘mod cons’ including a dishwasher and stainless steal appliances, toaster, microwave and CD Player. The whole place is immaculate and tastefully decorated.

For inspiration or relaxation, swim in the 10 metre pool, walk to the beach and have a coffee or glass of wine at the friendly ocean front cafe. It literally is a 5 minute walk to the beach.

The master suite has walk in robes and a private bathroom, with easy access to the pool via sliding doors. Sit by the pool or at the table with a view and enjoy an early morning coffee.
The second bedroom has its own private bathroom with a lovely big bath, and looks out over the below ground pool.

This home has stunning real wood floors and has been stylishly decorated.

Just 15 minutes from Perth’s Mitchell Freeway, the rest of Perth awaits your exploration. There are so many things to see and do...

If it works for a child...

2008-12-15T06:19:00.000-08:00

My daughter who is 8 years of age came to me this morning to ask if she could go to see a friend. I told her that she could if she had cleaned her bedroom to my standards. I asked if she'd made her bed, as I knew she needed to put a clean sheet on the bed. She stood there and moaned and groaned that she needed help because she couldn't put the sheet on.

Because I am the I Can woman and I am pushing the I Can philosophy, I turned to her and was completely firm with her. I told her there is no such word as can't, only won't, and that she could do it if she put her mind to it. Well, we argued for a few moments and I repeated my message saying, "You can do this. Have a go and if you really get stuck, I'll come and help, but you have to try first."

Well, she disappeared back into her room and I waited for her to resurface to tell me that she was unable to do it. The funny thing was she didn't resurface so after 15 minutes I thought I'd go see how she was doing. When I went in she'd finished putting the sheet on and I was able to praise her for having achieved the task.

The life lesson for all here is that you can, if you want to. If you focus on the possible instead of the impossible, everything changes. You can realise your dreams, achieve your goals, conquer new skills, if you give yourself permission to try and be prepared to fail.

To find out more about the I CAN Philosophy, watch my introductory video presentation.

The Movie - Australia

2008-12-14T00:42:00.000-08:00

I was very fortunate last night to go and see the movie "Australia". I say fortunate, because I rarely get out to the movies due to my child caring responsibilities and I so appreciated the opportunity to enjoy a good 3 hour epic movie that kept me the whole way through.

What did I love about this movie?

1. It's sincere message about the way the Aboriginal people were treated and the re-telling of their story with compassion and respect.
2. The historical content which taught me some Australian history that I was blissfully ignorant of in relation to the Darwin invasion by the Japanese and which made me all the more grateful for the contribution that the Diggers made to keeping our nation safe.
3. The beauty I saw in the blossoming Lady Ashley as true love captured her heart, first through Nulla, then through the Drover. Although some may say the whole thing was overacted, I loved the styling of the movie and I believe they delivered exactly what the Director was trying to achieve. If you think it's overacted, go see Gone with the Wind again!!!
4. The juxtapositioning of "English" culture alongside the "Australian Outback" culture. The richness of the black humour in the movie captured my imagination, ie dead Kangaroos bleeding down the windscreen seconds after Lady Ashley says how delightful the Kangaroos are hopping along beside them.
5. The magnificent scenery in the movie. I will never forget the scene where the little Aboriginal boy stops a mob of stampeding cattle from going over the cliff face. That was pure magic.
6. The tragedy that was the white Australia policy and the scene where "Daisy" died in the water tank. I wept, because being a mother of four children I could relate to how you would do anything to save your child from being taken away from you.
7. The love story - after all, it was an epic love story and I think "Lady Ashley" and the "Drover" sizzled. No wonder they are calling Hugh Jackman the sexiest man alive. Although not my type at all, he definitely had something going for him in this movie. I think it was the contrast of pale skin and tanned, of the fine boned and porcelain thin and the bronzed, muscled hunkiness that really got to me. Certainly, Nicole Kidman played a gutzy role with aplumb.

Overall, I give it the big thumbs up for storytelling, for integrity of plot, for mastery of cinematography and for artistry. Well done!

A Definite Tear Jerker - Paul Potts, Humble Man with a Voice Like an Angel!

2008-12-10T08:02:00.000-08:00

I was sent the link for this video. It truly is amazing and worthy of your time and attention. Paul Potts is phenomenal and an inspiration to many!

Click here to see part two of Paul's wonderful journey.

Click here to read another article about why people have "Gone potty over Paul Potty".

Validation - A Great Short Film!

2008-12-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

I just loved this short story. Well worth a watch, as it has such a great message and leaves you with a huge smile on your face!

I'd love to hear your comments about it.

And when you've finished watching it, you may want to watch the sequel, Rent-A-Person.

The Other Boleyn Girl - An Indictment on the English King!

2008-12-06T06:06:00.001-08:00

I just finished watching the movie, "The other Boleyn Girl", which painted a very dark picture of King Henry VIII and also on Anne Boleyn

There is an old saying, "Be careful what you wish for." Obviously, Anne lost her head over Henry, literally.

Now which was it? Providence, her self-centredness, God's judgment or a momentary lapse of sanity by the whole English court that cost her life?

I guess the only good part about the movie was that in the end all those that had caused offense were punished. You can't just dispose of a queen for the fun of it without losing out.

For those that don't know the story, King Henry VIII of England's wife, Queen Catherine of Spain, couldn't bear him a male heir. So he grew tired of her and took mistresses. One of these was Mary, sister of Anne Boleyn, who eventually bore him several children.

Meanwhile, Anne beguiled the King and convinced him to get rid of the Queen and marry her. This caused a riff between England and the Catholic church and eventually, he disposed of Anne, accusing her of incest with her brother, making way for Jane Seymour to marry the King.

Anne Boleyn, along with her brother George, were beheaded. Prior to her death, Anne begot Henry a girl child, Elizabeth, who eventually took the throne for 45 years and was a very strong leader in English history.

More information about the film may be found here.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3DHN9KBLD1O6H

Mama Mia - Fantasmagorical!!!

2008-12-04T19:00:00.000-08:00

When you borrow a movie from the DVD shop, you just hope that it is going to be a goodie. Well, I was totally unprepared for the level of joy I felt watching Mamma Mia! It was simply fantasmagorical!

Meryl Streep, who played the main character, Donna, did the most amazing job and her version of "Winner Takes It All" was stunning. As a professional performing artist I have to say that the way Meryl completely sold this song and made it emotionally believable was deeply satisfying and deepened my respect for her as an actress and singer!

The whole cast were exceptional and I have no hesitation in recommending this quirky film as completely entertaining, enjoyable, joyous and exuberant.

Five star rating from me for a feel good flick that is ALL action from start to finish.

The cast completely owned the Abba songs and did an exceptional job of pulling off some of the most famous songs in history. Well done!

The 5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

2008-12-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

I've yet to try this but it looks delicious and I have it on good authority that it does work!

