Inspiring

Today has been the most amazing and inspiring day.

I have spent the last two days, with 150 other women,  on 'The Journey' with Brandon Bays. Tomorrow is the last day of this retreat/workshop. It has been everything and more than I ever expected and I feel lighter and freer than at any time of my life.

I have shed so many tears - I didn't know there was so much salty wet stuff in me - and I've cleared issues that I didn't even realise were still issues, but quite obviously have been weighing heavily in my heart for a long time.

I've met and talked with women who have stories that would blow your mind. How does anyone survive some of these life experiences and come out the other side intact? How does someone find the courage to trust and love again after that kind of hell? Where do these women find the strength to move forward and create any kind of life, let alone a happy one?

Everybody has a story. Just when you think you've heard the worst, somebody else comes forward with a story that moves you to your very core.

Today, I felt overwhelmed with love. Women from every background, from all walks of life and all age groups, holding my hands and looking deep into my eyes and making me feel like I was the most important person on the planet. I've had tears literally streaming from my eyes and dripping off my cheeks as if a tap had been turned on.

Overwhelming and honest. Intimidating and challenging. Shocking and unexpected. Inspiring and heartwarming.

People who have had an easy life are never drawn to these kinds of events and gatherings, so naturally the room will be full of people who have experienced difficulties, traumas, dramas, tragedies and circumstances that you couldn't even conjure if you were writing a horror story.

But these are the people with the most love to give and who forgive with their whole heart. These are the people who empathise, who don't judge you, who accept you completely.

I am so glad that I decided to do this.

It has taken me so far out of my comfort zone and forced emotions to the surface that have been held down with a tight lid for decades.

I am exhausted.

Tomorrow is the final day and even though I'm looking forward to what it will bring, I will also be sad to say goodbye to some of these girls and women. Women from all over the world and all over Australia.

They are all amazing and beautiful and strong and heroic.

Now I need to sleep.

Namaste.

Nite all.

Intense

Today has been intense.

It has also been confronting, challenging, emotional, overwhelming and exhausting.

We left home at 8am and arrived home at the end of the day, some time after 9.30pm, at which time we had to prepare dinner.

There was minimal debriefing, a healthful dinner, some lemon myrtle tea and a fond good night at 11.30pm.

I have a feeling that I will sleep soundly tonight.

This is inside the castle where we are workshopping ...

It's amazing. I wish I'd brought my camera to Sydney with me, but I'll take a few pics with my phone tomorrow.

For now, I must bid you good night.

Nite all.

Sydney! We are in you!

Well, after a hectic start to the day, we made it to the airport in The Bay with plenty of time to spare and we relaxed in the cafe enjoying some beverages before the flight.

Adoring Husband stayed with us until it was time to board our aircraft and then we were on our way!

The trip went so quickly!

The plane was only half full, which meant that we had a spare seat and we could spread out. We had iPads and magazines and food and cups of tea all over the place.

I had downloaded the Virgin entertainment app and watched an educational dvd with tips for writing blogs for websites and online readers. At the same time The Motivator went through her iPad finding all of her information for swimming pools to share with me.

Before we knew it, we were clearing everything away and preparing for our landing.

We had been warned that the winds at the airport were gusting at 40kph and that there was low level cloud, which meant it would be a bumpy old landing, but it wasn't half as bad as I expected.

It was a smooth departure from Sydney Airport. We stopped at the loo on the way to pick up our luggage, and by the time we got to the pickup point, our luggage was right there waiting for us on the conveyor belt.

We found our shuttle bus driver quickly and before we knew it, we were on our way through the dreadful Sydney traffic heading towards Mosman.

We travelled through tunnels and over the Sydney Harbour Bridge. So much traffic. So much noise. So fast. So dirty. Ugh.

The house that we are staying in is on a very busy main road, but you can't hear the traffic from inside. It's an old place that has been beautifully renovated. Very comfortable and almost feels like home!

We relaxed for a while on the big comfy couch before deciding to go buy some groceries.

What a FABULOUS market place we found, with so much organic goodness! There was grass fed beef, pasture raised chicken and pork, gluten free everything and the range of fresh fruit and vegetables was amazing ... even plantains, which I haven't found anywhere near where we live or the Sunshine Coast!

