The Nipple Factor

The other day I was in a meeting (I won't say if it was at work, or church, or a parent/teacher interview or whatever haha) but the guy that was running the meeting had this top on, and I felt like telling him that he really should put a singlet or something on underneath because although it's the end of winter here in Brisbane, it's not cold at all and the good old nips shoud not be protruding out of his shirt like that. I didn't know where to look. Awkward. I talked to another lady was attended the same meeting and she noticed the same thing and truth be told, we did get a good ab workout about it. Double awkward haha. 

You know those moments where you don't know where to look or what to say because it's so awkward? Thanks to that meeting I have named those moments 'The Nipple Factor'. 

Another Nipple Factor moment occured at a former workplace. I had only been working there for a few month and it's customary when someone has a milestone birthday, a cake is rolled out for the whole building and we sing the birthday song. Anyway, it was a 21st celebration and this woman (who I had not met before) had the whole Madonna 'Desperately Seeking Susan' look. I looked around and thought it was a joke. I think I actually said to someone "Is this serious?". Well it was. The only lady who had hair higher than this woman is definitely Marge Simpson. Anyway, it turns out she's pretty much the boss. As in one step down from the Big Kahuna. We had a business update one day and it was Q & A time and I must've been smirking at Madonna that day. She looked at me and said, "Ah, I know you have a question." My mother's wittiness flowed through me, "How do you keep your hair looking so fabulous?" I heard the snickers around me, but she honestly gave a five minute answer about the mechanics of keeping her hair that high. It was gold and I'm sure that has been added to the company's myths and legends. 

Another Nipple Factor was when my little cousin had been out all day and her Dad didn't know where she was and was suitably concerned. All of the family were in town for a funeral or unveiling, so we were all together. It was a little after dark and she walked up the driveway with a misguided confidence, in fabulous high heels. Half an hour later she came back into the house with lost confidence and a sore butt. We all knew what happened. She probably got a hiding with her 'Sex in the City' stilletos, but not a word was uttered. My cousins & I laugh about it often, but at the moment she walked back in the door: total nipple factor moment. Dahahahaha. 

Some Nipple Factor moments are unavoidable. The true challenge is being able to look those 'Nipple Factor moment' people in the eye again. Oh, and if you're going to disobey your parents, wear jandals - not Jimmy Choos. Cheeehooooo! dahahaha. 

Restoring Factory Settings

Over the weekend my phone went haywire. That's kiwi speak for bung.. or playing up. I took it my MacGyver Tarlini and he tried to work all the tricks he knew when he finally said those horrible words.



'I think you need to restore your factory settings.' 

So he got to the screen 'Factory data reset' and pressed the button, and everything was gone. 

Gone are the notes that I forgot to email myself. 

Gone are the secret phone numbers that were really Pin Numbers. 

Gone are the contacts that weren't saved to my SIM card.

And then there's the big one: Gone are all those Candy Crush lives that I've been saving up. Oh. The. Pain. 


I can think of plenty of other moments far suitable for restoring factory settings: 

Like this outfit: 

Or that time you got caught wagging at your friends house. There's those awkward teenage moments and those fabulous teenage moments that are hidden deeply in your journals. The ones you are still deciding whether or not to share with your teenager Actually now that I think about it more, I better fish that journal out and burn it dahahaha. 

There's the time you were stupid enough to give your mum the evils and your dad saw it. That would've saved you about 10 minutes off that can of whoop ass. 

But this isn't Men in Black. You are not Tommy Lee Jones and you most definitely not Will Smith. I guess it must be a generational thing. Back in the day you didn't just try and wipe everything from everyone's memory. You just waited for the excitement to fade, and someone else to be the next laughing stock. Thank the Lord Facebook, Instagram & Twitter weren't around when I was a teenager because that's a whole chapter of what you were thinking going on there!  

Live like there's nothing to be ashamed of - and if there is, make sure you make it right and learn from it. Then you get over it and move on - no need to restore any factory settings at all. 