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

ENJOY! Please comment and let me know what you think...

All Things Women: The 5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

2008-12-02T21:24:00.000-08:00

All Things Women: The 5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
http://womencaninternational.com
http://theicanwoman.com

And you reckon an 11km walk is fun???

2008-12-02T04:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went for a walk with five girls from Adventurous Women. We walked from Hillarys Boat Harbour to Burns Beach, then had breakfast at the cafe.
Having not done anything like this since I was a young woman, it was a bit of a marathon taking us 2.5 hours! We didn't dawdle either, we went flat out, with me running the last couple of hundred metres just because I could! And it felt fantastic.

My feet got sore and I had to take my socks off, then put them back on at different points in the walk. My fingers swelled up and went white. But when I got to Burns Beach, I was so proud of myself for having made it with style. It just proved to me that I really am the 'I can Woman' that I say I am.

Inside me there is a part of me that is saying that it wants to run a marathon...

That's quite a way down the track, as I have 40 kilos of weight to lose before I go there, but it just shows me that if you tune into your body, it has a voice all of it's own. I hope I have the guts to get there one day.

The beauty of our walk is that it is along some of the prettiest coastline in the world. Perth is absolutely beautiful and it is free! How rare to be able to freely enjoy what God has created. I guess that one day they will monetise it, but for now I'm going to make the most of it.

I encourage you to get outside and to taste the fresh air, the sea breeze and the joy of exercise. It's fabulous medicine for the soul.

Just so you know what coastline I'm talking about, here's a sample...

This is how I know there is a God!

2008-11-26T05:55:00.000-08:00

Today, when I phoned the Motor Vehicle Registry to check on why I hadn't received the rego papers for my car yet, I realised that I was in trouble. My rent, in error, had not been taken out of my account as usual due to a stuff up at Centrelink with my payments. Consequently, I didn't have the full fortnight's rent to pay and I was relying very heavily on my pay coming in tomorrow to pay the rent, so you can imagine my face when they told me that my car could no longer be driven as of midnight tonight unless I pay the outstanding registration then and there.

Because I am highly reliant on the car to transport my children, I decided to make getting the car registered the priority and to pray for a miracle for the rent payment or food, as one of these would suffer for the fortnight due to my lack of funds.

I was sitting at the computer, just feeling a little overwhelmed for the first time since I've been on my own with my children. All year, I have known provision - abundant provision for all of our needs. It has caused me to feel very blessed, so it is no wonder that I just made a quick prayer request heavenward that God would help me. I remember saying to him, "I don't know how you are going to do this one, Lord, but I just trust that you will make a way for us where there isn't one."

Well, tonight I was sitting at the computer again contemplating my fate. Did I pay the rent or buy food for my children? I couldn't afford to do both. The thought of having to go beg food at the Salvation Army was really awful but I was prepared to do it if I had to. I kind of like to save my begging until I am in dire straits!

My mobile phone started beeping. Initially I ignored it, as I thought it was an old message from my husband. But it just kept beeping and then it rang like it had another new message. It was from a friend and her text message read, "I have been thinking of you everyday just really busy working. What do you need at the moment?"

When I read that, I kind of went, "What?"

Then she sent another message, "Do you have food and stuff?"

I text back that we were a little low on food, as I was no longer teaching and had some unexpected bills come in.

She went on to say that she had some extra cash she wanted to give me and wanted to help me out this week, next week and some more during the school holidays.

Well I was dumbfounded and I started bawl. Why? Because God is real. This was not a prompted conversation. There was no way she could know that was my prayer today and for her to raise the subject with me straight away let me know that this was God.

I asked her if she felt prompted to contact me about this and she said, "Yes, stronger every day."

That told me that she knew about my need, even before I had prayed about it.

I can only say that whether you are a believer or not, you cannot take away from me what I have experienced today because only God and my husband knew this was my need today.

God is good. She said it was Him who told her to contact me and as he was the only person I asked for help, I have to believe that he answered my prayer.

To God be all the glory. Great things He has done.

Fabulous news from Women Can International Inc

2008-11-21T21:11:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the latest edition of Women Can International Inc's newsletter.

Inside this edition you can expect:

* Hayley's Article: Commando Kick Butt Challenge yields results!
* Physical Health: Exorcising the exercise myths!
* Social: The Girlfriend Club and Launch of the Woman of Spirit Personal Challenge Quest
* Coming Events and Notice of Annual General Meeting
* Entertaining: Easy To Make Recipes - Suzette's Delicious White Chocolate and Strawberry Gateau (Susette will be a regular contributor to this section! Thanks, Sus!)
* Amazing Women: Women of Influence Award Winner for November - Helen Schofield - Creator of Australian Girl Dolls
* Lifestyle: Stranger Danger - A Warning for All Women
* Vision: New to Women Can International Inc - Who we are and what we are about.
* Mental Health: Stressed? Who Me? - A guide to the stages of Stress and suggestions on how to manage your stress

Women Can International Inc is an innovative and inspirational women's association for women wanting to enhance their lives.

The movie - Gone Baby Gone

2008-11-15T07:24:00.000-08:00

When a 4-year-old girl goes missing in Dorchester, one of Boston's toughest hoods, private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) reluctantly agree to take the case. But the investigation proves tougher, riskier and more complex than they could have imagined. Ben Affleck's directorial debut, adapted from the Dennis Lehane novel, also stars Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman and Amy Ryan (in her first Oscar-nominated role).
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Casey Affleck
Director: Ben Affleck
Genre: Thrillers
Format: Widescreen ...
Language: English
Subtitles: French ...
Awards: Academy Award® Nominee ...
Rated R For violence, drug content and pervasive language

I watched this movie tonight with my husband. I didn't realise that my heart would be racing all the way through, that I would be spellbound by a cast and cinematography that was so impressive. I simply saw Ben Affleck's name as the Director and thought, I'd like to see what he can do with this.

Well, I thought he did an excellent job of pulling a fantastic film off. Firstly, his brother Casey I thought was extraordinary as the main character. Certainly, acting is a family gift. And the support actress, Amy Ryan was fabulous. The whole film was so real it was surreal.

The ending, which I don't want to give away, raised so many questions and I asked my husband what he thought the whole film was about and he responded, "how life is complicated and there are sometimes no black and white, right and wrong answers, just judgements made in the moment based on the information you get at the time."

This movie stirred something deep inside me as a parent, to want to hold my kids tighter, to love them more, to protect them more diligently and to ensure that their lives are full of love and sunshine.

Definitely a five star rating from me, even though I hate suspense films because I find them emotionally draining and on a deep level disturbing. This film kind of reminds me of the Butterfly Effect in so much as it asks the hard questions about life and leaves you with so many unanswered questions that cause you to censor your own ideals, emotions and beliefs.

Did you do that when you were 11???

