LIVE, LAUGH, LEARN, LOVE: RELIEF SOCIETY

I miss Relief Society. 

This isn't a hint to my Bishopric that I want to be released, because I LLLOOOOOVVVVEEE Primary. I really do (REALLY). 

I haven't been to Relief Society for nearly 4 years now. My church callings have kept me in Young Women or Primary. Before that I actually served in Relief Society for a good 3 years. Go figure! 

I miss being able to sit there and just listen to the lesson. I miss being able to sit in a room full of women and feel encouraged by one another, feel like we are in the same boat, have the same struggles and that although it's not encouraged, feel that it's very normal to scream the house down sometimes or use what little spare time you have to either sleep or just totally blob out.  

I think other ladies who serve in Primary and YW may sometimes be feeling the exact same way. For me, this is why Visiting Teaching is so important. 

My Sundays are a blur. I am trying to help inspire, teach, encourage children 18months - 11 yrs old for the final 2 hours of church. All my focus is on that. It's on making sure the preparation I've done all week is coming to fruition. And if the spirit guides me to change it, then I've got my A-game on to be able to follow that inspriation and go with it. I'll wave to the Relief Society Secretary and as I'm doing rounds helping to knock on doors and prepare for the last hour, I am totally in the Primary Zone. I miss announcements, even if they are handed to me. Anything that is handed to me that doesn't relate to what I need to do in Primary that day is put in my bag and left there until I remember it was there the following Sunday when I've missed the Relief Society activity that I only realised happened because I saw photos on Facebook. D'oh! I'm not blaming anyone but myself. 

Visiting Teaching is important to me because at the moment, it is my connection with Relief Society. There are two sisters that have been assigned just for me. Two sisters that I can talk to about anything for ME. I don't have to talk to them about Primary but I probably would. If I'm comfortable enough, I can pour my heart out to them. I can share my struggles and my triumphs. They don't have to be my best friends but they can tell me about what's going on in Relief Society. What lessons touched them and why. Someone else to call 'friend'. 

They are my link to Relief Society. (Man, I need to be a better Visiting Teacher too!)

I was feeling particularly disconnected (I loathe that word) the weekend of our Stake Relief Society Celebrations "Live, Laugh, Learn & Love'. I volunteered to do a poster for the event and did the last minute thing and took it up to the chapel the night before. The chapel was decked out in true Relief Society style. My husband encouraged me to go and admittedly, I went reluctantly. I worked that Saturday morning, but managed to get in for lunch - learnt some juggling and was part of the instant choir. I was even part of the surprise 'flash mob' thingee during afternoon tea thanks to my sister. I absolutely loved it! The best part was when a group of men got up and sung "Walk Talk, You're a A Daughter of God" It was exactly what I needed and most powerful when hearing it from righteous men. Thank you! The day was great - I'm glad I went. 

I know I am serving where I am needed, and I am grateful for the privilege to serve in Primary. I know that the sisters in Young Women are grateful as well. Sometimes, we just miss Relief Society! 

My AIA Vitality Journey

AIA Vitality is a science-backed wellness program that provides a way for you to get fitter and healthier whilst getting some tangible rewards along the way. If you are already fit and healthy - you still get rewards for maintaining that lifestyle. 

The level of rewards you gets depends on the status that you achieve - Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum and include things like cheaper movies tickets, discounted flights, discounted fruit & veges and discounted insurance on certain benefits. The more you engage in the program, the more points you get to reach each Vitality Status. 

There are three components to this - Knowing your health, improving your health and enjoying the rewards. 



