Month: March 2015

Necessary

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There are 26 letters in the English language, and we need every single one of them. Want proof? Choose a letter and write a blog post without using it. (Feeling really brave? Make it a vowel!)

Today I have written my first concrete poem. It was a challenge to get started but worked in the end. I think the title of the poem speaks for itself. Without the letter the title of this blog is Inspriring Ax—to easy to be wrongly used and interpreted.

 

One day                                                   there was a

letter of the                                         alphabet that

could not be                                  spoken. She was

special. Living                                     in the centre.

Lots of                       words                               were

never                           able                                to be

re                                  cog                                nised

with                                                                       out

her.                                                                     After

all                                                                       adult

lady                                                                   of the

group                                                             doesn’t

sound                                                                 okay.

 

 https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/twenty-five/

Celebrating—Versatile Blogger and Premio Dardos Awards

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Today I celebrate my 300th follower. Back in January, during Blogging 101 I set goals for this blog, which included having 300 followers by my 12 month anniversary in May. As I reached this mile stone today, I am 2 months early—Yeah! Time to celebrate.  Last month I was given more reason to celebrate as I received two blogging awards to accept from Silver Lining Mama http://silverliningmama.com/ The awards were the Versatile Blogger Award and the Premio Dardos Award. I am humbled, grateful and would like to thank her.  If you get time stop by her blog as it’s worth a visit.

versatile-blogger-award-trophy

The rules are:

  • Show the award on your blog.
  • Thank the person who nominated you.
  • Share seven facts about yourself.
  • Nominate 15 blogs.
  • Link your nominees’ blogs, and let them know.

Seven facts about me:

  1. I love purple.
  2. I was born at midnight.
  3. Dates and walnuts are my least favourite foods.
  4. I have a Mickey Mouse collection.
  5. I am enjoying my new found ability to write poetry.
  6. I will self-publish my book this year.
  7. I work with people recovering from eating disorders—my book is based on my knowledge in this area.

My nominations are:

  1. Lynne’s Art and Soul https://lynnesartandsoul.wordpress.com/
  2. Laissez Faire http://laissezfairelife.com/
  3. Pheonix Grey https://phoenixgrey85.wordpress.com/
  4. Its PH https://itsphblog.wordpress.com/
  5. The Main Focus https://annermurray.wordpress.com/
  6. Mutafariq Khayalat https://mutafariqkhayalat.wordpress.com/
  7. Fresh Paula http://freshpaula.com/
  8. The Kyleinator https://thekyleinator.wordpress.com/
  9. Blisters, Bunions and Blarney http://safarfiertze.com/
  10. Michael Meiser https://michaelmeiser.wordpress.com

premiodardosblogaward

Here is the description and rules for this award:

dardos

My nominations are:

  1. The Lace In My Head Mirrors The Cosmic Mind https://patternsofsouldevelopment.wordpress.com/
  2. The Beauty Along The Road https://beautyalongtheroad.wordpress.com/
  3. Its All In Finding The Right Words https://rogershipp.wordpress.com/
  4. Nuggets of Gold https://joyroses13.wordpress.com/
  5. I’m Not A Sick Boy http://iamnotsickboy.com/
  6. Flowers and Breezers https://flowersandbreezes.wordpress.com
  7. The Gad About Town http://thegadabouttown.com/

All of my nominees are worthy of their awards and I enjoy their blogs regularly. Thank you for adding dimension to my blogging journey.

Life In The Villages

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If you were asked to spend a year living in a different location, where would you choose and why?

Back in the late 1980’s I had had enough of life in Australia. I wanted a change. The answer—I booked a flight to London and planned to work in mental health in England for at least 12 months. I needed something new in my life and I was going to get it. No staying in a rut for me. Then it happened. One night when I least expected it—I met my now husband and everything changed. After careful consideration I cancelled my trip and decided we would do it together some day—his job wasn’t as easy to come and go from as mine. Nursing is versatile.

This year we are coming up to our 25th wedding anniversary and are starting to dream of retirement. Besides living in St John’s, Newfoundland see Pacific to Atlantic post here, my husband and I would still like to live in the villages and more remote parts of England, Scotland and Wales.  The types of places where everyone knows everyone and life involves the town—similar to the television shows of Heartbeat and Hamish Macbeth. This would greatly contrast with our life in Sydney Australia and teach us a lot about our ancestors ways of life.

