Love will keep us together if we remember to exercise it. Choose Love.
In the next few days, weeks and maybe longer we will all be faced with decisions in our lives that will affect others. Some immediately and some long term. I ask you when you are making those decisions before you act on them, think about those choices. I ask you, no I implore you, to choose love.
Before you stockpile for your family only, ask yourself, “Am I choosing Love at this moment?”
Before you go out instead of social distancing, ask yourself, “Am I choosing Love at this moment?”
Before you go to work instead of working from home ask yourself, “Am I choosing Love at this moment?”
You may think I am being overly dramatic in my words and maybe to you, a healthy, uncompromised person, maybe I am.
But I am a two-time cancer fighter and barely out of my second bout with it. I now have Hashimoto’s autoimmune disease. If I got sick, it would be dire. There are others like me or who are older, have illnesses like mine or worse. We are not as healthy as you, and you may be putting us at risk.
I am writing this hoping it is a matter of “I didn’t think about it that way.” Instead of a matter of “I could care less.”
All I am asking is that you stop and think about your actions, your words, your behavior.
We have the capability to get through this on one condition…if we do it together.
Not just the United States, I mean the World!
We the WORLD can get through this together!
I truly believe we can accomplish that through love.
Houses burning! Koalas and kangaroos fleeing for their life, begging for water, Australia is suffering and its time we do something
As usual, on my Sunday morning, I was scrolling through my Instagram when I came across this post from Instagrammer @Kelter123
I don’t know about you or how all of this news in Australia is affecting you but for me, it breaks my heart. I put down my phone and cried and cried. I feel so helpless. I feel like there is nothing I can do. I feel like I am way over here in America and the relief I normally could offer can’t be done like I usually do. Then what can I do!!!??? Once I stopped crying, I reposted the Instagram post on Facebook and in one of my groups. Then I decided to write this article to post here and in a couple other places online in hopes that by raising awareness and spreading the message, links and aids that people realize that it takes a village and we are all in this together.
Some of you may be callused and tell me “Why am I crying? I am not the one suffering.” You are right. I am not the one suffering. That does not mean I don’t care. Some of you may say “Australia is not my problem.” You have a right to that opinion. However, I disagree with you. I am a starfish saver. (Read the Starfish Story to understand) One person can make a difference. I have always thought that and know it to be true. I believe it even more so seeing the impact and difference Greta Thurnburg made in ONE YEAR!
I also have a different view of things because of my two recent battles with cancer (2016-2017) (2019). What if people said, ” I don’t have cancer, why should I care?” Luckily for me, they did care and helped out and brought me food and took me to chemo. I also see life differently. You hear this a lot in cancer patients. I see it all the time. We see life as more precious than we did before. I see this now. To be honest, I don’t know that I ever really thought about Australia before. I do know one thing, I know and truly care about Austalia and all the world a lot more now. I care about a lot of things more than I used to.
We are in this world together. You may think that what happens on the other side of the world does not affect us, but it does. There are two theories I believe that support this.
One is The Ripple Effect. One thing does relate to the other. Life creates a ripple and that ripple continues on. I believe this happens in our world as well. It is called the Ripple Effect.
A ripple effect is a situation in which, like ripples expanding across the water when an object is dropped into it, an effect from an initial state can be followed outwards incrementally.
I believe how we act, interact and what we do or don’t do about and for Australia matters and thus will create a positive ripple effect if we react positively.
The second is The Butterfly Effect.
In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministicnonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. The butterfly effect is most familiar in terms of weather; it can easily be demonstrated in standard weather prediction models, for example. The climate scientists James Annan and William Connolley explain that chaos is important in the development of weather prediction methods; models are sensitive to initial conditions. They add the caveat: “Of course the existence of an unknown butterfly flapping its wings has no direct bearing on weather forecasts since it will take far too long for such a small perturbation to grow to a significant size, and we have many more immediate uncertainties to worry about. So the direct impact of this phenomenon on weather prediction is often somewhat wrong.
