If at first you don’t succeed try and try again!

If at first you don’t succeed try and try again!

We’ve all heard this and it’s true. If we think of all the successful people we know, what do they have in common? The answer is they weren’t afraid to try new things. Not everything they did has been successful but it didn’t stop them.

Do we encourage or discourage ourselves and others? I know when I entered the I Am Woman 30 day blogging challenge,  I told myself I couldn’t blog. I remember thinking and remembering trying to write at school, it was never my strong point! Technology isn’t my strong point either and I’ve never blogged before. Surprisingly, I’ve come to enjoy like my blogs and it seems others enjoy reading them too!

All too often we think we can’t do anything or that whatever we want to do, won’t succeed. What we need to do is tell ourselves that we have to try. If it fails we learn from it, try again, do something different or do something else!

How much more difficult must it be for those with a hidden disability? Over the last fifteen years I’ve sat in rooms listening to experts predict the life of the person with the disability and I’ve observed how it all veers towards the negative. I’ve felt like jumping up and down saying “for goodness sake they do understand they have limits but give us some bloody positive news!” Writing people off has only made me more determined to help them to prove those ‘experts’ wrong! All those years of being a defiant adolescent have finally paid off!

Society always seems to focus on failure rather than what is possible. When people become successful, what happens? There’s someone trying to knock them down! Honestly, sometimes I could scream!

Those with tenacity and determination survive and those without it need to look for those who do, to help them. Everyone has the capacity to have success and we all have the ability to reach out and help others. Obstacles in our lives can be overcome, they can be climbed over, moved, we can side step around them, dug under or we can just knock them down with a bulldozer – in my charity work that’s me!

I remember a mum I supported, she had a number of things to contend with including her own disability and more than one child with a disability. Every ‘professional’ involved with her kept ‘helping’ by telling her constantly what she was doing wrong and giving her leaflet after leaflet!! As if all this was going to help? The poor woman was overwhelmed. My approach was to listen, it seemed no one had tried that idea! We looked at everything and we broke things down into ‘bite sized chunks’. Strangely enough she made more progress in three months than in a whole year with everyone else. All it took was a listening ear, help, encouragement and support. Imagine what would happen if this was the approach all the time?

So if you want to try something, just do it because even from failure we learn and in learning we grow and in growing leads to success. Maybe not the first time, the sixth time but achievement and success will come.

This blog was written as part of the I Am Woman 30 day blogging challenge.

http://www.iamwoman.biz

The challenge of trust!

Trust is something earned, this was the message I got, growing up!

How do we learn to trust and what do we do when trust is broken? I’ve had times when I’ve said “that’s it I’m not trusting anyone anymore!” the reality is I do.

Can we and should we trust everyone? What about the people who say one thing and do another? What about those who are negative towards us or others? What about those people who pretend to be someone they’re not?

For me openness in communication is a must in building trust. If I can’t do something I’ll say but I’ll also try to find someone who can. This has not only helped build trust with others but it’s also gone towards building my working network. Another key factor for me in building trust is acting always with integrity and honesty and that begins with ourselves. If we say we’re going to do something we should follow through and if we make a promise we should keep it! If we try to be someone other than who we truly are, we get found out! I’ve observed people who say they have experience and then you quickly find out that they can’t! In these situations trust is broken. Can we ever trust anyone who breaks a trust? This may be possible in time but it’s much harder to trust someone where the trust has been broken.

In business trust is vital because people buy from people. We all like to think that people buy our product or our service and yes obviously people will buy what we might be offering, if they need it but why should they buy from us rather than someone else? They buy because they trust us.

What about people with a hidden agenda? Talking to an old friend recently they told me about a lady they’d known. She was involved in volunteering work with my friend. However, the enthusiasm soon waned and she gave up to pursue other interests and work. A few years later, my friend was introduced to this lady through work again and as before the lady said she was interested in working in collaboration on a project with my friend. After a few short episodes of dipping  in and out,  she eventually told my friend that she had decided that she was well and truly out, it was all too much for her. She was quite insistent that she no longer wished to be involved. Less than a year later she is eager for their paths to cross again and has been eagerly messaging my friend. Can this person ever be trusted?  Does she have a hidden agenda?