 Knowing your health can be a bit of an eye-opener/smack in the face kind of experience. You first do a Vitality Health Review where you're asked questions about your lifestyle and behaviour as well as what you think your clinical measure are like blood glucose, cholestorol levels etc are. You're asked about your eating and exercise habits to get a gauge on how you doing and what you can do to be better. You are givien your Vitality Age. Then you do your Vitality Health Check through Chemmart. It is based on facts that are there in black and white. You have to take your measurements - your weight, height, chest and waist measurements and you get your BMI (Body Mass Index), Your blood pressure, cholestorol and a random blood glucose test is taken. This is stuff that you just cannot hide away from.  Your Vitality Age is then adjusted to match the facts from these results. I am about to turn 40 in a few months and my Vitality Age when I started was 48. So yes, my body was 9 years older than what it should be. Which is great if you're a teen trying to get into a night club - but not so great if you're a wife and mother of three.

Improving your health is where the fun begins! You can challenge yourself and others and get points for that. You can set personalised goals and get points for reaching those. There are many things you can do to get points. Each person's journey is different. I've embraced the exercise - I love it. I use my Fitbit to record the number of steps I take every single day. I have my little Fitbit community of friends that provides great motivation for me and I knew I was competitive.. but seeing someone go past me on the Fitbit ladder drives me nuts and I become this mad woman, walking around the house in circles or getting on the treadmill at every chance I can get. My achilles heel is my eating. As a hearty polynesian woman, I absolutely love my food. Love, love, love it! What Vitality has done for me is it is slowly helping me to change my eating habits. I have changed from eating potato chips every single night to maybe one or two nights a week. My take away lunches have changed from KFC to Subway - although i do have a Hanaichi thing going on now. It is slowly changing, but it is changing. The fact that it's making me do a double take is a huge step for me. 

The thing I love about AIA Vitality is that I can see myself doing this for the rest of my life. It is definitely a marathon and not a sprint. It is designed with every intention for you to go the distance because it provides tools to help you get there. The rest is up to you. 

I can hear you saying 'Oh, it's one of those programs that takes you forever to reach the next level'. Well, I jumped on the AIA Vitality Express as part of the staff launch in November 2013. It has taken me only 4 months and I have just reached Gold Status (Yeeeeeeeee!). My Vitality Age has come down 6 years to 42!!  I haven't had to make Extreme Makeover - Home Edition porportionate changes, it has been little tweaks here and there. Seriously if I can do it - absolutely everyone can!

It would be remiss of me not to mention that if you are looking to get any financial product such as insurance, you should contact someone who is qualified to give you the personalised advice you deserve. I also should note that I am not getting any financial rewards for posting this - it is purely voluntary and I do it because I really believe in this. If you know me - you know that I don't do things for show and tell. 

I do enjoy the rewards at the moment of getting cheaper movie tickets and the opportunity to fly overseas with cheaper airfares is absolutely awesome. There are plenty of rewards you can get - check them out here. 

For me, the greatest reward of all is priceless - it's TIME. More time to be around, more time spent building behaviours with the kids that will have them around longer and more time being able to actually do things with them instead of not being able to fit on theme park rides, or having to get extension seat belts or just running around in the park with them. And if the unexpected happens - having the insurance there to take care of them when it's my time to hit the heavens, so they don't have to spend any time grieving over me financially.  Priceless. 

*** DISCLAIMER:*** 

I am an employee of AIA. The statements or opinions expressed on this site are my own 

and do not necessarily represent those of AIA.

Finger Lickin' Good

When I was a child, as far back as I can remember, I knew when it was pay day. That was the day we could have takeaways, usually KFC. I remember sitting there happily and after I had finished eating I would start talking with my siblings. My parents would keep eating, inspect the bones of the chicken we ate and then continue to eat whatever morsels were left on them until the bones were totally bare.  

I used to think that they must've been really really hungry until I found myself doing exactly the same thing with my kids. Why? Because we work damn hard to put food on their plates and we are going to make sure every last bit is eaten. 

Our family is a one-income family and we are blessed to get government support to help with the children's schooling and general welfare. It's a concious choice we have made to have one of us at home to be there 24/7 for the children and one that we are very grafeful for because it's not an option that everyone has. We have to carefully manage our budget and although it means we do have to miss out on a few things, at least we can feed, house and clothe them. 