As I was searching around for more answers I had a hunch I was not the only one to feel this way and I happened upon this user who also felt the same way about the fires in Australia affecting us.
Wonder what the Butterfly effect of [this] will be. We all know the chaos theory butterfly effect of if a butterfly flaps its wings, well. Certainly less chaos at play with a large fire on this scale and its global impact.
Climate change affects us all and I can’t recall a year without some disaster of fire/flooding/eruptions or other weather/climate related effect of extreme that indirectly affects us all. The climate does not know about country borders, and any solution equally needs to be a borderless approach by all.
I know we have the UN, but its remit is so broad in many respects and the political bureaucracy that entails, slows and distracts from issues like this that any response is never timely or as you would expect.
Imagine if globally we didn’t have country pride and ego’s in the way when it came to dealing with such disasters. After all, whilst this is a fire in Australia, the effects will in various forms, be felt by all across the globe. Alas not as directly accountable as people like and hard to measure, but it will have an impact.
After all, if a butterfly wing flap can cause a storm across the other side of the globe – then I’d say fire the size of a small country is going to have a much larger impact and with less chaotic uncertainty about it.
The sad thing is, if the climate was a weapon owned by one country, you can bet the rest of the World would have got its act together. After all, we have NATO for dealing with a far lower threat, indeed, if firefighting had a military sized budget – there would be no fires.
Oddly, this is the only user I could find who thought this way or should I say who spoke openly online that I could find anyway. I agree with him imagine if we didn’t have a country ego in the way? The last paragraph really was profound to me “…if the climate was a weapon owned by one country, you can bet the rest of the World would have got its act together.”
The reality is this…there will be an impact. You can deny it, you can say it won’t affect us in America or wherever you are, but it will. One thing DOES affect the other. We are in a new year, this is a new decade, let us make a better world before we have no world left to fight for!
I gathered some information below for you from some other resources. Citations and links below…
Please find it in your heart to do something for Australia. They need you. The world needs you.
(If any group or organization wants me to write further articles or anything…please reach out to me if there is more I can do)
I was tagged by a friend for any crafters that want to help…
Do you knit, crochet or sew?
Would you be interested in making pouches, nests, wraps, onesies, sweaters, mittens & bird boxes for the animals affected by the fires in Australia?
The mailing address to send your items to us:
Dani Lloyd-Prichard
31 Albert Street
Warners Bay
NSW Australia
2282
How you can help
A number of organizations and volunteer services are aiding in the firefighting and recovery efforts for affected communities. Whether you want to help the firefighting organizations, wildlife or just provide somewhere to sleep, you can find a ton of handy links and information below:
Raise awareness! You can tweet and share and post this story — and dozens of others — all across the web. More eyeballs = more help.
Foodbank is taking donations to help people in need during the crisis. You can donate at its website to the Victorian relief effort, which helps get relief for communities cut off from power and food.
Givit is a not-for-profit organization that cares for those in need by letting you donate goods it then passes on. It accepts items or money at its donation page.
The RSPCA bushfire appeal is used to protect the pets, livestock and wildlife affected by bushfires, helping evacuate animals from disaster zones. Items like livestock pellets and possum boxes are also incredibly handy.
Airbnb has established an emergency housing site for those displaced by the bushfires via its Open Homes initative. You can book free accommodation in certain areas of New South Wales and Victoria.
The St Vincent de Paul society is helping people on the ground in rebuilding, providing food and clothing and emotional support. It has a donation page here.
Zoos Victoria have established a Bushfire Emergency Wildlife Fund which funds emergency vet assistance and “scientific intervention.” You can donate to the fund here and it seems to accept PayPal and credit cards.
The Port Macquarie Koala Hospital has already raised in excess of $2 million to help search for and protect the koalas in the region. You can donate at its GoFundMe page.
Another GoFundMe page has been set up as a relief fund for First Nations communities to offer “culturally sensitive, specific direct support to some of those communities with critical costs to cover expenses.”