2008-11-13T01:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday my 11 year old approached me for a friend to come over. The day before it had been "Can I go to her place?", which I had complied with. Usually I prefer to check it all out, but this time my head was in another place so I just said yes. It was as I was dropping her off that I started to have reservations. But by that time it was too late to change my mind.

Well, I went to pick her up and she was not there. She'd gone to another friend's place for a swim. I arrived at the stated pick up time...no child. So I waited while they phoned and then the father of the house went and picked up the girls. Suffice to say, I was a little concerned about the arrangement.

So the next day when my child says can she come over, with the child standing right there looking at me with the big puppy dog eyes, I go yes, under duress, thinking that if she was allowed, I probably owed the family for having my child the day before.

It wasn't until after I took the child home 8pm at night, after being pressured into having her stay for tea by my daughters that I discovered that my mobile phone was missing. I asked the girls about it and they sheepishly produced it for me. I thought nothing of it, other than being mildly knicked off that they'd taken it without my permission. It was even later when I noticed photos of the girl starting to slideshow across the screen of my mobile. I became mildly annoyed that they had filled the phone up with these photos but still not enough to rant and rave. However, on closer examination I was totally shocked to find a video clip, of the visiting 11 year old, prancing around topless and slapping her butt at the camera, porn style.

You can imagine my chin dropping to the floor. As I examined the video soundtrack more closely I could hear the girl giving them instructions about how and what to film and it got me wondering how many times this child has done this before???

Not really knowing how to deal with this, I explained to my children that firstly they should never have taken my phone and used it for this type of purpose because if anyone else were to see it I would be arrested for indecent dealings with a child! Secondly, I explained that what they had filmed had a name and it was illegal and called child pornography, they were a little shocked. I'd like to think that they are still innocent, but having seen some of the very sexual music clips on TV and the advertising of adult television in children's hours I think it would almost be impossible to remain innocent in this day and age.

But what to do about it? Do I tell the parents? Do I speak directly to the child? Do I involve the school? Was it just an innocent child imitating what they've seen somewhere or was there more to the event?

I think back to when I was 11 and I try to remember if I would have done this at that age? Would you have done this when you were 11?

Suffice to say, I will be maintaining a more vigilant eye on future guests to our home as I never want a repeat performance!

How fabulous is exercise for the soul?

2008-11-08T02:07:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe how much I am really enjoying exercising after so many years of not doing anything!

When I dreamed up the concept of the Woman of Spirit Personal Challenge Quest, I was thinking about running a training program to help women transition into work or further study. However, as the day rapidly approached for the Quest, I realised that I needed to start something much closer to home, so I looked at my life and decided to bite the bullet on my weight.

It seems like this year has been a year of taking responsibility for all aspects of my life and my weight is just one of those aspects. I want to be around to be able to chase my grandchildren around, instead of them having to run around the chair I can no longer get out of. I am realising just how important good health is for you to be able to sustain the lifestyle that is enjoyable.

So I started the Commando Kick Butt Challenge, fully recognising that it was going to take a major butt kick to get me moving. Well, I'm pleased to say that I have fallen in love with exercise again and am already realising the benefits of increased fitness. One of these was the satisfaction of beating of my 16 year old students in a running race on the spot. You had to go as hard as you could for as long as you could and I outlasted him by quite a healthy margin. He was puffing and I was hardly even drawing a deep breath. Then there was the stairs that I used to drag myself up but now go up without even feeling the burn.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to work out with Geoff and the girls.

My favourite exercise was the knee lifts into the bag. I loved powering into that pad! It was so much fun. Just love the power of slamming into the bag. Ahhh...satisfaction.

The other great thing about exercising together as a team is that our children are able to come with us and have good habits modeled to them. The children play together on the climbing apparatus and watch us work hard. It's great for them to see us doing that.

What a relief!

2008-10-31T16:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not into materialism. In fact, money means nothing to me but a means to an end, so this post is not about materialism at all.

Yesterday I went and purchased a desk. I've been working for two years from home on this...

I do a lot of work from home as I am a Business Trainer and Mentor, but sideline doing graphics, design and layout work. Previously, if you can imagine that tiny little computer desk with a huge computer on it, then you will realise that every time I wanted to put something on the desk, there was no room to do anything. This was especially frustrating when I had a client with me and I needed room for them to put their coffee cup down, as it caused unnecessary accidents.

So after I received a good payment for a particular job, I decided that was it. I was going to do something positive about the desk need! So I purchased two parts - a main desk and an executive return. They are supposed to butt up together but I haven't worked out the best position in the lounge yet. But here they are for you to see:

Ignore the mess on the desktop, because I'm not quite finished yet. The point is, I now have desktop space to spare and I'm thinking that the executive return will prove a handy place for me to have my youngest sit to do her homework while I'm working.

The effort to put these desks together was huge! I tried to do it by myself. Imagine me and a 6 year old and an 8 year old holding pieces together while I tried to work out how to use these funny looking screws and caps. Well, I got it together alright and turned it up the right way and within minutes it fell apart. If it wasn't so tragic, I'd be howling with laughter because I am the "I can" woman!!!

My husband, who was coming up for the weekend to be with the children arrived just as it fell apart to my humiliation and abject horror, as we'd already had a blazing row about him helping me put it together earlier in the day. He saw what I'd done and scolded me for not waiting for him to help me. Secretly, I'm glad I tried and failed because it made him see how much I need his practical help, despite us being separated. Why is it that when you are with someone for 12 years, you develop a dependency on certain aspects of their nature and when they are no longer around you realise just how important they really are to you?

Anyway, I'm very pleased to say that it was relief when we finally got every screw in place. By the way, my error was that I didn't screw the screws in tight enough for them to expand the thing that keeps it all together. I did it as tight as my fingers could go, but needed to use a screwdriver, which I couldn't find. :))))

Well, now I am sitting at my lovely new desk, typing this and thinking about the new office chair I am going to need to purchase because now the desk is too tall for my chair. It just doesn't end...

AMANDA’S DELICIOUS ZUCHINNI BAKE

2008-10-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

Recipe: Amanda Reed
Photo: Hayley Solich
Ingredients

1.5 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup grated onion
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated bacon
1 cup cheese
½ cup plain flour
5 eggs
Add extra veggies to taste (add an extra egg)
Add seasoning to taste
Variations: Substitute Chicken or Tuna for Bacon.
Method

1. Grate the vegetables
2. Whisk the eggs.
3. Add flour
4. Mix in veggies
5. Add bacon
6. Pour into a baking tray
7. Cook on 180 degrees until skewer comes out with no fluid on it.
8. Delicious served with salad and fish or chicken.

Couldn't let it pass without comment.

2008-10-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

The past week was a bit of hell at home with my children. I had four sick one day, then one sick for a whole week. There was a war zone with the school and it just seemed like everything was going to the wall. I seriously sat myself down and said, "What's going on here???"

