Rocking circus

Sydney, Manyana - January 2012

2012-01-25T14:16:00.000-05:00

staff karaoking

In early December the girls and I went back to Sydney to begin packing up our Fletcher Street home, to complete the full move to New York.

David and I have lived in Fletcher Street for 15 year. The apartment we first moved into together was just across the road from our current house, so there was a lot of packing and saying goodbye to do with the house, but also with the area. It will be a hard one to match, cliff top with beautiful beaches a few minutes walk away.

Trinity went back to Montessori for the last week of school and got to say goodbye to her friends there, and seemed to let go of her friendships there too.

It was crazy, between the packing, organising, preparing for the family coming for Christmas lunch. The girls got to go and stay with each of the grandparents, so I could focus on getting stuff done. Wrapping up the year in the business also needed to be squeezed in. A very intense period indeed.

David returned in time for the staff xmas party, which of course included Karoke (seems to be theme).

And then it was Christmas lunch, and all the family came over and a lovely day was had by all. It is the first time in a long while we had both David and my family (almost all) in the one place, including the nieces and nephew and it was delight filled.

In the later afternoon we walked down for a swim, and found a dance party starting in the park next to us. All the family left except grandma, and we went back out to the party and danced. The girls went home to sleep and I got to dance, and David got to drum the night away, at least until the police came and shut the party down. Loud noise in a residential area and all that.

On Boxing Day a good friend of ours, Tania always has a party, so we went to recover our hangovers, and swim. Trinity is stealing lots of lollies from the ginger bread house on the left.

The next day we went out on a yacht in the harbour with a friend of David's, and Trinity got to steer the boat, and she took the task seriously. Cruising Sydney harbour on any kind of boat is probably one of the finest things you can do in summer.

Jafflemas, my families christmas equivalent was the next day. One brother Michael came with his three daughters, and we got to eat even more food. My eldest brother Stephen had put together a holiday CD which had us dancing and singing wildly.

The young cousins got together and hang out in a shower (!?). And there was even some skipping too with Steve and David.

Stephen, Steve and Michael

The cousins

New Years was pretty quiet, thankfully, with a lovely picnic on new years day at Redleaf pool on the harbour with friends.

Ara, Olga and Gordo

After this all we were totally ready for a holiday so we went south for a week, past Jervis Bay to a suburb on the beach called Manyana, a 70's enclave with shag pile carpet. Beautiful and so relaxing.

Mum and I

I came home to do my annual week long art course, and the girls left with David to return to New York.

I moved out of the old house, combining it with the office in a new terrace house in Bondi Junction, unpacked and got organised everything so it could be utilised fully as an office and then flew home to New York.

New York September, November 2011

2011-12-03T13:21:00.000-05:00

Avery, Sona and Trinity up a tree

It was great to return to a fully furnished home, so we could settle in and get to work without much effort.

The girls school had moved from walking distance to 20 min bus ride away. So we had to settle into new routines and rhythms.

The new school was downtown at the old South Sea Port, and also near Wall St, so I got go visit Occupy Wall Street, which was interesting. A social experiment in progress.

David took the girls to a sculpture park (Pepsi hq) with some other families from Trinity's BlueSchool class.

India buried in lea

David and Phil Zimabardo

The San Francisco sumit team

The annual NeuroLeadership Summit was held in San Francisco. The quality of speakers and logistical management improves each year, so it was a complete pleasure, and I got to relax a little more.

The kids stayed in New York with Sophie the much loved babysitter, so David and I could focus fully on the event. There was media coverage by HBR, and the largest participant numbers yet.

Apple pie

We then returned to New York for my very first Thanksgiving. David invited a couple of friends over, so of course I got to whip up a quick Thanksgiving Lunch with all my favourite food - roast turkey, creamy roast potato and cauliflower (all pre cooked from Trader Joes), and apple pie (home made by Ivy) which was delicious.

Picton, Hunter Valley, September 2011

2011-09-09T13:09:00.000-04:00

School Camp by Trinity Rock

Camp is cool. We did a lot and we made Billy tea and damper - it was yummy and we fed animals in the petting zoo. We had a whip cracking lesson and boomerang throwing. By accident it hit Riva in the face and Lucy in the shoulder.

After we went pony riding and had a lot of fun. Then we had a natural horsemanship lesson and after that we had a long walk along the bush walk. Then we had a hay ride and fed cows and I covered in hay - I definitely need a shower. Then we had a huge bonfire and I toasted 5 marshmallows and ate them whole.

Now I am writing to torch light and trying to be quiet because of the others -they are trying to sleep. Me, Frankie and Lucy are trying to write in our journals to write about camp and by the way I stepped in cow poo! I got it all over my shoes but luckily there was a tap nearby and I washed my foot. Now I am awake and trying to go back to sleep but I have to write something.

This is my last day here. We are going to have a sheep shearing lesson and we're also going to have a wonderful lovely buffet snack and then we are going to depart on the bus to Montessori school and we are going to have hugs and kisses and go back home and sleep finally in our own beds to sleep peacefully. Photos to come.....

Sydney, August - September 2011

2011-09-09T13:04:00.000-04:00

We returned to Sydney, with Trinity going straight back to Montessori school to hang out with her friends. I am not sure how much school work she got done though.

It was winter sadly, though the weather was pretty good. We held our annual leadership retreat with our managers and licensees from around the globe.