Laughing At Myself

I enjoy having a good laugh at myself, so today I thought I'd share five of the funniest or embarrassing things that have happened to me. 

5. When I was 10 and at Intermediate School (part of Primary School here in Aussie and probably Middle School in the States) I went to sit on a chair and it fell apart from under me. I was only 10 and about 1/8th of my weight now.. so I don't think it was my weight.. but as a child left sitting on the ground because your chair broke, the only thing you could think about was there is something going on with your behind.

4. One day my neicey and I were going to work and we usually drove to the train station. We got out of the car and we started walking towards the train station and I looked down and realised that my pants were inside out. I held onto her and made her walk behind me till we got to the loo and I changed them. 

3. It was near Christmastime and my son was only about 3 years old. I had explained the Christmas story to him and he was suitably fascinated. We were sitting in the middle of church, it was dead quiet... and all you can hear is son going "Hey mum, Jesus was in jail aye?' .. Dead quiet. 

2. Last year in Brisbane CBD my friend and I had lunch and we were heading back to work. We went down the escalator and I noticed that the hem of my dress was getting a bit too close to the edge. It was too late. My dress got stuck in the escalator. I was frantically trying to get it unstuck when a guy came over and asked if he should press the emergency stop button. Just as he went to press the button, I managed to kick my dress out of that tight spot. That was too close a call. 

1. I was doing a happy walk on the way to work in Brisbane CBD. I had my Porirua Teeshirt on, my sunnies on and I was feeling pretty great.  As I was nearing my building my foot got caught in a crack in the footpath and I fell forward. As I was falling foward, the world went in slow motion and I could hear myself muttering 'nooooooooooo'. But I fell. My arms took the brunt of the impact .. .yeowwwchhh.. but as I lay on the footpath, on my stomach I looked up and saw a guy just looking at me, making no attempt to help! Jerk hahaha. I jumped up like a ninja and kept on walking. 

Oh I remembered, just recently I changed my notifications tone to the minions going "Bottom... hahahahahaha". I did a phone update recently and must've pressed the wrong button.  In the middle of the most important part of our church service... what happens? 

"Bottom... hahahahahaha". My Tarlini gave me the death stare, my children and all the children (and some of the adults) laughed around me. I stumble to turn the phone off and stared at the head of the person in front of me. There are moments when technology turns on you for sure!

Well, I hope you've had a good ab-workout... just remember: Laughing is better than crying dahahahaha. 

There's Light Beyond Blue

Many years ago, my beloved uncle died of a broken heart. I imagine it being literally smashed to pieces. I think he did try to piece it together slowly, but it became too much for him. 

He hung himself. 

It was so devastating for our entire family.

He is my Dad's baby brother. He was the one who would sneak money to me. I could listen to him for hours as he shared his childhood stories, which usually meant him and Dad getting into some kind of trouble. He would do things like ask us to go look for something and that was missing and declare "Whoever finds it, I will give them $5 yesterday" and we always fell for it. He was the one who would tell his sisters that he was away on holiday to Australia for a few weeks, when he'd really be in jail hahaha. 

We love him so. I love him so. 

I sometimes think about how horrific it would have been for my cousin to find her father in that position and how that would be a moment she probably couldn't erase.  I was about 18 years old when he died. My sister came to give me the news and I cried all the way to my parents house. She said that I had to pull it together for my cousin and I think I did. Twenty years later, it's still blurry.  I cried and cried to Dad, and he told me that how hard it was for him. Not much was too hard for Dad those days. 

I think Uncle may have forgotten how much he was loved by the rest of us. I'm sorry that he felt so sad that he couldn't say anything. We love him so much my cousins have been in charity boxing matches for him to help spread the word on suicide prevention, we love him so much I share his stories with my children. We love him so much full stop. 

I'm no professional, but I know how this has impacted me. 

So, all I can say is that if you think that someone is going through a hard time and won't be able to cope, scream from the rooftops if you have to, to get them help. Keep an eye on your friends and family and check in with them. 