Then as I reviewed what was happening I realised that I was responsible. Sure I had raged that the world was unfair. That if only my children would support me, if only my son would poo in the toilet and my daughter get better quicker. It wasn't my fault my house was disorganised, after all I was running as fast as I could to keep up with things. But at the end of my raging, I once again realised I was responsible. It was my job to organise my house, to help my children achieve social acceptance and to decide what I did and didn't allow in my life.

So taking commando action, I rallied my children together and I gave them the enough is enough speech. They saw me on the edge of something mega bad and responded accordingly. We worked as a team and in half a day the house was back in order. Then I could think straight. I also felt so much kinder towards them because I was no longer resenting them for making the mess, as they were also taking responsibility for their part.

This morning I got up and went for a walk with a friend. Michelle is one of the women on my Commando Kick Butt Challenge team and I so appreciated her strength and encouragement. She encouraged me walk faster than I would have and to keep striding it out. She encouraged me to run up the sand dunes which just about exploded my heart! She encouraged me to not think about the pain but focus on the gain!

When I came back from my walk I noticed that getting the children's breakfast and lunches made was no longer a chore. I was really awake and feeling vitality rushing through my veins. It also helped me to eat the right kind of breakfast to increase my protein intake. I am so grateful to Michelle for helping me to get my day in order.

As I am drinking more water, increasing my exercise and watching what I eat, I am finding I feel lighter on my feet, my attitude towards life is changing and I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds. But I think the vital element in all of this is that I am no longer neglecting what is most important here - my health, my responsibilities, my family.

It bears thinking about. What are you doing daily to contribute to the longevity of yourself and your family? What are you doing to take responsibility for your situation, no matter how bad or unfair it is?

Randy Pausch shared this piece of wisdom he learned from one of the men he worked under. When your critics stop criticising it is a sign that they have stopped caring about you and have written you off. As I see the school, my husband, my children, my friends through these eyes, it helps me to take responsibility for my part in any aggravated situation.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, so please comment.

Can you help me, please?

2008-10-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

Exercise - Do I really have the time?

2008-10-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

Researching for the Commando Kick Butt Challenge I was again reminded of some teaching I had from Jenny Craig years ago about how to increase your natural activity levels, so I thought that I would share that information with my readers.

Firstly, we've heard most of it before. Use the stairs, park the furthest away from the shopping centre. But the one that I hadn't heard before was a gem that our physical trainer, Geoff Quinsee shared with us on Saturday. That is to move parts of your anatomy when you are sitting. ie shake your leg, move your foot, drum your fingers etc. Anything that will get your heart working harder. Here I was always stopping those around me from shaking their anatomy, only to realise now that I should not have been asking them to stop but actually joining in all the fun!

This is a marriage saving piece of advice that I am giving you here!

Now, if you are a computer nerd like me, you may also want to consider his other advice and that is abandon the chair with the back support and opt for a bouncy ball instead! A fit ball will help you to develop your core muscles (those that run through your abdomen) as you will be using them to keep yourself perched up there on that ball.

Now imagine with me if you will, an oversized woman sitting on a fit ball at the computer. You are allowed to giggle! Seriously, I know I am going to look a picture but if it works, then I say go for it. Imagine if everyone went into work tomorrow with a fit ball in tow and told the boss to throw away the traditional chair. Imagine whole meetings of people bouncing on their fit balls. It really could revolutionise the whole business sector! Imagine visiting your doctor and while you are telling them your woes, they are bouncing away on their fit ball. It seriously could be therapeutic!

Why not join me in the revolution to get fit and healthy?

Day 3 of the Commando Kick Butt Challenge

2008-10-19T20:06:00.001-07:00

Well it is day 3 of the challenge and Perth has decided to have a sudden warm snap. Outside today it is 34 degrees and that means that I am going to only venture out if it is absolutely essential!

So what changes have I made thus far?

Well, I decided that Sunday was my day to get myself in order and to clear the decks of those things that have been mounting up to distract me. So I plodded my way through a huge project, I spent time with my family and I positioned myself for a great week. Today I have begun my onslaught on the house and I am going to put in some very high energy spurts throughout the day to bring order out of my kids chaos!

Today I am struggling a bit with the notion that I have to give up some things in order to gain something better. It seems that Diet Coke has a bit of a hold on me, but I am determined! I have decided that I need to do my vision board and was surprised to find some photos of myself that I didn't realise I had. In the photos I look great and I was slim and fit. I am going to make up a vision board with these images on them and start to create some words that will make my vision board work for me. Words like "energetic", "inspirational", "leadership", "success", "determined", "focused", "happy", "life giving" and all those other words that describe the me that I want to release onto the platform of my life.

What are you struggling with today? Do you have an image in your mind of the "you" you are seeking to create. Are you actively pursuing your destiny, your passion and your purpose?

Why not join the Woman of Spirit Personal Challenge Quest and commence a project that moves you towards your goals and your destiny?

With a view like that, why wouldn't you?

2008-10-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

It is now Day 2 of the Commando Kick Butt Challenge and my day has begun with some stunning weather. As I look out the window the sun is shining and we are headed for a very warm 33 degrees. It seems like in just a very short time the weather has sprung up from the early 20's to mid 30's.

So what did we do on Day 1 of the Commando Kick Butt Challenge?

On the first day of the challenge we met at my home. There were about 13 of us gathered together to hear Geoff Quinsee, the physical trainer, give us our preparation advice for the challenge, as well as, Anne Charlotte Patrilla, Psychotherapist, our mental preparation session.

I followed this up by presenting a clear picture of what the purpose of the challenge was - to go through a process of change that is more than just a physical change. To connect with others and work together as a team, to bring about the kind of change that will last a lifetime.

Standing in the loungeroom I asked each woman what she felt she needed from me to help her achieve her goals. I explained that the first two weeks are all about mental and physical preparation, then on 1 November, when the Personal Challenge Quest officially begins, so too does the full-on physical component of the challenge.

Having completed all the introductions and having laid the stage for the day, everyone went their separate ways, after having arranged how we were going to connect and support each other. There were offers to go kayaking, swimming, walking, family outings that involved phsyical activity and the gym. I even encouraged them to have a girl's night out dancing!

My first session was with Val, pictured below walking with Sarah, my daughter, and we took our children down to Burns Beach for a play with Dad supervising while we went for our first brisk stroll.

With a view like this, why wouldn't you want to get out and enjoy the sun and the wind and the beauty of the sea?

We were delighted to be able to witness a wedding down on the beach. The bridesmaids were in the most beautiful pink through to orange dresses. Sounds disgusting but they looked like hibiscus lillies.

What I took away from the day was that once again connections between women are powerful. In fact, connections between two human beings, when the goal is for the mutual benefit and enhancement of life, are the most amazing and powerful tools in the world!

