Last Call for Abseiling from Lisa Lindley - Details below

Hello everyone!

I am just getting final numbers for our abseiling adventure.  Apologies if you have already replied, just easier to send a group email.

To all past and present members of the Sunshine Coast PND Support Group and friends (anyone welcome to join us)

You are invited to an opportunity of a lifetime!! Want to conquer your fears, build trust, empower yourself, feel strong and invincible, have some fun, make new friends and support each other? We are going to have a morning of abseiling with  a first class company , Corporate FAME Australia and have organised for our group to spend the morning abseiling at Mt Tinbeerwah.

 Abseiling is an exciting activity that is surprisingly easy – no previous experience required!

 An adventure packed experience in a fun, safe environment!

Abseiling is conducted at Mt Tinbeerwah, well known for its spectacular views and close proximity to Noosa (only 15mins drive from Hastings St!!).

After an equipment and safety briefing, our guides will train you in a flat ground practice abseil, where you’ll learn the basic skills and procedures involved in abseiling. This allows participants to take-on the awesome rock face descents with a greater level of confidence and a clearer understanding of what’s involved!

Date:  Saturday 17 October 2009

Time:  8.15am – 1pm

Lunch:  bring a picnic lunch to share at the grounds when we finish

Cost:  10 or more people = $30 per person (less than HALF price!)

What To Bring: Hat, sunscreen, water, closed in footwear, camera, picnic lunch and your sense of adventure. For you comfort, no  skirts or ‘short’ shirts.

Transport: Meet at Maroochy Baptist Centre car park at 8.15 am and we will car pool  to Mt Tinbeerwah and back again by 1pm.

Liz and I both have 7 seaters

Address: Mt Tinbeerwah Address is Mt.Tinbeerwah Rd. drive right to the top and you'll see the carpark. UBD ref map 6

Grab your diary, get the day off work, organise child care, and take the step for YOURSELF!!

YOU CAN DO IT!! J

Hello everyone!

I am just getting final numbers for our abseiling adventure.  Apologies if you have already replied, just easier to send a group email.

To all past and present members of the Sunshine Coast PND Support Group and friends

You are invited to an opportunity of a lifetime!! Want to conquer your fears, build trust, empower yourself, feel strong and invincible, have some fun, make new friends and support each other? We are going to have a morning of abseiling with  a first class company , Corporate FAME Australia and have organised for our group to spend the morning abseiling at Mt Tinbeerwah.

 Abseiling is an exciting activity that is surprisingly easy – no previous experience required!

 An adventure packed experience in a fun, safe environment!

Abseiling is conducted at Mt Tinbeerwah, well known for its spectacular views and close proximity to Noosa (only 15mins drive from Hastings St!!).

After an equipment and safety briefing, our guides will train you in a flat ground practice abseil, where you’ll learn the basic skills and procedures involved in abseiling. This allows participants to take-on the awesome rock face descents with a greater level of confidence and a clearer understanding of what’s involved!

Date:  Saturday 17 October 2009

Time:  8.15am – 1pm

Lunch:  bring a picnic lunch to share at the grounds when we finish

Cost:  10 or more people = $30 per person (less than HALF price!)

What To Bring: Hat, sunscreen, water, closed in footwear, camera, picnic lunch and your sense of adventure. For you comfort, no  skirts or ‘short’ shirts.

Transport: Meet at Maroochy Baptist Centre car park at 8.15 am and we will car pool  to Mt Tinbeerwah and back again by 1pm.

Liz and I both have 7 seaters

Address: Mt Tinbeerwah Address is Mt.Tinbeerwah Rd. drive right to the top and you'll see the carpark. UBD ref map 6

Grab your diary, get the day off work, organise child care, and take the step for YOURSELF!!

YOU CAN DO IT!! J

 Don’t miss out – register with Lisa on 0417540820 ASAP

Perspective cont ..some Optional Extra MOPS in the break

As a Planning Team we are always looking at ways to explore each topic and make it relevant to you - our MOPS Mums.

Sometimes we have more ideas than what our timeframe/schedule allows and it is not possible to cover all that we come up with or follow every idea to completion.

In some of our earlier planning meetings we considered linking the topic of Perspective back to How We See Ourselves or how our PERCEPTION of our SELF changes once we become a mum.