Too many people are going too soon, especially when there are too many people who are fighting just to live. If you can be that light at the end of the tunnel, then try or at least go out and utilise the resources that are out there. 

My Uncle is loved and I'm 100% sure that you are too. If you are someone that is feeling extra sad, please just give someone/anyone a chance to help you see how loved you are. 

I love you Uncle xx


 http://www.beyondblue.org.au/

https://www.ruokday.com

The Worth of a Woman

".... And a real man just can't deny a woman's worth" Alicia Keys

"No woman is a more vibrant instrument in the hands of the Lord than a woman of God who is thrilled to be who she is." Sheri Dew

I've been thinking about writing about this for a long time. It's something can be so sensitive and so empowering at the same time. Part of the reason it's taken a long time is because when you write about these things it forces you do some stocktaking of your own. 

I have had the privilege of volunteering and looking after young girls aged 12-17yrs old as well as women 18yrs and older. I've found amongst them a common theme. When women have any particular insecurity about themselves, most of the time you can see those insecurities in their daughters. It used to terrify me, because of what I could pass on to my daughters. 

I was taught about my worth from a very young age. My parents loved all of their children, and I have always felt very loved. We were made to feel important. Admittedly, as the youngest of six, I didn't get my butt whooped as much as my siblings - but I did always feel loved.  In the polynesian culture, we loooove our food. One of the ways that we were made to feel important as children was always being the first to eat, no matter who was in the house.  When it comes to food, you know it's aaaallll on! My mother always fights for what she believes in. I have always felt that it is my responsiblilty to do the same. 

When I was younger I knew I wasn't going to be a Miss NZ contestant by any means, BUT I also knew I wasn't hideous looking - because I did have a few friends. I didn't get hung up on girlie stuff - mostly because of our humble beginnings but I understand that people can be hung up on all sorts of different things.  

All of that confidence or feeling loved at home doesn't stop life happening and you going through your own experiences. My quarter-life crisis (I know, I couldn't even wait for the mid-life one) was a kick in the guts. It was sore as - mostly because I knew that it was all self-inflicted.What was I thinking!??!! And it made me doubt myself.. but out of that all came my Tarlini, who has always made me his #1 priority. 

Last night we had Family Home Evening and our challenge was to send an anonymous thank you note. This is the one he got: 

These are the kinds of things that help you feel that somewhere along the line, you are making the mark. 

Sometimes you do second guess and you wonder. Then you have to look around for some inspiraton. It's usually not hard to find. 

I got up yesterday morning with every intention to get in the car and hit the gym early. I mumbled and grumbled and checked the morning Facebook and saw my friend Maria's status: 

'Sometimes when fear kicks in we will say to ourselves 'oneday i'll get around to it'. Don't sit around waiting - try it and be the 1 who kickstarts your transformation. Be the 1 who eliminates the myths that have defined you and if you get stuck - ask for help and pray to 'the 1' - do it today its 1DAY MONDAY ‪#‎limitless‬'

I grew up in New Zealand. Most of the myths I knew were maori legends like about Rangi & Papa and Maui and the creation of the country. The way things have been shaking at home at the moment, I'm not sure if they aren't happy about the new names of the South & North Island, BUT this status made me get out of bed as if my house was swaying becasue it screamed: You are worth it.

One of my high school friends shared a beautiful status today. This is part of it: 

'My soul mate is remarkable, not once in the past 21 years together, he never questioned my weight gain or loss, always supporting me. If you always do what you've always done, you'll never get more than what you've already got. Courage is not defined as the lack of fear. It is doing it anyway, even though you are afraid. It's the ability to take action in spite of fear, challenge, pain and uncertainty. Be who you are and say what you feel becasue people who mind don't matter and people who matter don't mind'. Ta'i Makai

Can you just feel the love between her and her lovely husband? Who needs The Notebook? No matter what you say, people around you make a difference, either positive or negative. 

