Wednesday 30 April 2014

HOMELESS ON HASTINGS








Do you have a fabulous idea in your head and passion in your heart?
Do you know what needs to be don?

Or are you anxious about how to translate this fabulous idea from our head and heart into the real world? 
If so, read on!
Help is a few sentences away.

I want to show you how it's done; in three easy to follow, simple steps.

Let me introduce you to Jackie Maclean:



Mother of four, Medical Hypnotist, Doer, Organiser, Master Networker and on her mission to make the world a less hungry place.

Her world is Downtown Vancouver, along East Hastings / corner of Main (the dodgy part of Vancouver).



Her passion project is called Homeless on Hastings





Here is us chatting and on location:



What started off with a couple of friends on her kitchen table turned into a well organised Sunday morning activity for countless volunteers.
Together, once a month, they prepare hundreds of sweet and savory sandwiches.
All made with love. 
All made with donated goods by various 
generous individuals and companies.  

Three years later a second location (Langley) has been added to fill the tummies of the needy.  

So how did Jackie do it?
Well, here is a 3-step plan to take your passion from your head and into the world:
  

1.Know your cause and be passionate about it.

Your cause can be based on something you read about, saw or experienced in real life! 
Jackie's passion to feed the hungry comes from real life experiences:  
She grew up among poverty in Mumbai and remembers vividly what hunger tastes like and poverty smells like.

2. Get out of your own way, stop making excuses!

Jackie didn't know exactly how she wanted to feed the homeless, all she knew is she wanted to do it.
The true passionistas among us stop debating, analysing, researching, calculating, worrying, analysing a bit more and just...get on with it.
Jackie recruited a few of her friends, bought her own sandwich supplies and started making sandwiched in her own kitchen.
She wrapped them up, loaded them into her car and drove Downtown. Just like that. So simple, so easy- a course filled with love.

3. Start with baby steps.

I just told you about the baby steps.
Be persistent, be on it, believe in yourself, keep on going.

And here is the secret:

Jackie asks for what she wants and what she needs!
Can you help me?
Could you donate something? 
It is this simple, this easy.

Please keep the following in mind:

As long as we are crystal clear about our WHY
the HOW (to do it) will take care of itself!


Three years later Jackie oversees a whole crew of big hearted volunteers of all ages, gender and professions.
Today they prepare sandwiches twice a month for two separate locations, Langley and Vancouver.
Homeless on Hastings is the place if you want to give back to the community. 




Here is the official Facebook page for a quick LIKE or updates on 
what's going on.  
If you want to know more about Jackie or Homeless on Hastings,
please get in touch with her here

Jackie Maclean
Clinical Hypnotherapist
604 551 4986
info@ThePowerWithin.ca
www.ThePowerWithin.ca


 or visit the website: www.Homeless on Hastings.com












Wednesday 16 April 2014

How Interior Design Could Save Your Marriage


THE IMPORTANCE OF A GREAT PAINT JOB - 
and other great stuff from DUHITA SPECK, interior designer!








Ha, I knew it:  it's in our genes!
We women love, want + need to paint, decorate or re-arrange our home every so often! 
As always, it's the small stuff that makes our life and home extraordinary!
  
Yes, it is in our genes alright. I just never new why.
Why does my mom go all cookoo over a new bed spread whilst my father couldn't care less?
Why is it my dad can fall asleep everywhere and my mom needs to make it all cosy first? She (and I as a matter of fact) can't get comfortable until her resting area is all neat, clean and tidy.

Well, I had the good fortune to find out with my guest Duhita Speck, professional organiser, home stager + interiors designer.




 
 
 
Believe it or not, we chatted for over an hour! For the sake of time I had to cut out so many juicy bits!
Here are some of them:
 
The most organised room for a mother should be her kitchen!
For an entrepreneur it should be his / her office.
Education is priceless!
However, just because you have an education doesn't mean you will be successful!
 If you don't have an eye, a natural talent or the personality to go along with your education you can stay put.
 
 
 
Choosing an interior decorator is very tricky because it's very personal!
The designer needs to be in tune with you and your psychology!.
Here is a check list to find our perfect match:
 
Contact at least three prospects.
Have a chat with each and everyone on the phone first.
How engaging is the designer?
 Does he / she asks lots of questions, wants to know about you, what you really want and why?  
 
If yes, invite your favourite 'voice' into your home for a consultation!
 
And from then onwards it will be: "Happy designing or re-designing!"
 
 
If you want to get in touch with Duhita, please go to
 
Now I would love to hear from you:
 
Could you please share with me if you have a set of spring / winter cutlery set?
 How often do you re-decorate your home?
 And most importantly, how do you do it?
 
Once again, Happy decorating from me to you!
Don't let your husband talk you out of it- now you know why it is important to us!!!
 