Why is it people seem to drift along in life, going from one thing to another, without ever committing to anything? Can they be trusted? Perhaps the answer lies in helping them find out who they are, accepting who they are and understanding the contribution they can make?

In my charity work at HEALS people trust you to deliver the help, encouragement and support they need. Looking after other people and putting their interests before your own is not easy for everyone. Of course the jealous green goblin sometimes comes out, especially when people envy what you do. In these circumstances, one must stay on the right path because it’s only honesty that wins the day.

Trust is a part of life and not ever being able to trust anyone leads to unhappiness on many fronts so clearly trust it’s important. How will you build trust in you and what you do?

This blog was written as part of the I Am Woman 30 day blogging challenge.

http://www.iamwoman.biz

Personal relationships Did the fairy stories get it wrong!

Growing up like many children, I read the fairy stories and had them read to me. The Princess meets the handsome Prince and they live happily ever after! Then I grew up and found out that wasn’t true, did the fairy stories get it wrong! Did this have more to do with me or was it that I was just unlucky.

After my divorce I went away and took time out for a while. It was during this time I had a chance to look back over my life. I realized that for a long time I’d been on a relationship roundabout, going round and round! The end of marriage threw me off with one almighty thud! I’d hit rock bottom in life and the only way was up! Had I been unlucky in love all my life? Was it my fault? Was the breakdown of my marriage my fault? The answer was yes. Okay, I didn’t set up any affairs but I chose someone who like me, had their own issues to deal with. Two people dealing with their own issues and then having to deal with issues together, is bound to result in something giving, for me that was my marriage. I look back now and although I accept the reasons why things happened, it doesn’t mean that I agree with the actions. The ability to forgive, draw a line and move on has helped me.

We all attract like people, so if someone is confident and happy they will attract someone who is confident and happy. If someone is troubled then you’ll attract someone who’s also troubled. It’s a pattern I’ve observed often in the last sixteen years. There have been times when I’ve been able to predict the outcome of friends relationships but friends have chosen not to listen, to their cost! People with ‘baggage’ who then come together only have more baggage! It’s like going on holiday with one suitcase and then coming back dragging six through customs, they might questions why you have so many bags on your return trip. So why choose more bags in a relationship? Is this right?

Someone said to me recently that this is “just what people do, they divert from dealing with their own issues and  they deal with the issues of others”. Does this mean they believe they can save the other person. This reminds me of the phrase “you can lead a horse but you can’t make it drink it”. We do not have the power to change others but we do have the capacity to help, encourage and support one another.

We’ve all heard that we must ‘get our own house in order!’ What does this mean in relationships? I think the best way to think about it is through this analogy:

You want to wallpaper a wall, you find cracks and blemishes. What do you do? Do you just wallpaper over the cracks or do you go out buy filler and spend time filling them all in.  If you wallpaper over the cracks, in time they reappear and you’re redecorating again and more likely this time there’s more problems! If you fill in the cracks you have a smooth surface and it’s likely that it’ll be much longer before you need to wallpaper, unless you choose to.

So how does this relate to our relationships? Too often I see people jumping from one relationship to another, never giving themselves time out to repair their cracks. What they don’t see is they are building each of their relationships on sand or shallow foundations. Any building like any relationship needs a firm and solid foundation, otherwise ‘there may be trouble ahead!’ No moonlight, roses, love and romance!

I’ve observed that sometimes having a partner is like an accessory, the thinking seems to be “my friend has one so I’ve got to have one!”Then they wonder why it fails or falls apart! People in this position seem to think that having a partner is going to make them happy. Expecting someone else to make you happy, is setting them up to fail!  The foundation is failure and building on failure can we only expect disaster! My Nan used to say same rubbish different person! Well not exactly in those words! She was right!

I asked my Nan once what were the ingredients to a successful relationship she said: Friendship, Attraction, Shared interests, Humour and Patience. However, she warned just having the ingredients does not produce a successful cake. Getting a cake right takes lots of work and practice.

After my divorce I decided to take time out and concentrate on myself and my children. Sixteen years later I’m happy and proud to have been on my own. Who knows what will happen in the future, I may find that certain someone and maybe I won’t but whatever happens, I’m happy!

This blog was written as part of the I Am Woman blogging challenge.

http://www.iamwoman.biz

Friendship

                                                                                           “Friends are the family we choose” this phrase is true. Today I may know lots of people but my true friends are much smaller in number and those are the people who, like my family, are the ones that I cherish and value.

