Saturday, October 24, 2009

Week 3 WINNERS, Love Your Life Challenge


* Chantal! You have WON jewelery from Cherry Mag, this is a lovely necklace with matching earrings! YAY... I will send it out to you!

* Flutterbye! you have WON the photo shoot! So you will feel like a SUPERSTAR! It's valued over $500-. YAY!!!!!! I will pass on the details to MJPhotography

* Bell!- You have WON the Hamper from Hamperific Your hamper will be sent from sunny Mackay!

* Jade!- You have WON a colour analysis valued at $330 by best Image Consultant of all time Imogen Lamport. I will let Imogen know you are the winner and pass on her details to you!

A BIG THANK YOU to you all for sharing your stories so we can all learn and grow. I cherish all of you feedback.
One more week to go and I am going to miss this challenge! However I will be turning the Love you Life Challenge into an Ebook so it will still be around :)

Friday, October 23, 2009

Day 15- Love Your Life Challenge, Intimacy

Cuddles + Intimacy = Love Life, Live Life.

Are you allowing yourself to be loved and intimate with your loved one, friends and family?

Being intimate with someone is the most fulfilling thing you can experience, it’s totally free and it’s up to you to allow yourself to be loved, just for being you! You don’t necessary have to be in a relationship in order to find intimacy. It comes in many shapes and forms. It may be a cuddle, a conversion, a laugh, a kiss or more. You have different levels of intimacy with different people because we all connect in different ways.

Some people are afraid of showing affection, others do it in a more subtle way or some people are very open about it. It doesn’t really matter how you chose to express yourself as long as you do. I always try to live each day as if it’s my last (a bit morbid I know) and some days it’s easier then others. But my point is- I want all the people in my world to know that I love them and why I love them. That’s really important to me.

It is the easiest way to put a smile on your face and the biggest confidence booster! I often tell my partner if I’m upset about something and he will generally go silent and hide, not knowing what to say and I say to him “You don’t even have to SAY anything just give me a cuddle” are you with me sister :)

If you would like to read more about intimacy and how it saves lives go to Urban Smiler for a nice little pick me up.

NOW FOR TODAY’S TASK!


OK so this one may require you to step outside your comfort zone or put somethings aside for a moment. But it will be worth it when you see the difference it makes.

Kiss him now and surprise him later ;-)

For the Couples

• When you kiss him goodbye in the morning KISS him.

• Organize his favorite meal or a nice meal. Buy a beer he likes or a nice wine.

• When he gets home give him his drink, Relaxxxxxxxxxx

• Enjoy a wine together, have a laugh; we really need to do it more. (Laugh that is)

• Tell him to have a shower or do whatever he needs to. Then put the kids to bed or do whatever you need to.

• Once you have done that go and kiss him and you can take it from there!


Think of this as paying it forward! Don’t think too much into it. Just try to relax with it and have a good time and enjoy yourself.

Try not to think “He should be doing this to you or whatever else you may be thinking” Just relax with it and have a laugh.

For all the Singles ladies

Invite a friend you cherish, who is a positive influence in your life around have a chat and a nice meal. Relax and laugh until your belly hurts!

TOMORROW MORE WINNERS!!!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Day 14- Love Your Life Challenge, Make up tips!

Guest post by the ever talented Tanya Guccione

Top 5 make Up Tips we all need to know

1.Your foundation is just that! It's the base to you looking hot! I always recommend Mineral makeup, it's good stuff! Be fussy with what goes on your face...

2. Smokey eye's always look great however if your gonna create a smokey eye go easy on the lippy. If you have sunken eyes or small eyes don't use a dark eyeshadow use a light color to make your beautiful eyes pop out!
# However if your gonna go natural on the eyes go bold on the lips...

3. Use a foundation brush instead of a sponge you save on product and it's more hygienic but most importantly you'll get a flawless finish!

4. Make sure to keep your make up fresh and dewy looking, always choose an illuminating foundation/blush over a matt finish...

5. Make time.... cuz your worth it.... You're 10 minutes away to fabulous! Lippy, blush and some mascara makes all the difference! "Hey! Less is more remember!"

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Day 13- Love Your Life Challenge, Vision Board



Vision Board
Everyone has goals, everyone needs goals they may be big they may be small. It doesn’t matter they are yours!
Get some magazines together flick through them. Think about your goals or what is important to you. Cut out images or words that represent you and your goals. Different images mean different things to people as we all interrupt things differently so cut out whatever it is you desire!
For example-
•You want to go on a holiday, so cut out a picture of a beach,
•You want to be happy cut out a picture of someone laughing.
•You may want to lose weight, get a picture of someone exercising.

Get a piece of paper and make a collage. Glue all of you images down on the paper.

Then I want you to put it up on the back of your bedroom closet door where you can look at it everyday even if it’s just for a second.

Sounds crazy? Maybe! But man you feel good once you’ve done it and when you look at it makes you feel good! It gives you a purpose and your goals really do happen.

Do it and let me know how you go.