It was lovely to see everyone and we got to have karaoke on the last night of the event, so it was great fun to see everyone cut lose, sing and dance.

We also had a chance to catch up with our friends and family after a hard six months in New York getting set up. Below the girls are with Frederique, Evy Rose and Bridgette.

Siani and Guy, neighbours and close friends took me out for some fun, a Sydney Dance Company fundraiser organised by a friend of ours Pam. Here is Siani the morning after, with full make up still in place and looking spectacular if a little shiny.

We delayed our returned to New York so Trinity could go to school camp to a farm stay which she loved.

San Francisco, Montauk June July 2011

2011-07-30T20:20:00.007-04:00

Summer came to New York and the heat is intense. The parks have the water features turned on, and girls are happy running wild and playing with the many other kids around. The garden at the office is a beautiful sanctuary and an in demand meeting room when not too hot.

The end of school show put on by Trinity's 2nd grade class was a treat, with them pulling out all the stops with vaudeville style skits and entertainment.

David had a week of delivery and training in Palo Alto and San Francisco, so the girls and I tagged along too as school had finished for the year.

We did the touristy things in San Francisco like spending time at Pier 39 and going to the aquarium. I took the girls sight seeing on the hop on hop off bus, including walking through the Presidio and spending half a day at the Exploratorium which the girls absolutely loved. It was filled with hands-on science experiments for kids and we could have stayed there for days.

We flew back to New York and began school holidays in earnest with the girls going to summer camp each day.

The weekend before returning to Sydney we went to Montauk, with Blue School co-founders Matt and Renee, who have a five year old son Rhyus. They offered us a weekend in their guest cottage five minutes walk from the beach, which apparently has the best surfing on Long Island.

Idyllic walks along the beach, swimming in their pool, eating wonderful food and roasting marshmallows on an open fire made this the most magical weekend. They were most excellent hosts.

The girls spent four weeks in total at Sweet Soul Movement on Lafayette right near Astor Place. The camp focused on dancing and singing training with a Broadway bent. At the end they performed in an amazing show which David and I enjoyed thoroughly.

After the show David and I met up with Ara to celebrate his birthday with some intense karaoke and celebratory toasting. It was not a good look on the flight the next evening. Especially with the temperature sitting around 41 celsius the previous day.

Brooklyn, Orlando April May 2011

2011-06-06T08:48:00.002-04:00

April & May were busy with finding, moving into and furnishing our new rental apartment in New York. After long weeks of searching and many barriers, we finally succeeded, and now live in a lovely two-bedroom duplex overlooking a park in Grammercy above the East Village (view at left). An old maternity hospital, it is a grand building, or 'fancy' as the kids friends like to say and big by New York standards.

We also found, rented and furnished an apartment in the East Village to use as an office which has a wonderful garden at the back which is fast becoming a jungle.

My birthday, mothers day and Trinity's birthday all came and went. Mothers day was spent at the cherry blossom festival in Brooklyn botanical gardens, which was packed with people and performances and was exquisite.

Trinity had a party in Central Park in the sheep's meadow on a beautiful spring day. My only sadness was that I didn't bring enough champagne for all the adults that showed up. I will know next time. We did however have a raccoon show up later in the afternoon, one of the 50 plus population that live in Central Park.

Over these few months India has found her voice, as some of the photos above might hint at. Trinity enjoyed working in her class toward an end of term show. She and her friend Sona got to rehearse in the Blue Man rehearsal space, a cavernous stage in Alphabet City, as well as see and try on the latest merchandise (India tries one a light show mohawk).

There was the usual round of birthday parties for both India and Trinity's school friends. India and friend Lyla enjoy the chance to become someone else or at least themselves in disguise (to the right).

For the Memorial day long weekend (the first weekend of summer), David was presenting at a conference in Orlando, Florida, and we decided to fly down and join him. We booked tickets to Universal Studios to go see Harry Potter as Trinity had recently finished the series. Two days before we were due to go, we found out that some of the Blue men founders where heading down with their families, so we joined their group.

We stayed at the Disney Animal Kingdom hotel, which is built around a zoo. Most days we saw giraffes, zebra's, wildebeests and other wildlife from our window.

The first day we went to Universal studios on our own, and found a minimum of two hour lines at all the rides in Harry Potter. It was around 32 degree Celsius and humid, so we didn't have a lot of energy to wait around. We spent time at other rides with shorter waits, like Atlantis (so scary for the girls), and Dr Seuss world, which was lovely.

The next morning we kicked off early, and went to the Magic Kingdom on a guided tour. When joining a tour you move to the front of all queues, so we did an incredible 13 rides in our short day. Trinity and India's favourites were Thunder Mountain (their first roller coaster) and 'Its a small world'.

We got to go to Epcot too, watched the fireworks and ran to avoid the crowds at the end of a long day. At one point during the weekend we got caught in torrential rain and ran through the heavy shower and large puddles for a mile to exit the park. This was one of the highlights of trip, proving something meaningful about purchasing power.

The people at Disney are experts in crowd management and I take my hat of to the amazing amount of thought and effort that goes into the Disney experience. It seems like ultimately it is about minimising effort. Get on a ride and learn about history in three short minutes. A perfect example of the American culture in action. All up an amazing experience, that I hope never to repeat.

Our last port of call before collapsing from exhaustion was Typhoon Lagoon, a water Disney water park with the largest wave pool in the country and many water slides. We spent the day enojying it with thousands of others, though it never felt crowded. It was a ball and we left it all on the court that weekend.