I'm really looking forward to getting to know Val and the other girls better as we traverse this adventure together.

You don't have to be in Perth to join us in the Personal Challenge Quest. All you have to do is decide on a project, complete the action planner on our website and forward it to info@womencaninternational.com. The decision you make to "have a go" at life will bring with it a wave of freshness and energy.

Why not pop over to our website and find out more now?

So what is my next challenge? Meeting Anita on Tuesday at Quinns Beach for a walk with the dog, Val on Wednesday morning for a walk by the lake in Landsdale, phoning Linda during the week to see how she's going with her exercise plan and organising the masses for Helen Frost's nutrition session next week.

A process that works with children...

2008-10-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

Someone told me that they used to have family meetings with their children, so I thought I'd give it a try. Well, we just had our sixth family meeting, which I run like a business meeting. Each of us has a book and pen and we write down our issues and some praise points. We then discuss the issues and come up with some possible solutions, which they suggest, as well as some punishments for doing the wrong thing. They are way harder than I would be!

We then draw a job out of the hat and everyone gets their task for the week. It's kind of fun, unless you get the kitchen for the third week in a row, which is what happened to my 9 year old who cried real tears of frustration! Suffice to say, she negotiated her way out of the kitchen and into floors. I felt a whole load of satisfaction as she complained about how hard mopping the floors is - she is the worst offender when it comes to messing up the floors! She has pledged to never eat anywhere but at the table again and I am going to hold her to it.

The beauty of these times together is that it is bringing a cohesion within our family unit which was missing before. Also, a cooperative movement forward as a family.

I don't know if you have the same issues as I do in getting everyone motivated, but this business process works. It works in the workplace and it works in the home. Communication is vital to the success of any business and a family is just another form of business run on goodwill!

Pop me a comment and share your family secrets for gaining and maintaining order and cooperation.

Thirty Day Challenge - a Real Challenge!

2008-10-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

I'm doing the Thirty Day Challenge, but got a little challenged the first week. Have decided to re-start the challenge once the kids are back at school and I am no longer sick.

Here is what I had to say when I got stuck...

Woman of Spirit Personal Challenge Quest

2008-10-11T02:33:00.001-07:00

I am so excited about the Woman of Spirit Personal Challenge Quest that is about to launch on 1 November 2008.

This is an opportunity for women of all ages from all nations of the world to get involved in this international women's event.

Please, watch the video and respond! It is a simple process. Choose a challenge, register it with us by downloading our action plan and filling it in and emailing it back to us and then complete your challenge. This is going to be one of the most exciting events Women Can has ever hosted.

I look forward to seeing what you ladies get up to over the month of November. If you have a video camera, please make a video journal. Most mobile phones have a camera in them, so make the most of the technology around you!

Watch the video, leave a comment on You Tube and help the ratings go up so that this video gets featured and women get to see it. Don't leave it buried in You Tube. Help me out!

Thanks,
Hayley

Embedded Video

Blogged with the Flock Browser

The Thirty Day Challenge

2008-10-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

I recently signed up to do the Thirty Day Challenge. After all, I have nothing better to do, ha ha. Seriously, I thought it looked great and offered a quick road into understanding all the technology out there and how it works. It covered blogging, SEO's, Adwords, Market Sumarai, Keywords, and everything a newbie could want to know about internet marketing.

How I came to find out about it was that I was on You Tube looking for some interesting videos I could use on the new ning.com site, Twitter Go Getters and I came across this interesting guy called Ed Dale, who seemed to have copious amounts of videos on all the basics.

So being the research freak that I was, I decided to check him out.

Then, quite by chance, I was following up on researching the competition and thought I'd check out another women's network from NSW. I was surprised to find that this group was a syndicate that were doing the Thirty Day Challenge. I did wonder why they only had a one-page squeeze page up and no other website. It wasn't until I saw Ed Dale there on their home page that I realised what was going on! They were only part way through the challenge. :)

So I have started this mini-adventure.

Day 1 I sped through the DVD's like there was no tomorrow. I just wanted more, so I hopped over to Day 2 and got started. This is where I came unstuck. Either I'm a slowby, which is quite possible, or keyword research is really tough! Finding a niche - yikkkkeeesss! If I stay with Women Can and networking, then there appears to be a small niche there but how do I drill it down? Do I go completely local and find the mini niche of Perth or Australia?

Then there is analysing the competition. I need a partner! I need someone who actually enjoys doing the headbend analysis stuff. Bring on June Kelly, the whizz! Can't wait for her to get up to speed and help me out here.

So, I'm now up to Day 4 . I guess it doesn't help that I had the flu for the first three days of the challenge. Perhaps if I go back and start at the beginning with a non-flu-ridden body, things may be okay.

Wish me luck as I adventure!!!

Twitter Go Getters

2008-09-29T03:12:00.001-07:00

What started 0ut as a social experiment to test the power of promotions, has turned into a wild ride.

In less than four days I now have almost 450 people following me in Twitter.

In less than two days, I have 50 plus people who have signed up for the Social Network, Twitter Go Getters in Ning.com.

A friend said recently that you can start a trend simply by the amount of passion with which you promote something. I decided to put that to the test and I am seeing some amazing results.

It's not just a numbers game, but let me tell you, where there are numbers there are also opportunities. Try making friends with just one or two and finding friends that are the best in the world? The more numbers, the more opportunities there are to connect with some amazing people.

I'll keep you posted on this social experiment.

Enjoy my promo, even if only to hear my 10 year old sing!!!

TWITTERIFIC!

2008-09-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

I have just changed my profile on Twitter. Firstly, because I was stupid and miss-typed Kaleidoscope which made it very difficult for all those that like to tweet me. Secondly, because I wanted to align my profile with everything I do - ie YouTube channel (WomenCan), GodTube channel (WomenCan), etc.

The interesting part is that I was really bummed that I had done so much hard work to inspire a group of followers. In 3 months I had about 110 and I thought that was hard going. So I set up the new profile and just popped in there and clicked on the follow buttons for all those that were following me and within a short time they were hopping across.

Seeing the success of this technique I decided to look for other "followers" who were following people I knew and respected. So I ended up clicking on about 700 followers links. Within less than 24 hours I have 210 followers! Unbelievable.

So I just thought I'd share this little piece of information for all you readers of this blog. You can build a list really quickly in Twitter. It's not so much about who you are following but about who is following you. Be an influencer. Leader from the front.

The best part is that I am now having wonderful conversations with those new found friends where as before it was all a little bit dead!

Enjoy.

I saw him and I cried

2008-09-02T07:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I am an emotional mess! I confess I cry at movies and reunions with family you haven't see for years!