The image is my vision board this time I left space in the middle so I can add to it whenever I want too. You do whatever works for you!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Day 12- Love Your Life Challenge, Anxiety

This is a Guest Post by the remarkable and inspiring Jade Craven, thank you Jade for sharing your story. You have touched my life and made me a better person for it xxx

How it started

I believe that I’ve always had anxiety. I was very clingy as a child, was selective mute in primary school and social phobic in high school

As soon as I hit puberty, things started to reach an unmanageable level. We all blamed it on hormones. I was always stressed out, thought the world was against me and had difficulty coping.

It didn’t get really severe until I moved out of home at 18. I had just started uni, and had to learn a different set of skills. At the end of my first year, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and given months to live. I spent much of this time at mums just helping out during the holidays. I’d often be there just to watch my younger teenage siblings while mum was in hospital.

This placed both my body and mind under a great deal of stress. And, when my nan died, that stress didn’t go away. I wasn’t able to cope with life, or school, and started to worry about everything. This stage lasted for years.

The difference between depression and anxiety

I used to think that anxiety was all mental – just worrying. I used to look down on the illness as a weak persons disease.

I had similar physical symptoms with both anxiety and depression. I had no energy, was incapable of taking care of myself or the house and had really poor cognitive symptoms. I couldn’t concentrate, had difficult remembering things and had trouble speaking.

It was the anxiety symptoms that were the worst. My brain just couldn’t process information and couldn’t handle loud noises or sudden movement. That meant that I was always on edge and out of breath. If it was too overwhelming, I’d dissociate. This is a symptom where your brain shuts down for a period of time.

My body would feel like it was on fire. If I didn’t handle the symptoms correctly, I’d have panic attacks. If I was really stressed, I’d hear voices. This lasted for about a year and was a really difficult time.

I actually used to look forward to my depressive episodes. My body would relax so much that I was able to sleep. I was lethargic, but that was ok because my muscles weren’t tingling. Eventually, the depression would get so bad I’d be suicidal and crying all the time, but I didn’t mind because it gave my body a break from the constant tension.

In many cases, these illnesses coexist and it can be hard to tell them apart. I realized that they are very different and require different techniques to manage

The Challenges

My disorder presented me with a lot of challenges that made everyday living difficult.

o I didn’t have the energy to maintain my appearance, so I often looked frumpy. This really impacted on my conference.
o I was rarely well enough to interact with friends and family so I was convinced they all hated me
o I was on a really low income and rarely had the money to treat myself
o I was petrified every time I left the house.
o I had poor concentration and lost my creativity. I lost touch with my hobbies and started thinking I’d lost my personality.

I had to change but I didn’t know how


I’m not sure what pulled me through. All I knew was that I didn’t want to die so I just kept on struggling through every day.

And it was a struggle. I had very little quality of life and constantly felt horrible both physically and mentally. It got worse until I sunk into a really deep depression.

This is something I’ve never told anyone. I was suicidal and couldn’t find a logical way to talk myself out of it. Normally, I could give myself a reason that would allow me to persevere with the episode. I told myself that I’d pretend that I can’t fail and just give everything a go. I’d seek medical help and would give my blog everything I had.
Things started getting better

I turned my life around by seeking treatment. 6 months ago, I was crying in my doctors office and begging to be put on medication. She initial refused, because I had stopped taking other meds due to the side effects.

I decided that I wouldn’t let my prejudices get in the way and would take my meds, despite the reported side effects, and seek counselling. And initially, things got worse. I had bad side effects for the first month.

Then the symptoms started to go away. I was able to breath and think clearly again. I was able to process the ideas my counsellor was giving me. I was able to put more time in my blog and started reconnecting with my old hobbies.

How I started loving myself again.

Being able to love my life was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. Part of anxiety is the constant negative self talk. I was convinced that I’d never achieve something and didn’t know how to change the mindset. There were a number of steps that I took that made the process easier:
o I got a haircut. This was really simple but it made such a difference to my confidence. I noticed afterwards that I didn’t hate my appearance as much and was more outgoing
o I slowly introduced myself to my old hobbies. This was hard, as I still feel I’ve lost a lot of my creativity, but it makes me so happy to go to a musical or do a bushwalk. Moments like that make the constant struggle worth it.
o I started chucking out my old clothing and buying clothes that fit my body shape. This was a great confidence booster. My pants only cost $40 from Target but did wonders.
o I stopped finding excuses when my blog friends asked to catch up. Now I’ve met so many amazing people.

I wont say this process has been easy. I’m now very happy with my life and I still think I’m a worthless piece of shit. Its hard trying to improve things but the Love Your Life challenge is brilliant for those needing help to take their first step.


There are so many different avenues to help you if you are feeling anything like this.
* See your GP
* Contact SANE 1800 18 SANE (7263)
* Contact Beyond Blue
* I highly recommend that you work with your GP and a Counselor or Life Coach so both physically and mentally you are getting the appropriate treatment.
* Jo baker Lifestyle Specialist of Believe Lifestyle Centre specializing in restoring confidence and self esteem in women.
* Susan Tyshkovsky Life Coach and owner of Life by Creation specializes in working through your issues in order for you to live and love yourself and your life. Getting you out of that rut.
Susan is donating 2 x 2 one hour sessions for the Love Your Life Challenge this could seriously change your life!