Wires is an Australia wildlife rescue organization with a myriad ways to help Australia’s native fauna. Donations can be made through its website.
Actor and comedian Celeste Barber is running a fundraiser for the Trustee for NSW Rural Fire Service and Brigades donations fund. You can donate on the fundraiser’s Facebook page.
Stranger Things actor Dacre Montgomery established his own GoFundMe on behalf of the Red Cross. The link to the GoFundMe is here.
A useful resource if you want to buy products from rural communities is Australia’s Buy From The Bush. It highlights creators and artists from regional Australia you can buy from as they face drought and now bushfire.
GenerOZity is a charity marathon event in Australia including some of the country’s biggest content creators. Creators will be livestreaming to raise funds for the fires starting Jan. 16 and the charity has a fundraiser set up with a $10,000 goal.
Run your online searches through Ecosia, which uses profits to plant trees where they’re needed most. Trees help reduce the carbon dioxide load. It can be added to Chrome.
This information is broke down a bit different but some of the information is the same:
How to help evacuees
Donate to the Australian Red Cross, which is supporting thousands of people in evacuation and recovery centers across the country. Local residents can volunteer their services.
Donate to the Salvation Army Australia, which is providing meals and support to evacuees and first responders in multiple locations.
Extra room in your home? Offer to host people in need of emergency housing on AirBnB.
Donate to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which is helping evacuated families recover. The organization is providing food and clothing, helping cover bills, and donating household items to those whose homes have been destroyed.
Donate food, funds or services to Foodbank, the largest hunger-relief charity in Australia.
Donate to a GoFundMe dedicated to displaced First Nations Communities that need to rebuild.
Donate food, toiletries and household items using Givit.
Additionally, actor and comedian Celeste Barber is also hosting a fundraiser for the Trustee for NSW Rural Fire Service and Brigades donations fund.
Donate to Victoria’s firefighting service, Country Fire Authority. The service is also managing locals who want to provide accommodation for people who have been displaced.
Donate to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital‘s GoFundMe, which has rescued and treated dozens of koalas suffering from severe burns. The hospital is using donations to install automatic drinking stations in burnt areas to help wildlife searching for water and to establish a wild koala breeding program to ensure the survival of the species.
Donate to the RSPCA New South Wales, which is helping evacuate, rescue and treat pets and wildlife in threatened areas.
Trisha Trixie Hunter-Merrill
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Certified Practitioner
Her mission and purpose in life is to leave a Legacy of Love, to Heal the World, to Be a Starfish Saver. Make a Difference. Create a Ripple of Positivity, Be a Good Human and Leave a Legacy of Love.
The idea is not to live forever but to leave a legacy of love that will.
I saw on PureWow “The Official Hamptons Summer Bucket List” and I thought, as a newbie to Denver (barely one year), since there is a lot I have yet to do, what sage words of advice and places and things to do wold Google send me. I have compiled a list of websites for you to peruse and put on my top 20 for what maybe I want to do this summer! If you have any comments or suggestions, please comment below!
Stock up on some scents, essential oils, Chinese herbs and other mediatative books, cds, bumper stickers, and teas and roots from Sheepish Wellness and Healing
This one is mandatory: Relax. Read a good book, draw, color, whatever, just sit downa and do nothing at some point.
After breathing gross city air all year, you need to detox, stat. Get a Detox Kit from Dr. Sarah Ruderman (Isagenix) and start fresh!
Fact: Dinner tastes way better when you eat it outside. Try out one of the Denver Patio Places to Eat. Or Make a Picnic and take it outside to a park somewhere.
Pack a sunshade, a cooler and a beach towel (maybe a beach chair) , then head to the closest lake (Cherry Creek or when in Wisconsin at Pickeral Lake ) Repeat as necessary until Labor Day.
Summer = fireworks. Bring some fun or buy some along the way. Make sure it is lawful to shoot in the town where you choose. In the end, remember to have fun. Add many sparklers.
