A Kiwi In Kona
I'll be smiling at you in oh, about two years.
Currently I am trying to learn how to talk with aligners—Invisalign—in my mouth.
Apparently, I’m supposed to practice reading articles or books until I get used to them. It feels weird. I feel like I’m talking through cotton wool. I’m second guessing what I’m saying. I’m tripping over my sentences.
They weren't comfortable at first. And they’re annoying because I have to keep taking them in and out every time I want to eat. Given that I’m from New Zealand and I can’t go more than half an hour…
It's terrifying being a female solopreneur - here's to Entrepreneurs Day
Today is Entrepreneurs Day in the US! Wahoo!
Let's raise a glass (or smash a ceiling) in salute to all the women I know in my life who are entrepreneurs, most of whom are solopreneurs.
It is a roller coaster. On one hand, coaches, mindset books, influencers etc. tell you the sky's the limit. You're your own boss, you set your own schedule and if you want to work in your pajamas with the dog snoring beside you (like I am right now) you can. Your rules, your way. You create something from nothin…
World Kindness Day - complement another woman on her style
I could argue that every day could be a kindness day but hey, we have to start somewhere.
It was introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, cool, right? And when I looked it up, I found there’s an actual kindness.org. It popped up at the top of my search bar as an advert. Apparently they have to pay to promote kindness.
According to Wikipedia, the idea behind world kindness day is to “highlight good deeds in the community focusing on the p…
Multiply your options - by buying multiples.
When it comes to getting dressed, I cheat.
I have 4 identical tee-shirts from New Zealand.
I adore them, but they are a pain in the butt to get, one of the reasons I buy several at a time. They have NZ native birds on them, a delicate black etching on a plain white tee. Hey, didn’t it used to be a thing to say “put a bird on it.”? Or was that just in Portland?
I used to get them from a store in Ponsonby, Auckland, where there are ton of great NZ designers who hopefully will still be there …
Happy Anniversary, Darling.
In the 80's when I was around 18 and two years under the age limit to get into an Auckland nightclub, I borrowed a friend's ID, gelled and spiked my hair, added blue eyeshadow and a zebra patterned top with shoulder pads and met a boy.
This was at Club Casablanca, also known affectionately as Catcha-wanker. I vaguely remember neon flamingos, lasers and dry ice and a tiny dance floor. We gyrated to songs like Addicted to Love, and Livin' on a Prayer. He had no sense of rhythm.
He was interest…
Ode to Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(Spoiler Alert)
Oh, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have loved you for thirty years, Sarah Michelle Gellar (and yes, you have improved with age).
Back in 1999 when I was living in Tokyo, an American friend of mine had some VHS tapes (for those of you who remember them). On them were several episodes of a TV show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It had come out around the same time as a new book called Harry Potter and the Philosophers' Stone.
Oh, my mind was blown. Yes, I liked Harry, but it was …
On National Checklist Day - wear something that gets you closer to ticking all your boxes!
It’s National Checklist Day. I’ve never been a fan of checklists. I get overwhelmed and stressed out when I feel like I have an endless list of things to do.
There’s numerous time management strategy books and productivity books out there. One I enjoyed was The One Thing by Gary Keller, for which I wrote an article for Medium. To sum it up in one line, think of the one thing you can do today to get you towards the person you want to be in the life that you want. I find that much easier to deal …
Malibu Barbie and Me.
It never occurred to me that Malibu Barbie (and her cousin PJ, I had both) may have inspired me as a child.
She had my ideal life.
Well, kind of. The upkeep must have been an effort, all that sun-kissed skin and keeping Surfer Kens at bay. But, oh, she was special.
One Christmas, I was given a tanned doll with impossibly long legs, inflated chest, long blonde hair and a ridiculous waist.
I adored her on sight. It's summer at that time of year in New Zealand, so it wasn't as strange a choic…
53 Years of Getting Dressed - Happy Birthday to Me!
I'm 53 today.
Wahoo! Half way through. Given that my great-grandmother made it to over 100, why not?
53 years of clothes....
Primary school (Elementary to all you Americans). I don't remember much about my own clothing, but I do remember my dolls. Paper and Barbie were huge in my life. Even then I understood the advantage of friends with superior skills. I got Katrina, a girl in my class who was the best at drawing, to make a paper doll to my specifications (I don't remember the creative br…
Solopreneur Style Statements
I work with, among others, women solopreneurs. Not sure what that is?
A solopreneur is an entrepreneur, by like me, they don't have a business partner. We do it on our own, but together. I have an amazing community of women solopreneurs and many are my clients.
Some are launching, some pivoting because of the "new normal," (doesn't feel very normal to me). Doors have closed, others have opened. Maybe they are relaunching, or want to up-level. Maybe, like me, they disappeared for a while and w…