We played around with the ideas generated from this years Logo with the carnival theme - dicussing the Hall of Mirrors etc

However we have opted to go down a different path as we have an opportunity we dont want to miss as our Regional Coordinator Karen Askey-Doran has agreed to speak to us on Oct 16th and this will be excellent. Put it in your diary. Dont miss this one.....it may be the last chance we have to have Karen as Guest Speaker before she packs up the campervan and heads off for a 12mth (24,th??) around Australia (and NZ?) JOURNEY.

So looking fwd to that (bring your friends along) yet some of the info we had in mind is good stuff and I am opting to post some bits and pieces here as an 'optional extras'.

Consider it a MINI Online MOPS in the term break.

Perhaps you will get some time to read/take a look at in the break from MOPS over the school hols and give you your "MOPS fix" while you wait for Oct 16th to roll around.

We look fwd to seeing you then (Bring a friend!).

Ok so here is some info on Body Shapes etc.

The Cardigan Empire: is a website with great info on body shapes including how to measure yourself to assess what body shape you are and lots of info on what to wear for what shape (see buttons on the right hand side for curvy , linear etc). She likens them to fruit etc such as Celery for Linear.

On the same site she has great info on suitable Bra and Swimmers/Togs for various breast sizes and recently had a lot of excellent information on what colours can and cant you wear etc.

http://www.cardiganempire.com

Susannah and Trinny have some great books such as What Not to Wear - ways to dress to suit your body shape etc. They also have one called The Body Shape Bible that sets out 12 body shapes that we all fit into (or are perhaps a combination of 2) such as Pear, Skittle, Column, Apple, Vase, Cornet etc. There is a great summary of it here with photos and descriptions of all 12 bosy shapes and examples of suitable outfits.

Or see their website by clicking HERE. The website seems a little unfinished/unedited as well as has their usual no nonsense in your face language/style. And I have to say they are really obsessed with food and body image (or at least seem that way in their blog entries - they read like a version of Bridget Jones detailing weight and what they ate and how "fat" and "hideous" th ey are !!!!) and all this negativity despite the great work they do showing you dont need plastic surgery etc to "look good" you just need to learn what works and doesnt work for your body shape.

I am really interested in The Beauty Myth and how the media puts fwd an unrealistic unattianable example of women and what we "should" look like, what is "attractive" etc. It is fascincating to follow historically and culturally how this varies.

I feel really strongly that all women (and girls - for those that have sisters, daughters, nieces etc) need to educate themselves and be media savvy.

The Body Shop ran an excellent "Real Woman" campaign several years back and I think the statistic was less than 1% of the worlds female population fit the bill of Supermodel. Pure genetics really. And many of them were ostracised and bullied at school for being abnormal - too tall, too skinny, strange nose, eyes too far apart etc.

And I am sure you have all heard the one about Barbie's dimensions translated to real life - apparently she would topple over as too "topheavy" not in proportion and with the waist ratio etc would apparently cease menstruating and not be able to fall pregnant (let alone where would she fit a baby growing as her body shape leaves insufficient room for a womb etc).

Now I know she's just a plastic doll and in one way should be seen as just that but impressionable young minds start developing ideas and concepts about gender and womanhood and appearance from a young age and Barbie presents something unattainable.

Dont even get me started on Bratz dolls!

And then we have Photoshopping ! There are many examples of how Photo Shopping etc present a false reality that we can buy into and compare ourselves to.

Here is a before Photoshop and after Photoshop of the actress Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba in all her natural beauty on the left vs the photoshopped Jessica Alba on the right.

Why would you? She's gorgeous enough as it is in her natural form I would have thought but no - the waist has to be skinnier the skin more tanned the breasts more out there and the hair/face more perfect apparently! I can understand the need for some photoshopping to enhance the image, alter the background etc improve the quality of the photo to make it magazine ready but really .... were all these changes necessary?

No wonder so many women struggle with beauty and appearance and body image and eating disorders when we are presented with images in the media on TV and in magazines and on billboards and compare ourselves daily (many times daily - consciously or subconsciously) to something/someone that is not even real to start with.

DOVE has run some excellent Real Women and Pro Age campaigns recently.