The most important thing to me is not leaking my insecurities to my children. I always talk to them about surrounding themselves with good friends. What the difference in between good friends and pretenders because they deserve good friends. 

Which leads to another important lesson, that has taken me a while to learn. 

'If I teach it, I must live it' 

If I don't believe, why should anyone else? One of my best Dr Phil moments was when a friend was struggling with a problem and I said to her 'If someone you loved so much was in the same situation, think of the advice you would give them - and then realise you deserve that same advice.'

There are a lot of quotes out there, a lot of information to read. But you really need to feel it to believe it. For me - this is the kind of woman I want to be: 

The inspiration is all around you and 99% of it is probably the person who looks back at you in the mirror. Take a good look, it's there. You are worth it all, and so am I. 

Sore Arms & Determination

My arms are killing me. 

I had my first session with a personal trainer two days ago. The other night I woke up because it felt like someone punched in the arm. Then I realised, oh no stupido.. it's that exercise! My friends at work told me that from Day 2 the pain will get worse. And they were right. 

My personal trainer was friendly, down to earth and I do like her. As we were chatting in between arm exercises, she asked what my goals were. "Oh, I want to bulk up".. dahahahaha.. Apparently some time you need to state the obvious. She tried to sell me on her 12 week challenge. It all sounded great until it was $70 a week for 12 weeks. 

I have been moaning about my arms all day, and my teenager told me how she can't wait to see my muscles. I don't to be a muscle woman or super fit, I just want to be around a bit longer. Long enough to get to know my grandchildren really well. Or if I'm lucky, Iike my parents, I can be around for the great grandchildren. What a bonus that would be!

It's going to take a lot of determination, but this year I've reminded myself that I actually do have that in bucket loads. I told my personal trainer how I took part in the Gold Coast 5.7km run this year and she asked how my training went. I'm not sure if she believed me, but I told her I walked 6km, at least 3-4 times a week. 

A family friend's bucket list included doing the run, so I signed up. It's so typical of me. I would never do it just for me. It was an awesome experience. There were about 30 of us. Some did the 10km run and others did the 5.7km run. To be honest, I walked the whole thing - but I did it! After everyone crossed the line, the feeling of accomplishment was so satisfying,  there was such a terrific feeling amongst the group and I am so proud that I am a part of Team Fou. 

There's a long way to go. 

I think one of the reasons I was so determined with Team Fou was because I really didn't want to look like I was having an asthma attack 100 meters in, which was probably true.  I had done no exercise for probably a year or so. 

At the end of the day, you find whatever reason you need to get there and you do it. No excuses, no one to blame but yourself. 

I want to show the kids that if I can do what they are probably thinking is impossible, they can do anything too. Oh, and fitting preddyful clothes would be nice too hahaha. 

It's good to be doing something just for me. 

Now, to get through that legs session.

Me + He = We

I came home from work today, to a wonderful Masterchef-like creation. My Tarlini or my wife as I like to call him is a stay-at-home Dad. 

We moved to Australia 8 years ago, and for the first 3-4 years he worked. We have been extremely fortunate enough to have one of us at home, doing the hard work, whilst the other was out in the workforce. 

Four years ago, I was crawling the walls, and he asked me if we wanted to swap. And so far it's worked for us. He is a way better housewife than I would ever be. I was the first samoan girl he met that couldn't cook to save myself. I think it kind of amused him. Like a Ripleys: Believe it or not moment. 8 years later, I can honestly say I haven't burnt anything in a long time hahaha.  

It's not the way every household works, but it works for us. Every couple has their own 'jobs' they do. For example: He deals with any kind of vomitting in the house and I suck boogas out of the children's noses when they had colds to help clear the airways if they need - of course this was when they were babies!! (oh, sorry about the visuals). I kill spiders and he chases away cane toads and geckos. Don't judge me, I don't like them! 

