Take A Bite

A public edition of More Than A Bite, the Pink Apple e-newsletter.

Today's More Than A Bite (Pink Apple's Enewsletter) is sliding in on a Christmas Sleigh straight to your Inbox.  So it has

• an      estimated reading      time of 2-3 mins
• these goodies
  • Save Our Christmas Sanity Messages
  • Secrets to Successful Relationship Article Links
  • Apple Tart Article links (Chris' eclectic mix of interesting       morsels)

We're still breathless after last week's whirlwind of our son's wedding over at Casa Pink Apple, so my message to you is brief.

By the way, may I just offer a warm welcome to all the new subscribers to this edition.  Glad you could join us.

Save our Christmas Sanity Messages

When you first saw the Christmas stuff appearing this year, did you have a little mental skip of excitement, or a sinking feeling (could it be dread?) about all the work ahead?

Well if you get that sinking feeling it suggests you're a Christmas Stress sufferer.   If that's the case you can get the Tips for Christmas Calm by taking a Quick Christmas Stress Test online.  This 2-3 minute test has been prepared by myself and my co-author Karen Wallace.

This year the Owen/Wallace Christmas e-book has become a published A5-size carry-around to get you through the season.

So now we offer Save Our Sanity:The Christmas Calm Manual. 

There are plenty of tips to be found in magazines and online and SOS has plenty of ways to help you solve the regular problems of Christmas.  They focus on budgeting, shopping, cleaning, decorating, relationships and self-care.

But SOS is designed to divert the causes of your stress as much as help you solve the simple problems.  We get you looking at your traditions, your perspectives and making choices that set you up for positive and joy-filled Christmases from HERE ON!

We have a shove-it-in-your-handbag book, a downladable version but we are also offering a WORKSHOP in Melbourne next week!

On top of that, Premium Christmas Coaching services are another and more individualised way to get all the help you need to shed your DREAD!

All purchasers of book and coaching gain access to the password protected area of our new site where extra resources are available.

On the Save Our Christmas Sanity site are also articles about:

• Christmas      Romance
• Tree      Decorating for Dumm- Novices!
• Shopping      Online

Secrets to Successful Relationship Articles

At Take a Bite you'll find thoughts on:

• keeping      secrets in a relationship
• controlling      behaviours in relationships

Apple Tart Articles

On Apple Tart, I've been encouraging readers to take up Karen Wallace's new online magazine The Calm Space. It even looks serene!!!!

Not only do you get lots of thought-provoking hints from my favourite Queen of Calm, but you also get the contributions of several terrific women writers (I  even include myself - modestly - in that!)

The Calm Space is a FREE magazine and Karen describes it as a virtual day-spa for the senses where you can visit for a minute or 10 and get a dose of calm in the process.  She has monthly prizes for all readers and is also currently offering readers the gift of her e-book How to Find the Pause Button for Your Life.   

Well that about sums up this More Than A Bite.

See you next time, and don't forget to pass this newsletter on and help me unveil those secrets!

Warm regards

We're really experiencing WINTER here.  It's unusual because it feels like we've had fairly mild winters for the last couple of years.  But this year it's got COLD.  There's rain, though our water catchments need SO much more to counter the long and torrid drought.  There're fogs, and frost on the grass in the mornings.  The wind is biting and it's "no fun going outside". 

Thank heavens it's warm in here, because we certainly know it's winter out there in the Australian "outdoors".  The shift from a long, late balmy autumn, to winter, seems to have hit so abruptly and forcefully.  It's got me thinking about change.  Whether a change is as good as a holiday is impossible to asses at the moment because all Pink Apple's had happening is Change - no holidays on this horizon!  (yeah I know, the crowd was bitterly disappointed - NOT)

The endlessly immovable force that all humans face is that change is normal. 

So the latest Take A Bite newsletter focuses on change.

I'd love your answers to some of the questions I pose at the end of this article.

Accepting Change

Every day in my business, I am an instrument of change in attitudes, motivations, perspectives, and behaviours.  But like many people, I have my little tussles with accepting change myself, at times.

As I often remind my clients, we can always look back to successful changes we've accomplished before, to keep us focused on how capable we are of adapting to change!

Empty Nesting - The Ghosts of Changes Past

This year has seen much change at Casa Pink Apple.

As an aging babyboomer you'd think I'd be used to change, wouldn't you?  But it was difficult to adjust to having just two mouths to feed, and purchase groceries for, when our nest finally emptied.

That's instead of the five (plus mates, plus various girlfriends) we used to be. 
Don't get me wrong I'm happy to be just us, after 32 years of marriage, but the change needs to be taken in baby steps and even then the last step can feel like a leap into the unknown.

The next change was the loss to Perth of the pooch who's been part of our life for seven years.  Suka the husky has gone with Wild Boy to have some new adventures with his master.

Suka was another change I tussled with, in the beginning.  No dog lover back then, there were serious reservations about such a BIG dog.  But he was only an 8-week puppy when he came to live with all of us.  He GREW all right, but he also grew on me!

Once he and I were the only ones sharing the house during the day (home based business remember!), we became inseparable.  So losing him from my daily life has been far harder than I could have imagined, and deeply ironic for all the friends whose dogs I had ignored/feared over the years!