New York, Sugarbush - February March 2011

2011-03-30T21:45:00.002-04:00

We came to New York in the middle of February, just in time to see the last snow of a harsh winter. The excitement of being in a lovely warm apartment and seeing big fluffy flakes coming down made us all squeal and jump around with excitement.

It was a tough entry to New York this time as we did not go to our usual home away from home at the Clouds on Wooster St in Soho. Instead we sublet a fellow Aussie's apartment for two months - a space of our own were we could make noise and wash dishes when we felt like it.

We got the dishes done, however the neighbours downstairs made the girls aware of their heavy footsteps early on so the noise idea was curtailed.

Going from beautiful, sunny summer in Sydney to winter in New York was too much for Trinity and I. So we both spent some time in bed getting well in the first little while. Luckily we came back to our lovely nanny Sophie (left, with hat), who kindly looked after us all.

We got the chance to go ice skating a couple of times, and Trinity and David went snow boarding for a day in Mountain Creek in New Jersey with Griffin from Wooster St, while India and I focused on cleaning off the snow from all the bicycles in the streets around our apartment.

We found the local parks, and some favourite restaurants (particularly the Indian place, top right with the amazing light show), and got the girls settled into Blue School, a few blocks from our new place in the East Village on 6th Street.

We bought some scooters, and began our training to become a scooter gang. Trinity learnt to blow a bubble gum bubble for the first time and India began her obsession with the ultimate mullet cut.

We went snowboarding as a family to Sugarbush resort, Vermont for four days. Late season snow seems to work for us. Another hot tub and more fresh snow and boarding.

Trinity has fallen in love with reading and because of the main character in the Percy Jackson series has become enamoured with cheeseburgers.

Fresh from Vermont we went into a big conference in New York and launched our new branding for our company.

We then spent a day on strategic planning for our businesses in North America and Latin America with our regional and global core team and then spent the next day with our North American training team. Ready for another holiday already!

Woodford and Byron Bay January 2011

2011-01-10T05:27:00.010-05:00

Summer holidays don't get much better then this....

We started with a scary flight from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast, due to bad weather. We had checked the weather forecast and had been undeterred by the warnings of flash floods, so we only had ourselves to blame.

Our first stop the next morning was to visit Australia Zoo run by the Irwin family in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast. It was just like watching a TV show, but live. The whole family performed, with Bindi doing a series of songs, lip sinc'd with a foursome of girl dancers.

There were big crocs and crikeys. The Irwins seemed to have fun despite choreography and a much practised show. Afterwards the girls got to hang out with young Bob Irwin, playing in Steve's old truck on display. Great fun and a well put together zoo all up.

Then we moved on to the main show. Woodford folk festival is called mudford for good reason. This was the 25th year and they seemed to be well practiced with rain. We were ready, each with our own gum boats, rain jackets and umbrellas.

The festival is set in a valley, spread over several kilometres. It takes more then half hour to walk from the bottom of the festival to the top. The event starts after boxing day and finishes the day after New Years Eve, and the only real way to enjoy it is to stay in a tent.

There are around 15 large tents, covered venues, with amazing music playing pretty much constantly through out the seven day festival. In between each venue that are food stalls and shops selling musical instruments, hammocks, hats, and hippy clothes. Almost anything really.

There are comedians, bush poets and speakers on many weird and wonderful topics performing. Rock sculptures being made and remade through out the seven days around the festival. The girls obsessed about these rocks and made a few piles of their own through out the festival.

There is a special area just for the kids, which has free face painting all day long, amongst other things. Even on site babysitting which allowed David and I to enjoy new year eve on our own. Our favourite tent was the Chai tent, which is the only place that is carpeted and has pillows and low tables though out.

And everyone seems happy. There is a wonderful, friendly vibe, with people being nice to each other. There are few venues where alcohol is served. And happy people drifting from gig to gig.

One venue was called the dance hall and had lessons all day, from belly dancing to Bollywood, to African dancing, and much more. Trinity and India went to one on Burlesque makeup and hair (of course). To the left Trinity is on stage getting a 'kitten ears' hairstyle makeover.

Trinity and India's favourite site was the creeks, where the kids gathered. Trinity continues to build her leadership skills by bossing all the kids around (right). Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don't.

Trinity met some unsavoury characters, like Kevin Rudd, the previous prime minster of Australia. Speaking of unsavoury, we got to play 'Bogan Bingo' - performed by the only Rock bingo band in the world. David got to rock the stage with his air guitar show too.

The final day, January 1st was beautiful. The fire event was magical and we lucked out to sit right next to the bonfires, and got nice and toasty. It began to rain and we finished with an absolute crescendo of mud, making all rain coats, umbrella's un-use able until washed and dried (a hard thing to do in the circumstances). We had our final showers and went back to our tent ready to move out the next morning from our recently unbogged car...that is another story.

While we can not crown it the best holiday ever, the girls have voted to repeat the festival next year come rain or shine. We had an absolute ball.

There is something wonderful about random social connections, a spiritual experience without it being shoved down your throat. Just beautiful.

What a blessed life we lead...

After Woodford, we drove down the coast to meet our good friends Stuart and Theresa with their two kids in Byron Bay. We has rented a beach house right on Belongil, which is slowly being eaten away by the sea. The backyard sits high above the crashing waves at high tide.