Another one is I drive the cars and he makes sure there is enough petrol, water, oil.. whatever is needed. And much to his dismay, I have absolutely no idea how to change a tyre and I have no desire to learn how. We do have RACQ membership but it's only for whatever car he is in, because 99% of the time, he's the one who will have the children with him. 

There are some jobs that people think are suited to women and some to men. In this day and age, it does seem like woman can do anything. And if you are one of those woman - all power to you. I can't do everything, and I embrace it. 

With so much pressure out there to be perfect at this or that, I say - screw it. Do whatever works for your family.  All I really want is to make sure the kids are taught well, become good people and achieve the goals we have as a family. Like working at being together forever without too many battle scars. I said to my son tonight that I hope to make sure he has heaps of stories to tell his children about me. I smiled when he said he has a few already. 

It's good to be working towards our goals together. I'm glad my Tarlini learnt very early these great words of wisdom: 

Much like people will give you heaps of advice when you're about to become parents for the first time, people do have a lot of advice for newly weds. The best advice I ever got was take out the advice you like, and run with it. It works for both scenarios. 

Figure out what works for you and roll with it. And be deliriously happy along the way because forever's a long long time. Amen. 

Sunday is Fun Day!

Sunday is a day of rest. Yes, it is. Well it's supposed to be isn't it? 

I know there are plenty of people thinking... Whatchu talking about Willis?, but it's true - Sunday is a day of rest. 

For me it's a day to recharge the batteries, and get ready to face the world for the week. Monday or Bleh Day is usually the start of facing the world.. but tomorrow is our Ekka Day, so I have a 4 day working week (Whooop whoooop!). 

Our Sunday started with early morning meetings. As part of our church leadership, my Tarlini and I head off to meetings. Yes, they are pretty early - but it is really a great privilege to sit there and be instructed and inspired by our Bishopric. And they are inspiring. The picture explains all about our leadership - we are part of the Ward Council and it's busy. We are all volunteers and it is sooooooooo rewarding. You can learn more about it here.

We have a 3 hr block for church. One all together (sacrament), One Sunday School block and one for Relief Society (women) /Priesthood (men) classes. In my role, I look after the children aged 18 months to 11 yrs.  

My Sundays are Fun Days because I take care of the children. There are some really wonderful & dedicated men and women that I work with who week-in week-out make Sunday's a great day for them. 

Today, I got to take Music Time for the younger children (3-7 yr olds) and we did the good old fishing game. I like to have a lot of fun in primary. Keep the kids moving, laughing and really having a good time. The best moments are when we are teaching them a principle, like being honest, and you can see in their eyes that they understand it. You can feel that they have had an 'aha' moment. Most of the moments are confirmation of what they have been taught at home, and that is awesome. 

Back to the fishing game... so they pretend fish and pick up a fish and we sing a song to that number. Usually it's an action song. One of the ones were your simple "Head, shoulders, knees and toes". I told the children that it's most unlikely that I will actually physically touch my toes, but they could go for gold. I love the fishing game because the kids love it and they want to get involved. All it took was drawing fish on coloured paper, laminating them and taping on a paper clip and a old fishing rod (or a stick) with a piece of string and a magnet tied to the end. I'm all for keeping things simple.

I've been told I'm not a normal Primary leader, and that's cool with me. I do like jumping up and down with the kids, singing at the top of my lungs with them and love love love the teaching moments. 

Yes, sometimes we get 'hitters', Tarzans and Janes who swing from the curtains, some kids hide in the most smallest of spaces.. in other words our Primary ain't perfect. But we do try our best every week, and that's what counts. 

And like any other leader, sometimes I come home exhausted. But I'm still happy because I know that we got through the day, and it's time to think about how we make next week better. Plus, that's what Nanny naps are for! 

Grateful for the opportunity to serve and look forward to the day when I hear one of the Primary children say (when they're older) "I remember Sister Shaw, she was crazy but I loved Primary". 

www.lds.org

Dad Poems

So, my Dad died in 2009. It was out of the blue, and one of those moments that changed my life forever. .

E V E R Y T H I N G changed. 