There were all kinds of exotic fruit and vegetables. An amazing selection of cheeses, kimchis, kombuchas and coconut yoghurts. A huge range of dips and pates and pestos.

I don't know how long we were in there, but we lost each other a couple of times. It was pure heaven!

From there we headed to the 'bottlo' where we stocked up on some alcoholic beverages.

We drove to Manly, where we stopped and played on the seesaw in the park, then walked along the path that runs parallel to the beach. Manly looks very different to how I remember it 30 years ago!

We then went to look at Balmoral. I do like Balmoral very much!

We didn't get home until about 7.30pm and by the time we sat down to dinner, which was pork steaks, salad and kimchi, it was 8.30pm!!

NOW, it's almost 1am! We have a big day tomorrow, so I'd best get some sleep!

Nite all.

It's Time!

This will be a very short post!

It's almost midnight and I have just about completed my 'to do' list, before departing tomorrow for twelve days.

My brain feels a little mushy, because my 'to do' list wasn't very comprehensive and I keep remembering other things that need doing!

I saw my boys this morning so that I could say goodbye. I probably won't see them again until the end of the month.

I popped in to see The Motivator so that we could discuss our itinerary, the upcoming 'Journey' weekend and to make sure that we remembered everything that we needed to bring, including the right number of outfits!

This will be our first trip away together since our friendship blossomed and we are really excited about what this couple of weeks will hold for us.

From there, I rushed home and got my suitcase out so that I could begin packing. I didn't get very far, before it was time to get ready to go into The Bay.

We had to meet Best Cousin in the World to deliver her LeReve products, and we shared a nice easy lunch at the Sticky Fig Cafe.

I was very excited to see that the shoe shop next door was having a closing down sale, so of course, a new pair of shoes was in order! Yay me!

Adoring Husband dropped me off at Stocklands and while he was enduring a procedure on two BCCs, I pampered myself and had a pedicure and manicure. I was a bit disappointed in my pedicure because the girl wasn't very good at massaging my feet and legs. (It was the salon next to K-Mart)

I will go to the other salon next time because I know that they are excellent - not as friendly or chatty, but so much better at the actual pedicure.

We returned home and I did a little more packing before making a quick dinner and then getting ready to go out to the monthly Trivia night at the club.

We picked up the Blonde Bombshell and met the lovely snorting Tweedle Dee and her husband The Garden Guru for a night of fun and frivolity.

Our night was fun and frivolous and but totally pathetic as far as the trivia goes! We came seventh out of nine teams this week. It seems we slip further and further down the ladder every month! Ah well, that's life. Adoring Husband announced that he is going to get BGWLBH (for my new readers, that stands for Beautiful Girl With Long Blonde Hair, who is my BFF and lives in NSW) to fly up next month, because she will be the answer to all of our trivial problems!! Good luck with that darling :)

Anyway, I have almost finished packing and have made a list of everything I need to add tomorrow morning.

Now it's sleep time.

Nite all.

Brave and Bold

I have been unhappy with my local hairdresser for some time.

She had me so uninspired that I made the decision to grow my hair out to it's natural colour, however,  my natural shade of grey is equally uninspiring.

So I asked around my friends to find out who their hairdressers were and even though I seriously considered them all, I decided that I would find my own hairdresser.

Today, we had to go into The Bay to pick up my six tubs of chocolate chip coconut ice cream (that is NOT a typo) and while we were there, I walked into a nearby hairdressing salon to make an appointment for Wednesday. The woman who served me, who seemed to be about my age and very bohemian, offered me an appointment for right then and there!

I conferred with Adoring Husband who was waiting in the car. He decided to do a Bunnings run and some other errands and I told him I'd be about 2 hours.

I returned to Bohemian Mama and accepted her offer, sat down in the chair and began a twenty minute discussion about what I wanted.

What did I want? No freaking idea. *rolls eyes*

I didn't want to be a 56 year old trying to be 20 and I didn't want to look like an elderly woman. I want to be fairer at the front than at the back, more sun kissed than bleached and as natural as possible.

She showed me some pics in a hair style catalogue and I pointed to a couple that I liked.

Then I sat down and we chatted while she got to work.

We had a LOT in common, even with some of my 'out of the box' beliefs, so our discussions were interesting and in depth with both of us looking wide eyed at various times.

