Flight number Y.O.U is boarding NOW!

How many times have you hopped in your car, driven to your destination and been so busy thinking of other things that you get out of your car and don't even remember how you got there?

Wednesday I flew in a small 19 seater plane. I have never been in such a small aircraft before and I could see the pilots in control. I was only flying from Newcastle to Sydney and no sooner were we up in the air when we were down again.
These pilots would have done this flight hundreds of times before that they would pretty much be on autopilot. Yet for me, it was my first time and I was totally in the moment...

It got me thinking, how many times a day do I run on autopilot? In the car, the shower, doing the housework, picking up the kids...the list goes on!

We seriously can let our lives pass us by if we don't make a concious effort to be more aware of what we do each day. It's not easy, take playing with your kids for example. I love my kids and of course I want to spend time with them but I am also aware of all the other things I have to get done each day and usually my mind decides to think about all these things when I am playing with my kids :(

When our kids are at the park on a swing, they certainly aren't thinking "Well, once I get home I have to take that nap, Dora is on at 3pm so I might tidy up my blocks while I watch the latest episode. Hmm I wonder what mum will give me for afternoon tea today? Ooh pre-school tommorrow, is it Lara's day too or is it Olivia tommorrow?"

NO, they are simply thinking "Wow, how fun is this, Mum is with me, the wind is in my hair, oooh my tummy feels funny when I go up and down, faster Mum faster YAY I am flying, the sun feels so warm on my face, I am happy" and...they are IN THE MOMENT!

So today I encourage you (and myself) to take a moment to stop and ask: Are you living YOUR best life? Are you chasing YOUR dreams whilst also being IN THE MOMENT?

Don't go through today on Auto-Pilot.....going through each day like this means that pretty soon ALL of your days have passed in the same way. Then you wake up and the kids are grown, your business has ended, your job is no more and you wonder how you got HERE?

So, imagine you are at the airport and flight number Y.O.U is boarding...do you know where you are going? Will you enjoy the ride? Or will reach your destination having no idea how you got there?

I've said it before and I say it again...the bad news is, time flies. The good news is, your the pilot!

So get out your passport, choose your co-pilot, buckle up and most of all...

Enjoy your flight!

PS If your reading this far, you just had this stopover for a reason! Be sure to let us know you've stopped by and share what you will do today to avoid being on AUTOPILOT :)

*The image used above was kindly allowed by http://blogswithwings.com/

If you grow them, know them!

In my last post I mentioned the beautiful friendship Tracy Bevan shared with Jane McGrath. Last week I had the honour of meeting Tracy and witnessed first hand the awesome work the team at the McGrath Foundation do.

Tracy Bevan is a gorgeous woman inside and out...wife, mother, best friend to Jane and Executive Director of the McGrath Foundation, I could easily have been sitting down next to the girl next door! One of the driving forces behind the foundation, it is easy to see why when you watch her in action surrounded by the fabulous girls (not to mention all the pink) in the office!

Right now is the busiest month on the foundations calendar, being Breast Cancer Awareness month! This year Tracy and team are using the month encourage greater breast awareness among all women.

Tracy says "If the experience of losing my beautiful best friend, Jane McGrath, has taught me anything, it is the importance of breast awareness. Jane was only 31 when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer and just 42 when she passed away. It is so important that all women, regardless of their age, are proactive about their breast health by not only conducting self-breast examinations, but also by just being vigilant and attentive to any changes whatsoever in the shape or form of their breasts. Early detection saves lives".

Recently, I have been touched by breast cancer with my beautiful Aunt undergoing surgery and completing 6 weeks of radiotherapy for early stage breast cancer, after finding a lump during a routine health check. Unlike her cousin in the UK, who unfortunately underwent a masectomy just over a year ago, my Aunt's cancer was detected early and hopefully radiotherapy will signal the end of her treatment.

For me, that means there is now a family history and suddenly breast cancer seems more 'real'. When I visited the McGrath Foundations website and read Tracy's message above, I discovered Jane was just 31 when diagnosed...the exact age I am now. I cannot begin to imagine how she must have felt.

I must be honest, up until now I have never really checked my breasts myself. I have had breast checks at the doctor but have never performed a self-examination for many reasons/excuses whatever. Wrong time of the month when I remembered or I felt too many lumps or I was breastfeeding or I was just plain scared and didn't know what I was looking for...

The McGrath Foundation website tells us that "recent research by Newspoll showed that two out of three Australian women took direct action as a result of hearing about Jane’s experiences with breast cancer and the work of the McGrath Foundation".

Tracy says "It makes us very proud to know Australia is listening. I know Jane would be so proud to hear that her experiences have directly impacted so many women. However, I know at the same time she would be saying that there are still one in three women who aren’t breast aware and that we still have a lot of work to do".

When I think of Jane McGrath, I definately think "Sunny Mummy" and as a mother she would be urging us all to ensure we make regular breast checks a part of our normal health routine...

With all the exciting things ahead for Sunny Mummy, I hope that we all become 'breast aware' immediately and look forward to us all being able to contribute towards Jane’s dream that every Australian woman diagnosed with breast cancer, and her family, will have access to the support of a breast care nurse.

Well Jane, you have 1 more woman who has just became breast aware and I am sure all Sunny Mummies will do the same. Our health must be a priority, without good health...life as we know it ceases to exist!

Lets not wait until it is too late, as the team at the foundation say ‘if you grow them, know them’.

