Water Sports

This is what we did last weekend with our friends. The kids and yes Scott had the best time riding on their U-Tube. It's cool as it can't tip over the way it's constructed.
**remember click on the photo if you'd like to see it larger**

Connor looking pretty cool on it by himself...



Haley joined in although we ended up stopping for a minute so she could put her hair up since it was blowing all over!


Connor and Scott. They road it the longest. In fact I asked them to stop because everyone was getting hungry!HA



and this is the beautiful boat we were out having fun on! Our friends have an overhead canopy attachment too. Makes it really really nice!!



We're really looking forward to our vacation to the lake next weekend and more time hanging out on the boat and trying out all their cool water tubes!!

I'll leave you with a new layout I made using the new July kit for Sugardumplin.



Happy Summer,

Julia

Britains Got Talent - A Star Is Born

Click and watch..it's simply amazing. It will make you smile, get all teary-eyed and feel wonderful!!

And by the way..Paul won the competition...I can see why!!!!!!!!!!!!

Smiles,

Julia

the Success Principles ~ Principle 16

Principle 16 of Jack Canfield's Success Principles is Be Willing to Pay the Price. Ooh, good one. This changes things, doesn't it?

Ages ago Laini wrote something on her blog that really stayed in my mind. As an artist, she hears lots of people say, "I wish I could draw." And her response was something along the lines of, "Do you wish you could draw, as in your Fairy Godmother taps you on the head and *poof* you can draw? Or do you mean you're willing to sit down and practice and practice and hone a new skill? If it's the latter, I guarantee you that you can draw." I am paraphrasing, but I hope I've captured the point.

Canfield identifies some common price tags associated with dreams: money, time, effort, the willigness to be awkward while you learn and develop. If you don't make the investment, how will the universe know that you actually want it? How will you know?

The good news is that if you are willing to invest those things (and more), you are way ahead of the game. For all the people who say, "I want to write a book," how many sit down to the task? How many stay there long enough to finish? How many find the courage to submit it? At each of those junctures, some people decide it's not worth the cost. If you are willing to pay the price, you will move through those stages and find that the competition gets smaller, the universe supports you and your confidence grows as you know you are committed and moving towards your dreams.

And deciding that something is just too darn expensive is also a gift. It allows you to let go of things that are simply not worth the price to you. Maybe you wanted to be a dancer on cruise ship and every year your heart fills with yearning and you wonder why you never pursued that dream. If you look at your garden or your boyfriend or maybe your little one that's just starting school, you realize that you chose something else, that when it came down to it dancing on a cruise ship was not worth the cost of a sense of home or these relationships or whatever else you chose instead. And now you can discover what part of that dream you can work into your current priorities, at a price you can feel good at investing. Do you want to perform? travel? express yourself? What form might it take that honours your choices and priorities?

The beautiful thing about recognizing there is a price involved is that you get to decide whether you're willing to pay it. The choice is yours.

Keeping Busy

My life feels a little bit like this wall'o'posters right now - full, colourful, a bit hectic! Can you see my poster up there in the mix?

I've missed writing and reading here in blogland, connecting to what everyone's doing and what adventures you're all getting up to. Recently I have been working on rebranding my business, and it has been intense. And today I was thwarted by serious technical difficulties as I try and figure out how I can get my domain name pointed to the new (perhaps temporary) home of my practice, maintain my email addresses and ditch my webhosting. People sure don't seem that ready to help you in moving away from their services.

And I have to tell you that working on that today made me so grumpy! My stress was high. My frustration was high. Grrr. And I was teaching Nia. Man, I didn't want to bring that energy in the room. But it's amazing how getting into your body and out of your mind can shift things. Before I knew it I was feeling clear and open, chipper and hopeful. The nice man at the community centre even called out to me and made sure I got Nia in their July event listings!

As I strike out on my own with Nia classes are small and intimate. It is a real joy to dance together even if there's only 2 of us. And I'm so thankful for Shannon for always being there to dance with me. And I'm so filled with joy for the others who have come out to share the class.

And speaking of joy, I really want to celebrate my dear friend Vern's major achievement. With amazing courage, boundless talent, devoted attention and deep faith, Vern has finished his book, Leilani's Gift: A Mystic/Autistic Quest Across Canada. I have every belief that this book will find its publisher and its audience and be met with wonder and success. I've known Vern for a long time now and have had the pleasure of reading excerpts and hearing readings. His insight, sensitivity, humour and honesty is compelling. I'm wishing him the greatest success!

Vern made a wish on Wishcasting this week. Feel free to come on over and support his writerly dreams with your words.

Birthday, Garage Sale and Recital

Well we made it through. It seems every year to get harder and harder to get through the kids birthday's, parties and all the other events without feeling like you've been run over by a Mack truck. But we made it through and have an official 12 and 10 year old, house is cleaned out, garage is cleaned out and once again I saw Haley shine like a star on the stage. She looks so cute out there and so pretty with her blonde head of hair!!! She always stands out to me..but then I'm her Mom!