The first ninety minutes went very quickly and I still wasn't even close to finished! Adoring Husband came in and said he would wait in the car.

Thirty minutes later, he came in again and asked how long. Bohemian Mama said "About half an hour".

Half an hour later, I was frantically looking at my watch, realising that she still wasn't near finished and had to politely ask her to move it along!

Another thirty minutes passed and Adoring Husband came inside and took a seat to wait, while she finished blow drying my hair.

$227 later ...

The most I have ever spent on my hair, was $140. My favourite hairdresser in Griffith only charges me $90 and he does a better job than anybody.

I have to say that I do like my hair. It looks much better than before my appointment, but not quite as good as my imagination had pictured it. Bohemian Mama did a good job and next time, with a couple of tweaks, she will do better. I just need to earn enough through my website to cover my hair expenses!!

Sorry I don't have a pic to show you.

I have a scary infected right eye at the moment, which would not be pretty in a photo. I bought myself some colloidal silver gel this morning and I've used it twice during the day. It soothed the savage beast immediately and I hope that it will heal quickly from here.

We had lunch at the Golf Club prior to my hair appointment, which was very pleasant and air conditioned and delicious.

Tomorrow will involve some more pampering when I plan to have both a pedicure and a manicure, while Adoring Husband endures some unpleasantness having a BCC removed from his neck.

I know, right? There's always something!

For now, it's almost 10.30pm, it's been a big day and I need some sleep in preparation for another big day tomorrow!

So, nite all.

Marathon in the Kitchen

I spent enough money at our local shops today, to pay their staff wages for a week!

I came home laden with shopping bags overflowing with meat, vegetables, fruit, coconut oil, lemons and so much more!

Even though Adoring Husband told me not to, I spent the day in the kitchen cooking, preparing a eighteen meals to cover most of the 22 days that I will be absent.

I made 3 meals of chicken spinach parsee, 3 of beef masala, 3 of Hainan chicken, 3 of spaghetti bolognese sauce, 2 of sausages and onion gravy and 3 of lamb shanks with tomato and red wine sauce.

THEN I made lamb cutlets with salad for dinner!

I cleared the fridge and cleaned the kitchen - more than once!

Needless to say, I feel like a high achiever!

Now I have two days to get myself organised. I need a hair appointment and a pedicure.

I still need to make my 'to do' list! Ugh.

I'll worry about it tomorrow. It's almost midnight.

Nite all.

A Working Sunday

Another productive day for me in the website wilderness of my workspace.

I completed my first Recipe post, which took a good few hours, and the only one left to complete now is for the Art and Craft page.

There are still three photos in my shop that are giving me grief and it will take some time to figure that out, but I also have to do some alterations to the shop because there are a couple of things bugging me about it.

Anyway, I got enough done today, that I was able to knock up a quick and nourishing dinner of chicken spaghetti bolognese sauce with zucchini noodles and be sitting comfortably ready to watch Federer play Nadal in the Final of the Australian Open Tennis Championships.

What a fabulous match it was! They are both such gentlemen on the court and the crowd was electric! Especially in the fifth and final set when Roger Federer found something extra and won quite convincingly.

I felt very emotional on his behalf!

And then I found this ...

Roger and Rafa

A well earned and well deserved win. Go Roger!!

I only have three days left to get myself organised for a very full and busy February! I must make a 'to do' list!

But not right now, because it's after 11pm and I need some sleep!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Nite all.

Midnight Hour

Here I am, right on the stroke of midnight, just starting to write this post.

Where the heck has this day gone?

I guess three unplanned hours with The Motivator and her friend The High Flyer took a chunk out of the day that I hadn't planned, but I had a fabulous time!

This morning I designed some business cards and ordered them online and some stickers with my logo on them to put on the jewellery packaging.

It has taken me 45 minutes to write these seven lines.

My brain is far far away.

So, for the ladies who have recently acquired some essential oils from our parties, check this out ...

100 Uses for our ten most popular oils and blends

... it's written by Jessie Reimers, who is one of the top salespeople and trainers for Doterra Essential oils, but five of these particular scents are available in the LeReve brand as well.

To finish this short post, and so that I can get some sleep, I really liked this quote that I found on Facebook this evening.

On that note, I am off to bed.

Nite all.