A hairdresser I can go back to

Tried a new hairdresser today: Woodville Cutting Edge @ Woodville Shopping Centre (Warringa Crescent, HX).

What led me to give it a try was a positive review of the place on the WOMOW website, where customers give a business a good or bad review based on their personal experience. When I called to find out the rates, I was quoted $27.50 for a wet cut (i.e. they dampen your hair, cut it and blow dry it - no shampooing).

My hairdresser was Brooke, who gave me this new look. I wanted something that would give me the option of keeping my hair long; she recommended long at the sides and shorter at the back, with a side fringe. She suggested I get my hair straightened as well - at a total cost of $40 - to get the maximum benefit from The Look.

Took me a few hours to get used to my new image, but I like it now. :-)

BEFORE

AFTER

PS. Golly, I sure look my age: wrinkles, crow's feet and all! Guess I am well and truly middle-aged. LOL

Times of Refreshing

Am letting myself be spiritually refreshed listening to Michael W. Smith(MWS)'s A New Hallelujah DVD while typing this.

I love this one which he does with Israel Houghton -

He sees your tears
He fights your fears
Hold on
Help is on the way
Help is on the way
He said he'll never leave you or forsake you
Stay strong
Help is on the way
He said he'll help you
Just reach out and take his hand

As a musician and an introvert, I really admire musos who play brilliantly and through their body language send out the message that they LOVE what they're doing. Like Michael our drummer at HXUCA - and MWS and his band.

Wish I could be less inhibited and more unafraid to express my joy and praise. Why am I so afraid to be myself??

TV for believers

A dear friend from my primary school days told me about a YouTube video in which Eric Moo talks about his Christian faith - wow!



In it, he sports a new look which I thought was platinum blonde (eew!).

Until I heard him talk about growing out his white hair over a period of 3 months and how God is the best hair stylist.

The more I listened to him open up about his personal challenges and make fun of himself, the more I thought: he seems a likeable sort of guy. I must admit I've never particularly liked him even though I enjoyed some of his xinyao songs. Maybe his rather kiam-pa face and early arrogance and all that goss involving Jazreel Low have prejudiced me somewhat.

Or maybe he's a different Eric from when he started out.

In the process, I discovered a new TV channel for Christians: GoodTV. Am going to check it out often.

Xinyao From The 80s - Another Song, Another Sad Love Story

I Get To vs. I Have To

Love this article I read in Runner's World.

Instead of saying "I have to", say "I get to".

Instead of -

I have to clean the house, I have to fetch the kids from school, I have to go to work,

say -

I get to make my house clean and tidy for my loved ones and guests.

I get to fetch my kids from school and listen to them chat about their day.

I get to be paid for a job I enjoy doing and to help with my family's finances.

Because somewhere out there is a mum who would love to do what you do, even the most trivial and mundane stuff, but can't because she is fighting cancer and has just months to live.

When you say "I have to", you feel grumpy, stressed and resentful at all the burdens you have to manage.

When you say "I get to", you feel grateful, appreciative and have a positive perspective.

The Simple Savings Challenge

Beth and I looked through the Simple Savings website last night.

It was fascinating to watch her scroll through the tip sheets and actually take in the info.

I think I know what I want for my 40th: a subscription to the Vault! It costs $47 and gives you access to ALL the tips suggested by readers over the years.

I'm getting excited thinking of all the $ that I can save if I just start implementing some of the tips. Maybe I won't have to go back to work at all!

I've been resisting buying things that I just happen to see at the supermarket, and to make do with what I have in the freezer/pantry/fridge. Yesterday, I spent just $28 on meat and nuts at Tasman Meats, our supply for the week. Hubby loves the cashew nuts, yay. For dinner last night I made chicken soup using one of the chicken carcasses (3 for $1), plus carrots, potatoes, garlic and a tin of organic cannelloni beans.

Unfortunately, hubby has not caught on. He still buys potato chips and cookies and Dip-Its just because he happens to be near ALDI when Beth goes to jujitsu on Mondays. Oh well, better one of us spending than two!

For afternoon tea, I made a batch of banana-blueberry muffins from the overripe bananas in the fruit bowl, and added ALDI blueberries. They tasted good, although Beth wanted to know why the muffins were all sunken in the middle!