Here's some pictures as I know several of you have been asking..starting with the big birthday boy...

I like this picture of him. He looks so different from one year ago. He's changing alot..still sweet...but definitely a boy! He asked for an XBox and the Halo games. And extra controllers to play with friends. He had his friends over for a sleepover for his birthday..well they pulled an all nighter. Connor found out the hard way it's not easy. Had to sleep for almost 2 days to catch back up! Crazy!!!!!!!!!! Even crazier to realize next year we'll have a teenager in the house!!

Haley turned 10 and celebrated with a dog themed party at Riverchase. She loves it there!

She got a new Nintendo DS Lite with this crazy cool dog game that does stuff I can't even believe. She also got new Bratz things and clothes!!

Last weekend was Haley's dance recital. I loved this year's costume and so did Haley since it's her favorite color. She had a tap and ballet number. She's looking forward to next year when she'll get to add a jazz number. She's not as fond of ballet...she definitely takes after me!!

And lastly..how about a new layout and card using brand new Bo Bunny Bella Journee papers, chipboard and diecuts and the Flex ruler..which is very cool! And I used my new Cricut Expression! Talk about amazing..I used it for the scalloped flower.

That's it for now from the crazy Sandvoss Crew...

Julia

The Success Principles ~ Principle #15

Jack Canfield's fifteenth Success Principle is Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. (This is also a book. by Susan Jeffers) Call me weird, but I love this particular principle. For a long time in my life, I thought fear meant "Stop, this isn't good for you!" Now I've come to see that fear is often an indicator of a stretch opportunity. Fear shows up when I'm growing big-time. In fact, sometimes fear can be a clue that the situation I'm about to face is somehow important to me.

So it's important to be discerning. When fear shows up, ask yourself, "Is there danger? What am I afraid is going to happen? Do the possible benefits outweight the actual dangers?" Then you can decide on your next course of action. You get to make the choice. Fear can be a powerful immobilizer. It's designed to get you to stop, look and pay attention. But then based on what you discover, you get to decide what you're going to do.

One important element of this success principle is that you feel the fear. This is not about avoiding fear, burying it or denying it. This is about acknowledging it, being willing to experience it and continuing to move towards your desires. The reality is that often when you choose to stretch into new territory it is scary. And a lot of your dreams, hopes and desires exist over there, in new territory. In fact, unless you've realized them already, they're all over there in new territory. Feeling fear is going to be a part of the journey to attain them.

One of the best wisdoms I've ever read about fear I believe came from Susan Jeffers' book. When you're embarking on a situation that is scary for you, figure out all the things you can do to make it easier and once those are done, get it out of the way. I have used this tactic for an audition. The audition terrified me but I really wanted to have a shot at the production. I asked myself what would make it easier? My answer was being extremely well-prepared and wearing something that gave me confidence. So I did that and then walked through the door.

Getting it done is a key element to getting over the fear. If you spend a month strategizing how to make it easier, you're really procrastinating. (You see that, right?) We all know that we procrastinate and avoid things that are uncomfortable and cause us fear (the dentist, anyone?) But we also know that it prolongs the suffering and the fear turns into both a low-grade anxiety that is with us constantly and a lack of confidence in our ability to deal with things that frighten us. Who needs that?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about facing fear for the sake of doing it. But when there is something you're yearning for or something required for your well-being or something you're madly excited by or crying for, don't let fear stand in your way. Find things that can support you in facing the fear (allies, positive self-talk, a good night's sleep, baby steps) and then take the step.

What fear are you willing to face this week?

Note: I posted the above picture ages ago. I had written all my fears down and then ripped them into tiny pieces and reconfigured them into this little guy. It helped me revision fear as that little voice inside me that wants love, support and encouragement when things are scary.

The Success Principles ~ Principle #14

You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #14 is "Just Lean Into It." It's no wonder that this one follows on the heels of taking action. Leaning into it is when you just start. You get into action with no promise or guarantee of success. You might not even have a sense of the outcome. Just move towards what feels right to you. Discover what it feels like. And when you do, you get a sense of whether you want to keep going.

When I started to become a coach, it was just like this. I knew that I wanted to work for myself. I knew I wanted to do work that was meaningful to me and that used my best skills. But I had no idea what that might be. I started coming up with millions of ideas. Every week I'd send out new ideas to my 'dream team' and ask them, "Which do you think would be the most successful? Which do you see me enjoying the most?" I had ideas from running a social activity group to having a newspaper reading service to being a clown for kids in the hospital (the latter my husband thought was the craziest but they actually have that now! See here.)

Suddenly I stumbled across coaching. It piqued my curiosity. It sounded like it could be a good fit. I signed up for the first course. And from that point I promised myself that as long as the next step felt right, I would take it. Here I am 4 years later a certified professional coach. As I'm preparing to take my practice to the next level by starting to offer workshops and programs, I can feel that I'm being called to lean again. It's time to stretch and grow. Time to put an idea into action and see what happens.