Yes, that's right. I watched "Sex in the City" on my Qantas Australia flight to Qld to visit my sister for her 40th and I cried. Actually, it was on the way home. Seeing Carry's face when she belts him with the flowers did something to me on a deep level. In that moment as I sat in my window seat on the plane, trying to discretely hide the tears and the sniffels, I was every woman ever jilted! And yes, I also cried when the couple were reunited on the bridge. Who wouldn't it was pure Hollywood magic!

But I cried more when I was embraced by my younger brother who I had literally not seen since the funeral of my mother over 19 years ago. One look at his face and my sunny smile became a watery wonderland. It was so lovely to be with him again and to know that someone I loved deeply was back in my life.

I don't know how you feel, but to me family is really special and precious and often neglected!

I have a photo of the three of us to prove it...brother, sister and I, sharing the moment together! It is a memory I will have for life, because I don't know how long it will be before we can all be together again.

It just showed me how important family really are to our hearts, if not our minds.

I'm now looking forward to getting some weight off, as the years have been way too kind to me!!!

Women Speak Out Forum - Discover your Passion!

2008-08-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

We are rapidly approaching the big day, 13 September 2008! Why is that day so important? That is the day that Perth will host it's best women event ever - the Women Speak Out Forum!

What will the day hold for women? The opportunity to discover, rediscover or connect with your passion and be inspired by others who are already pursuing their passions, a silent auction, inspiring motivational speakers, networking, community and business booths and passion focused break out groups.

All women aged 18 years and over will gather from all over Perth at the Arena Joondalup at 9:30am.

I envisage that they will spend the day going, "Oh...oo....ahhh..." as they journey through the exhibitions, hear the speakers and join in the discussions. We may even have a Bollywood dance demo to get them involved in a bit of fun.

It's going to be a fabulous day of fun. Want to come?

Adventurous Women!

2008-08-03T20:24:00.001-07:00

Find more photos like this on Adventurous Women
I met a fabulous woman, Sue, who has become a member of Women Can International Inc. She has a business called Adventurous Women and she organises travel expeditions specifically for women. You don't have to be single or a specific age. She's got a trip to Egypt planned for March 2009 if anyone is interested in going with a group of ladies to see the Nile, the pyramids and the wonderful Middle East. Just thought I'd share her site with you all, as the photos are just exquisite from her adventures. She has trekked Mt Everest and the Himalays and made it to the base camp where she could see the peak but had to turn back due to altitude sickness. She's a gutsy woman and full of interesting stories, so feel free to pop over to her site and join up.

How amazing is Apple Mac?

2008-08-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I made it all the way to almost 42 years of age without knowing how great an Apple iMac computer is!

My girlfriend, Jayne, impressed on me the value of buying an iMac and after much harassment I said, "Okay." So here I sit in front of my ultra speedy new iMac computer with a 24 inch screen and I am just so overjoyed with what I can do, the clarity of the image I am seeing, the way that you can drag the windows around the screen and organise yourself.

Now, having been a devotee of Windows and PCs for over 20 years, I would never have thought that I would say that there was any program that can compare with Outlook, as I use it so much and find it very effective, but iMacs Address Book, Calendars, Email and Tasking even put Outlook to the test with the simplicity of data entry, the ease of creating calendars and the appearance of everything. I mean, if there is a phone number, an event time in an email you can just click on it and off it goes to your calendar and address book! No double data entry! Plus you can colour code appointments simply by creating calendars for all the areas of your life. I am so impressed I'm thinking of becoming an Apple affiliate!!!

I guess I've been bitten by iMac fever or something, but I just love it and that is coming from a very deeply ingrained Windows PC user.

I was also skeptical about the look of the keyboard and the mouse, as the whole keyboard could almost fit in my handbag, with it's flat little keys and lack of the extras like sound control buttons etc. I mean, my usual wireless keyboard is everything a woman could want, almost including the kitchen sink. But it is so bulky! Looking at this MAC keyboard with it's totally flat keys I thought that's going to slow me down. But you know what, it's so much more responsive to touch and I've actually increased my speed not slowed it. So once again a great big tick and thank you to Apple!

And let's talk about the mouse. I looked at it and thought, it's not going to feel as nice as my wireless mouse. And now I realise that ergonomically it's probably better as my wrist is not being over stretched and it has extra button functions that I love. For example, if I were going to get my calculator up in windows, it was about 3 clicks and multiple screens to get to it via Accessories. Now I click a button on the side of my mouse and up pops a dashboard with a calculator, calendar, stock exchange and any other shortcuts I'd like to add as it is totally able to be customised.

And the creme de la creme is that I can also keep and use all of my windows based programs simply by loading up a program called Parallels that allows me to run the two systems on the one computer. Can't ask for anything more than that! Thank you Apple for your ingenuity. If only the whole world realised just how fantastic your products were, IBM and the likes would never have taken out the general market.

Now that I have such a fabulous computer, with it's inbuilt wireless networking capabilities I can set up my computer anywhere and do a presentation or demonstration. It is going to be such a valued asset to my business. I also realised that my broadband connection speed was way slower than it should be thanks to my friend, Jayne, and have upgraded to a way faster system so I get more time to do the things I love.

Also, by taking up the Apple of offer of MobileMe, I can access my files from anywhere in the world and there is no long uploading process. I simply drag them into a folder and away I go. I can give other people access too. File sharing has never been easier.

The iMac comes with built-in programs such as i-photo (which has an awesome book making option where you can create a photo journal and get it printed hardcover for around 29.99US); i-movie (a movie editing suite and you don't need a camera because there is one built into the monitor which is great for creating short training DVDs); i-booth (a quick snap photo booth with effects); garageband (a really cool audio mixing suite where you can create songs simply by dropping and dragging loops); and much, much more!

Finally, my next purchase is going to be an iphone so I can link everything together. It would certainly make my whole organisation easier if I only ever had to do one set of data entry! What a fabulous product, Apple. You deserve an award for your innovation and for the world to recognise the brilliance of your products.

PS I am not an Apple iMac sales woman but with a product like this, it would sell itself!

Book Review: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

2008-07-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

How far must one man go to demonstrate his love for a woman and to win her heart?

In Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers, Michael Hosea was prepared to marry a prostitute. He fell in love with Angel, a young woman with a very sordid past who was sold into prostitution at the age of 8 and so began Angel's tumultuous journey of healing.

Francine Rivers has translated the book of Hosea into the Gold Rush era in the US with finesse. She is a fine wordsmith, crafting every chapter so that it is riveting, imaginative and filled with colourful language that doesn't lose you in imagery but engages all your senses. I often "wander off" when a book goes into description because I get bored, but this book kept me the whole way through and that's over 400 pages worth of written words!

What did I learn from Redeeming Love? So much that I will be eternally grateful for.

Firstly, I learned that true love is constant. It is not when you feel like it, it is forever, unmerited, unearned, favour that is boundless. It is a decision that is made daily, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer.

