A Kiwi In Kona

Photo by Anthony Cervantes https://www.facebook.com/groups/357455554420269/user/100074523021956/

We woke up to a sensational lightning storm!

Huge flashes of light as if Godzilla had discovered the flashlight feature on his phone and zig zags that went skittering sideways like elaborate calligraphy or an erratic profit and loss line chart. My phone couldn't do it justice. 

The only thing blocking the panoramic view is the wooden telegraph poles spaced out every few feet - i.e., th…

Today's excitement included finding the post office to pick up a package. This will be a regular occurrence, as Amazon has limitations here.

Our wonderful daughters had asked what we wanted for Christmas, and we suggested they send us something that would remind us of them for the Kiwi House (what we call this place) and, if possible, with a NZ theme. A fantastic print turned up! You’ll see it as you walk through the front door. 

The property has a range of trees, from avocados to papaya. …

After having the zoomies yesterday (both me and the dog), I calmed down - as in bit TH’s head off when he moved my smoothie ingredients (I get feral when my stuff gets touched) and took myself off for a mid-morning nap as we are still waking up in the dark.

Then, it was off to dispose of rubbish. I wasn’t thrilled about the amount of trash we created in Seattle, and here it’s amplified. There’s no garbage collection here; you take it to a transfer station. One goal here is to minimize contr…

Aloha!

We woke to our rooster. We have a rooster! And a chicken, both of which baffle the dog. The rooster has taken note of the eight different time zones I keep track of and, helpfully, announces them throughout the day. 

We'd gone to sleep to a frog chorus, which sounded like a flock of birds. It’s a change from seaplanes and roadworks, and I’ll take it! Unfortunately, they are an invasive species and a pest, so The Husband has plans for a Coqui-removing Dalek. 

Thanks to being on a Seattl…

The actual official day of moving to The Big Island was focused on a soon-to-be-Hawaiian French Bulldog. This was more complicated than you would think, but he was a non-negotiable, like reef-safe sunblock. 

We’d been up since four am, doing tasks related to leaving the rental, so I was tired and tense at the airport. Standing in the queue to see the agent about loading our bags had me box breathing and repeating one of my mantras: there is enough time, money, and love, over and over.

Ho…

I forgot to tell people - we moved to Hawaii!

Goodbye Seattle gloom; it's aloha from now on. 

The few people we did tell have been kind enough to ask how it is going. Rather than trying to remember what info and photos I had sent out, I'm chatting with you here. Questions are welcome, including how we ended up here and the process.

You are welcome to read the short blogs, which are a sort of diary, or if you are opt-in(you should see a pop-up), they will be delivered like post cards into your…

Kia ora (hello in Kiwi)

On Thursday, I came out of the closet live on LinkedIn (thank you, Micha Goebig) and declared myself a compulsive spender.

An ex-shopaholic. 

Huh?

Well, twenty-four years ago, I stopped using alcohol or anything else that affected me from the neck up.

Alcohol sucked as a solution to deal with inner turmoil and was causing a ton of problems. 

Around ten years ago, I realized I was using money as a way to avoid emotional pain. 

Yup, just like alcohol. 

I tried to fi…

I was on Andrea Heuston's Lead Like A Woman podcast recently.

Big fun.

It won't be released until March, but she has plenty of other awesome guests to listen to, like Congresswoman Nancy Mace and Hope Zvara, CEO of Mother Trucker Yoga. 

As well as asking me why I have had 35 different jobs, she asked me what was the best business advice I had every received. 

Spoiler alert!

Here's what I said. 

"There is enough time, money and love."

One of my mentors, Suzy told me that. She wafts serenit…

I just found a really cool way for you to realize how amazing you are & meet new female friends, and it's so much fun!

My other half got an Oculus for Christmas, but I've been playing with another software instead as it leads to meeting other awesome women,

Imagine LinkedIn meets Choose Your Own Adventure meets Girl Scout badges.... and with that, those really great talks when you meet a new friend and within minutes you're sharing the real stuff in your life, not just the edited version that …

Kia Ora (hello)

Just in time for the holidays....when I realized 28 of my podcast guests, all women, all amazing, had written books, or published a magazine, or created cards to help with grief, I added a page on my website to showcase them. 

If you go to this page, you will see categories such as business & inclusion, fiction, curls & calories, mindset and relationships. 

Subjects range from returning to work, how to find your soulmate, why people buy, why you need a LinkedIn Business Page,…