It rained a lot so India and Sienna got the hang of playing twister. Three year olds playing twister is something worth watching. Very cute.

We swam and jogged along the beach regardless of weather.

We had Stu's (to right with Sienna) birthday night at Rae's, a quite divine restuarant on the famous Wategoes Beach.

And Trinity learnt to surf, standing all the way in to the beach. Here she is in all her glory.

Sydney Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T04:37:00.000-05:00

December in Sydney can be lovely, or it can rain alot. We had our work christmas party on a boat on Sydney harbour.

A few hours on a boat on a grey and cloudly Friday afternoon, turned into hours of laughter, swimming off the boat and much entertainment in Darling Point park with a view of the harbour bridge in the background. I love the people we work with. The ability to have fun is a most important attribute in a team member.

The next day was David's sisters 40th birthday party and the cousins got to spend some time in hanging out together. They love it so! Photo credit on left goes to Sam Rock. Natasha the youngest cousin is missing form the shot.

The other important task of the weekend was to build the christmas tree. We do this each year using different things. This year we built the structure using books (see right).

The next weekend was the real thing and the girls got a rare chance to see their other cousins, daughters of my brother Michael and his wife Jill. My parents held their first christmas at the new house in Gymea in Sydney's south. My father David played Santa Claus, as he already has the beard in place.

Present giving came before lunch, with Alannah and Trinity both recieving a magic kits, so expect some performances using cards and top hats soon.

Other gifts included a Harry Potter lego set, Trinity's current obsession, and India particularly liked her pink mask gift, which has been worn quite frequently since.

Auckland, Singapore Nov 2010

2010-12-10T17:07:00.004-05:00

This was a trip I did on my own, with no girls to chase me out of meetings. The girls stayed home with Nanna and Granddad, much to everyones delight, with visits to swimming pools and church fetes in Sydney.

Auckland was lovely, with two days spent in a function center in a place called Eden Gardens. I met the key people in our New Zealand business, who at one point carried me. The next day was a conference for some of our trained coaches where I gave my first keynote for a long time (not sure I have ever done one, as normally David's forte).

We had the annual awards, with some 'cracker' prizes. Two of our coaches and trainers, Tia and Jhanna with their 'trophies'.

The weather was beautiful, the people lovely, and the gardens peaceful and serene. There were chickens running around the gardens, following around potential new friends. Just what I needed after only a week in Sydney, back from New York.

I then flew to Singapore to meet up with David and our team in Asia to do some strategic planning for the growth of the business next year. We also met our Indian partners, who we are starting a joint vengture with next year. Then David and I returned home to see our girls, for some good clean family fun.

New York, Boston October 2010

2010-11-12T03:24:00.006-05:00

The girls and I caught up with David after arriving in New York. We settled in for the month of October with the girls excited to be attending Blue School.

David and my time was incredibly busy, with less of the normal sight seeing and entertainment I try to pack in to our trips.

The US business has stepped up to another level and we were busy keeping up with the growth and changes. We hired two new high level staff for the North American business, as well as closed some deals with great clients.

We did take one sunny Sunday to go uptown to the Cloisters, an art gallery and part of the metropolitan museum, specialising in medieval art. The guide books give much talk about the unicorn tapestries, and suggest these are an excellent draw card for kids. What they didn't mention is that in all of the tapestries the unicorns are being captured, tortured or worse. Not ideal for little girls. There was also a wonderful tasting garden full of edible plants and herbs.

Another high point was right next store, in the art gallery called Dietch. There was a temporary photographic studio set up, with lights, makeup table, and other amazing photographic resources, so we booked the studio for a few hours and took some photos, which will be shared at a later date. The girls enjoyed being on both sides of the camera. I also got a new camera though this one is bigger and harder to take around.

We went off to Brooklyn for a BBQ and backyard bonfire, with some old friends, Jess and Adrian, then David and I whizzed off for quick trip to New Orleans for an Organisational Development conference for two nights while 'aunty' Marni looked after the children.

The week after it was the NeuroLeadership Summit in Boston which was an amazing success and . Three days of neuroscience and wonderful people. We even had a dual off with gospel choirs for the gala dinner.

The kids got to spend quality time with Sophie the babysitter and tireless reader of Harry Potter. They walked the freedom trail, visited the grainary graveyard as well the Boston Children's museum. The weather was freakishly warm for Boston in late October and the trees and leaves were beautiful and varied.

The weekend of our return to New York was Halloween. Some of the crew from the summit came down and we went out to Wicked the musical on Saturday night and walked some of the parade through Greenwich village dressed up in our finest on Sunday eve.

India was dressed up as a princess and Trinity dressed as Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. I have no good photos of this night sadly. David dressed as a southern rocker with a mullet and I was a pirate. Trinity walked all the way up to 9th Street with Gracen, her 'older sister' who lives in the apartment we share in Soho.

The girls were sad to leave Blue School, however the sunshine and warmth of Sydney coming into summer heals many things. David will follow us home via Germany and Singapore.

Munich, September 2010

2010-09-30T06:35:00.006-04:00

The female Rocks are on the move again after almost a full school term in Sydney. We headed to Munich in Germany to work with a client as well as deliver a train the trainer program for our growing European team.

From Trinity (edited by Lisa):

We went to Munich, and on our first day we went to Oktoberfest, where we looked around at the rides. India was asleep.