Another powerful point Canfield makes in this chapter is that it's this movement that allows you to be guided towards your true path. Obstacles may appear, but sometimes moving around them sends you where you actually are meant to go. "Even when you can't move forward, you can turn right or you can turn left, but you have to keep moving."

This makes sense to me. When I'm moving in a general direction, the Universe just has to send a little breeze, a little tap, to guide my movement. But if I'm sitting on my bum, imagine how much more force it would take to get me to sit up and get moving. Also, why should the Universe make that big effort? I haven't given her any indication I want to play. But when I'm up and moving, even if I'm completely lost, I have said I'm ready to move.

What are you going to lean into this week?

Inspiration

There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.”

Freya Stark

I thought this was such a timely quote considering this week's Success Principle of taking action. In my work with coaching clients, I would have to say the single most significant factor that shifts people's lives for the better is aligning their choices and actions with their values. How can you honour your beliefs with your actions?

It's Officially Summmer

I made it! Another school year is done..we're in between wrapping up Connor's 12th Birthday and Haley's 10th. Dance Recital is next weekend along with next week our annual garage sale! I always feel like once we get through all these things..I can resume breathing again. It's crazy it really is!! What's also crazy is now realizing I have a 12 year old..one year away from a teen!! And almost a 10 year old!! Gesh and well let's not forget..Parker will be 7 in August!

Given the serious insanity of activity in this house..I just wanted to pop in and share some new layouts and a picture or two!


These supplies are from the May Poppy Ink Kit. Picture of Haley and her friends in Girl Scouts last month at the City Museum.



These supplies are from the March Poppy Ink Kit. I added the Bo Bunny black star rubons. Cute picture of Connor taken the same day at the City Musuem.



Here we are again with more from the Bo Bunny Play All Day line! I'm crazy over this line and this funny picture of Parker taken in his Halloween costume!!


That's it for now..I'm off to get ready for Haley's birthday party today!!! Tomorrow...she's 10!!!!

Julia

Today is for Wishes and for Dancing

Come on over to Wishcasting and be inspired to wish by this week's prompt.

And if you're in Toronto, come on out to the beginning of my summer series of Nia classes. I'd love to dance with you.

Summer Nia
with Jamie

Wednesdays 5:00 ~ 6:00
June 6 to August 22

Dance Studio
Trinity-St. Paul's
427 Bloor Street West

Discover the joy of moving your body's way.
Nia is a movement practice that is performed barefoot
and draws on dance arts, martial arts and the healing hearts
to create a pleasurable fitness experience.

Summer Price: $10/class

for more information contact Jamie
nia@openthedoor.ca

The Success Principles ~ Principle 13

Principle 13 of Jack Canfield's Success Principles is an awesome one: Take Action. I found there were really three key concepts in this chapter: talk is cheap, nothing happens until you take action and fail forward.

Talk is cheap: I, myself, would call this "getting past planning." Canfield explains that so many of us can get caught up in the organizing, analyzing, strategizing, planning that we never get into action. Of course, he's not talking about any of us, right? hehe. I see this as a coach all the time and yes, I see it in the mirror. When you're embarking on something new, particularly something life-changing and dream-building, it often feels so much safer to spend time with the lists and the plans and hope that nobody (including yourself) notices that in fact you are hiding there. Eventually, you have to come out and play. Well, if you really want something to happen, that is.

Nothing happens until you take action: I'm going to rename this one too. I would call it magic happens when you move. When you actually take a step towards your dreams, things and people start to shift around you. Opportunities show up. Connections get made. Magic happens. When you're standing in the wings, with your head still buried in the script, the universe doesn't actually know that you're ready. She thinks you're still preparing. So step out onto the stage and let the show begin!

Fail Forward: Okay, are you already hating the word "fail"? Is it sending you back to the books? In order to become successful at what you want to do, you must be willing to fail, or as my Nia trainer said, "You've got to be willing to suck." To really become great at something, you have to do it. I love the example Jack uses to illustrate this, "The quickest way to hit a target is to fire, see where the bullet landed, and then adjust your aim accordingly." (Okay, I'd change the bullet to an arrow too because gun imagery does not work for me - but I thought the point was key).

What's something that you've been planning but haven't yet taken action on? How about doing it this week and sharing your story with us? How did it feel to go from planning to doing? Did things start to shift? Did you fail gloriously and learn? Did magic happen? If you write it up on your blog, I'll post links to it with next week's Success Principle post.

A Tour of My Garden

I continue to be surprised by the passion and commitment I have to my garden. Some of it is definitely genetic. This week I was able to find a lavatera for my mom and the look of delight on her face when I handed it to her was awesome. And part of it is because of my deep love for transformation. It reminds me that magic exists right here right now and you can make it happen!

Here's what my garden looked like within the first few weeks of us moving into our house:



And here are some of the treasures I enjoy there now.



And this is where we sit and relax and enjoy all that we've done.