Forgot to book a spa day at one of Denver’s Best Day Spa’s. Give yourself a day for you or you and a gal pal or you and your hunepants.
Expand your art collection (or start one) by going to one of the art days on a Denver Summer Weekend. Find a piece that screams out at you. Buy it, hang it. Enjoy.
Save time going to and from the airport by using a feature we just found out about SkyRide. It will pick up up at the LightRail Stations and take you directly to the airport for only $9! That’s cheaper than parking and no worries about trying to remember which lot or stall you parked in when you get back from your tip!
Oh, athleisure, we want to live in you all summer. Stock up on Athleta for the comfy clothes for summer flair, summer wear.
Go for a Bike Ride for a leisurely day, relaxing and enjoying nature.
Food trucks from are the rave here in Denver. got to try me something off a truck that people keep raving about. Have a suggestion? Comment below.
TRISHATRIXIE IS A SOLOPRENEUR, EMPOWERMENT GURU, LIFE DESIGNER, PASSIVE “EXPERTISE” INCOME EXPERT, PINUP MODEL AND SPRINKLER OF FABULOUSNESS.
SHE IS THE FOUNDER OF TRISHATRIXIE DESIGNS, TRISHA TRIXIE AND COMPANY, THE GOOD OF SISTERHOOD, JUSTE ETRE: JUST BE, MS. COURAGE, AND THE PEP CLUB.
SHE IS CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF WRITING HER BOOK “FALLING INTO FABULOUS” A FHOENIX RISING: A STORY ABOUT OVERCOMING.
HER AND HER NEWLYWED SPOUSE BEN (OFTEN KNOWN AS HUNEPANTS) LIVE IN CENTENNIAL, COLORADO AS NEW RESIDENTS (TRANSPLANTED FROM IOWA, VIA CALIFORNIA, VIA EVERYWHERE ELSE) AND RESIDING WITH THEM IS THEIR 3 CATS, MISS IVY, MR. BOOTIES, AND MR. DUDE.
When I think of how you have been there for me, I think of the song by Josh Groban, “You Raise Me Up”
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains; You raise me up to walk on stormy seas; I am strong when I am on [my feet]; You raise me up to more than I can be.
Dear Feet…
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
Without you, I merely fall.
I cannot stand,
I cannot stand at all.
You raise me up, so I can climb the rough terrain
You raise me up, so I can endure the hills and valleys.
You raise me up, so I can climb another hill another day…
You know how sometimes you surpass people in your life? It’s not like you don’t care or don’t love them anymore but you have moved on, you have grown beyond them or their ideals do not match with yours or you just realize that you are done, their purpose in your life has been fulfilled…
…well, this is how I feel about groups, E-course people and things of the like…
Sometimes, no matter how much we WANT to be connected to those groups or groups of people, we realize, we are not connecting with them or the leader anymore. They served their purpose and now it is time to move on, perhaps to another E-Course or group or perhaps onto your OWN.
It is hard, however to do, I realize, even as I sit here with a trigger finger asking myself “Am I ok with leaving this group and the people in it?” “Once I am out, I am out” I better MAKE SURE this is what I want to do….”Am I ready to spread my own wings?”
and what I came up with after careful contemplation is that “My time has past. That it IS just like moving on from people in our lives and allowing ourselves to grow and fly and spread our wings.
You have to. You just have to Spread Your Wings if you REALLY want to FLY.
I love this song from Queen that, to me, says it all…
Sammy was low
Just watching the show
Over and over again
Knew it was time
He’d made up his mind
To leave his dead life behind
Spread your wings and fly away
Fly away, far away
Spread your little wings and fly away
Fly away, far away
Pull yourself together
‘Cos you know you should do better
That’s because you’re a free man
Since he was small
Had no luck at all
Nothing came easy to him
Now it was time
He’d made up his mind
“This could be my last chance”
Spread your wings and fly away
Fly away, far away
Spread your little wings and fly away
Fly away, far away
Pull yourself together
‘Cos you know you should do better
That’s because you’re a free man
If you want to be Free, you have to Fly.
