absent

for a few days i have had my attention focused elsewhere. mainly in the direction of my family, my dad in particular. spending some serious quality time with him over the weekend, i marvel at how much he and my brother (both of them actually) and I have in common ... not the least of which was how much our partners all complain about how much time we spend either online or in front of the computer! lol. and it definitely comes from his side of the family that we are all problem solvers, solution finders, creative types who like to ask universal questions and ponder the answers that come to us. my brother and i spent about 10 hours all together in the process of driving there and back again, more time talking face to face than we have in many years (since before our respective offspring were born). as a partial explanation, he lives in a different country from me, so the opportunities to get together are fewer than we would like.

but i was so stronly reminded of how powerful the ties of blood are within our family ... a family that is definitely not in each other's faces all the time, yet is still there when we need it.

i am blessed to have such intelligent, caring, loving men as my father and brothers in my life. i celebrate them all for the contribution they make to my life and to the world. i am in awe of the work my father has done over the years for the communities he lives in, and would love to see him receive some form of acknowledgement for his efforts, which have truly changed lives. he has never sought fame or attention, but has truly aimed to find better ways to get things done, and to ensure that people receive the assistance they are entitled to.

i wish for him that he discovers over the coming days and months, that his circle of friends and family is larger, stronger and more available than he has dreamed. that he discovers the value of connections made over the years, and the impact he has had.

i thank the universe for gifting me into my family - i love them all.

an brief explanation

you might be interested in something i put into my blog yesterday ... there is a little video done by a guy on the Barbara Sher board, all about bringing the law of attraction stuff into action in our lives.

he developed this technique himself to make sense of it all .... basically it is about writing down our top three priorities that we want to see happen in our lives, then EACH DAY, write an A-Z list with a word or sentence that relates to each of those priorities starting with each letter. Make sense?

what he says happens (which makes sense) is that you start to see alphabet letters all around you as you go about your day, and every time you do, it reminds you of something on your list ... which helps keep you focused and keep all the good stuff top of mind. Plus of course, the repetition each day helps cement things in our minds and keeps us aware.

he says that for the hard letters he often writes something like "youthful zeal" for Y etc .... which is ok, you can fill in the really hard ones with something that is generally helpful.

he gives examples on the clip.

go have a look!

The UNLIMITED Secret Law Of Attraction ~ ALPHA POWER METHOD For - video powered by Metacafe

sad news

well i guess that is the cycle of life - one life begins, another ends.

this morning my brother rang to tell my that my stepmother had passed away in hospital. i am grieving for her, but also for my dad. he lives 6 hours drive from where we are, but i am waiting to hear more news re funeral arrangements etc, once he is able to organise such things. my stepmother has five children and any number of grandchildren, and several live in the area, so no doubt there will be much happening from their side of things.

i have always felt that my dad is kinda dwarfed by the huge size of her family, and i want to be there for him. perhaps even get him to come back home with us. i have no idea what the future holds or what he will want, but i am open to changes that are likely to follow.

so many people have sent love and support today and i am truly grateful.

sun shine on a sunday

We have been having a summer that so far has only been remarkable for the lack of sunshine hours. The powers that be who know about the weather are promising us lots of sun come February, so I am holding on to that thought! Unfortunately for the kids, they will all be back at school by then, but hey, it is beyond our control, right?

Today the forecast was for 25 deg celsius, fine in the morning, then showers in the afternoon. But we woke again to greyness - not cold, just grey skies.

But right now as i type, not far from midday, the sun is trying hard to peep through the clouds. So here is to wishing and hoping and manifesting some sunshine ... at which point i may well pay tribute to the mighty sun by going for a walk in the gardens. (pic to come on that one!)

Am also sending thoughts for healing and courage in the direction of my own family, and the families of people i love and respect - manifesting health and wellbeing, a serious dollop, all round, thank you universe!

adventure abounds

One of the things i really want to start talking about in this blog is the awesome event that we are creating for October 2007 - an International Women's Summit.