It's those moments that either make or break you. And I was not even a quarter of a speck close to the trials of anyone - but this could have been the one. But it wasn't. 

When I was younger I would write poems all the time. They would literally just come to me and sometimes I wouldn't know why or who they were for. I wouldn't ponder on them for a long time. I would just get the inspiration and be done in 10 minutes. 

It's been a while since I've written a poem, but the last few have been about Dad. When I was flying home from Sydney one came to me mid-flight. It surprised me, but grateful for reminders and motivation to be better. I know I'm doing something right when a poem comes to me out of the blue. So here goes, my mid-flight poem: 

Am I close enough

for you to touch my face? 

I'm above the clouds too now

you know.

But just for a little while. 

I know that I still have to look up

to even get a speck of hope

to get a glimpse of you. 

And I know if you could

you would reach down

and dry my tears 

and soothe my broken heart. 

But I've still got work to do,

lives to mould, 

my legacy to build. 

So when I am heaven-sent

beyond these clouds,

you will know the heart

you blessed me with

has been passed on. 

And you would be proud. 

My Dad is awesome! I'm grateful for his humour, his huge heart and all that he's taught me. When I look back over the years since he died, I know a lot of the decisions I have made have been to make him proud. Especially the ones when I'm mischief like him.

I think of him always. There are moments when the grief still hits me from nowhere. I may be on my way to work, at home, at work, but it's ok. I know one day, we'll have our sweet reunion in the heavens and we will have a lot to catch up on.

If you are lucky enough to have your parents around still - savour every moment you have with them. Man, I better call Mum tomorrow =). 

I love you Dad !

MANUIA! 

The Cleansing Out of the Holey Donut

Dear BN

I know you are the kind to take things to heart, when a member of your second “family” leaves you. So I'm going to tell you why. 

If I’m being honest, this is for me as much, or more than, it is for you because there is a lot  that I need to let go of, and I guess this is part of that process. I am glad to finally let it go. You take out of it what you will.

I know at the core of your heart, you are a really good guy and I did mean it when I said I wish you and the rest of the team the best.  The thing is, I always had been a supporter of you. I literally did talk you up or cheer you on. For real.

There are so many things that I liked there, the main one being the people. You are surrounded and manage some pretty spectacular people. Don’t forget the reasons you hired them, and help them use those reasons to get where they want to go, not the squares you want them to fit in.

I have heard many horror stories, and have experienced a few myself. There was one colleague who was approached by a team leader because he had pictures of him on social media with another male, and the suggestion was made to remove them so they would not be ‘guilty by association’ and it didn’t look good. I’ve seen people reduced to tears for having opinions that are not the same as yours. Or the time I was marched into a meeting room for posting about a performance review that went really well because there are others who’s didn’t, and they would feel bad.

I never really recovered from the ambush I received at my last performance review. I never really got over being told by one of your management team that she did not trust me. I think you know that too. The talk we had about how much you did for me really sealed the deal for me.

You are an expert at saying things without actually saying the words. That day, without saying the words, you said I owe you because you ‘saved’ me. That day, you said, ‘Stop making me look bad’.

My three main misdemeanors:

1.       Being questioned about my leave when I had a tooth removed, even though I provided two separate medical certificates – one from my doctor and one from the hospital. Yes, I applied for leave so I could move house that got declined, but a missing tooth isn't something you make up. 

2.       Questioning my sick leave balance when I got hammered for it all the time. What happened was that my sick leave was used by my Team Leader at the time for the time my Dad died. Turns out I was given 2 days bereavement leave instead of 4. 

3.       Questioning why overtime wasn’t paid on time, because team leaders didn’t take the time to confirm the hours and the query was over one hour, out of 20.

So basically, it was for standing up for myself.

I have always been straight up, and that was something that lead to my being in the dog box a lot of the time. Plenty of people came to me out of fear.  I became the middle wo-man. I was put into situations like putting concerns forward because people were too scared to do it themselves. The thing that was taken out of that was that I wasn’t equipped for this rather than the reasons why people didn’t come forward.