I have never had the desire to climb to the top of the company ladder. I'm a realist when it comes to that. It's not that I don't think I have the drive or determination, it's just that I have a very low tolerance for self serving and non-genuine people. And there are spade-loads of those everywhere. Don't get me wrong - I do admire ambitious people, just not those that step on top of others or throw people under buses to get to where they want to be. 

Education is the key. 

I'm not talking about the degrees or diplomas or stuff you learn in the classroom. That will get you a look in. It's street smarts. It's figuring out what the game is and how you want to play it to get where you want to be. I've seen it all throughout my whole working life. The reality is that someone who wears a size 10 skirt, who's hemline is nearly hitting the heavens will probably have more opportunities than someone like me. Or when two people have exactly the same position, but one has access to more resources than the other. Obviously it's not fair - but life isn't always fair.

Again, education is the key. 

Learning from others and a willingness to share knowledge has been a key factor for me. There is also the belief that hard work does pay off. I am grateful that there are many good executives out there willing to give opportunities to all. The other key factor is being able to live with myself for my actions. 

At the end of day, even if I don't like the size of the person looking at me in the mirror - at least I can look her in the eye. 

Lessons learnt from those childhood moments are more than finger lickn' good. It's way better than pay day. Amen. 


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She's Dying To Dance With My Father Again

....'If I could get another chance, another walk, another dance with him
I’d play a song that would never, ever end'.....

Where has the time gone? It's been over a month since I've written - life has been keeping me very busy. A lot has happened and there are moments where i do think about writing but end up in a heap, snoring my head off. Tonight would normally be one of those nights, but then this song got into my head... and it won't get out. So here I am writing. Thanks Dad.  

....'I know I’m praying for much too much
But could you send back the only man she loved
I know you don’t do it usually
But dear Lord she’s dying
To dance with my father again'...

I think Dad knows we worry about Mum. The grief I felt when he left for the heavens and the grief that hits me every now and again out of the blue is nothing compared to what she must go through. So yes, we worry. We fuss and we question. If anything, it's out of the deepest kind of love you can feel - of his love for her. It's what Dad has always taught us. 'Love your mother'. 

.....'I pray for her even more than me ... I pray for her even more than me'.....

So yes, I pray for her heart to be a little less broken every day. I pray for a happiness, a daughter can only hope for her. I pray that the unconditional love she taught us about will endure. I pray for her full stop. 

DVT & Taro Legs/Trunks

About a month ago I was due to go to a work conference interstate. The same day I got a call from my doctor. 

"You need to come urgently"
"Can it wait till I get back from my work trip?"
"No"

Okie dokie then. A day or so before I had done some blood tests and the results must've come in. So my Tarlini and I went in. We arrrived at about 1:30pm. I had to leave the doctors by 4pm to make my flight. 

So we get ushered to the doctor's office. One blood test called D-Dimer Innovance was slightly elevated and he was worried I may have something in my lungs and that I may also have DVT which meant there was no way I could fly. I was a little bit worried about not making the work conference but more worried because our family reunion was the following week... oh yeah and the whole dying thing blah blah blah. I needed an chest x-ray for the lungs and both my legs had to be scanned to check for DVT. 

Deep vein thrombosis

DVT is usually the formation of a thrombus in the deep veins of the leg, and may be referred to as proximal DVT or distalDVT. Occasionally, DVT also occurs in the veins of the upper extremities. DVT can occur spontaneously without known underlying cause (idiopathic thrombosis) or after provoking events, such as trauma, surgery or acute illness (provoked thrombosis).

Major veins of the lower extremity.
The most common type of venous thromboembolism isdeep vein thrombosis, which occurs most frequently in veins deep within the muscles of the leg and pelvis.