I don’t want to watch the show anymore. I don’t want to just sit back and enjoy it. I want to be IN the show. I want to be the MAIN EVENT. I want to be the name on the Marquee! I want to fly. It’s time to let go of the ledge and FLY.
It’s hard, I know.It’s scary to let go. You worry if you are doing the right thing. It is a big step to step off the ledge and put out your wings and fly. At first it does not come easy. At first flapping those wings is hard and you are flapping so hard you feel like you can barely breathe and your arms hurt and your body hurts and you think you just can’t do it anymore and then…
…all of a sudden…
…a big wind comes up under you and you take flight, your wings move freely with ease and it becomes fun, enjoyable and freeing.
You wonder to yourself “Why did I wait so long to do this? What was I so afraid of?”
You soar through the air with style and grace and when it is time to land for a break you come in with your feet firmly ready to hold on until you are ready to fly again.
This is my lesson to you today…
Don’t be afraid to spread your wings, because if you want to be free…
So glad it was the last of my three sets of shows. Now this is not to say I won’t do any more because I will. However, I will be different and refined about what shows I do, how I advertise them and what I do and when. I was literally beginning to feel psychotic. I mean it. Crazed.
People trying to get in last minute, people trying to send replacements, people still badmouthing me from another show, and the race to advertise and send out press releases knowing full well that no matter what you do, some, or all of your vendors are going to be unhappy with you.
I have come to terms with a few lessons for myself and some tips for myself and others I thought might be helpful:
Do what you love.
When you stop loving it, it becomes work. I was not in love with the shows I was doing and how I was doing them so I changed the plan. Instead of going to shows, I put on shows. Then, I hated that too. So, unless it is a show I will like, no matter what, I refuse to do it.
The whole point is to stop complaining, stop griping and stop worrying, just Enjoy the Show. I apply this to my life as well as to the vendor shows. No matter what happens, I decided on this last one especially to just enjoy the show.
Make Love not War
Some of you might understand the reference. My point here is to be happy. Make friends. Make connections. Get leads. Get contacts. Get leads. Be happy about whatever outcome you get. Be Happy.
Stand Up Get Up Stand Up for your Right
Stand up at shows. If you have to get a cushioned mat or double up a towel to stand on do it. Sitting down at a show says tot he consumer “I am not engaged in your business”. Stand up, greet them, share with them a deal you are having. It makes a big difference. Also get out from behind the booth. Sit on the side or make your booth so you can be in front.
Put Down the Cellphone and No One Gets Hurt
So many times, sadly most especially NEW vendors or young vendors sit at a booth on their cell phones or smart phones. Again, if a customer walks by you and sees you on the phone, you are telling them you don’t care. Besides, not using it will save your batteries for when you need to use it to make a sale. Turn off your apps. Clear messages out. Put the phone down. If you are bored, bring things to do, or take time to talk to the vendors around you. Look at their displays. Network.
Learn from other Vendors
I have changed my booth and displays more than I can count. I do so because I learn from others by looking around at how they are displaying something ask ask them about it. If I really like it, I ask if they mind if I did something like it. Generally, most people are willing and desirous to share. This is also why it is good to put your cellphone down and engage in those around you. It will help you all be more successful.
Talk about your Brand
Develop your 3 minute spiel about your brand. Don’t make them feel like they can’t get away. Don’t talk for hours. Just give them a few tidbits. Share a deal. Answer questions. Ask them about their day, Ask them about the show. Ask them if they are looking for anything imparticular. At least , TALK. Don’t just sit there or stand there like a mouse. They don’t’ know your brand. You do.
