are you ready to OPRAH??

Greetings all,

Excited about the Oprah in Australia Show on tonight??  I am.  Very sorry to miss out on the real thing in Sydney last month, but I’ll be bursting come 7.30p.m. when the special feature is on.  Put the children to bed early, i'm watching television!! 

Oprah sends me emails, advice, links & special offers each day, thanks Oprah . . . today I followed an email link to Life Coach Martha Beck . . . 10 Life Lessons You Should Unlearn. Ok Martha, let’s see what you think we should change about the way we think.  I saw blog posts talking about Gywneth Paltrow's parenting tips (she has a newsletter with tips for we mortal mothers, thanks Gywnnie but no thanks) BUT this is for adults & you can start working on these 'life lessons' with your children, after you've sorted your self out.  I should have titled this post 'free therapy' actually!!

1. Problems are bad. Finding the solution to each problem is what gives life its gusto. 

2. It's important to stay happy. Focus on something that makes you miserable. Then think, "I must stay happy!" Stressful, isn't it? Now say, "It's okay to be as sad as I need to be." This kind of permission to feel as we feel—not continuous happiness—is the foundation of well-being.

Great advice, tell me more Martha . . .
3. I'm irreparably damaged by my past. Painful events leave scars, true, but it turns out they're largely erasable. Take an issue that's been worrying you and think of three reasons that belief may be wrong. Your brain will begin to let it go.

This just saved you thousands in therapy, already, by point 3!!

4. Working hard leads to success. Baby mammals, including humans, learn by playing, so play as you did in childhood . . . watch for ways your childhood playing skills can solve a problem.

5. Success is the opposite of failure. Studies show that people who worry about mistakes shut down, but those who are relaxed about doing badly soon learn to do well. Success is built on failure.
I can feel Amy Chua gasping, this could not possibly be more opposite to her Eastern ways of parenting children to success!!

6. It matters what people think of me. Ridiculous! Right now, imagine what you'd do if it absolutely didn't matter what people thought of you. Got it? Good. Never go back.

7. We should think rationally about our decisions. Your rational capacities are far newer and more error-prone than your deeper, "animal" brain. Instead of weighing pros and cons intellectually, notice your physical response to each option. Pay attention to when your body tenses or relaxes.

Brilliant, especially for adults, i'm unlearning this one!!

8. The pretty girls get all the good stuff. I unlearned this after years of coaching beautiful clients. Yes, these lovelies get preferential treatment in most life scenarios, but there's a catch: While everyone's looking at them, virtually no one sees them.

9. If all my wishes came true right now, life would be perfect. Check it out: People who have what you want are all over rehab clinics, divorce courts, and jails. The joy, not the thing, is the point.

Appears it's a bonus not to be gorgeous or famous.

10. Loss is terrible. I'd smile when I was sad, pretend to like people who appalled me. What I now know is that losses aren't cataclysmic if they teach the heart and soul their natural cycle of breaking and healing.

I particularly like this last one as i don't take on anyone's negativity, i don't have a poker face & i can not fake nice to people i loathe. 

So enjoy Oprah tonight & if you're cruising blog land, don't forget to check out the master list & today's featured auctions & raffles at Make it Perfect, have raised $45K & counting for the Qld Flood Appeal.  Keep the bids coming & raffle ticket buying.

Bid on my patchwork quilt here, donate $5 for a raffle tick for my book, pencil roll & fabric goodies here.  Thanks for your support, love Posie

Happy Mother's Day Australia & Mums around the world

Greetings all, my favourite of days, even better than my birthday, is Mother's Day. As cliche as it sounds, i do think some of us were just born to be mothers, be it broad hips or incredible patience, (i tick both categories) but when i think about my children, it makes my stomach butterfly. Sure i have great ones, happy, healthy, funny, sporty & bright. They are easy children to love. I feel so lucky to have 4 of them too, all clones of my favourite person in the world, my husband. I'll blog about my gift later . . . blame Retro Mummy for making it happen, you know when you get a thought into your head (be it a fabric, dress, toy) that you just HAVE to have . . . well my husband considered it an investment in the business, bless him. I'm not normally up for gifts at birthdays. Christmas etc, but this is my 10th Mother's Day so why not & tax deductable at that, yeah for everyone from me to the tax man.
Tomorrow is our school's Mother's Day stall which is always sweet & with my access to wholesalers, we have a fantastic range of goods & my dear husband made 20 bags of rocky road to go with brownies & cookies for the $3 table. We also have a fantastic Handmade Market raffle (thanks Julie & Tania) valued over $100 on offer, includes Handmade apron, badge, bag, goodies from Peggy-Jean, Edna&AliceMay plus Posie - it's who you know ladies!! The money generated from ticket sales has paid for any overheads for the 300 odd gifts we require for the market. Kudos!! It never hurts to ask for donations & bam, every ticket sale is pure profit. Give it a try for any event. Handmade Canberra's UpMarket was a great fit for our school's raffle as it's motherly goodness, cross promotion with the upcomign event & Tania McCartney's new book Beijing Tai Tai, which i can't put down!! Tania is so glam, honest, frank & very funny about her 4 years living in China with 2 young children as the 'wife'. I added an autographed copy of her book to our raffle & can't wait to see who wins so i can talk their ear off about Tania to yet another person. My husband wants to meet Tania & thank her for having to put up with the back of my head as i read & read & read on. FYI, i'm NOT a reader at all, i'm a scientist remember, not into humanities at all, so reading anything more than a magazine or parenting book since university, it's just not heard of, even on holidays for me!!
If you're in Canberra, come along to Glebe Park next to Civic Shopping Centre & join in the fun on Sunday!! There is free entertainment, market stalls (me me me) & a great play ground to boot. Sure my family will come too, help me pack up would be handy . . . 'many hands' . . . Happy Mother's Day, love Posie