Major veins of the lower extremity

I was being extra nice to the receptionist and explained that I needed to be on a flight in 90 minutes. She was very helpful. I got into do the x-ray pretty quickly. She said put the robe thing on and stand by the machine for her. The robe thing was like a vest thing and there was a very minute chance that the bits that were supposed to meet together were going to do that. I laughed "These aren't made for polynesians are they?"  No response. Great, I've made the x-ray lady mad. I made her madder when I called her the x-ray lady because she spent many years to be a radiology technician. Whaaaaatevs! 

So that was done.. time for the leg scans. This poor little asian man ushers me in, introduces himself and tells me to take my jeans off and leave the undies on. I get on the bed and realise this poor guy has to handle my taro trunks. He sees my long undies and said I shouldn't leave the hot pants on. Aaaah buddy these are NOT hot pants..! (cue inside mormon joke).

So he starts the exam and pushes from the top of my leg right to my ankle. He uses the same scanner thing that I am familiar with for ultrasounds when I was pregnant.. but he doesn't warm up the gel or anything. Gosh - what happened to customer service! He pokes and prods to get the images he need. There are some moments where I have to clasp my hands together to fight my natural instinct to backhand him. He spends a lot of time in some areas and I ask if he can see something. He just says he's trying to see through the layers. Oh my gosh! He means layers of fat! dahahahahaha. I decide not to ask him any more questions and die a little inside as he starts on the other trunk. 

So at the end of the examination, he says I can get dressed now. I say "So it is a boy or a girl?" 

No response. Tough crowd! 

I got the all clear and made it to my conference! I made it to work - gave my results to my second opnion - aka Underwriters and it was all good. I admit when it was all happening it was a bit scary and I did a bit of pleading with the Lord and was blessed again. 

I was also reminded that you always got to find something to laugh about and grateful that no hair ever grows on my legs, so I didn't have to subject that poor man to that either! 

Hallelujah! dahahaha :) 

Conviction

conviction

kənˈvɪkʃ(ə)n/

noun

noun: conviction; plural noun: convictions

1. 1.   a firmly held belief or opinion.
2. "she takes pride in stating her political convictions"

   synonyms:

   belief, opinion, view, thought, persuasion, idea, position, stance; More

   • the quality of showing that one is firmly convinced of what one believes or says.

     "she had been speaking for some five minutes with force and conviction"

     synonyms:

     certainty, certitude, assurance, confidence, sureness, positiveness; More

     antonyms:

     uncertainty, doubt

I've been thinking about this a lot of the past week or so. 

We have been preparing for our Ward Primary Presentation. Most commonly know in most pacific island communities as White Sunday, each year each LDS (Mormon) Ward or Branch has a sacrament programme where the Primary children do a presentation. As Primary is the area which I serve, it's been quite a journey for us all.  The Sharing Time Theme this year is 'I am a child of God'. It's a simple, but powerful theme that speaks to us about our divine nature, who we are and essentially our potential. 

"As man now is, God once was; as God is now man may be."      Lorenzo Snow 

What does this have to do with conviction? I think if we were all truly convinced about that statement then the priorities in a lot of our homes would change. Our focus would change and though there would still be battles, we would have an increased, hope, faith, belief that there are lessons in every trial or triumph. We are a family - the kids fight, sometimes we miss do Family Home Evening or scripture study but the world doesn't fall apart. We just get up the next day and try again. Sometimes people are called to serve in areas of church because there's a lot they need to learn or be convinced of and I am most certainly one of those people.





Now the other reason I've been thinking about this word 'conviction' is that we've really started focusing on healthier living at home, work and play. It's may seem like it's been quite the eye-opener but really it's something I've known about for a while. There's a selection of statements you can pick in your self assessment that go something like a) I know i'm not eating right, but I don't want to change b) I'm happy with my eating habits c) I'm not happy and I need help to change. I selected c) because I do need to change, but if I was being totally honest I would've selected a).  When I think about it, there has always been this inner battle with myself about the whole food thing. I'm fine with the exercise. I will do an hour each morning every work day and that will be fine... and then I kill it with the food. 