Growing up making friends was never my strongest point although my mum noted, that I always seemed to want to be friends with children, from even poorer families than us or those no-one else wanted to be friends with!

I don’t know why making friends was difficult, I could communicate with adults perfectly well! I did have some friends but friendships never seemed to last. I think deep down I was eager to be liked, maybe I was too eager back then. I thought that being liked and that having lots of ‘friends’ would make me happy.

In later years I’ve come to realize that being true to yourself and being myself has brought me real friends and lasting friendships. True friends are those who accept us warts and all! Along life’s path I’ve learned that there will always be those who want to use you for what or who you know and we never seem to spot it until it’s too late and we’ve been had!

I look around and observe people with ‘false’ friendships! People seem to form friendships after five minutes, ‘live in one another’s pockets’ and boast about having lots of friends. I’ve learned that  quantity is far less important than quality It seems that for some you know people for five minutes and suddenly  and feel lucky for my true friends.  

Friendships can be unlikely. My friend Jan was one of those friends. To the outside world we were unlikeliest of friends! She was the wife of a successful business man and I was the poor single mother. What could we possibly have in common? The fact is we shared many things, we both had a similar sense of humour and some interests which included art music, our faith and we were both Mum’s. We both trusted one another and often put the world to rights over a cup of tea or glass of wine. Jan was there through all the struggles with the Education Authority and she was there on the phone on my days of despair! “I’m not sure I’m helping” she would say or “I wish I could do more!”. What Jan never realized was that just being there and having someone I could trust was enough. Jan passed away a few years ago and I still think of her often.

I’ve shared so much laughter and tears with my friends Tina and Diane over the last twenty years. We may not see one another every day since I emigrated …… to England from Wales! but we’re still there for each other.

As I write this blog, I think of all my friends, those who I trust and care about. Their number may not be large but they are truly amazing people and my life is blessed because they are part of it.

What makes for a good friendship? Simply it’s honesty [with others and yourself], trust, acceptance, shared interests and a listening ear. Fake people are quickly found out! Friendship is to be valued. I miss the friends who are no longer here,  it’s amazing how we leave lasting footprints on the lives of those we are friends with.

This blog has been written as part of the I Am Woman 30 day blogging challenge.

http://www.iamwoman.biz

Marmite Life !!!

I happen to like marmite, in fact growing up I remember my Mum always had a jar in the cupboard. My Nan used to say that it was an acquired taste because you either loved it or hated it.

I guess in a way I’m like marmite! People either like me or they don’t! Does it matter if they don’t? Not at all, we can’t like everybody and neither can we be friends with everyone even though some people pretend otherwise and those ‘fake’ people get found out sooner or later!

Imagine how boring the world would be without the ‘marmite’ people in it?

It seems that whatever I’ve done or not done I was meant to think about how others think! Did it matter what others think? The truthful answer is yes but only to some degree and only in some situations. Everyone develops an opinion about everybody and of course everybody is allowed their opinion, its how they use their opinion that counts. If it’s used in a negative way it can become totally destructive to others and it certainly makes no one any happier!

In later years I’ve come to realize that being me makes me far happier than trying to please everyone else. No matter how hard you try there’s always going to be someone wanting to knock you down, criticize or have an opinion! Being true to yourself, acceptance and learning to love yourself is probably one of the hardest lessons we learn and keep learning. Even now there are times when my lack of confidence floats to the surface and in these times those near to me remind me to be me. They obviously like marmite too!

For every person who takes issue there are loads more who seem to like marmite and in most instances it says more about them than it does about me. In thinking this way I’ve come to feel sorry for those who want to knock others down because their lives are filled with sadness.

So my view is that this my life! I’m marmite if you like me great and if not, remember that variety is more interesting! And I’m a limited edition!

This blog was written as part of the I Am Woman 30 day blogging challenge.

http://www.iamwoman.biz

This is my life!

I’ve often found the words of songs meaningful at certain times in my life. We’ve all had the song we heard when we first fell in love and then came the break-up song! Then there are the wedding songs, the party songs, those songs who remind us of loved ones, the holiday songs! The list could possibly be even longer!