 

Sometimes dreams do need to be put on hold.  However, I believe it is never to late to get back to them. This goal may be a long way off but you’re never to old to try something new, enjoy different experiences and change your life.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/study-abroad/

Pick Your Battles

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Think of a time you let something slide, only for it to eat away at you later. Tell us how you’d fix it today.

Working in mental health I see daily the impact of letting something slide and not dealing with it. The reason are many, varied and often come from a place of wanting the hurt to stop. When feelings aren’t dealt with in a healthy way—even the really difficult ones—they will become a bigger and more powerful problem.

For me—I pick my battles. I make a quick assessment in my mind how I think the issue is going to impact on me. If I can’t get the issue out of my head, I make a mental plan to discuss it with the other person involved at the next convenient time. I make a time with them and tell them how I felt about the situation that developed. They are my feelings—no one can argue with them. I explain what I heard from what they said, usually ending of with the statement “I don’t think that is how you meant it to come across.” I find that this gives the other person an opportunity to re-frame the situation from their point of view and we can usually find the middle ground.

If the situation came and they stated that they did mean to come across how I interpreted it—I would ask why and work on moving forward from there. Communicating is the quickest way to end problems as it allows us to get to the core of the issue. Without addressing the conflict or concern we can jump to many conclusions but they may not be right ones and often only complicate the situation. From my perspective addressing issues when they arise helps develop trust as the other person realises that I want to work with them and we can form a united front. They don’t have to worry about upsetting me as they realise I will let them know if I am upset so we can fix the problem.

There are some battles that I decide when making my mental plan aren’t worth spending oxygen on. Yes, they upset me briefly for petty reasons so I decided to deal with it myself and move on using distraction techniques—doing something I enjoy to get my mind off it. At home I find a simple “stop” to the other person is enough to change the behaviour. I am also happy to debrief a situation with my colleagues and gain support when necessary. Prioritise yourself and seek professional help if necessary. Nothing is too big to be addressed. You just do it like you would eat an elephant—”bite by bite.”

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/set-it-to-rights/

Pacific to Atlantic

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Tell us about something you would attempt if you were guaranteed not to fail (and tell us why you haven’t tried it yet).

My next medium term goal is to spend six months living in St John’s Newfoundland—Canada’s 10th province. I plan spend my days writing my second and traveling to explore the surrounding unique parts of Canada. My husband and I visited the city for  8 glorious days last November. During my stay I decided I would love to live there and become more intimate the city, its people and its British history. As an Australian who never studied history, I knew nothing about this side of British history and found it fascinating.

St John’s is a welcoming city and whilst there we participated in their screeching-in ceremony so I am already an honorary Newfoundlander—see post here. I would love to live through the changes in scenery and dramatic weather and how life adapts to what nature provides. I would also like to understand the differences between living on the Atlantic rather than Pacific Ocean.

Interestingly, last weekend I began exploring my dream and realised it is doable. A month’s rent in St John’s is equal to a weeks in Sydney—approximately $800. I can stay for 182 days without a visa and this can be extended during my stay if I wish. However, before any of this becomes a reality I must publish my first book. This will allow me to be in a situation to either be able to leave work or take 6 months leave and focus on my writing in a foreign country. At present I am unsure of the type of book I want to write when I am living in St John’s—I’m thinking novel but time will tell. As much as I would like it to be—this dream cannot be rushed—but one day I will make it happen in time to see the floating icebergs.

163- The 'Narrows' - the entrance to Newfoundland Harbour

The Narrows – the entrance to St John’s Harbour

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/too-big-to-fail/

Weekly Photo Challenge: Orange

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Time for another multi-photo challenge! Wow us with punchy pops of orange.

Orange isn’t a colour usually found in my photos however, most of these were taken on our recent trip to Canada. Surprising how much colour could be found intermingled with the sky’s grey. The cake and biscuits were made by my niece Laura for our family ‘Sunshine’ themed Christmas.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/orange/

Great Teachers

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What makes a teacher great?

For my purpose in this post I am describing a teacher as anyone imparting learning to others as well as formally trained teacher. Teaching is a skill we can all use. It is about imparting knowledge we hold to another person. We all know things that others can learn but what is the difference between someone who does this well compared to someone who just tells you the information.