There is also this Dove ad which I think is awesome and remains one of my favourite examples of what extremes are taken in the name of adverting showing what it takes to make someone "poster perfect". Click on the Play Button to watch this video. (take a look at the very clever Dove Parody available on You Tube also where they turn a young man into a "slob" with the final poster reading "Lardo" - a very clever take off of the original).




as it says at the end of this Dove Evolution movie - "no wonder our perception of beauty is distorted".

and then there's all the claims that skincare and beauty products promise...it would be a very long post if I was to start on those

Be wise to this! Educate yourself. Educate your daughters. Set a great role model for your daughters about appearance and beauty and body image. Dont devalue your body in front of them (or ever! - learn how not to do this if you struggle with it). Focus on and teach your daughters to focus on WHAT YOUR BODY CAN DO and its STRENGTHS rather than what it looks like and that it wobbles and isnt how you would like it to be. Celebrate real beauty and womanhood. Teach them to critically review what they see and hear and read in the media and society rather than take it all blindly at face value.

I would love to hear your Comments and thoughts here or hear of any other examples you know of along these lines.

Just came across this too and thought would add to this section on Body Image - gorgeous photos of an UNPHOTOSHOPPED model in Glamour magazine (and article to go along with it)

Session Summary - Sept 18th: PERSPECTIVE

Today we started the next topic in the  

MOPS 09 Curriculum 

which is  

Perspective.

Perspective is all about the way you look at or see things.

Do you see a Duck or a Rabbit in the image above?

Once you have interpreted it as one thing how hard/easy is it to see the other?

Do you have to "shift your perspective" and look at it a different way or from a different angle. Perhaps you need someone else with their point of view to show you another way of looking at it.

We explored the topic of PERSPECTIVE 

as it relates to 

The Adventure of Mothering

Mia gave us the following quiz:

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and
actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz.

See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.

Easier?

The lesson:

The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.
Mia then read an extract from the book by Stasi Elredge called Captivating.

This book is all about womanhood and what it means to be truly feminine and how the post-feminism world has devalued womanhood and femininity etc. The extract Mia read out emphasised that while as mums we may not get a lot of recognition or feedback for the role we do as mums it IS important if not THE most important role. We all need mums!

We watched the DVD on this topic and then talked about

This message (of the importance/value of motherhood) was also emphasised in the DVD with the line that while we may not get a "Great job well done" every time we change a dirty "diaper" or cook meal or clean the house, when we take a step back and see the bigger picture - raising children and creating happy healthy future adults really IS important and solid research backs up the importance of the primary caregiver for attachment and development etc so HANG IN THERE! You matter & MOTHERING MATTERS.

We then had discussion time based around the question - "when have you had to change your perspective (look at things differently or from a different angle) or keep things in perspective as a mum"


Craft today was a Magnetic Notepad that we decorated and M/Tea was "Food with Faces".


I had a powerpoint of Optical Illusions to tie in with the theme of Perspective and the idea that the way we look at things/what we foucs on can alter what we see however it wouldnt work. I opted to focus on The Big Picture and not get hung up or "fixated" on the detail and getting everything "right" (as per todays DVD).....realising all was not lost and I could still share them with you via the blog ...

so here are a few of the Optical Illusions to keep you entertained.

How many legs does this elephant have?

Can you see how this man could be called a Liar?

This one will spin you out a little (if you stare at it long enough )

Are the red bars straight or bent?

How many black dots are there? Count the black dots. Count the white dots.

What do you see? Black block shapes or lift?

And finally - stare at this image for 20-30 seconds

(focusing on/around the heart shapes may help)

then look away to a plain wall.

What do you see?

(It may help to blink as you look at the wall)

The Joy Diet

I have never actually been on a "diet" and don't ever intend to...(Why? Short answer: While I do believe in healthy eating and a balance between intake and output the vast majority of "diets" are 'fads', based on misinformation, some are downright unhealthy to harmful, but most of all they just do not work. That and I love food way too much).

However I think this is one "diet" that I actually could take on board and start immediately:

Welcome to The Joy Diet - a menu of 10 behaviours you can add to your way of living and thinking to enhance every day’s journey through the unpredictable terrain of your existence

You can add these behaviours gradually and watch your life become steadily more vivid and satisfying. Or you can go on a “crash Joy Diet” to help you navigate life’s emergencies.

The ten menu items are:

Nothing: Do nothing for fifteen minutes a day. Stop mindlessly chasing goals and figure out which goals are worth going after.

Truth: Create a moment of truth to help you unmask what you’re hiding—from others and from yourself.

Desire: Identify, articulate, and explore at least one of your heart’s desires—and learn how to let yourself want what you want.

Creativity: Learn six new ways to develop at least one new idea to help you obtain your heart’s desire.

Risk: Take one baby step toward reaching your goal. The only rule is it has to scare the pants off you.