Secondly, I learned that perfection is a journey, not a destination. We are all on that pathway but none of us have arrived and it is okay to be working towards perfection. We all fail ourselves, each other, God. What we must do is not put all our attention on our failures, but realise the constancy of God's grace so we can move forward.

This last point was particularly relevant for my relationship with my husband. We are currently separated, due to some personal issues, but I have found a much deeper level of grace towards my husband after reading this book. It showed me that love endures all things - the good and the bad and sometimes it chases to make up and other times it allows the individual to come to the end of themselves and for them to make the moves. However, it is always open to reconciliation. This was so great for me to learn.

Thirdly, I learned that there is no sin that is too great for God to forgive or for us to forgive of one another.

Finally, I learned that it is not true when people say, "Once a...always a...". As human beings we have the capacity to embrace change if we choose. The power of choice is probably the greatest gift that we have been given.

I encourage you today if you read this to make your peace with God. He remains the same today and forever - good, gracious, loving, kind, just and compassionate. There is nothing you have done that He doesn't already know about and hasn't already forgiven you. All you need to do is to ask for that forgiveness, and to receive it.

I highly recommend all couples to buy this novel. I understand that it is fictitious but it has taught me some very deep spiritual principles that I know will also help you in your life.

They told me I had a blod clot or cancer...

2008-07-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Although it was not true, I had to endure a whole weekend as if my life were under threat.

Over the past weekend I spent some time in hospital. I had pain in my back and chest and breathing hurt. I went to the emergency department and they had trouble diagnosing the problem, but thought it could it may be a blod clot on my lung.So over the following two days I was admitted to the novelty pin cushion ward (as my husband described it). I had a chest X-ray and then they did an MRI scan, which incidentally burst a vein, so I ended up with toxic radiation in my body swimming around, leaving the whole scan inconclusive. I had two bungs in my arm and my hand, they took copious blood samples, urine samples and just about every other procedure, including a rectal treatment! I mean, I was given the works. The worst part was the blood thinning injections to my stomach, which stung like you wouldn't believe.

On Sunday, a professor came to see me. I was lying in bed in my new pj's that a girlfriend had purchased for me. They were really lovely but the top was a size or two too small, so my breasts were bulging out of the top and it had a lovely over jacket that I was wearing to cover everything up. The professor was the kind of man that was in your personal space, looking at you like you were an insect under a microscope. I felt very invaded. He asked me to take off the jacket so he could examine me. I did so with much embarasment as my assets were all out there for the nurse, doctor in training and the professor to see. It was probably one of the most uncomfortable medical examinations I've ever been through and that's saying something because I've given birth four times, had a miscarriage, a tubal ligation and gaul bladder removal!

Suffice to say, by the end of the examination he declared that I only had a pulled muscle and that it was not anything fatal or serious. This was after me being led to believe that the scan had revealed either a blood clot or cancer on my lungs. I grabbed my stuff and got out of that hospital as fast as my legs could carry me.

I was grateful for all the care they provided but very disappointed that I'd missed out on my retreat to my friend Grace's house with my other great girlfriend Jayne which we'd planned for a pampering weekend!

What I don't regret about the weekend is what I learned about gratitude.

The woman next to me, who was in there with kidney failure and diabetes, taught me a lot about my life. She didn't say anything significant. She only shared with me how she is a regular in the hospital for kidney dialysis and treatment for her diabets. She's been a diabetic for 20 years. I observed the copious injections, tablets, and routines that accompanied her condition. I watched as her family arrived, so looking forward to taking her out of the hospital for a couple of hours to see a movie and the disappointment when the doctor said it was not a good idea.

In the short time I was there I realised just how finite life is and how short the time is when we have able bodies. I was also surrounded by bedridden old people. I realised just have much that I have taken my health for granted. I realised that I have taken my husband for granted and my kids and really not valued them like I should. Significant life lessons, not because I was dying but because I witnessed the debilitation other people suffer every day because of sickness.

This experience has caused me to rexamine my priorities and I thought this journey worthy of recording here.

What are we missing out on in life?

We say we realise that we only have the promise of this moment we are living in, but are we really capturing the moment and squeezing everything out of it? Time passes so quickly. I don't want to miss another opportunity to enjoy my family.

What about you? Is there time to be angry, to not forgive, to have broken relationships? The time spent in these attitudes robs you of the opportunity of having a loving and joyous experience with those that care about you the most.

Something to ponder...

Now I've heard them all!

2008-07-16T09:37:00.001-07:00

I've heard some excuses for losing emails in my time, but this one takes the prize! Read on to learn more...

I was asked by an online friend to help her out with some graphics for her business. I just saw how her product could be improved by a few simple design changes, so I let her know I was willing to help her.

Well, after slaving away at the changes, I popped off an email to her to show her the outcomes. Here is the before and after shots of her before and after shots.

So, I attached the images to an email and sent them off to my friend.

A short time later I received an email and this is what it said...

Hayley, I am so sorry, I can't believe my stupid cat. I was looking at your
email with the pics, and he walked right across my keyboard and I lost your
letter with pics! I have looked in trash, folders, done a total computer search
and the letter has just disappeared. He is in such trouble!
Can you resend me the email?

Now when I called her on this being the best excuse I've heard yet, this is what she responded with...

LOL!! I swear! I even had my husband come look for the mysterious disappearing email and it has vanished!! And yes the cat is still in trouble, making a difference from my husband being in trouble! Maybe you should write about this on the forum. Encouraging other funny internet stories. True stories of course!!

There is an old saying, "Me thinks she protests too much!" Barbara, I have taken your advice and shared your excuse with the world. Now I await to see what other great excuses people have come up with to avoid the consequences of responding to an email.

And by the way, your cat may hate you but your husband is grateful for the cat!

Loneliness - Is it an epidemic?

2008-07-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

I was recently featured in the local newspaper for Women Can International Inc to promote our free membership month. Here is the article that went to print.

What pursued has shocked and amazed me. I have received over 45 telephone calls from women in the community wanting to join the Association for a variety of reasons but for the majority it was because they are lonley and isolated, finding it difficult to make new friends.

One woman shared her story about how she had children now, but had grown up with a circle of friends that had been best friends for the past 20 years. Unfortunately, her girlfriends had started to use the drug ICE and she was concerned about the safety of her children and consequently, has had to leave those friendships. This story in particular broke my heart because I could feel the loss she was experiencing in losing her closest friends to such an evil drug.

There were others who had children under school age that had isolated them; those whose husbands were working away from home; those who had injuries that had takent hem out of their usual routines, causing them to be isolated and needy; and those who were experiencing a change in their life, be it moving to a new location or their children growing up and moving on. The common thread was that they felt lonley and wanted to reach out to other women and form partnerships.

My question is, what are we doing as a society that people should be in our suburbs suffering like this? It is an indictment upon us that we have not cared enough to reach out to our neighbours and their neighbours.

