No Escape

There seems to be no escape from the constant barrage of information, fear mongering and news updates regarding the current state of the world’s health.

It’s probably in our best interest to turn off the news and social media for set periods and enjoy the simple things in life for a while. Spend some time with friends and loved ones without discussing the news. Do something you love and free your mind for a while.

My art workshop was reduced from 6 to 2 for a combination of reasons including health issues, social distancing and inconsiderate husbands!

The two ladies that did attend were lovely and very creative.

The first one here was mine and I disliked it so much I scraped the paint off it and into the bin. This photo does it more justice than it deserves.

I was very impressed with the others.

I have no idea how sales went in the shop. I was too busy clearing up the training room to check.

Adoring Husband is not well so The Motivator drove me home.

I made him a big jug of fresh pineapple, mango and banana juice. Then I cooked up a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup of which he ate three bowls. He had chicken and vegetables for dinner and the last of the coconut ice cream for dessert.

He was still hungry and still giving cheek so I’m not too concerned about the state of his health. I’ll continue to pour nutrient rich food down his throat and hopefully he will heal and recover quickly.

I’m watching the 1945 version of the movie “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. There have been about seven versions of this movie. I saw a version of this movie years ago which I loved, but I haven’t found that version anywhere since.

Time for bed.

Nite all.

Somebody’s Birthday

Somebody is having a big birthday bash in town this weekend and a lot of the guests turned up today.

They visited the shop and vowed to spread the word about our shop to the other guests as they arrive on Saturday morning.

Let’s hope our Saturday morning reaps the benefits of the party goers.

On the other end, some March holiday makers popped in to say goodbye as their holiday has come to an end and one of the ladies purchased my Cheelii Lagoon photo before she left!

Some of my day was spent taking phone calls from people withdrawing from the art class. I’m glad they did because they are displaying signs of an illness that may or may not be THE virus that we are all concerned about.

So it will be a small class and it will probably be the last one for a while as we wait and see how this pandemic takes control of our lifestyles.

I had a nice chat with Vegan Chickie in the morning too. She turns the big 40 on Monday!

Thought I’d share these with you ...

Best get some sleep now. I should sleep soundly after my footy team had a win tonight and I’m doing well in the family footy tipping comp.

Have a great weekend!

Nite all.

Promising

Today was more promising at the shop.

A few customers “moseyed” through and made some purchases.

My morning was spent in the training room learning more about the doTERRA essential oils from Trendelle.

I already have a very good and varied supply of doTERRA oils, but I purchased some more today and registered with the company so that I can purchase at wholesale prices.

They are also the owners of Ice Blue Rub, which I LOVE and use often for pain relief in muscles and joints - for Adoring Husband mostly, but I used it myself last week when my back was giving me grief and it worked a treat.

Essential oils are amazing and now there are apps that give you recipes for different blends of oils that will help with pain, medical issues, beauty and sleep issues. Even Drs are recommending essential oils these days because the Aust Medical Assoc have found proof that they work.

We’ll probably have another gathering at the end of May. Some of you should expect an invitation!

The day passed quickly.

Tomorrow I’ll set up for our art workshop, although we will be a bit light on this week, but a small class is better than no class and there will be more space to experiment and play!

We enjoyed a spicy chicken curry for dinner tonight.

Time for bed now.

Nite all.

It’s Started

Not a soul walked through our doors today.

I think we all know why.

The next few months will certainly be telling as the fear and the frenzy reaches a peak and hopefully subsides quickly so that life goes back to ‘pre-virus’ normal.

To survive intact, we’ll have to manage the business very carefully.

I got a lot done.

Meditation in the morning, followed by an hour catching up with The Gypsy. I got most of my numbers/paperwork finished, created a FB ad for this weekend’s art workshop and sent out emails to the people on my arts list.

There will be a DoTerra consultant in the shop tomorrow morning so if there is anything you want in the DoTerra range, come on in or give me a call.