 
 
 

Wednesday 9 April 2014

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF YVRFOODIES / Vancouver Meet Up group



Life is like a bottle of ketchup, you always know what your gonna get: Routine and familiarity!
                                         or

Life is like his younger sister Hot Sauce, full of flavour and taste!

Photo by C.Waschko


 As energetic, spontaneous or creative I might be I love ketchup.

 Especially on a Sunday: Until late morning you can find me tucked in our bed, reading a book, sipping freshly made coffee out of my favourite cup.
The only pressing matter I need to consider is when and where I am going for a run- the rest of the day is spend in comfortable routine activities.

Not on the previous Sunday though.
I had the fantastic opportunity to film an episode for MotherpreneurTV during 
the get-together of   (YVR Foodies! )Meet-up group here in Vancouver!

Event host Ricky Shetty, photo C. Waschko

Before you read any further you need to know this one thing: Foodies (lovers of food) and I have as much in common as fish and a bicycle.
Of course I eat. I just don't get all gooey, gooey over it.
My favourite recipe is called "Fast" and
the only reason I watch Jamie Oliver is to listen to his cute British accent.

For the longest time I wrecked my brain how Foodies fit into the "Kiss your Excuses Goodbye" theme of us Motherpreneurs.

Well, we are mothers and
I could give you 5 Awesome Tips of How to Eat Healthy in a Restaurant - compiled by Adam Hart, keynote speaker, author and creator of POWER OF FOOD.

Adam Hart, photo by. C.Waschko


After some debating with myself I decided to do this: 
I filmed the event from a non-foodie point of view  and asked questions I always wanted to ask food obsessed individuals: Do you actually make healthy choices when you eat out in a restaurant? or, What to you prefer, sex or food? (Well, if I am allowed to ask I should ask the relevant questions).

My Sauerkraut and Currywurst loving self is so in the wrong city! Vancouverites love food. Restaurant owners toppling all over themselves to offer their clienteles fresh, healthy, organic, locally grown produce, lovingly prepared...food (or so I heard).


So, my first objective is to entertain you and secondly, to encourage and motivate you!
If your Sunday afternoon looks and tastes like a bottle of ketchup (just like mine) I want to encourage you to swap to Hot Sauce!
Go out, spice up your weekend with the company of strangers! You will be surprised how much fun you can have if you just ...go and make the effort!

Hanging with strangers, making new contacts and perhaps even make new friends feels like a mini holiday for body, soul and mind! A new location, new taste experiences, new impressions, new individuals to chat with....it all adds up, doesn't it?

With Michael Rubin, photo C. Waschko


Singer/ song writer Angie Faith, photo C.Waschko

We Motherpreneurs and Foodies have a few things in common:

We are passionate about something (food vs. our dream).
We both need to get off our butt to either create a dish, walk to a restaurant or to make our passionate dream come true!
See, here we have it, Foodies and Motherpreneurs are 'sort of' the same!
Allrighty, I know it takes more effort on our part, but you get the point!

And here you can watch for yourself: How Foodies entertain Foodies!


And last not least:
Four more awesome tips on how to eat healthy in a restaurant, compiled by Adam Hart:

-2. Skip the bread basket.
-3. Order dessert at the same time as your main meal (you will eat less main to keep room for dessert)
4.-  Try not to drink too much before, during or after your meal (liquid waters down the enzymes we need to digest our food)
-5. Add plant based nutrients to every meal (e.g. hemp seeds. They will keep our blood sugar leveled)

What do you think?
Any ideas on how to eat healthy in a restaurant?
I would love to hear from you!


Wednesday 2 April 2014

WHY STRANGERS MAKE GREAT BUSINESS PARTNERS

Let's do a quick personality test, shall we?

Imagine you are desperate for a product (e.g. a hand soap that feels like jello to the touch)
or a service (e.g. flexible, affordable childcare) and you can't find it!

What would you do?
1. Wish, hope and pray that one day, somewhere, someone is answering your prayers?
= The Believer

2. The stop worrying about it and resign to the fact "Oh well, tough luck, it doesn't exist."
= The Mover

3. You get angry and frustrated about its non-existence and you can't sleep for the next 90 days until you track down a company somewhere on this planet who offers something similar.
= The Finder
or
4. You roll up your sleeves and get going creating your own lab, either for creating jello-like soap or offering office space with flexible childcare!
= Motherpreneur / Fatherpreneur

This is exactly what Michelle Abraham + Steph Wagner did.
Steph was so frustrated not having affordable, flexible childcare at hand that she created MWORKLAB.
How Steph and Michelle found each other is a totally different story.
Please find out here:

 
Do you like the idea?
Have you ever experienced working in a worklab?
If so, how did you enjoy it?
 
Please leave us a comment below!
I look forward to hearing from you!
So long, Christina