Today I made scrolls using frozen puff pastry, tinned fruit, almond meal and crushed peanuts. All from stuff I already had in the pantry and freezer. Note to self: make sure fruit is completely drained so it won't make scrolls all soggy!

Earlier in the month we trialled Aussie Farmers Direct. Love the convenience and being able to support the farmers, but the prices!!

Am staying away from those money-suckers Safeway and Coles as far as possible, and making ALDI our pitstop of choice. Hubby once found Excel study guides at $2 cheaper than our usual bookstore.

With ALDI you have to be vigilant because the specials change all the time and once they're sold out, you miss out. Anyone who wants to save $ has simply got to make ALDI their first choice for groceries and staples. Every time I leave the checkout and examine my docket I feel SO happy, like I've spent my $ well and lived responsibly. Very important when you're a one-income family with kids!

Getting Off FB

I am taking an indefinite FB break.

It's madness, like being on a treadmill that you can't get off. I can spend hours reading other people's postings but never being able to catch up with all the energetic Facebookers who use it to market their products and services and every now and then announce that they are now at 1,555 likers or whatever.

Wish I could do the same, and believe me I did try for a few months, but it's exhausting and the results are not guaranteed. I haven't made a single FB sale, although my fan count is now a healthy 102.

The only people who buy from me are still people I know personally.

Maybe that's the way for me: just keep talking to people and being myself and suggesting organic solutions where appropriate.

Where I Would Rather Live

Visiting Bundoora last Sunday made me think about why we chose to settle in Hoppers Crossing and where we might have lived if not for the fact that my cousin lives here. Hubby and I agreed that we would never have settled in HX.

We took the kids to Bundoora Park after church. They had a great time trying out all the different playgrounds (there are three at least), visiting Cooper's Settlement where they cuddled guinea pigs, watched other kids ride ponies, tramped around the barn with ducks and chooks, and had tea at the Farm Cafe.

Afterwards, we drove around the La Trobe Uni campus. How much has changed! A few minutes in the direction of the M80 Metropolitan Ring Road is the new University Hill development: a mix of housing, retail and office units. You could live, work and shop there, wow!

The open space across from BM Guesthouse - our home for a whole month when we first arrived - has been beautifully landscaped, and Springthorpe Boulevard, which was then seeing a construction boom, is now completed. Every house looks different from its neighbour, the estate has been thoughtfully laid out and has such a welcoming, aspirational feel, yet there is also a sense of glorious isolation. We are talking about being off Plenty Road and 18 mins or so from Melbourne, but you could be in the country if you didn't know better. Bundoora Square is across the road, and there's a new shopping strip with an Indian grocery store, but within the boundaries of the campus, there are heritage bungalows still used by the Uni. The pond that we used to walk past and watch ducks swimming is still there, and Gresswell Wildlife Sanctuary looks as remote and forbidding as ever, a contradiction in the midst of contemporary upper-class residential living.

From Bundoora, we drove 5 km along Grimshaw St into Greensborough, where we used to enjoy visiting the Plaza and trying out the eateries along the main road. We revisited our favourite Vietnamese restaurant - Linh Linh - with its tacky artificial flowers, painted white bar counter and the bathroom down a flight of stairs.

If I could choose to start over again in Aus, I would live in...Geelong.

It's the second largest city after Melbourne, with great schools, facilities, infrastructure.

It's 40 min to Melbourne, minutes to the beaches, the Great Ocean Road is down the highway, there's a ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento, the gorgeous waterfront and Botanic Gardens, V-Line to Melbourne, Geelong Grammar School. If you want a tree change, somewhere like Highton would be fantastic, with its hilly terrain and amazing elevated views and closeness to the Barwon River. Everything that you need to live comfortably can be found in Geelong, minus the crowding. The best thing about the Geelong lifestyle is driving away from the City when everyone else is trying to get on the Westgate Bridge on a workday.

If hubby and I could find jobs in Geelong, I would gladly consider uprooting again. I checked the real estate prices yesterday and they are still affordable, considering the proximity to water views.

Imagine being able to walk to the beach and enjoy all the green spaces and fresh air and ocean views, but without the Brighton price tag. Now that would be a seachange worth considering.

How NOT to run a market stall

Had my second crack at running a market stall today.

While I had mentally psyched myself to detach from the outcome and to just make this an exercise in gaining exposure and developing conversation skills, it still felt GALLING to sit there for hours with people just swishing by with barely a glance at my table.