We enjoyed steak and veg for dinner tonight and I’m feeling a bit weary now so it’s time to sleep.

Nite all.

Tantalising Tuesday

Tuesday morning with the girls was very light on with just three of us enjoying coffee and a chat.

Specialist appointments, holidays and illness kept them all at bay.

It was after 11am when The Brains Trust and I said our goodbyes and I decided to walk to our shop and spend some time with The Motivator.

We had a really good chat and caught up on lots of ‘stuff’ and it was about 2.30pm when I left the shop to meet Adoring Husband at the butcher.

He and I did a quick shop at the butcher, who didn’t have much left after being smashed yesterday, then we tried the supermarket who had received a shipment of stock today but a lot of the shelves were still empty.

The world is in panic mode while the “powers that be” pull the strings.

I have to be up early for meditation tomorrow and I’ll be working for remainder of the week.

Nite all.

Hectic

The photography workshop finished very well and the ladies left feeling like they’d learned a lot announcing that they were pleased they signed up.

I really enjoyed it too! I got to use my camera for the 2nd time in about 6 months!

Our life has been very hectic for a month and I’m feeling a bit emotionally drained.

It’s definitely time to spend a couple of days practicing some self care. Meditation, tapping and some journey work to clear some “stuff”. Gotta get rid of this feeling of overwhelm.

A few good night’s sleep and giving myself some love should bring me to a better place.

That starts now!

Nite all.

Picking Winners

This is what my FROG box lady wrote on their website today. Everything she says resonates with me, and I too tend to move in a different direction to the hoards.

(I am left wondering who it is that is hoarding toilet paper because absolutely everyone that I’ve spoken to is scoffing at the ridiculousness of it all!)

There is a number of people reacting in fear, and they are the people that the media seem to be focussing on, instead of those of us who “choose” to respond calmly with love and peace.

Anyway, this is what Celine wrote...

There's nothing like worldwide panic to make you stop, take a breath and re-assess where you are and how you choose to react to the situation. It might help that I tend to always go a little against the grain, if everyone is heading in one direction, I'm with the small mob going the other way. So with everyone freaking out- I'm choosing not to. Gosh, it feels goood!

There is so much positive change that can come out of this seemingly bad situation. If ever there was a time for people to make better choices NOW is the time! If you've been waiting for an excuse to start looking after yourself NOW is the time! If you love the thought of keeping it local but haven't been quite getting there, NOW is the time to spend your pennies with conscious intent. If you tend to react from a place of lack or fear, NOW is the time to focus on your reactions and start trusting in life.

So I urge you, look at what you are eating- ditch processed foods and choose to eat clean, fresh food loaded with nutrients- strengthen your bodies not only in response to this situation, but to boost your immune system for winter and for life in general. Quality of life comes from being healthy and living well- living well means feeling good, and feeling good comes from having a body that works at its best. If the hype out there is what is needed to kick-start you into gear, then that's a good thing.

Start reconnecting, sharing and acting from a place of love. Remember that you are never alone. Ignore the people with trollies full of toilet paper and shrouded in fear, and remind yourself that there are many more people than them that will happily share with you if you need it. By sharing and giving more, you'll allow that flow of energy to come back to you tenfold. Ask for help if you need it, and be willing to receive. Imagine communities built on kindness and support, lets get together and change this world for good- starting at home!

Think local, spend local. Yes we've heard it all before but now more than ever this rings true. Look at your dollars and spend them where they make a difference. Department stores and supermarkets won't miss you if you choose not to shop with them but small local businesses with families to feed will. Lets spend consciously and help our local community thrive. If we all connect and give each other a financial boost by spending local we'll come out on top of this. You think you can't make a difference but you can!
I know at FROG every order that comes through makes a big difference- to a small business you are not just a number, you help keep that business afloat week after week, and we are totally grateful to have your support..we feel so connected to our customers and if we could give each and everyone of you a hug, we would- although maybe not right now- apparently hugs are banned at the moment. Maybe a high-five... nope can't do that either... Gah!