I know for me music has played a big part, I was always listening to music and singing in front of the mirror hairbrush in hand! Over the years my musical taste has become even more diverse and eclectic! My friends once described my musical taste as being like a diamond, multifaceted.

It’s got me to thinking about songs that describe me and my life!

There are a few songs that spring to mind but ‘This is my life by Dame Shirley Bassey’ describes my life over the last seventeen years following my divorce.  The road hasn’t been easy but then the best things in life seldom are. Imagine that an easy life? I can now look back and be proud of where I’ve come and what I’ve achieved.

‘This is my life’ Dame Shirley Bassey

Funny how a lonely day, can make a person say,  what good is my life
Funny how a breaking heart, can make me start to say, what good is my life
Funny how I often seem, to think I’ll find never another dream in my life
Till I look around and see, this great big world is part of me and my life
This is my life today, tomorrow, love will come and find me but that’s the way that I was born to be this is me, this is me 

This is my life and I don’t give a damn for lost emotions I’ve such a lot of love I’ve got to give let me live,  let me live! 

Sometime when I feel afraid, I think of what a mess I’ve made of my life
Crying over my mistakes, forgetting all the breaks I’ve had in my life
I was put on earth to be, a part of this great world is me and my life
Guess I’ll just add up the score, and count the things I’m grateful for in my life
This Is my life today, tomorrow, love will come and find me but that’s the way that I was born to be this is me,  this is me 

This is my life and I don’t give a damn for lost emotions I’ve such a lot of love I’ve got to give let me live, let me live! 

Who knows where the road ahead will lead, who can tell but no matter what, I’m giving it 100% because no matter what, This is my life !

This blog has been written as part of the I Am Woman 30 day blogging challenge.

http://www.iamwoman.biz

Will’s Friends the £20,000 project challenge

Wow!! I woke up this morning and thought OMG!, I’ve now made a commitment, HEALS has made a commitment, this has got to happen ! What a responsibility!

Why bother? Answered simply its about creating opportunities and chances for those who need someone on their side, those with a hidden disability. We like to think that we’re an inclusive society, where everyone has a chance but there is a group of people who have little or no chance.

I often see the ‘token’ person with a disability but the reality is many of those with a hidden disability are almost forgotten and many families receive little or no support, it’s literally sink or swim! Many go through life with no diagnosis and for those with a ‘label’ life is one of existence. They are socially isolated because of their disability, lack of confidence and issues with social skills and communication. Many become the butt of jokes or are humiliated. Girls are used as easy targets by men. I’ve witnessed it many times and I live in a small rural market town, if it happens here then what is it like in larger towns and cities. Why? Maybe its because on the outside everything looks okay!

HEALS [Help Empowerment And Local Support] the charity I manage wants to change this or at least raise awareness of the daily difficulties faced by those with a hidden disability.

Our latest project “Will’s Friends” aims to give those with a learning or hidden disability opportunities, to socialize, make friends and have fun, develop their confidence, get access to the information, advice, help, the support they need, learn new skills and be encouraged to take part in community life. It’s about giving them opportunities and showing the world that life’s only obstacles are the ones we set ourselves.

The project itself is named after and is memory of a young man called William, who despite having a loving family and being liked by everyone he ever knew, felt that life was never going to give him any chances. William left this world aged just eighteen, leaving behind his devoted family, without realizing his potential. The saddest thing is this was an extraordinary young man with a smile that made you smile too and a heart full of kindness.

HEALS’s wants Will’s Friends to be a lasting legacy in his memory and it’s aim is to raise awareness of the daily difficulties faced by those with a hidden disability. We also want to encourage everyone to reach out and give someone they know with a hidden disability a chance. No family should ever experience what William’s family have and no one should ever feel their life is worthless.

My challenge and the challenge of the HEALS team is to raise the first £20,000 to make this happen. How will we do it? Who knows but we’re all in it together and together we’ll work hard to achieve it.

What will your challenge be today? Will you someone a chance today?

This blog is part of the I Am Woman 30 day blogging challenge.

http://www.iamwoman.biz

Don’t judge a book by its cover !!!

Don’t judge a book by its cover!

Although we like to think we are all non-judgmental, I expect we all have at one time or another judged someone else. Perhaps we’ve judged people because of the job they do, the clothes they wear, maybe it’s because of their circumstances or appearance or could it be that we believe a stereotype in the press? What we all do is judge?