We went into a big noisy hall, with a big band and a lot of really drunk people who were dancing and standing on tables. The music was from an Oompah pah band.

We went into a restaurant where we had chicken and chips, and mum ordered a really big beer. Everyone was wearing the national dress, the ladies were in a dress called drindl and looked pretty, and the men's clothes had straps and shorts called lederhosen, which were really cool.

We went on the Ferris wheel after India woke up. I went on a dodgem car for the first time and I bumped into a lot of walls. India got upset because she was too young to go on. We went on horsey's together and had ice cream and love heart necklaces that we could eat.

It was really fun. Trinity writing finishes.

We went to the Deutsches Museum which was perfect fodder for the next day, which was rainy. There was an amazing mining exhibit that was long, and looked as though we were travelling through underground mining tunnels, with different periods of mining technology.

Upstairs there were airplanes, including the first flying machines, huge boats and even replica space shuttles. Downstairs in the basement was the kids section, with water play, musical instruments and plenty to keep the kids from falling asleep from the jet lag.

I then worked for three days of training and the kids got to play with the new toy - an ipad, including movies to entertain them, while a German speaking babysitter looked after them.

We have now arrived in New York to meet up with David. The girls are loving Blueschool, but more on that next post.

Singapore Bintan June 2010

2010-07-05T00:00:00.006-04:00

We arrived in Singapore two days before our annual Leadership Retreat event and with much jet lag. The girls were handed to babysitters, though these sometimes includes RCS staff, which were firm favourites by far. We had approximately twenty five people from around the globe for three days talking about how to grow our business and launching new products etc. By the end of it most people were exhausted and ready for a break. We changed gears and went into a train the trainer process for another couple of days - then it was time to rest.

David had missed the last two days to work with a client in Kuala Lumpa. We met back in Singapore and from there went straight to Bintan Club Med, voted our 'best ever holiday' last time around. And it did not disappoint. The food is outstanding, the pace slow, the people memorise all children's names and on holiday happy occupied children make for happy, relaxed parents.

Trinity found a new best friend with Ester a french girl living in Singapore. They hung out together constantly and loved playing on the beach until after sunset each night. The girls got to perform in a couple of shows.

Trinity sang 'I can sing a rainbow' while another girl signed. They also faced an air guitar championship. India didn't quite get it though, see the video below.

On our final full day in Singapore we went back to the Zoo. We fed giraffes and elephants and Trinity got a long kiss from a sea lion. It doesn't get much better then that.

New York May June 2010

2010-06-24T09:01:00.006-04:00

Straight from snowy Sunshine into the arms of a frozen New York, supposedly avoiding the Sydney autumn and winter but shockingly cold!

We arrived and Trinity and India went straight to Blue school. We had found a wonderful (Australian) babysitter for our entire stay - the sweet Sophie. The school term had only three and half weeks until the US spring break. We took advantage of one of the school excursions and went to the Poets house in Battery Park, lower Manhattan. 50,000 books of poetry to read and photo copy free of charge, open to the public. There was a kids room with questions to trigger poem writing for kids. Trinity wrote her first poem:

We dance, we sing, we play all day
Then the bell rings for a school day
And then what happens?
And then what happens?
We have a dream and what is in that dream?
A sloth eating her lunch at school
Then we wake up and all is quiet
We think our dream is really a flight

Trinity Rock, 28 May 2010

The girls took flights of fancy and roamed Soho and Tribeca in princess outfits. The art in the streets always amazes me. Such a vibrant city with the street sometimes being the best canvas for artists trying to break through.

Thankfully the city warmed up pretty quickly. In fact it was pretty extreme as weather changes go. The next week we hit 30 Celsius most days and so we journeyed to water fountains in local parks to cool off. This seems to be the NYC way - minimal public pools, and lots of water fountains in most parks.

David and I took a couple of breaks from the girls to enjoy the delights of New York. We went to an off Broadway show 'Our town' which was wonderful and heart wrenching. We also got to see the reprisal of 'Hair' which was surprisingly great. Again an incredibly moving show, with David reliving learning drums to the soundtrack with the drummer onstage after the show.

Because of David's crazy travel schedule the girls and I got to hang out together and go site seeing. We visited Chelsea markets for ice cream then the Highline for a green diversion.We also found a grooving carousel that had just opened up in the same area, on the Hudson river near the west village. We ate dinner on the Frying pan, an old boat that had been salvaged and strapped together with two others, and a perfect summer evening for a beer watching the sunset.

The girls took the time to write some more poems.

The Highline
Tell me what thoughts?
A train on the Highline
Grass amongst the threads
A bee hums
The wind blows a scarf
The railing like keys of a piano
Dancing a song on the rails
Trinity Rock 30 May 2010

Mum
I want to go over the waves
to our house, to get home
and bring her into the sea
and climb the rocks with her

India Rock 30 May 2010

Because our annual leadership retreat was shortly, I was hard at work preparing during the week. Weekends were a different matter. The girls and I hitched a ride with Ashley and family, Blue school staff member out to Storm King. It is an enormous sculpture park in up state New York. We drove along the Hudson valley for an hour, looking for bears, and deer on the way with no success. It was an end of year event for a Blue School sub group called paintings and picnics. The temperature was around 35 Celsius as we walked around the grassy park and then trammed around the grounds pasts amazing sculptures and installations.