The Big Clean-up - The Ghost of Changes Present

Recent change has been in my own little office.  It's taken me weeks to rid the office, not to mention my desk and head, of too much information.  As a life-long learner I value all information that comes my way.  But sometimes I can be reluctant to sift the information and retain only what's needed for the here and now.

A little like the compulsive hoarder's back room, the Pink Apple office was being squeezed into inaction by too much stuff!  And so it went!

The relief and freedom to create and do has been massive.  The recycle bin's been pretty massive too!
And there's still more decor-type "improvements" on the planning list.  Read a recent blog post here about the wonderful help I had from Angela Esnouf from Creating order From Chaos.

Plans for Pink Apple's Blog - The Ghosts of Changes Future

In shedding the load I now can start implementing some of my new ideas.

I suspect that the Pink Apple blog will take on a new style and with that will come the separation of musings from Chris Owen, outrageous extrovert, and Pink Apple, Relationship Specialist armed with advice, challenges, and tips.

If I can find an appropriate name, we might even change the title of the Blog, though Our Newsletter will remain Take A Bite.

With a wedding in the family later in the year, I have become acutely aware of what young couples approaching marriage are facing.  And contrary to general thinking it's not just Bridezilla and Groomzilla.

So there'll also be a Pink Apple focus on Preparing for The Marriage not JUST The Wedding.  No!  Lovable Geek and Miss GeeGee I'm NOT suggesting that either of you fit that description!  But you've been out there, you've seen what I mean!

So that's my change, what about yours?

Things to Think About

Just to get you focusing on YOU here's some questions about change that might be right for you?

    * If change is inevitable, what changes have YOU been confronting lately?
    * How are you coping with change in your life?
    * Do you resist it, kicking and screaming and hanging on with all 10 fingernails? 
    * Does that resistance take up more energy than acceptance? 
    * So is that the best use of your energy?
    * Have you worked out yet how to make change possible, and still honour your feelings of fear and inadequacy, as well as excitement and wonder?

Our Quote

"It is not easy for us to change.  But it is possible.  And it is our glory as human beings."            M Scott Peck

Enjoy the little changes you see in your world and take a deep breath before the big ones!

Warm Regards
Chris

By the way, if this article might be relevant for someone you know, please pass it forward.

May 8 Newsletter sent to subscribers.
(If you subscribe to Take  A Bite  - STOP and read no more, because you've seen this already!)

Thanks for welcoming me into your Inbox this fortnight.  I must say you've got a very comfy, cosy, little spot here.  If you don't mind, I'll just sit here and chat with you for a couple of minutes.  You can catch up on Take a Bite and I can steal a few minutes break in MY day as well.

Managing
How do you manage in those times when life seems to be storming by and your weeks seem full to overflowing?

That's what's been happening for me recently.  I went away for a week and boy did I pay!

Not only did my time away create work but so did my empty office back home create work.  It felt like I had bitten off more than I could chew.

Techniques
I'm sure your techniques are like mine when that overwhelmed feeling comes washing in, like those awful tidal waves, or even worse those tsunamis!

At first, it's complete paralysis, then it's the "I wanna run away!" wail, then it's tempting to just put your head under the doona and pretend it 'ain't happenin'.

After that, the desire to survive and manage starts to kick in and the list-writing happens!  At least from there you can make some choices of which bits of the impossible you'll attempt to superman/superwoman your way through!

Even better, then you can decide what can conveniently drop off the list and quietly settle into the rubbish bin or the never-get-done file!

All that is, of course, is managing.  Hanging in there.  Coping!

Breakthrough (well kind of)
But I'm proud to say last weekend I took action.  Knowing I had a zillion things to do and that there was plenty I could do to catch up, I decided not to venture over the doorstep of the office.  (Now when your office is opposite your bedroom door, that's not easy!  It sees you every time you walk past and yells pitifully for your attention.  It even squeals at you in frustration that you're not listening!)

But when you've spent the weekend ignoring the squeals and instead did nurturing, relaxing, unwinding things, Monday morning's to-do list is a whole lot easier to face, manage, and strip back to the essentials.

What About YOU?
So as you manage the constant juggle of too many tasks in your life, what are you going to allow to slip into the never-get-done file?  How will you let go of anxiety about doing that?

What active steps have you taken recently to just be?  To just look after you?  How did they feel?
What?  You haven't done that recently?  So WHEN WILL you?

Why on earth haven't you?  What destructive voice in your head is telling you that you MUST do ___ or ___?  Who gave that voice such authority?  Who can take the authority away?

Aha!  YOU can!  So when will you?

I'm glad to hear it!

Lately on Pink Apple's Take A Bite Blog
If you haven't visited Take A Bite's blog recently then you missed:

• Pink Apple musing about being distant from home and love. 
• Some Rapid Fire learning in April where Pink Apple made some discoveries.  Discoveries about plunging in, how negative comparisons are all relative and how sometimes you can forget to breathe (see above).
• And finally there was a report of the Energy Boosters for Your Success Zing-By-Phone call!

Watch out for notice of the next call, coming soon.

In the meantime, our quote for your contemplation:

"There is no pleasure in having nothing to do;
the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it."                             Mary Wilson Little

Thanks for offering me such a comfy seat and a cosy chat in your Inbox. 

See you soon. Chris

(If you'd like to receive something like this in your Inbox each fortnight. then go to the top right corner of this site and sign up.  In thanks you'll receive,  a bonus Tips Page.)