Word of the Day-Genuine

A little fun with a competitor
on Dinner Party Wars

Seen today on Twitter
@bifnaked Word of The Day: Genuine

My question is, would you choose another way to be? 

My feeling is that being anything else would simply take more energy than I have. Essentially, what you see is what you get, good or sometimes not so good, being human and all. When I am excited about something, I will share my joy and passion and when I disagree with something, you will know that too.  When I see reasons to celebrate, I will bring you along with me, and I hope you are ready to share the ride!

We live in a world that is tough, expensive, and highly imperfect, where we will have incredible opportunities, great joy, crushing disappointment and challenges which may be related to work, health, family or a specific event we are working on that will take energy to overcome. When you are genuine in sharing times of joy and times of need, you will be amazed at the support you receive, I know I am always fortunate to have support from often unexpected places, and hope that in turn I can genuinely support others.

I agree with Bif, be genuine. Have an authentic day, and do what you need to do.

What does your six year old want?

Last week I had the awesome opportunity to go to Vancouver Fashion Week and enjoy the inspired fashions being created here and from designers from around the globe. Of course half the fun is seeing what other people are wearing. My favorite was a gorgeous lady; fabulous, perfect short blond hair falling perfectly, stunning blue eyes, a ready smile and wearing an uber cute outfit, including a tutu. How utterly fabulous I thought, and said so. Her gleeful response was "My inner six year old is so excited when we get to wear the tutu." 

My mom driving the go Kart

How that made me long to do something nice for my inner six year old, the one hiding under my skirts as I go to work and plan how others will play, take time to teach people how to create great environments to engage and play in, take my kids to their sports and play places... I am on some levels failing at my self-proclaimed mission to have more fun this year. I am succeeding beyond my imagination in creating experiences and being able to share my long earned knowledge with peers and colleagues, and sharing amazing experiences and small stolen, unexpected moments (kumquat)... all grown up fun, and I didn't even realize how much I was missing her until the tutu appeared.

Thank you mysterious child woman for the reminder.  What does your inner child long for?

Things that Rocked in 2010

In no particular order, things that made 2010 amazing.

1. My family (husband, son - 11, daughter - 10) all getting their black belts in Tae Kwon Do.
2. Finishing my first degree - Bachelor of Hospitality Management. This took two years of time spent in the classroom with an awesome peer group, on - line courses and many projects, assignments and exams completed - well worth it now!
3. Winning the opportunity (based on the creative treatment) to produce the Welcome Reception for the MPI WEC10 in Vancouver - and getting a 98% satisfaction survey result in the post-conference delegate survey!
4. Working on my second Olympic and Paralympic Games.
5. Enjoying the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games time in Vancouver with family and friends - amazing sports, pavilions and energy in the city!
6. Taking six entire days off over the holidays - food, friends, family, and skiing!
7. Seeing numerous fabulous programs and events brought to life with the team at Cantrav - the energy each individual pours into the programs and events continues to inspire and impress.
8. Seeing Paris and the surrounding area with my amazing family, and our lovely friends Verena and Kader. (words can't express our appreciation for their hospitality, advice and friendship - they rock!)
9. Babies. So many new lives created, so many friends lives changing in ways they can't imagine - enjoy, and so many challenges we still have friends facing in this arena - your courage and determination astound and inspire.
10. Children and Teens we know - from my own to the many around us that are growing up knowing that here we have a lot and finding ways to share, from Samaritan shoeboxes, to Me to We, to anti-bullying, and to exploring their worlds through the good and the challenging, and finding their way to the "other side" - yes, we did it too and it is amazing to see this next generation being strong, learning and growing.  
11. Twitter. I know, I didn't expect it either but the flow of interesting information, challenging and inspiring thoughts and ideas, and people that are amazing that I would not otherwise know about... it is pretty neat to have access to our world in a whole new way.
12. Friends and family - so many people in Vancouver, BC, Canada, the US and around the world that we don't see enough during these "happy, tired" years but who we do appreciate every second we have with them - whether live, on the phone or through letters, facebook and email - keep it coming folks! 

Please comment and share what rocked your world in 2010!