Some bypassed it altogether.

Perhaps the worst was having people actually STOPPING to look at my products - while I was across the room having a chat with another stallholder, and unable to get away for fear of being rude!

Cost of hiring stall: $20
Time spent packing, setting up and unpacking: 1 hour (assume $40)
Time spent at market: 4 hours ($40 x 4 = $160)
Revenue: $xx
Nett revenue after subtracting cost of my time: $ -xxx :(
Gain from embracing fear, trying something outside my comfort zone and chatting with strangers and friends: PRICELESS

FB Experiments

A week after enlisting help from other FB users, the fan count is up to 86.

Amazing.

Am having fun checking out other biz pages and posting favourable comments about their products and services.

Perhaps I am more suited to building up other people's businesses rather than flogging my own.

Chatted with hubby today cos he was home sick. He asked me the usual pointed questions about business plans, working for others vs. working for self, how much $$ return I was getting on my marketing efforts etc. Felt depressed and low for a while and talked to God about it on the way to pick up Beth.

Have no answers for now but am praying that He shows me what He would like me to do.

Work for someone ...again? Maybe it's time to dust off the CV and start looking around. A part of me looks forward to interacting with like-minded professionals in a nice office somewhere in the Big Smoke.

And having spending money to call my own.

How To Succeed In Biz As An Introvert

I've written on this subject before, but today, I learned another valuable lesson.

Every introvert who wants to succeed in marketing herself and her biz needs an extrovert on her side.

Mine's Steph Davy of Learning Ladder. We've known each other for about 6 months now, mostly with me buying books off her for my kids and as birthday gifts. Recently, she became a Miessence customer and I was so thrilled, especially as she loved the products enough to say so on FB.

Disillusioned by my meagre 'like' numbers on FB, I put out a general call for help yesterday and today added 11 new likers, most sent by Steph. I think her friends alone accounted for 8 of those likes.

Such is the power of leverage.

Will have to do more work to find out how to apply this latest revelation.

Am I Wasting My Time Being A Writer?

If something I desire does not flow to me naturally, does that mean I am not meant to have it?

And if so, does that mean pursuing it would be a waste of time and energy and I should instead be focusing on what I naturally do well?

This thread came out of a long Skype conversation I had with my uncle yesterday.

He observed that while my passion lay in writing, I do not seem to be profiting financially from it, because marketing is not my strength. I may need to team up with someone who is a natural at marketing.

Point taken.

Guess it all depends on how I want to measure my success.

If being a successful writer means being a well-fed one, then I am definitely in the category of the starving artiste who needs a regular day job to pay the bills. Ouch.

But if being a successful writer means doing what I love, being happy and fulfilled because of it, and enjoying the occasional affirmation from a grateful reader, then regardless of how many zeroes there are in my bank balance, I guess I am a successful writer.

Things I Need To Think About, Even Though I Would Rather Not

Had an interesting chat over Skype with an uncle today.

Lots to think about:

• Pros and cons of converting PPOR to IP
• Setting up family trust
• Gary Chapman's The 5 Love Languages (what are mine? what are my mum's? what are my children's?)
• What is my natural preference in relation to wealth dynamics - am I an ideas person? A connector/deal maker? A trader? A systems person?
• As an introvert, what am I marketing: myself? the products? What is important to me: building relationships and gaining trust, or selling to anyone who will buy?
  

Forcing The Introvert To Converse

I have just made a commitment to run a market stall on the first Sat of each month between Aug and Dec.

The aims:

• to promote my ONE Group business and products
• to have an excuse to talk with people about their needs and wants and see if my product and/or biz opp is the solution to their problem
• to get to know the other stall holders esp. those who are not HXUCA attendees, and look for opportunities to win them for Christ.

By Christmas, I will have a very good idea if markets are a boon or bane to my biz, and whether I should persist with this biz at all or just relegate it to hobby status.

The Problem with Tithing

⁸ "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings.
⁹ You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me.
¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
¹¹ I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.
¹² "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

Malachi 3:8-12

This is a subject that makes me squirm - and rightly so.

The Bible makes it clear that God will provide all our needs. We are not to worry about tomorrow, what we shall eat or what we shall wear. We are instead to seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto us. In other words, if we honor God and stay busy about His business, He will surely provide for our physical and material needs as well.