We all know Susan Boyle and most of us remember the moment she first appeared on Britain’s Got Talent. Like the judges we first saw some ‘odd’ person stroll out on stage. Simon Cowell asks “What’s the dream?” Susan replies“I want to be a professional singer”. At this point everyone is thinking OMG!!! “Why hasn’t it worked till now?” Simon asks and Susan replies “Because I haven’t been given a chance before but here’s hoping it’ll change” The look on the judges faces shows that they are expecting little from her performance. Simon “Who would you like to be as successful as?” Susan answers “Elaine Paige.” I’ve watched the YouTube clip many times and can see the audience members faces, they like us did not expect what comes next! As soon as Susan started singing the audience and judges start clapping, they’re on their feet in support. They judged without knowing what Susan could really do. When they saw her talent and potential everything changed! Amanda Holden in her feedback says “I honestly think at the beginning we were all being cynical and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever!” Have you ever noticed the change in Susan Boyle after all three judges say yes? Suddenly, in that one moment, her whole outlook changed.

The press tells us that the children of single parents will never amount to anything. Of course that might be true in some cases but there are many more children of single parents who are successful in life and never cause trouble or bother to any one. In fact just as many children from homes with two parents get into trouble.

A friend of mine who was a single mother went to college and her son is a Barrister another friend’s daughter is a successful business woman and another’s children all went to University and are successfully working in Corporate.

My Mum bless her used to worry that people would think badly of me for being a single mother but I’ve learnt that people judge you whatever your situation. Maybe they read the papers or listen to local gossip, maybe they are jealous or it might be that they are so unhappy with themselves that this manifests itself in judgement of others? We cannot change what other people think, what we can do is be true and honest to ourselves and value those who matter. I know that for every one person who takes issue with me, there are ten who don’t. Why worry about what the one thinks? I’m thankful for the ten.

When my daughter was small everyone else was resigned to the fact that due to her learning disability, she wasn’t going to achieve much and so I should be happy with that. I knew they were wrong and was going to show them that they were wrong. Through my work I’ve come across time and time again families where the outcome looks bleak because their child has a learning disability or Autism. I’ve met single parents who think that their life will never improve and there are those who’ve made mistakes or followed an ‘undesirable’ path in life, who society judge so harshly that even when they change, people keep trying to put them down! Is it a pastime of some people to judge others?

You know a few things spring to mind when writing this blog. One is a version of the God give me the Serenity Verse which says:

“God give me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, The courage to change the person I can and the wisdom to know that’s me”

It’s true the only person we can change is us, so when we meet those who we might find difficult to accept because of their background, just remember that it’s not about what has gone before, it’s about the here and now and the future.

Have you ever noticed how people’s tool boxes are different? They probably all have a few items which are the same but that’s it. They come in all shapes, sizes and colours, as do people. So life is like a tool box, we each have our own and we’ll each equip our own based on what life challenges us to do. Therefore, equipping a tool box with the basics is essential. For me this about giving people a chance, a chance to grow, an opportunity to see their potential, which of course will be different for everyone, to recognize that change is possible, to help, encourage, empower and support and to not judge.

Susan Boyle is not unique, there are many more like her around us, those who get overlooked, those who never get the chance and those who are judged and who we judge.

Helping others see their potential and reach out for it, is in part why the charity HEALS [Help Encouragement And Local Support] was founded to do and why we believe everyone deserves a chance, an opportunity and to have their ‘Susan Boyle moment too’ so remember ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover!’.

This blog is part of the I Am Woman 30 day blogging challenge.

http://www.iamwoman.biz

Jack of all trades in the community?

They say if you want a job doing then ask a busy person! I’ve observed, that this is true and the ‘usual suspects’ always seem to be putting themselves forward to help.  It’s wonderful for people to want to give freely of their time, to volunteer or work for a good cause. However, in some instances it seems that there are those ‘doing’ almost every type of volunteering and work. Are these individuals a Jack of all trades? Could they be spreading themselves too thinly or too far? I guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating because whilst it’s admirable for people to come forward, putting themselves down for too much runs the risk of ‘watering down their ability to do the job well’. It’s impossible to give your best to everything and give everything a strong commitment.  Do not assume that because someone is involved in ‘everything’ that they are the best person for the job you want them to do. Their contacts may be useful but will they be? 