Please leave a comment to let us all know that you commit yourself to becoming a 'breast aware' Sunny Mummy and will begin to conduct regular breast checks. Lets encourage one another and as the foundation's tag line suggests...
"Together, we CAN make a difference"

*For a guide to becoming 'Breast Aware' and also see how you can help support the McGrath Foundation, please visit:

http://www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au/breast-awareness

School holidays and STUFF...

So the school holidays are over for another term and hopefully you had a chance to spend time with your kids and enjoy the break in routine. I know we had a great time these past two weeks doing not much at all but spend time as opposed to lots of money...

The one organised activity we did do was go to the movies and see "Up" in 3D!
The kids and I loved it but the budget did not...Seriously, when I had my interview with my careers adviser in year 10, instead of worrying about my formal and if I should pursue hairdressing?... I should have been formally advised to start saving now because in the year 2009 I will take my 2 children to the movies and it will cost $80 (and we even bought our lollies at Coles)!!!

For those of you who are not yet at the school holiday stage...start saving now and those who are in the trenches with me....you know what I am talking about ;)

Thankfully my 2 children are at a stage where they don't know too much about the plethora of 'paid' activities on offer during the school holidays (YET) and I am still able to manage nicely doing the free stuff (you know like build cubbies with blankets, hang around in our pj's all day, bake, play hunter/zebra...no wait maybe that's just my kids who get me to pretend I am a zebra at a 'zebra crossing' and try to shoot me..hmmm now that I am writing this I think this game has got to go on the basis of violence and animal cruelty).

School holidays are a chance for the kids to take a breather from homework and routine and it's also a break for mums and dads too...from sandwich making, uniform ironing, homework supervising and the list goes on. My son went off to school today so excited to write a story about all the STUFF he did in the holidays, it got me thinking....I did some pretty cool stuff too!

I helped my cousin-in-law declutter her house....AWESOME, I loved it! There is something about helping other people get rid of STUFF and de-clutter their surroundings that FLOATS MY BOAT! We even had visitors come before we started then again after we finished and I pretended Oprah's crew was coming to film...going too far? I don't think so...IT WAS FUUUUUNNNNNN and I like to keep it interesting ;)

I am very good at helping other people clear out...not so good at doing myself..my mum will confirm this and so can my husband. Our house if fairly simple and clutter free but I have my areas of STUFF and when I decide its time to go through it... I end up starting in one room, quickly moving to every other room and before I know it my house is UPSIDE down and I cant remember where I began!

My best friend Nicole knows me so well that when I recently rang her to advise I will be cleaning out my wardrobe, she firmly told me not to read any old magazines! I promised her I wouldn't because I knew they were now in the garage...or so I thought! Approximately 30 Min's into my mission, there I sat on the floor of my wardrobe reading an old magazine..my phone went beep with a txt that read
"Stop reading old magazines!" BUSTED, I had to look around for a hidden camera ;)how did she know????

Friends know these kinds of things about you, they support you and encourage you to stay on track not to mention help you recharge your Mummy batteries...

Speaking of friends, what about the beautiful friendship Tracy Bevan shared and still does with Jane McGrath? The highlight of my school holidays by far was meeting Tracy...that experience and all that it stands for deserves a post of its own..stay tuned!

Focused Friday

How often do you spend your weekend trying to get things done instead of kicking back and enjoying some leisure time?

For those of us who don't have to GO to work on the weekend, then these 2 precious days should signal....THE END OF THE WORKING WEEK. Yet for many Mums, the weekend merely means more 'things' to get done.

So to help us avoid too much weekend work (I know some of it is unavoidable)I declare Fridays to be 'Focused Fridays'. All you have to do is decide what jobs absolutely have to be done in order for you to relax and enjoy the weekend, then DO THEM.

Turn off your computer, ignore the phone and focus on these these things and nothing else. Don't start the next thing until the first thing is finished. I can often be found doing this and multi tasking is NOT effective, you simply start lots and finish alot LESS!

Whenever you are about to start something, get into the habit of asking yourself if this is the best use of your time RIGHT NOW?

I asked myself this earlier this morning when at 5.30am I found myself updating facebook for all the Sunny Mummies and quickly ended up reading the status' of about 20 people I know or KNEW at one time in my life but apart from facebook...I have NOTHING TO DO WITH! That is just ridiculous and yet I am sure I am not the only one who does this? (OK if I am, is there a 'reading status updates on facebook detox course?)

We go around talking about how little time we have, sometimes laying the guilt on our partners (if we have one) claiming we have to do DO IT ALL and yet we waste sooooo much time by simply not asking ourselves if what we are doing is giving us time or sucking it up for no good use?

How can we seriously claim to have not enough time to do all that needs to be done in the life of a Mummy, if we can be found watching mindless TV or playing silly games on facebook. I personally don't do this, seriously what is up with building a virtual farm? Apologies if you have one but arrghh what a waste of time. Time you could be using to actually CONNECT with the people in your life or reconnect with the dreams you have.

I am not saying never go on facebook or twitter or whatever again, I am simply saying lets focus and get our priorities right. Lets do what we have to do first, for ourselves and our families so we can choose what to do with the rest of our precious time...and if that seriously is to build a virtual farm then great, I wish you a bumper digital crop :)

So on 'Focus Friday' and every day really, let's log off from time wasters and log into our lives, value our time, get done what needs to be done and just FOCUS...then we won't find ourselves on Sunday night asking..

"Where did all my time go and please can I have it back?"