I have no excuse for why I often pass on the invitation to give an offering. Either I am not present (at Sunday School next door), or I fail to get my money out in time to put in the offering bag.

Last Sunday's message from Pastor Paul was very direct on this subject. We are to give as cheerful givers from what little or much we have. Ref: the widow's mite.

So starting from this month, CA and I have set up a direct debit with the church so that $x goes straight to the church every fortnight on payday. And as our ability grows, we hope our giving will likewise do.

Help Thou mine unbelief Lord. Help me to truly, wholly and completely trust You for all things, the seen and unseen, the material and spiritual, things I need and things I desire. Keep covetousness and discontent from me, and let me give thanks for all things each day. Amen.

Self-evaluation at the halfway mark

I am feeling restless again.

I feel like I am not living up to my fullest potential.

I need to write, coach and mentor full-time, or as fully as possible around my family and church commitments. But it's not happening.

Whichever way I do it, I run into the Scylla and Charybdis of sales and marketing.

Question 1: What do I best love doing? Answer as above.

Question 2: How do I make it profitable enough to be a regular, reasonable stream of income?

Question 3: Why would someone come to me for their writing or coaching needs when there are so many more competent, confident and experienced pros out there?

I'm stuck at 2 and 3. And I never seem to find a way around it.

I know the importance of sales and marketing, the need to be upfront about my business and my abilities.

But I can't translate it into something viable and long-term.

I've got SBI at work on my careers site and SiteSell Services for my supplements site. The numbers are nowhere near what is needed for good solid traffic. And I've yet to make a single online sale.

I need someone to look at my sites and tell me what I'm doing wrong and what I need to do to get back on track.

For my ONE Group organics biz, I love the products but struggle with talking about them. I need to know what are the best channels of marketing. My hubby doesn't support markets; he thinks they are a poor investment for 4 hours and $20. Especially as he then has to ferry B to music class and take J along. Lots of the mums on FB who are WAHPs and WAHMs do markets, particularly for handmade things like clothing and accessories. I haven't seen anyone else do organics yet at our monthly market so I haven't anything to gauge against.

I'm on FB everyday studying what the more active WAHPs do and learning from them. Shoutouts. Referrals. Article writing. Self-promotion. When I'm not feeling up to it, all this social networking feels so shallow. Who am I kidding with my 64 likes? What difference am I making in the world? Who should I be marketing to? People who love organics? People who are interested in their health? Parents?

I guess I have to try everything to see what works best don't I?

With coaching, the same issues come up. I'm not a certified coach (though I know I don't have to be), and I don't know how to bring in paying clients. Why would someone come to me for advice? What do I know that's so amazing that others can't provide?

I need direction and wisdom God. I can't do this alone. Please show me the way you want me to go, the way you want me to live. Help me do what is right and needful and avoid what is trivial, time-wasting and does not serve your purposes. Help me live fully in the joy of what you have already provided and blessed me with. Amen.

Wedding Anniversary (12 July 1997)

13 years ago today, I said "I do" to CA.

Has it been that long? Sure doesn't feel that way.

To God who gave us the faith, courage and strength to take that huge step and who has sustained in us an attitude of love, mutual encouragement and gratitude, all thanks and praise.

I couldn't have done it without You.

Don Moen (Praise & Worship Leader)

Hands up how many have heard of Don Moen.

DM is one of the most inspiring worship leaders of the '90s. For me anyway. I still have his God Will Make A Way and Hallelujah To The Lamb CDs. I like his non-showy demeanour, his old-world dressing, and how he avoids drawing attention to himself but instead deflects all praise and glory to the Creator.

Recently, I discovered DM on Facebook. Whoa! Of course I 'liked' him right away.

Here's what he had to say that really spoke to me:

Take a second to invite the Lord into everything that's going on. Yes, He's there already, but invite Him to be Lord in the midst.

He makes all things new. Moment to moment we have a new start and another chance to make Him Lord of that very instant, whatever is going on, and regardless of how many times we choose to take it into our own hands. Praise Him for it!

I decided to take his advice. Just before going into Beth's room to remind her that it was time for her bath, and knowing that there was a 99% probability of her protesting vigorously and even being rude about it, I prayed and asked God to take charge. The simplest of prayers. No me interposing my idea of what I would like to happen and any number of variables. I simply asked.

And boy, did He answer.