I feel like someone has grabbed planet Earth and is giving it a HUGE shake-up... and that's a great thing! For too long we've been all talk about what we 'should' be doing. Now its time to put that into action. We are the change-makers right now, and it's connected communities like the one we have here at FROG that can start being that change we want to see in the world.

Let's do this!

♥ Celine

If you’re interested in ordering organic goodness, you can choose set boxes from $40 or you can select fruit, veg and other products individually here. (FYI I don’t receive anything for promoting FROG. I value and recommend this business highly).

I spent today running Day One of our Photography workshop. We have a great group of ladies who are all eager to learn and all with a good sense of humour. Each of them commented on how much they learned on the first day and were keen to go home and practice.

It was a bad start to the day when instead of pressing the ‘snooze’ button on my alarm, I accidentally turned it off and slept for another hour! This meant that I was rushing to get ready and feeling quite flustered when the class began. That’s a horrible feeling.

It was all ok in the end.

My lower back is giving me a bit of trouble at the moment and I feel like I’m struggling to walk distances which is tricky when after lunch, we are out and about in the field practicing what we learned in the morning. I had a dodgy limp by the end of the day.

I’m looking forward to the second day and I’ll be sure to leap out of bed as quickly as my back will allow - no snooze button or accidental offs!

I have to say it’s been a great weekend of footy so far for the first round of the season and as of this moment my tips are perfect - 5 from 5 and my pick in the 6th game is winning. I will brag while I can because my winning run might not last!

Have a happy Sunday!

Nite all

Totally Drained

I was incapable of leaving the bedroom today.

The visit from AJ totally drained me.

It really was a great visit, but there was so much family ‘stuff’ that I needed to process.

Stuff that I wasn’t aware of.

Stuff that AJ wasn’t aware of.

Stuff that upset us.

Stuff that shocked us.

Stuff that amused us.

Stuff that confused us.

Eight hours of non stop chatter revealing so much ‘stuff’!

I think I have to use some of my tools, like meditation, tapping and self journeying to clear some of it because it’s all weighing quite heavily on my mind.

Adoring Husband dragged me (not physically) outside for about 15 minutes to help him put together the replacement pergoda that was delivered yesterday morning.

That was a frustrating process but thank goodness it didn’t last too long!

Chicken and vegetables for dinner.

Tomorrow I’ll be making the finishing touches to the photography course that I’m leading on the weekend.

... and finishing with a funny one 🤣

Nite all.

#1 Aunty

I have this Aunty.

I haven’t seen her since my mother’s funeral 15 years ago.

She was ALWAYS my favourite and because she had three sons, I was her first and favourite niece, who she always treated like a daughter.

Today I attended meditation and about ten minutes in, The Motivator called me out of the room. There was a woman standing with her back to me and TM pointed to her and said “There’s a lady here who wants to speak to you.”

I looked up and waited for the lady to turn around.

She did NOT turn around and almost immediately I recognised that she was my Aunty.

I said “I know who you are. Turn around!”

She turned and I saw that beautiful face looking older and wiser but very much the loveable Aunty from my youth.

I’ve only seen her twice in 40 yrs and both times it was at one of my parent’s funerals.

I just wanted to stay wrapped in her loving arms and listen to her talk all day.

I immediately rushed her out the door and off to sit quietly with a coffee, to share the quick verbal diarrhoea that happens when you have so much to say and you’re unsure how much time you’re going to have to talk privately.

We had about an hour together before Adoring Husband appeared. He had known AJ was coming and  had struggled to keep the secret from me, but he was successful on this occasion.

We drove home and she met the psychotic dogs. She loved them immediately.

I took her straight out to the pool area and we sat under the Bali hut for an hour talking a mile a minute. Her, telling me stories about her life and me asking questions and gaping in awe as she told us about the time Rod Stewart baited her fishing hook and about the time she met The Eagles and numerous other famous bands and singers when she owned the music shop in Toombul years ago.

