End of one season, start of another

(this is where I spent half of January)

So that was Summer, eh?

I love Summer but there are parts of Winter I love too, just not as much as Summer.  I'll miss the sitting out in the sun after dinner with a cool drink, not having to take forever to get dressed in the morning, not waiting for days for the washing to dry, being outdoors without having to take a coat and umbrella and getting social just because its sunny outside.

Winter has its good points too. There's comfort food and the fact that its actually enjoyable to cook, that its lovely to get snuggly in bed (unfortunately really difficult to get out of bed though), there's no sweating so its good to get out and get active and there's comfort food (did I mention that already?).

But I didn't come here to talk about the weather (ho hum), I wanted to say I'm on an 'up' today (as opposed to yesterday where it was all too hard). It may be because its Friday, or because I had a productive day at work and feeling that I've got a little more of a handle on things.  I'm also excited at the prospect of promoting not only the great stuff the people at my new workplace are doing for kids, but also promoting Mr Moneymaker's new business and life long dream.

He's selling the stuff that he loves, at last. A life-long lover of sport (not to mention the Nugget's personal Sports Manager), he has set up his own sport equipment brand, Cigno Sports and his days consist of choosing, selling and generally playing with, Soccer Balls (did you know that cigno is the Italian word for swan???).  I've even spent quite a few hours entering HUNDREDS of contacts into his database and though its been a bit of a risk (to the point where I may have to change his name from Mr Moneymaker to something else), its starting to build up.  The majority of business will be coming from Soccer Clubs in Queensland, NSW and Victoria so if you're involved in purchasing equipment for your club and you want quality, give him a call (don't forget to tell him I told you first!).

As for my new role, I'm so proud to be working for a company that has such a great concept and that can really make a difference to a young child's life.  The company is called Yoga To Go Kids and it takes the philosophy of mindfulness and well being along with a great habit for young children to take into their adult life. I've been there about four weeks now and I've been talking to the schools and the yoga teachers and seeing feedback coming back from the kids and the school teachers. Its wonderful what they're saying about the effects the classes have had on all the kids - the quiet ones, the loud ones, the hyperactive ones and the troubled ones. I'm really impressed and I want to tell everyone.

Yoga To Go Kids

Now my next move is to get the word out there about both businesses, not so much through this blog (though I will put a couple of buttons on the side here), but to promote through Facebook and Twitter.

Now if only they could afford to sponsor me to go the Digital Parents Conference in March! Oh well, that boat may have to leave without me. Literally.

*Joining With Some Grace for FYBF*

New start, new outlook

Today marked the first day of a new stage of life for me.

from here

Today I started a new job in a vibrant and independent company which promotes and teaches a skill for lifelong well-being to children.

Today I became the Office Manager for Yoga To Go Kids Australia.

The day flew by and though there was a lot to get through, I'm itching to get back there tomorrow to start organising everything. There are great systems in place already, but I was able to suggest a few new ways to do things and take advantage of the Google range of tools to compliment their procedures.  And it was wonderful for my ideas to be accepted without the age old "but we've always done it THIS way".

That's the advantage of working in a small(ish) business. They're usually open to change and improvements and have less red tape getting in the way of things. Love it.

This is when I'm glad I've discovered publications like Renegade Collective.  It inspires me and fires up parts of my head that haven't been feeling any heat for quite awhile.  My creative juices are flowing and there are more ideas whirling around up in that dusty space than I can spit out.

Nugget's garage sale wasn't a raging success but at least we've cleared the decks a little. And the stuff we couldn't sell we've distributed to a couple of worthy causes (a couple of boxes of clothes are on their way to Lebanon and a couple of boxes of toys to Tonga). It makes me want to clear out a whole lot more (I really need to make enough space in my wardrobe so I can actually move those coathangers around!).

So the Nugget only made enough for a new Playstation game, but he put in the hours and learnt what it was like to work for his money.  He even did a bit of busking on the guitar to demonstrate the amp for sale (not sure if that helped or not....).

I've heard of a few friends starting new ventures this year, not to mention Mr Moneymaker finally building his dream of his very own sports supplies business, Cigno Sports (if you know any football/soccer clubs looking to stock up on quality equipment, give him a call. He knows his stuff!).

All in all, its going to be a risky but exciting year.  Here's hoping I survive and don't lose what little sanity I have left.

**Joining up with Essentially Jess IBOT**