I knocked on Beth's door. She responded in a reasonably polite manner, and I discovered to my pleasant surprise that she was sketching the Sphinx. When I reminded her it was time to bathe, she did not protest. In fact, we were able to have a friendly chat and she dutifully went off to the bathroom.

And after that - get this - she sat down at the keyboard to practise.

With a cheerful attitude!

There is nothing more to be said, except Praise God.

Is Teaching My Spiritual Gift?

On Sunday, the former SS coordinator came up to me and made this intriguing remark.

"I say this by way of encouragement. You remember the time you applied for a music teaching position and it didn't work out? I thought it was because that's not where you were meant to be. This (Sunday School) is where you are meant to be."

I am intrigued because she hasn't seen me in action as a SS teacher. How would she know if I am (or am not) cut out to be one?

Or perhaps she is referring to the obvious enthusiasm and delight on my face since I started being officially identified as SS teacher?

I must have a conversation with her to understand where she is coming from, and also because I want to learn from her how to manage an unruly group of 7-12 yos. She always seems so calm and in control, whereas I'm lucky if I manage to deliver 20% of what I prepared. The rest of my time is spent trying to get the kids' attention, breaking up fights, keeping them focused and engaged.

What am I not doing right?

How can I draw the children in so that they want to hear God's Word and learn it for themselves?

How do I help them to love the Bible and to read it with delight and a genuine desire to get to know God?

My only SS experience before AUS was a short stint teaching the 4 yos at PLCMC just before we migrated. And trust me, there is a HUGE difference between teaching Asians and teaching angmohs.

God has used the church camp and Geelong conference to reawaken in me a love for His Word and a desire to rediscover Bible stories. I want to pass on this desire to my SS kids. I want every one of them to come to a point where they can, with a clear mind and open heart, invite Jesus into their lives as their personal Lord and Saviour.

Most of all, I want to see them transformed and renewed, going out into their schools and extracurricular classes as salt and light, sharing the Good News with their friends, bringing many to Christ, and modelling decency, justice and purity.

Not growing into jaded, cynical teenagers with body piercings and tattoos, whose preferred entertainment is spouting meaningless sayings on FB (with bad language, misspellings and bad grammar treated as de rigeur), texting non-stop, smoking, drinking, partying and no-boundaries behaviour.

I have been reading the Left Behind novels, which have given me an insight into the literal seriousness of our spiritual situation. This is not about us anymore. It's a cosmic battle between the forces of evil and the forces of good. It sounds like something out of a movie but it's not. The trouble is that we take God so lightly and we treat the Bible as just good reading, when it contains prophecies and warnings of what is going to happen in the future (the Rapture, the 7-year Tribulation, the Beast and the Antichrist are cast into the lake of fire and Satan is bound, the Millennium when Christ returns to earth to rule, Satan is released for the final Battle of Armageddon before being cast into the lake of fire to suffer forever with the Beast and the Antichrist, the new heaven and new earth).

Meanwhile, we go about our daily lives, oblivious of the spiritual forces that are around us fighting for our allegiance.

We grumble about going to work and look forward to weekends.

We fret over mortgages and school fees and childcare fees.

We worry that we won't have enough money.

We spend more time having fun and entertaining ourselves with our surround-sound TVs, internet, computer games and communication gadgets, and less time reflecting on deep questions that do not have immediate answers.

We schedule our lives around our children and their involvement in dance, language, music, sports. Outwardly we complain that we are busy and tired, but inside we are actually proud of ourselves because we think we are being good parents.

I say this to myself also, because I am just as guilty.

But God has given me another chance to live differently, and I want to honor Him.

I will begin by getting into the Word of God and letting it soak into me and penetrate every part of my mind, body and spirit, so that I can be fully equipped to do every good work. Including teaching His children the truth, so that they will know the truth and be set free.

As He is willing, so let it be.

Decluttering by Deblogging

Today, I was inspired to clean up my life by...deleting two of my five blogs.

First, I found out from Blogger how to export them in XML format to the external hard drive.

Then I clicked Delete Blog.

Easy as.

Two less blogs to update, and more energy and focus for my other blogs.

I've also thought of consolidating the three blogs into one, but I would feel overexposed. Besides, I am anal about compartmentalizing my life. One blog for kids' issues, one blog for life in AUS, one blog on my personal growth and thoughts about God - that works for me.