I’ve often heard people put down those who do voluntary, community or charity work, some brush it aside as meaningless.  My answer to those who shun it is, you learn far more about yourself, your community and others. Let’s not forget the skills and knowledge gained, is enormous from communication, social, intellectual, the list is endless.

As Manager of a charity and in my experience of community and charity work spanning over twenty years, I’ve found it’s best to do one [or two] things really well, rather than be ‘splashing’ around doing ‘life’s doggy paddle’or having too many fingers in too many pies. Networking has been the one key ingredient’s to working successfully across the voluntary and community sector.

Time keeping is another important ingredient to success. I learnt the art of time management very quickly, those I’ve worked with know only too well that being on time has never been a strength of mine. I’ve learnt that if I don’t write it down it doesn’t get done! 

What happens when we do too much? I’ve been one of those who was always sticking my hand up to do something. Those around me [my family and friends] would groan! “You’re not taking on another group/organisation/project ….”  Of course, like a lot of enthusiastic others, I had the bug and so powered ahead not listening! What I hadn’t realized was that I was heading for burn out. Things I used to cope with well, made me emotional and those around me, my colleagues, friends and family didn’t always understand the way I was behaving.  Those who tried to help me with friendly words became like the invisible man!

Burnout hits you like a bolt out of the blue! You don’t see it coming yourself! I’ve spoken to a few people this has happened to and almost all of those have said that for them burn out or a breakdown because of burnout has been a dark time. The confidence you once had has packed its bag and goes on holiday! A search party is needed!

Thankfully, with every cloud there is a ray of sunshine and what could have been a ‘woe is me time’ turned into the best time ever. I can honestly say the search party found my confidence just in the nick of time. HEALS – Help Encouragement And Local Support has given me my zest and motivation back and it’s allowed me to use all of my personal and professional experiences to help make a positive contribution . I’m back doing the one thing I love the most, helping others and it’s something I get a real ‘buzz’ from seeing the difference happen. We say that HEALS aspires to make a difference and be the difference.

So should we seek to become a ‘Jack of all trades’ or a master of one? I know which one I’ll choose, do you?

This blog is part of the I Am Woman 30 day blogging challenge.

http://www.iamwoman.biz

A life worth leading

I was watching a programme about the Suffragettes. We all know their goal was to get women the vote. Then there were the Dagenham workers who in 1968 went on strike to make sure that women got equal pay. I was thinking these women knew what they wanted and despite knockdowns along the way, they stuck to the cause they believed in, no matter what was thrown at them. I’m sure that all of us can think of at least one person who has had things to overcome in their lives.

For every successful person we see or admire, there’s a person who’s probably had to deal with many adversity’s of their own even though to us, it’s something we’ve probably not considered. So how did they succeed? Did they find some magical ingredient? I’m not sure that there is one magical ingredient or that for each the ways they’ve dealt with there problems has been the same.

I’ve heard many successful people talk over time at presentations, on TV and the radio. I’m beginning to understand that there are some things they all have in common. Each one was passionate about what they were trying to do and achieve. It’s this passion mixed with tenacity that has given them the ability to get back up from each knockdown. Thinking successful people have never had knockdowns is madness!

Successful people have not been afraid to grab every opportunity that has come their way and even though they may have experienced failure it hasn’t put them off. I now understand that there are positives in failure, if we learn from our mistakes and the reason why things failed.

Putting themselves out there is also something successful people are not afraid to do. It also seems that successful people have been persistent in achieving their goal and striving for their vision.

However, successful people are those who stay grounded, are true to themselves and are authentic. To believe you can do everything is a mistake because we all have strengths and weaknesses. Successful people will recognize this and if there are things they really can’t do they’ll ask someone who can.

So how does this relate to me and what is my challenge? Well knockdowns and failures till now seem to have followed me but I’m going to use these and turn them around as a positive.   Instead of being afraid, I’m going to grab each opportunity with both hands and not be worried about failure because after all it’s a positive! I’m going to be focused and persistent in doing all I can to achieve and be successful. Finally, I’m going to work hard at being who I am and maybe doing this will inspire and show others that no matter what they can achieve.

“Life’s real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up” Anonymous

This blog is part of the I Am Woman 30 day blog challenge.

http://www.iamwoman.biz