Because of the end of the school year, there were school art shows and weird and wonderful events, including an end of year play (left, Trinity as a tiger), as well birthday parties being squeezed in before everybody breaks for holidays.

My favourite was the 'happening' that involved the students and parents making a spider web in a class room and then role playing flies (parents) and spiders (kids). The Blue school is also moving over the spring break to a new building and the children took time to imagine what the new school should be like (see above right for the suggested design in progress).

We also got the chance to catch up with my old friends Marni and Jess, with a rooftop BBQ on our last weekend. Trinity found a firm friend in Leo from Germany (second from the bottom on slippery dip, with India at the very top, with photo credit to Marni Hine). Marni is about to move to Australia late in the year so one of my NYC friends will no longer be there! Luckily she is planning to spend some time in Bondi.

Here is India grooving on the carousel.

Banff, Canada - May 2010

2010-05-10T17:10:00.008-04:00

So far this trip we have already been to San Diego for 3 days for a conference and meetings, Calgary for 3 days for David delivering a program and a talk and now Banff for 7 days of rest and recuperation.

Last year I requested that David take this week off. It includes my birthday (1st), Trinity's birthday (7th) and mothers day (2nd sunday of May), so this really is the big family week of the year, at least in my book.

David decided that the perfect week would be in Banff, as he surely loves to snow board. So we booked into the Sunshine Village Lodge, the only ski in accommodation in Banff, and the only field still open so late in the season.

The snow to date had been fairly poor with a base of 150cm only. But it started snowing from the time we arrived and only stopped in patches for the whole time we were there. With 20cm of powder over our time there, we were happy.

There was a wonderful day care place for when the girls couldn't face the onslaught of snow each day, when it was too cold to deal with a lesson. And they loved it. Because it was the end of the season the day care had space and toys enough for 40 kids, and only the two girls on some days to enjoy the attention of the carers who, like all the other staff on the mountain seemed to be Australian.

The girls had toboggan runs there too, and India would have occasional ski lessons during her stay in day care, which she loved. By the time she left she could keep her ski's together and laughed loudly when gaining speed going downhill.

Trinity on the other hand, took on the snow board for the first time and had three lessons over the week. It was a hard debate between boarding and skiing, won over ultimately by the understanding that boarding was 'cooler' though a bit harder upfront. On the last day she travelled all afternoon with David on big mountain runs, and loved it.

Each day after the lifts had closed we sat in the hot tub, with occasional trips out to make snow angels in the snow. The weather was magic with snow falling most of the time, and with sunny patches too. And because it was spring the sun did not set until 9pm.

David and I got to board in 2ocm of powder, the best snow I have ever been on, with an awesome mountain or three to choose from. Our favourite was Goat's Eye mountain, which was pretty much pure black diamond runs. From Alpine slopes at the top, through frozen creeks arounds the side, tree filled gullies and lots of jumps, we had a ball. This is my second trip after having kids, and I really found my feet again on the board.

Trinity's brithday was the last full day on the slopes and David started it with an snow cake with icicle candles that were blown out.

David took Trinity snowboarding for the afternoon, then we went down the mountain for a special night out in the town of Banff itself, finding a nice vegetarian restaurant called 'Nourish'. She had a great day.

We then left early the next morning for our next adventure - Blue School in New York.

Below is a video of India skiing and Trinity boarding - I am sorry it is sidewards, but I dont know how to change the orientation!

Here is Trinity boarding with her dad.

Bintan, Singapore March 2010

2010-03-27T20:10:00.007-04:00

Our Singapore business continues to grow and David is there frequently to deliver to one of our biggest clients globally. Luckily we are only an hour ferry ride away from the quiet and beautiful tropical islands of Indonesia.

We decided to take a well deserved long weekend from our busy schedule to Bintan. The timing was not perfect, as we hit some pretty solid monsoon rain the first two days, but then it cleared and we got to enjoy a resort near a major shipping lane.

The girls had a ball, with the kids club, face painting, t-shirt painting, sand painting and model painting. They painted anything that moved. They even made friends with a local monitor lizard feeding it tinned tuna.

David and Trinity also took time to focus on creating an acrobatic performance in the pool.

The beach was lovely aside from sand flies, and pollution including floating tar globules that were quite hard to wash off. David took Trinity out on a jet ski, which involved 10 minutes of screaming. We also snorkeled, kayaked, bogey boarded and body surfed after the water had cleared from the rain.

We ate at the restaurant on the beach at night as there was a festival on with nightly performances of various islands music and dancing. The girls enjoyed the shows so much they occasionally joined the dances up front.

After the long weekend we caught the ferry back to Singapore in a very mellow mood. I tried going shopping in the mall next store, but it was all too much so we retreated to the pool to gather enough strength to deal with normal life in Singapore.

We stayed at the Amara hotel in the city, and I had meetings at the bank and with the accountant (the glamour side of our business), and the kids had a babysitter from the hotel who took them down into the depths of the hotel basement into the housekeeping department.

We stayed on the club floor of the hotel, where business people usually stay. We used the facilities fully, though with more noise and movement then most. A three and seven year old don't tend to mix well with business people having quiet meetings. But you cant have everything.

Sadly India became a little sick, vomiting with a slight fever, but no dampening of spirits.

I got to see the new Singapore office, a temporary facility while we source a more permanent option. Our new operations manager Eileen was also there (new business card in hand). And Angie was at the coffee machine, happily using the perks of having an office finally.