The System
I have devised a new plan I am going to start implementing at all my shows from now on. I am going to adhere a sticker to my card or have special cards made per show that say the name or the date of the show. Why? Because then when someone calls me and says “ I got your card somewhere.” I can ask “Does it have a sticker on it or did it come with a special card?” Then they can tell me the date or what the card said and I can start entering it into a tracking system. This way I can see these thing in my new system
Vendor Show Name
Date(s) of the Show
Estimated # of people attended (came to my booth) ( if you make a certain # of items to give as mini gifts then you know how many stopped by the booth once those are gone)
Sales per show
Referral by someone at the show?
Response afterwards
By capturing this date, I then can tell which shows I get the most out of. I am even thinking of creating a Google Docs form that asks Show Survey. How did they hear about it? etc.
Last show I made 30 gifts. They were all gone. So I know at least 30 people came to the show. Then we had stragglers before AND after so I would say about 50 people probably stopped by. I wish it was more like 100 but hey, at least SOME people stopped in!!
Shows are for Leads, Sales are Nice
Most shows were created to get leads. Get info, get contacts. Share your brand. Get your cards out. If you get sales, that is great. It is like the dessert after a meal. This is why creating a Feedback or Survey even if only for yourself, is a good idea. Then you can see where those leads are coming from.
I hate it when others say “That show sucked, I didn’t make any money. I didn’t even get my booth rent back.” Well, honestly, how do you know that? Are you literally saying NO ONE took your card. No one will contact you for business? You didn’t book a aprty? You didn’t hand out your card? You didn’t talk to anyone? Unless you can answer those with NO’s, then you really dont know. Unless you are tracking results and you can see that nothing came in from that show. Then guess what….??? You did get SOMETHING out of it.
You got experience. You made connections. You also learned, Don’t do that show again. lol. Seriously. Or maybe you know about the location. You learned if a location of a show is good or bad.
GIVE FEEDBACK/ SUGGESTIONS
AS Vendor Planners, we DO appreciate feedback. Honestly. If you are unhappy or you have ideas how to make things better, contact us, tell us. We want to know. If you don’t tell us, how can we be better?
No Gossiping or Back Talking
Please just talk to the Vendor Planner. Don’t go talking smack about them. We will hear. I also have been bad about this to other planners. In an effort to help another planner be warned from a bad vendor, I perhaps have spoke too openly about it. I am not perfect and after it was brought to my attention, I realized that sharing my thoughts openly may not be taken the right way. It could potentially make ME look bad and that is not what I want of course. I am not perfect. But I can learn.
Family Emergency
Please use Family Emergency if it really IS a family Emergency. I had six people cancel on me last minute. Now either there was a major crisis this weekend, or some people used that as an excuse not a reason. Most vendor shows clearly state no refund. We are not going to change that because it is or isn’t a family emergency. You are a big kid. Just state. You will not be able to be there. Or tell the real reason if you must say anything. Either way you are not getting your money back, so why lie?
Check the Address BEFORE the Show
The planner should have sent out an email of all the info. The map or Google directions or the address. don’t rely on Social Media, use the info the planner sent you in the email. In a place like des moines, there is Des Moines, East Des Moines, South and West Des moines and many of the addresses sound alike.
Be on Time
If you checked the address, you shouldn’t have to worry about getting lost because you SHOULD know exactly where you are going. Thus, you should be on time. There should be a set up time (s) and you should be set up BY the time of the show. If you are gonna be late, please try to let the planner know. It is not the planners job to chase you down.
Get Confirmation, then Mark your Calendar
It is up to YOU to make sure you have been confirmed for the show and mark your calendars. Hearing “I forgot” lately however did not make me happy. The vendor could have at least tried to still attend my event.
Don’t Book too far in Advance: Replacements Not allowed
With a lot of vendors NOT allowing replacements, it is better for you to book only a month or two in advance, not a year. You will be out money and a replacement WON”T be allowed to show up.
………………………………..
I know that was a lot of info to digest but I didn’t want to forget to tell you things.
Please comment, send feedback or any other suggestions or questions you might have.
TrishaTrixie™ Sprinkler of Fabulousness 
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