Treats: Give yourself a treat for every risk you take and two treats just because you’re you. No exceptions. No excuses.

Play: Take a moment to remember your real life’s work and differentiate it from the games you play to achieve it. Then play wholeheartedly.

Laughter: Laugh at least thirty times a day. Props encouraged.

Connection: Use your Joy Diet skills to interact with someone who matters to you.

Feasting: Enjoy at least three square feasts a day, with or without food. A ‘feast’ is getting absorbed in anything that appeals to your senses – indulging in things that look, taste, feel, smell and sound beautiful.

Feedback on the MOPS Fundraiser Photos

Nicola Brander who took the MOPS Fundraiser Photos would like some feedback from the families who had photos taken at Cotton Tree. Please msg her on Facebook or email me (my email address is on all our newsletters) and I will fwd these to Nicola to let her know what you thought of your pics that she took.

Session Summary - Sept 4: Dads Panel

Being so close to Fathers Day, today we had a panel of 4 Dads join us at MOPS to share about their Journey of Fatherhood - Ps Lloyd Miller (pastor at MBC and father of 3 boys), Daniel Askey-Doran, husband of our Regional Coordinator Karen and father of 3 girls and one boy, Alab (father of 3, grandfather of ?) and Mark Beard (husband to Tracey our Creative Activities leader and father of 3).

The panel were asked to respond to questions we had gathered from MOPS Mums in the week prior.

Some of the questions included:
(To be Added when I find my list)

It was an honour to have these men join us for MOPS and to share so honestly and openly about being Dads.


Happy Fathers Day to them all and to all Dads out there.

Craft was a scrapped/decorated "Dads Bag" with homemade fudge and Love Coupons of your choice. A big thankyou to all the Fudge makers.

Here is the FUDGE RECIPE for anyone who has a hankering for it:

CHOCOLATE FUDGE
500 g plain chocolate (can be dark, milk or white)*
1/4 cup butter
1 tin condensed milk
Nuts (optional)

Place all ingredients in glass/microwaveable bowl and microwave for 4 mins on med-high
Pout into a foil lined tray and set in fridge
Cut into small squares and enjoy

*NOTE: Do not use chocolate with runny filling ie peppermint, turkish delight etc as the fudge will not set properly

* Ps Lloyd asked me to make a special announcement after the panel that I'm afraid we didn't have time for, but that I would like to add here. He asked me to say something to let everyone know that he was aware that not all of us listening to the panel may have had good experiences with our own Fathers or perhaps with our current partners/husbands struggling to be good partners/husbands/Dads. He wanted us all to know that he was aware of this and to acknowledge the pain that this can cause.

If you would like to speak to anyone further about any concerns or relationships etc please speak to your Table Leader or any of the MOPS team for referrals to appropriate services (counselling, mentors, services, pastoral care etc)

Excellent article on Praise (Ways to Make it Effective, some cautions)

Excellent newspaper article summarising some of the research on Praise can be found here.

SOME POINTS ON PRAISE:

Remember that Praise is an effective way to teach a new skill or behaviour and it is important to "catch children being good" etc.

It is also important to be mindful that Praise should be Specific (thankyou for coming straight away when I asked) not Global (good boy) and Descriptive (telling a child exactly what it is they are doing that you like not just saying that they are "good"  or "clever").

It is impt to praise effort/hard work/persistence etc  (sometimes called "encouragement" rather than praise but is still a form of praise) and not just praise a child for their intelligence or the outcome/end product. A child can control/has a sense of control over effort/practice/work they dont have this sense of control over "Intelligence" (they tend to think in black and white terms of "I'm smart" or "I'm dumb" and not see intelligence as something that can be learnt. Impt to teach that the brain is a muscle and like all muscles gets bigger and better with use and practice.

Better to say "you worked really hard at that and kept going even when it was a little tricky" than to say "gee you're smart".

Important that praise is sincere, specific, not overused or used too liberally.

Important that praise is INTERMITTENT (not every time) otherwise children will not be able to deal with frustration or wont develop the ability to perservere or self assess progress.

Impt to develop instrinsic rewards (built into the activity/internal) not always relying on external/verbal praise ("wow look how tidy the room is. Its nice to know everything is looked after/nice to come home to a tidy house etc")  and impt to be develop an internal self assessment of how they are doing without always looking to somone else for this feedback.

All this said - praise is too valuable to drop completely. Just be aware of these cautions or ways to make praise more effective.