Then the girls and I flew home, knowing that we will be back soon enough.

Fiji, January 2010

2010-01-12T15:19:00.014-05:00

We had a good christmas in Tamarama with family and friends. We built the xmas tree as a family project over a weekend. It was made with recycled materials, with painted leaves and cardboard.

A few days later we took off to Fiji - firstly with two days in Denaru then catching a ferry to Treasure Island, 17km from the international airport.

The island is one of three islands traditional held by one clan from the main island of Fiji. A village owns 50% of the resort with a 99 year lease, and some of the staff hark from that village and have worked at the island for over 20 years. The people are friendly and welcoming, great with the kids, and apparently, terrible at cooking.

We arrived on New Years Eve which was a bit challenging, as preparation and rearrangement of the facilities was underway for the party that evening. The party was wonderful with lots of singing and dancing, fire sticks and hula type swinging, with the evening ending with David and Trinity jumping into the pool at midnight, while India slept nearby on a sun lounge. She slept through the fireworks, not moving a muscle.

We settled into our Bure, hammock out front, with a view through the palms to the waves lapping the beach, an umbrella down on the sand with to banana lounges waiting for us. The island is very small and takes 15 minutes to walk around. There is nothing dangerous there other then relatively harmless sharks.

The day we arrived we saw a small fin just off the beach beside our Bure (traditional hut), and I sent Trinity down to the water to investigate. It was a beautiful little black tip reef shark. David feels less confident now with my watching over the children. Trinity seemed quite happy with the pool after that.

There were lots of endangered species roaming the island (one of the reasons we chose it). You can't move far without tripping over a Banded Rail, a slow witted bird that cannot fly. Easy pray for hungry folk (a bit boney if you ask me). Also crested iguanas and hawks beak turtles (of Nemo fame - dude), amongst others.

Soon after arriving Trinity asked to go on a fishing expedition with hand reels. It was an hour of pure delight to watch her bafflement as to why people would go fishing at all. The area around the island is a marine sanctuary, and though the boat goes beyond the sanctuary they still encourage you to throw the fish caught back. On the trip back I asked what Trinity had learned: 'I learned not to go fishing' she responded. A job well done.

We swam, and snorkelled. It is very funny to try to spot the Aussie at a resort - the ones in full length sun shirts, plenty of sun cream and hats (even in the pool).

David finally took the time to get his open water dive ticket after years of resort dives. I see diving in our future. The water was clear, lots of beautiful coral and fish outside our Bure and around the island. David got to go on some magnificent dives.

The kids enjoyed the kids club and pool. They got to be in fashion parades and dance performances at dinner for the rest of the guests. Which they hated, as you can imagine, shrinking violets that they are. They learned to shave coconut flesh, searched for hermit crabs in the dark, and had their hair braided.

Sadly, the day before I was booked for my dive trip I sprained an ankle and had to sit by the pool for the rest of the trip, self-medicating. But I made it through okay. See India trying to help me find zen after the fact.

My favourite story is the one of some keen guests ready to go skinny dipping one night, near the lights shine on a certain beach. They tromped down to the sand, rather happy with thoughts of what was to come. And then they saw ten little fins circling in the light - reef sharks that feed on the fish attracted to the light. They did not make it in for a dip that evening. We did verify and there is in fact circling fins each night at that spot.

I got to have my first ever helicopter ride on the return trip from Treasure island to the airport. We came home entirely satisfied, rating this trip to Fiji as our second favourite trip ever after Bintan.

David went on to take the girls to Terrigal for four nights, with side trips to two zoos (continuing research for Trinitys goals to run a zoo when she grows up).

I stayed in Sydney to do an art course and enjoy my first time without the girls not involving work. Bliss!

New York, November 2009

2009-11-17T12:27:00.016-05:00

Of course all good things have a down side and we found it this trip in the form of nits. We may have imported nits into the US. Or maybe not...we will never know for sure. Aside from the endless combing in front of the TV, my favourite part was getting to say a very Croc Dundee 'You call that nit? No mate, in Australia nits are this big.' See Sona Wink playing with Trinity.

The girls have continued to find ways to play , from painting with water colours to yoga, as well as making their own laptops and cell phones. They have also been lucky with adventures, getting to walk the high line, and go to a farm to pick a halloween pumpkin amongst other things.

New york mostly feels incredibly safe, certainly a lot safer then then when I first lived there in the early 90's as a model. This time we had the pleasure of a brush with the efficiency of the polisce which was both exciting and a reminder of the necessity of paying attention.

We met some friends on the streets in Soho, with many distractions, including types like a man with a cat on his head. We started chatting and Trinity laid her scooter to the side to pat a dog close by. A moment later a taxi pulled up and the driver asked if we were missing a scooter. And of course we were. The (plain clothes) police had picked up a young lad with a newly acquired scooter down the block. We hardly knew what was going on before it was all handled by the police. We got to face the young boy, and the police asked Trinity if she had anything she wanted to say to the boy. She declined to comment, and the police promised to scare him a way form a life of crime. Good luck with that.

This is the latest in the fall that we have been in New York, So we have gotten to enjoy wrapping up to go out and watching the turning of the leaves. After some prompting from Trinity we went ice skating in Central Park. My friend and fellow Australian, Marni, came too. A long time New Yorker, who I first met while living in Osaka, Japan, and had the fortune to hang out with a lot in Hong Kong.