I recently moved to Kinross and this area is full of children, who don't seem to have the problem of meeting and making new friends quite as badly as adults do. Because of my children I have interacted with most of my neighbours and continue daily to meet new people in my area. Perhaps we could learn something from their naivety, as they do not assume that everyone they meet is going to rape, murder or steal from them. What has happened that we have communities so fraught with distrust?

I am hoping to make a positive difference through Women Can International Inc. I just want to challenge you to take 5 minutes out of your day to call a friend you haven't heard from in a while to make sure that they are not feeling lonely and isolated. It may be the best five minutes that you have ever spent. With so many contemplating suicide, your care may be the difference between life and death. Care costs little to give but is priceless for the receiver.

Come join me at Women Can International Inc

2008-06-25T12:51:00.001-07:00

I'd love to hear your thoughts, ladies.

View my page on Women Can International

Amazing Grace, the Butcher that Bakes

2008-06-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

I just have to share with you my weekend...

Started out pretty ordinary.

My kids and I, waiting around for the husband to assume childcaring detail after working til lunch time, so I could begin my big adventure.

Eventually he arrived and after a few quick housekeeping issues were sorted out, I exited for a weekend at my friend, Grace Maiolo's home.

For those who have been reading the Women Can International Inc newsletter, you will know that Grace was Women Can International Inc's February Woman of Influence Award recipient. Having stayed overnight in her home, I can verify that this woman is truly amazing!

Grace Maiolo, cracking open the bubbly!

Let me describe my overnight stay with Grace (pictured above) so that you can really appreciate the woman and the wonderful opportunity that it was for me.

Firstly, Grace's day begins at 3:30am, when she gets up and goes to the shop to cut up the meat for the day. She then serves in the butcher shop until 3:30pm on a good day or 5pm on a normal day. This is a routine she has maintained 7 days a week for over 30 years. When asked how many hours she sleeps, she said, "A couple of hours of good sleep does me." When I asked her, "Don't you get tired?" She responded, "Not until I sit down."

Now you have to understand that I have seen this lady in action. She can cater for a crowd of over 90 people, as she did for the 6PR Offle Afternoon and not sit down once the whole day! She just goes and goes and goes and is so passionate about making the people around her feel wonderful.

Back to the weekend. She finished work at 3:30pm and rushed home, grabbed a quick shower and when I arrived at 4:15pm, she had the appearance of simple stress-free elegance and you would have no idea she's been cutting up carcases and working in a butcher's shop all day. Further, the table is laid especially for me, the house has been prepared for me and she has taken particular care to make sure that my every need has been catered for! Not only that, she concentrated her whole focus on me and making me feel special, wanted and very loved. Her broad grin and welcoming hug made me feel like I'd come home to a long lost friend and i just knew from the moment I walked in the front door that I was in for a huge treat because of the warmth and generosity of the woman. It's almost like a physical embrace - I've never met anyone who has the gift of hospitality as strong as Grace does. Nothing is a problem for Grace. Her positivity is uplifting.

The beautiful wood table we dined at!

Her home, an elegant house with a lot of beautiful Jarrah woodwork, is filled with strong wooden furniture. The central furniture piece is the large wooden dining table that seats 10 and has seen countless dinner party guests have their fill of her fine fare. A very solidly built table, as I sat down I wondered what stories it would tell of the many dinners and diners Grace has hosted.

Her kitchen, Grace's favourite room in the house, is well stocked and there is everything a woman needs for entertaining within easy grasp. Check out my quick snaps of the table she had laid just for me (above) and of her pantry that she uses for her entertaining ware! (below)

Grace's Pantry - Stocked for entertaining!

As the evening progresses, we are joined by her partner, Anthony. I am treated to a hot spa, a massage, gifts on the bedside table waiting for me (a box of chocolates and a gift box of sweet smelling body treats), the softest bathrobe imaginable is hung in the cupboard for me to don, with matching slip on slippers. Glasses of the finest champagne are served generously throughout the evening and more food than I could eat.

A simple entree, Grace style!

After all the fun and festivity, I retreat to the solitude of the upstairs guest room, which incidentally is as good, if not better, better than a 5 star luxury hotel room. In the suite upstairs there is a toilet, sink, fridge, pantry, sideboard with my favourite lollies, kettle, coffee cups, dining table, large screen television, classical music pumping out of a stereo, then in the bedroom there is a lounge suite, dressing table with beautiful lamp, wooden cupboard, and a king size bed, with a beautiful rich red and gold duvet, complete with white towels beautifully folded, with a face washer on top! Even thte toilet paper in the ensuite was folded back, hotel style.

Overall, a wonderful overnight jaunt, not to mention we cooked up some business
ventures together which are VERY exciting!

To see some more of Grace's wonderful fare, why not pop over to http://cookingwithgrace.net/. We launched her site while I was there and also her ning site, http://cookingwithgrace.ning.com/. You are welcome to sign up and enjoy her butcher's tips, recipes and discussions about food!

All Things Women on Ning.com

2008-06-13T09:38:00.001-07:00

Come join me on Ning.com

Visit All Things Women

Family

2008-06-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Emily, Elise, Sarah, Adonijah and Hayley

You may have read this before, but today I felt it was a message that was quite important for everyone everywhere. It is particularly pertinent to me, having had a few spats with my children the past couple of days. It brings home how important our families really are and how special.

A POEM I RECEIVED VIA EMAIL ABOUT "F A M I L Y"

I ran into a stranger as he passed by, 'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.
He said, 'Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you.'
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
'While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'
By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed; '
Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.
'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'
I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'
He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway.'
I said, 'Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.'

FAMILY

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?

So what is behind the story?

Do you know what the word FAMILY means?

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

A Message about Family from Hayley Solich

Last weekend I felt to lay a table in honour of my family. I am currently temporarily separated from my husband and the children had been with him for the weekend. So when they arrived home it was to a table that was set with some party stuff and special note for each person. I took a lot of care in the presentation of the table and I cooked a beautiful roast meal. As I was sitting at the table my children said to me, "Mum, what's the party for?" Their little faces were so excited and they couldn't work out why I'd done it. I started to get teary and I said, "It is in celebration of our family." They were all so excited and my husband just looked at me with a grateful light in his eye, because in the note I'd placed in front of him I had asked for forgiveness for not understanding him better, not trying harder and not being there for him when he needed me most.

The point is, family is important. It's the most important part of our lives and for many years I have put other things first - my career, my latest project, my friends, my hobbies, but I realise that I have four young lives that are looking to me for an example.

Since the luncheon, I've been into two of my children's classrooms as a helper. I didn't realise just how much this would mean to them. My daughter was so excited, she kept coming up to me in the classroom and kissing me. It was a precious moment and only cost me an hour or two of my time. Just think of the opportunities I have been missing by being too busy doing my own thing. I plan to make more time for creating special memories with my children.