It all happened while I was travelling Australia with my parents and living in Perth. That’s why I missed all the action.

Soon we came indoors for a cup of tea and Adoring Husband took control in the kitchen while she and I continued with our insatiable chatter. He prepared us a light lunch which she mostly fed to the psychotic dogs.

As close as we were, there are sections in our lives where we lived on different sides of the country and where contact between her and my parents was patchy and there are large gaps in our knowledge of each other’s life story. This meant that we learnt lots of new stuff about each other today.

All too soon, we knew our time was coming to an end and our chatter slowed down considerably.

We drove her to her pick up point - a friend from Maryborough drives a school bus and had dropped her off this morning where TM had collected her and brought her to the shop.

The Motivator had planned this surprise with AJ and AH. I am very grateful for the effort required to pull this off and I hope you all can appreciate how happy I have felt today 🥰

It was a beautiful surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed my day.

AJ will come to stay for a week some time in the second half of the year.

After we dropped her off, we had to drive in to pick up our FROG box.

It was trivia night tonight, but we were “done in” by our big day so we cancelled. It seems that that the rest of our team were not really up for it either, so it turned out ok for everyone.

Now it’s time for some sleep.

Nite all.

Early Start

I was up n at’m bright and early this morning and arrived for my coffee date at about 8.20am.

Aggie arrived just after 8.30am and The Motivator dropped by for a quick 15 minutes before opening the shop and then The Brains Trust and The Blonde Bombshell were the only others to join me.

It was a fun morning and they got me up to speed on how the “celebration of life” weekend in Bargara went. Sadly I missed out on that one, but time with Bubbles was more important for me because I’m lucky if I get to see her once a year.

Time with my kids is rare and precious.

After much laughter, some deep discussions and sharing of weekend stories, we parted ways at about 11am.

I picked up the mail and delivered it to the shop intending to also clear the training room in readiness for meditation on Wednesday morning, but TM was in deep discussion in that room with a customer, so I waited for a while and then announced that I would return in the afternoon.

When I returned home I packaged up the bone broth that I made for the dogs in the slow cooker overnight and put it in the freezer. I did two loads of washing and decided to not eat lunch.

At 2pm I got ready to head back to the shop and between AH, TM and I, we made the training room presentable for meditation.

I browsed the new stock that TM ordered and which arrived today.

Dinner tonight was crispy skinned duck breast with cauliflower, garlic and avocado purée (which I created out of my imagination and it was delicious!).

Now I’m feeling weary and I’m off to bed.

Nite all.

Fretting For Bubbles

Bubbles flew home this morning.

The psychotic dogs are fretting over her disappearance.

She spoiled them rotten. Fed them from her plate. Allowed them to sleep in her bed every night. Carried them and cuddled them constantly. Included them in all of her “at home” activities.

Now they’re lost and alone.

Come back Bubbles!

She joined in the art class again on Saturday and acted as my personal assistant ...

It was a really enjoyable class with three new ladies in attendance. I believe that two of them may have been bitten by the bug and will be heading home after their holiday to buy up big from their closest art supply shop!

It was a fun group who all enjoyed experimenting with colours.

It was a full three hours and I needed a nap after lunch, as did she!

We spent Sunday playing trivia, Yahtzee and card games with a roast lamb dinner.

I was sad to say goodbye to my girl this morning, but all good things come to end and there will be another holiday soon I hope!

Adoring Husband and I bought lunch at my new favourite shop in Pialba before doing a small shop at Coles - and by the way, not a toilet roll to be found!

Because of a restless sleep on Sunday night, I napped for about an hour this afternoon. I think I needed more 😳

Psychotic dog Jack has been cramping all day so AH is feeling stressed.

We took Ruby to the vet on Thursday for an allergy shot and she is a new dog! No more uncontrollable scratching and she is full of beans and wanting to spend time with us again. Thank goodness.

Now it’s almost 11pm and I’m off to bed. I hope to see the girls for coffee in the morning.

Nite all.