Am I truly convinced I can do this? 

Again, if I was then my priorities would change and I would stop stop sabotaging my efforts with excuses etc. Truly believing in yourself is really 90% of the battle.

Our family scripture study tonight included this little gem: 

Matthew 6:21: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  

This one's easy - my family is my treasure. It's simple: I want to be with them forever. I want to be with them on this earth for as long as possible. This I know for sure! It's time to just get out of my own way and get on with it and walk the talk. And that's a lot of walking! 

Amen!  

 

Team Tapusoa Forever!

The family reunion has come and gone and it's taken me nearly a week to recover, but we did it! Yeeeeeeeeeeeee!

I must admit the lead up days before the reunion was very stressful, with some very last minutes spanners thrown in the works, but thankfully it all worked out. 




Our first stop was Aunty Lagi's house to all meet together and sort some last minute admin stuff out. I saw her and cried. I think it was just the relief of seeing her again. I lived in their home for almost a year and It was so good to see her again. I told the kids that if anyone had questions about their Gramps growing up, she was the best one to ask. I know the reunion meant a lot to her and as the matriarch of the family, it was good just to hug her again. 




We arrived at Motu Moana Camp and paid up the final bill. I have been emailing with the camp for the past 18 months, so when the bill was paid, I did a double pump fist and hugged Tony. Relieved as! It was great accommodation for the family and they recommended some really great activities. 

One of the best things was that it was catered and we didn't have to worry about the food. Loaves & Fishes were our caterers and they were awesome! No polynesian food, but there was plenty of it and the menu was delicious. The owner Helen was a delight to deal with and they were very helpful. No one was ever hungry, which is bonus points for any island family! 



We did many activities - one of the highlights being the abseling Saturday morning. Not everyone was brave enough to give it a go, but those that did were amazing! My Bourne cousins were so funny. None of the boys were going to have a go, but as soon as their sisters went up - the boys were up that wall so fast. 



The flying fox got a good work out as well. We had a carnival for the kids, talent night and on Sunday most of us went to church. Although not everyone goes to church regularly, most of us went to sacrament that day. Blockhouse Bay Ward got a bit of a shock I think, and the overflow had to be opened.  It was great to be at church together, even though some of us were struggling to keep our eyes open! Chelynne tapped me during closing prayer because she thought I was going to snore. Rude!! 

Family Home Evening was a night to be remembered. My Dad has nine siblings - 6 brothers and 3 sisters. In attendance were his two sisters Aunty Lagi & Aunty Amelia and one of his baby brother's Uncle Faatau. He is in the heavens with his parents and two baby brothers Uncle Auro & Uncle Finesi. Uncle Amani was unable travel. Our Aunties, my Mum and Uncle told us stories about when they grew up and how they met each other. It was so funny and a bit of an eye opener. I think some of us were a bit traumatised (esp the night clubbers dahaha), but it was great to hear their stories. I cried a fair bit that night hearing stories about my grandparents, Dad and his siblings. They were tears of joy because I know how blessed I am to be part of this family. 








It was good to be there to represent our Dad with my sisters and my mum. 









Monday was our time to say goodbyes and we had a bit of a paparazzi day. The first two are all of the cousins. Plenty of laughs. These are the cousins I grew up with and we visited each other often when we were growing up. We'll always keep in contact with each other, I'm sure. 

Cousins

This is a photo of the next generation - all our children. 

Next Generation

Saying goodbye sucked. My boy cousins openly cried and the kids didn't want it to end. It was so good being together again. It was disappointing that not everyone could make it, but I'm sure everyone will be there at the next one. 

Grateful there were only very few dramas, but nothing that didn't get smoothed over. So sorry to the Police Ten 7 producers - nothing to see here!  

Totally love my family and all the hard work truly paid off. 

Team Tapusoa Forever!