It’s a red letter day: June 15, 2011 – at least for bloggers, and more specifically those who would like to grow their readership and maximize their marketing efforts.
BEAUTIFUL LADY CONTEMPLATING BLOGGING
Our wonderful friend Michelle Salater, who has grown her own (Copy Doodle) and other blogs to phenomenal levels of success, is hosting a free webinar on June 15, 2011 at 1pm ET / 10am PT or 7pm here in Johannesburg.
With Copy Doodle recently listed #17 on Technorati’s 100 Best Small Business Blogs, Michelle is well qualified to advise. We have also witnessed the growth of the elite Hills of Africa Travel blog, which she has developed and manages for another special friend of ours, Sandy Salle, CEO. One of the powerful things, among others, that Michelle achieves is to attract media and key influencers via the blogs.
Don’t miss this exceptional opportunity to learn from her first hand via her free webinar, which you can sign up for here: How to Increase Profits and Exposure with a Business Blog. During the webinar, you’ll get an exclusive sneak peek of Love Your Blog, her “new step-by-step system that will show you how to create a business blog that pulls prospects into your sales funnel, saving you time, money, and headaches”.
Despite mine being to date a personal blog, Michelle inspires me to explore improving it, if only to share photography and ideas with a wider audience. I’ll be joining her for sure to find out more, so please stay tuned for something fresh soon 🙂
P.S. While photographing our lovely friend Juanita in our studio, Jina hopped up and settled on the laptop – in her favourite position, right across the touch pad 😀
JUANITA & JINA CHECKING OUT WORDPRESS
P.P.S. Just in case you’re wondering how the screen is so legible and clear of reflected light, it’s with the help of a little Photoshop magic (sorry, purists ;-)). Of course, I had to select the WordPress sign up page, being such a big fan of this fabulous platform!
Pain emancipates.
DAVE's Six-inch Spinal Surgery Scar
PAIN
Prisoners
sometimes,
of our own
making
Pain
frees us
from the bonds
of our minds
Physical
or emotional,
it’s inseparably
mental
Washed
in Pain’s waves
we can’t escape
truth
And truth
is the path
to freedom from
Pain
©Naomi Estment
Quotes to consider:
“Pain is weakness leaving the body.” – US Marines, as quoted (frequently :-D) by Dave, who has broken over 60 bones in his 54 years, mostly due to motorbike racing
“Wisdom is nothing more than healed pain.” – Robert Gary Lee
“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.” – Kenji Miyazawa
“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” – Kahlil Gibran, ‘The Prophet‘
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” – Unknown
“The pain passes, but the beauty remains.” – Pierre-Auguste Renoir
On a personal note, it’s almost two weeks since Dave’s double spinal fusion and he’s recovering really well. After a challenging weekend with intense pain down his right leg and into his foot (the one that was going numb before the operation), he had a localized cortisone injection yesterday. It’s brought huge relief and the sparkle back to his eyes.
To all the Moms out there (with heart-felt thanks to mine and Dave’s), may your day be fragrant and full of flowers!
Yesterday Today and Tomorrow plant lining a walkway - Jhb, SA
These quotes are especially for you all:
“If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.” – Attributed to Claudia Ghandi
“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” – Elizabeth Stone
And two more to take the pressure off . . .
“There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one” – Jill Churchill
“Your responsibility as a parent is not as great as you might imagine. You need not supply the world with the next conqueror of disease or major motion-picture star. If your child simply grows up to be someone who does not use the word “collectible” as a noun, you can consider yourself an unqualified success.” – Fran Lebowitz, “Parental Guidance,” Social Studies, 1981
Although I’m not a mother in the full sense of the word, I love my stepchildren dearly – sincere thanks to them for the countless blessings they bestow on my life 🙂
Last but not least, because the four-legged members of our family matter too, here’s a special mention for the youngest, who turns 1 today: “Happy birthday, Quest, you handsome hound!”
QUEST - May 2011
Bones are on the way, boy 😀
Whether you feel “I’ve-had-it-with-the-world-and-everything-in-it” hectic,
MALE LION BARING HIS FANGS - Schotia Safaris, South Africa
“get-out-of-my-face-I’m-having-a-bad-day” mad,
MALE LION SNARL - Schotia Safaris, South Africa
or “don’t-make-your-problems-mine” ratty,
LIONESS BARING HER FANGS - Schotia Safaris, South Africa
it pays to remember that stress arises inside.
In response
to a given stimulus,
Stress arises
inside
Allowed to rule,
it wreaks havoc
recognized, unresisted,
it recedes
Powerful,
potential teacher,
Stress offers options
on a silver platter
Succumb and suffer
or choose to transcend,
knowing that the choice
arises inside
©Naomi Estment
Quotes to consider:
“If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn’t ask me, I’d still have to say it.” – George F. Burns
“Don’t let your mind bully your body into believing it must carry the burden of its worries.” – Astrid Alauda
“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” – Hans Selye
“God will never give you anything you can’t handle, so don’t stress.” – Kelly Clarkson
“Give your stress wings and let it fly away.” – Terri Guillemets
“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” – Chinese Proverb
Confession time. Apart from my fetish for capturing cool profile pics, which I’ve admitted before, I have another – photographing perfume bottles. So I was doubly delighted when a generous friend gave me DKNY’s Delicious Candy Apples! My mouth simply watered to switch on our studio lights, just for fun:
DKNY Delicious Candy Apples - http://www.ovpstudio.com
Now to float in the delicious flavour . . .
How wonderful to watch some of the Royal Wedding yesterday, so many years after Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s. Teenagers then, we crowded into our school hall for most of that day, savouring the moment, not to mention the opportunity to skip classes. Even in South Africa, we felt strangely included, similarly to yesterday.
Thanks to the massive scale world media of course, but perhaps also in part because of our British ancestry. At least, that would figure according to Malcolm Gladwell’s fascinating book, Outliers. As for the present, though, Prince William looked dashing, what a beautiful bride Catherine Middleton made . . . and what a gorgeous dress Sarah Burton (for Alexander McQueen) made. I whole-heartedly endorse the fashionistas’ praise 🙂
On the subject of weddings, we recently attended one in Botriver, near Cape Town. I mentioned our pending trip in a previous post, promising some photo’s, but to be honest I took pitifully few – feeling rather too social. Instead, I’d like to share a link to the official photographer’s beautiful blog, which showcases a stunning celebration: Tasha Seccombe Photography. There are four posts altogether, if you feel like a leisurely browse.
It took place on a wine farm in the wildest wind, lending a wintry, Highlands feel. Being partly Scottish, I loved the bagpipes, along with the kilt worn by Warren (the groom) – and the bride, Jen, was simply lovely. Apart from plenty of traditional delights, technology played a role too. Jen’s parents were in England, unable to travel for health reasons, so they shared the experience via Skype. Isn’t that cool?
Our sincerest wishes go to both couples for a magic married life, filled with romance. Being a chik-lit/romance novelist, that’s significant to me 😀 While in Cape Town, I did take the following pic of Foresters Arms (“Forries” to the locals) because this restaurant and pub features in my first novel, Out of Air, and I wanted a photo for the book’s website. We had a fabulous Friday lunch there, finding it as vibrant today as in 1994, when the story is set:
FORESTERS ARMS restaurant & pub - Cape Town, South Africa
So if you happen to take a trip to the Mother City – and fancy a British feel – put it on your list of places to eat . . . drink . . . and be merry!
