BLESSED SPEEDY

Way back on the 16th of November last year I posted about my big pile of books beside my bed in my "urgent" and "to read" pile Many I had started and many I had not but it had got to the point that if I added another book to the pile it was in danger of toppling over So I made a plan to not add any more books to my collection but to work my way through what I had And nearly 9 months later Ive succeeded Below is what my beside table currently looks like - no pile of books just one of my favourite photos of Gaz and a lamp! These are the books I read - - The Fairvale Ladies Bookclub - You're Worth It - Live, Love, lead - Brian Houston - Saving Grace - Jane Green - Overcoming the daily evil - David Palmer - A year at Bullo - Sara Henderson - Lineage of Grace - Francine Rivers - Night of rain & stars - Maeve Binchy - Without Rival - Lisa Bevere - The Book Club - Mary Alice Monroe - Clash of the Kingdoms - Erica Nugent - Things your moth...

 Im a few days late in posting this but things have been a bit busy here on the farm - we are having a lot of irrigation upgrades happening and Im the Project Manager (fancy title for the person who gets to try and get each of the pieces in a puzzle to work together - so far so good) Anyway on a much more relaxing and fun note (which is the purpose of this post) last Friday I headed off to the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show.  Bendigo is an hour and a half(ish) drive from here if you factor in the stopping at Pyramid Hill coffee bank for a take away coffee on the way - highly recommended btw  https://m.facebook.com/Coffee-Bank-Pyramid-Hill-189914817727695/ The sheep and wool show  http://www.sheepshow.com  is an annual event - also called my many knitter/crocheters etc as Spendigo and is held at the Bendigo Showgrounds.  Over 300 stalls of yarn and related items for sale so if you like yarn you know you are going to spend $$$$ - which I did. I went w...

"self care" is the new "in" word and to be honest I thought it was a bit wanky But funny thing- Ive been practicing it and embracing it As many would know Ive been involved (VERY INVOLVED) in lots of off farm pursuits relating to the dairy industry, water policy, and environmental benefits to just name a few Also as many of you would know I broke my ribs while getting up close and personal to a cow while riding a motorbike How are these related? Well its made me have to sit and think and relax and journal and think about what I really want to do Its something that when I was doing coaching sessions with Cynthia Mahoney earlier this year (heres the link to her - she's awesome! https://www.linkedin.com/in/cynthiamahoney/ ) However its taken until now for me to be brave and embrace it all Ive stepped away from committees I was involved in as I felt it was the right time to do so, one in particular was getting to the point when I would be facing compromisi...

Well today is July the 1st - the start of the new financial year. Here is Australia our financial year goes from July 1 (in todays case 2018) to June 30 (2019) I think its also a good time to take stock and determine how things are goin Ive done a lot of work over the last 6 months on both myself personally and also on our farm business.  I feel like I’m ready to very firmly shut a lot of doors and move on. Ive done a lot of stuff that has got me personal kudos and been and experienced lots of things that others haven’t, Ive been in a position of influence at some of the highest levels many times but Ive been slowly cutting back what I do off farm and am realising more and more that that life is over. An accident a few weeks ago, when I hit a cow while riding the 4 wheeler motorbike and resulting in a couple of broken ribs, has resulted in me being confined to home - and its been great! Ive been knitting and reading and cooking an really enjoying the place where I live and my...

Today is a sad day and I feel a bit like the last episode of MASH - hence the blog post title. Why am I sad? Well today is the last day we will be Murray Goulburn Suppliers - as of tomorrow we will be Saputo Suppliers as the production has been sold  Click here to find out more if you dont know already As you would be aware Ive been a vocal and passionate supporter of Murray Goulburn and the co-op. When I married Gary I jumped into the dairy industry and was hungry to learn and understand how it worked - I was lucky enough to do the Murray Goulburn Supplier Development Program and it gave me a really good understanding of the co-op approach and the benefits of being a supplier.  I got to know a lot of the staff well, as well as many fellow suppliers. I became an advocate for MG Then came April 27th 2016 - which you can read about it some of my previous blog posts I was still happy to speak out in support of MG - I believed in the co-op and I believed that the company ...

Last Friday night I was the key note speaker at the launch of the 2018 Loddon Murray Community Leadership Program.  I was asked to speak on resilience. Ive had many people say since seeing posts about my talk that they wished they had been there - so Im posting my notes here - its not exactly what I said but its the basis of what I said (hope that makes sense) Enjoy! Community Leadership Loddon Murray 16 th February 2018 Ive been asked to tell you a little bit of my story of how I got to be here talking to you all, a facebook community Im very proud of called show some #dairylove and also community resilience. So in preparation I looked up the definitions of community which is a small or large social unit who have something in common and resilience which is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape and have elasticity. Therefore I am going to use this resistance band to help me explain all of ...

Well 2017 and done and dusted - and I must admit Im glad! It was a year that challenged me greatly - nearly everything I believed in or had fought hard for was changed or taken away from me.  But you know what - I think its made me a better person because of it. And you also know what else? Theres nothing I can do to change what happened in 2017 - its gone, done, its history. But 2018 is a different story - I can do something about that! And Im choosing to take my learnings from 2017 into 2018.  My "word" that I am going to focus on is Content I am going to be content with what I have and not complain about what I dont have I am going to finish a lot of stuff that Ive started - and If I no longer feel joy in completing it or participating in it - Ill move it along I am going to spend time on me! I started today a 6 week online challenge for busy women which focuses on well-being. I am going to journal  going to learn how to journal! I am going to spend more time w...