  • Show passion or the topic
  • Listening skills
  • More detail
  • Give reasons
  • Approachable
  • Individualize the information
  • Explain in simple language—even technical detail.
  • Smile
  • Make people feel like they want to be teaching them the information
  • Set boundaries on unacceptable behaviours
  • Repeat the information 3 times
  • Check understanding of the student before moving on to new information
  • Have fun while learning
  • Teach why the learning is necessary and how it will benefit the student
  • Be transparent to all students
  • Be consistent
  • Be equal
  • Believe the student can learn
  • Be creative
  • Be honest
  • Patience
  • Use different learning styles to keep it interesting and to suit the individual needs of the student

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/we-can-be-taught-2/

Networking

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Are you good at what you do? What would you like to be better at?

I am good at what I do because I work hard at it. I am always looking for new ways to improve myself—both at work and in my personal life. My theory is when you stop growing—you stop living. So what is next you ask? As I hope to publish my book by the end of this year—2015 is about improving my networking skills—self-promotion. I have learnt that networking no longer means talking to everyone in the room—this makes it easier. Please enjoy my networking plan in a poem.

New experience to gather knowledge

Express interest in the other person

Time to bond with others

Working the room—who are you drawn to

Opportunity to ask questions

Relax and smile

Know your purpose and don’t be distracted

Include your elevator pitch

Note areas for later follow-up

Greet all with enthusiasm

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/i-have-confidence-in-me/

Tree Change Dolls

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What would you put in this year’s time capsule to channel the essence of our current moment for future generations?

Yesterday I discovered Tree Change Dolls—remodeled, refreshed and re-styled—rejected Bratz dolls by Australian artist Sonia Singh from Tasmania. Bratz dolls are everywhere. They are styled on high rock fashion with heavy make-up. The look alone was enough for me to refuse to ever buy one for anyone. My other problem is the name Bratz. It is not something I want to encourage in anyone. For the same reason, I could never buy the clothing brand No Rules.

Sonia decided to redesign the dolls into something her children wanted to play with, because of her love of playing with dolls. She found the rejected dolls in the second-hand shops and breathed new life into them. The result is beautiful natural looking dolls that children can associate with as their faces remind them of friends and people they knew. The photo below is the same doll—originally harsh looking, bordering on scary then given a new make-down—looking soft, gentle and angelic.

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Sonia’s transformation involves removing the original makeup using nail polish remover. She then paints on new eye brows, eyes and lipstick. Her mother knits little tops for each doll and sews some pants or a skirt—giving each doll an individual homemade feel. When the outfit is complete Sonia then moulds boots for their feet that match their outfits.

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Below is a sample of Sonia’s Tree Change family playing in the great outdoors—where kids used to play.

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Photo Credit: Sonia Singh

Since Sonia created a Facebook page and Tumblir for her Tree Change Dolls in a no time they went viral. Everyone wants their own natural doll—the problem is she wasn’t expecting this level of support and isn’t sure what to do about it. Personally I think this is a great way to move froward.  Reverting back to kids being kids and not the sexualised images of the original Bratz dolls. It has my support and is the reason I would put it in my time capsule today.

 

 

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/time-capsule/

Unique

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Write a post about anything you’d like — in the style of your favorite blogger. (Be sure to link to them!)

Back in 1980 my 6th form English teachers wrote on my high school reference, Max “has a unique personality.” I was so proud.  The statement showed he understood me and wasn’t trying to make me fit a mould. It was this reference that 6 weeks later, as an 18-year-old helped get me a traineeship in psychiatric nursing. 35 years later I still work in mental health. It suits my unique personality. All those years ago, if I had copied others because that was the normal thing to do—I wouldn’t have found my calling.

Finding your own personality, believing and following  your own style is important in developing your own confidence. It is this confidence that allows you to achieve your goals. Imitation is observing and replicating another’s  behaviour—something I am not interested in doing on any level—even for fun. There are many other bloggers who think similar to myself and whose blogs I enjoy however, having a different style of writing changes the feel of the post and in my opinion isn’t being true to either style.

I am all for learning and adding new forms of writing to my blog—my latest addition being poetry. But in my own unique voice. Being true to myself is a personal value of mine which leaves no reason to copy others. Believe in yourself and develop your voice. Copying others will keep you not being true to you.

Be unique. The world need more uniqueness—not more imitators.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/imitationflattery/