There are many good things about the bank. The technology is awesome. The people are great. On the other hand, organization and planning is pretty bad. How do I know? Before I left, I counted that I did 162 hours overtime in one financial year. That’s like an extra 23 days or so. I never ever had the desire to be in management, because I saw the lack of support/training they had.

And I didn’t want to change who I was.

I didn’t want to sell my soul.

I’ve learnt that there are many companies with terrific reputations, but when you actually get into the heart of that company, you wonder how that reputation came about.  Chinese walls or whispers? It doesn’t matter.  I learnt the hard way that having an opinion is great if it is the same as the company line. If it’s different, welcome to a world of passive aggressive bullying. And then being accussed of it all being in your head. True story. 

When I started, there were 23 people in my induction group. Nearly 4 years later, there are only 3 of the group left.

I was told that I wouldn’t make it, that I wouldn’t be able to find somewhere better. But, I did.

If you want to take anything out of this, please take that people are what make the company. Treat them like gold, not charcoal. 

Thank you for making me stronger. I’m grateful for amaaaaaazing friends.

Goodbye Holey Donut. Chapter finally closed. 

All better now. Peace out! 

MEETING LISA KING.... and the rest of TOFW Sydney

I was like a groupie. It was embarrassing and exhilarating at the same time. I’m at Time Out For Women (TOFW) and it’s not like it’s my first time – I knew what to expect:

1.     Doors open at 8:15am:  Arrive at 6am for a good seat.

2.     If you dare to venture in the bookshop, armour up. Invest in some elbow pads, maybe a cricketers helmet to survive the stampede.

3.     The speakers are guaranteed to be awesome. There will be at least one gem spoken that I had  been preparing to hear, even if it cut to the bone. 

But I wasn’t expecting this.

My friend Vicki and I left home early, got to the venue and realized our tickets were left at home. So we did the return trip and made it in just in time. So, we didn’t get the good seats.  In the morning session we sat up in the steep seats, then moved to the ‘overflow’ side. During the lunch break, my kind friend Leah (who fed me too!) was one of the “staff” said there were spare seats by them near the front. SCORE!

As we sat down, the seat next to me was empty and I noticed the sign:

And that’s when the groupie gene kicked in. I’m pretty sure it was her sitting at the end of the row. Lisa is a woman of courage. I thanked her for sharing her story. I won’t even attempt to summarize it, but you can read it here. Go on, read it and come back - then you can picture me with my pointing finger - told you she is awesome! 

I did get a photo and it looks like I’m not cracking a smile, but she just let me shake her hand and hug her, so I’m part composing myself and part trying not to cry in front of her too much (again, the groupie gene). Plus I just told her it was more of a buzz to meet her than the speakers (did I say totally amazing speakers).

Other highlights for me:

·       Seeing the sister missionaries on stage and singing ‘As Sisters in Zion’ with the newly written lyrics. I saw a few of them get really emotional, overwhelmed by the love and I think for a few, a reminder of the importance of their part in the work.

·       Everyone dancing during one of Hillary’s songs, especially the little girl. I roared with laughter when Hillary saw her husband dancing “Does anyone else want to dance with my husband?” She’s a hoot!

·       The speakers were really amazing and I got pearls of wisdom from each of them. I’ll write more about that later. 

This is my second go at blogging. I got overwhelmed with trying to be funny, witty and write every single day. I definitely put too much pressure on myself. I realised it's been over 2 years since I started this blog! 

For me, TOFW has inspired me to do what I love the most, and that is to write. So, I’ve made a choice: Write when I can, when it suits me, when I am inspired, happy, angry,... whenever! 

I love the emotions of TOFW – I laughed, cried, drunk in the inspiration, did my groupie thing and felt joy as I met up with many friends that I haven’t seen for a while. It’s full of indescribable feelings that move you to the doing.

So let’s get to the doing. 

Higher & Better 

Amen.