Things are in the earlyish planning stages as yet, but we are 99% confirmed on the location for this event, which will be Hanmer Springs, in the South Island of New Zealand.

For those of you who have always had a visit to NZ on your wish list, this is the perfect excuse! Hanmer is a stunningly beautiful alpine village that will be just gorgeous in spring - clear blue skies, the occasional frosty morning ... enhanced by the wonderful thermal pools and spa complex that is the heart of the town.

The theme for the summit is Adventure, and this is truly a location where adventures abound ... from the very accessible walking or biking of forest trails, to heart stopping bungy jumping, jet boat riding down the river, quad biking over spectacular hillsides and so much more.

The process of drawing the threads of this event together is already an exciting one. The originators of this event are the women's institute - lead by the most fabulous Deb Barnes and her team based in Spokane, Washington state.

Please do keep checking my blog, and the I will be site for updates not only on the women's summit, but also on the other weekends and workshops being organised by the institute.

i saw him!

well the top of his head as he was happily feeding at least! little rohan is a gift, and his mother is already showing signs of early sleep deprivation! but it is all good - takes me back. i went to visit her in the hospital today and i have a feeling she may even be in the same room i was in 16 plus years ago, having my first son (also by caesarian section).

i took her a bunch of bright beautiful flowers to liven up the room, which was all good. it is amazing how the arrival of such a tiny, perfect being can turn our lives upside down!

the week has suddenly disappeared on me, with tomorrow being my "day off", yet actually full of events to be done while i have the chance. i really love being able to spend 4 days of my week in paid work, and 3 for me, but nearly tripped myself up this week , my first week back after the holidays. I forgot i don't work on Fridays and nearly had a photo shoot set up for tomorrow. Fortunately that got sorted, but Monday is going to be a full on day!

xxx

welcome to the world!

Today is an exciting day - a new little boy human being arrived - my boss has a son! Welcome R V, may your life be long and happy, and the days ahead be filled with joy.

It is really cool to see this unfold, talk about a year of adventure - what is more of an adventure than becoming a parent for the first time!

I am looking forward to seeing this new arrival in person, perhaps tomorrow - the circle of life continues.

Today was also a day of a new client walking in the door, funnily enough, one who specialised in creating educational music and movement for children from birth to age 6. He and his business partner are about to release a new dvd teaching teachers how to use some of their songs with children. www.tessarose.co.nz - awesome product - they have sold more than 250,000 copies of their tapes and cds over the years, equivalent to multiple gold records!

I am looking forward to helping them come up with some creative marketing approaches and really ramping up their products in the market. They send their CDs all over the world, so if anyone is looking for music for pre-schoolers, check them out.

Arrivals and expectations

so today was my first day back at work for 2007. All went well, there is much to be done in the coming weeks, not least of which involves managing around the arrival of my boss's first child - due tomorrow.

So there is excitement and anticipation in the air, as this event is only hours away, and once it happens, nothing will be the same again.

The year looks to be a good one on the business front, with many challenges in the pipeline.

September/october could well be the time of events, multiple, with two and possibly three on my agenda, only one of which would be organised during work hours. Overburdened you say? Of course not - there is oodles of daylight between now and then!!

That's all for now ... more gems later perhaps.

Oh and the pic in this post?? the spectacular place my women's circle (and partners) visited in the weekend to carry out a blessing ritual for the birth of a child to one of our members. Cool, huh!?

Welcome to 2007!

First off, i must give credit to Deb, since i have stolen the theme of this blog from hers :) but we are at least partly involved in adventure together this year - be it bungy jumping, quad biking or simply enticing some sensational women from around the world to join us in New Zealand in October this year.

In addition to co-creating this spectacular-to-be event, my focii for the year are on art (my own and my husband's); cooking luscious and loving food for my family and friends; learning the language of love (Italian) and moving my body in new and mysterious ways participating in the dance form known as Ceroc.

there is much excitement and fun to be had in the year ahead, and i look forward with great anticipation to the adventures yet to unfold.

more soon.