Trump ice rink is at the south end of central park, with the beautiful city scape behind. The rink had rental boots small enough for India, so we all got to go on the ice together. There was lots of slipping and sliding, and a slow acceptance from Trinity that falling was the only way to learn. Marni was patient teaching her how to be okay, while I carried India gliding just above the ice.

The next week was Veterans day. I happened upon the parade by accident. Watching all those men and women makes me incredibly sad, so I couldn't stay too long. The thought of youth going to war, dying, being maimed, or mentally scarred for life is an appalling thought and yet an army is entirely necessary.

I was served the next day at the post office by a Vietnam veteran. He said that before 9/11 nobody came to watch the parade each year. After that people had a sense of what it might be like to be in harms way, to be in constant jeopardy. He said that what was funny was that 9/11 was 20 mins of uncertainty and fear. War is 24/7, for months at a time. I have no wish to imagine that experience.

My final Saturday night was spent fare welling good friend Ara Koopelian from New York. Ara is an Australian photographer, who has lived in New York for a long time. Ara introduced David and I, so we have a lot to thank him for (as well as being one of the family photographers). At Ara's farewell was another face from long ago. Eric Bertuccio, advertising writer, now New Yorker, worked at the boutique ad agency VCD, my first real job after returning from modeling in Paris.

And then it was time to go home. No upgrades this time, and the girls traveled beautifully, with not a single cry through the 24 hours of travel. They are champions, as several people on the plane noted. Home to the strawberry patch and a Sydney Summer. Heading for 35 degrees celsius on Saturday, so the weather man says.

New York October 2009

2009-11-02T10:18:00.016-05:00

We had one and a half months planned in New York. Thankfully, considering what we had to fit in.... The girls and I arrived on a Sunday night after hanging around the pool in LA for a day.

We were greeted with open arms by our New York family, Griffin, Gracen, Jaimie, David and Lucky the dog. We launched into the New York experience with Trinity going straight to Blue School the next day. She loves the school, I think, because the class is small (10 kids) and they are the oldest kids in the school. Blue school is growing grade by grade, so Trinity gets to be queen of the school for a little while when she comes in, changing the dynamic, and bridging the gap between kids that don't normally hang out together.

This time Trinity is in first grade so she doesn't just get to have fun all the time - she also gets to do school work too. There is no space for India in the two year old's class this time so she gots to hang out with Emily the nanny, who had come along with us too.

The first big event on the agenda was David's book launch for Your Brain At Work which was truly wonderful. A breakfast for 100 people, 40 floors up, overlooking central park. The girls came along, Trinity getting to miss a days school.She even got to sign someones book too. It felt like a true coming of age for David. Our good friend Ara the photographer was there to capture the moment.

Next was TED x Blue. TED (ideas worth sharing) is a big conference that happens in Long Beach each year, with a cult following. Each speaker has 18 minutes to share their idea, so it is a really tight format. This event was an independently organised (thus the x) one specifically based around the idea of how to make education better with over 200 people there.

One of the videos played was of Blue School board member Sir Ken Robinson which is one of the most popular at the TED conference website. We were lucky enough for Sir Ken and his wife Theresa to join us for dinner on the first night of the summit in LA the following week. Dan Seigel spoke on mindfulness along with Chris Wink, David and Jaimie Cloud all talking about what is needed in schools.

It was then time to focus on the final details of the NeuroLeadership Summit which we held in Los Angeles this year. David and I flew in the night before, while the girls stayed with Emily and our family in New York. This allowed David and I to focus on the wonderful people a the summit.

With a combination of Leadership greats and neuroscientists, the event was quite overwhelming. The response from the participants and speakers alike was wonderful. It was a respectful and curious space created for the building a bridge between the latest neuroscience research and leadership both in education and organisations. The RCS staff that flew in for the event where champions and the event went off with out a hitch. We flew straight back to New York the next morning to see the girls who didn't appear to miss us much at all. All credit to Emily for looking after them so lovingly.

The next night was Halloween and Trinity choose to dress up as a member of Kiss the band, so we all joined in too, including Griffin (12). We went trick-or-treating in some apartment buildings around the financial district, and the kids ended up with way too much candy.

Then it was time for the parade, which starts right near our home in Soho. We walked around the start, enjoying the creativity and craziness. There was sushi, lots of wild things, and all kinds of other costumes. My favourite costumes was a couple dressed as a stairway to heaven and the road to hell. Sadly, I didn't get a good photo.

The next day was the New York marathon and our friend Stuart and his mate Warwick ran the 43 kilometers to help raise money for a sports foundation in the slums of Nairobi. Holey mackeral.

We took an hour to see a beautiful Georgia O'Keefe abstract exhibition at the Whitney while we waited for them to get closer to the finish line. We watched Stu and Warwick take the finish line, 6 hours after starting the run, ecstatic with their achievement.

It was amazing to feel the emotion, support and acknowledgment that the crowd poured onto the runners as they moved towards the finish line. Megaphones, signs, and the yelling of names on the runners shirts as they passed by. I was almost inspired to give it a try next year. I am sure the idea will fade.

Two weeks to go...on the downhill run now.

New Zealand, September 2009

2009-09-23T02:59:00.004-04:00

Okay, naughty parents that we are, we snuck (?) away from the children for the first time since India was born. So this isn't really a family blog...

A bit of context if you will....part of our pre-nuptial agreement was that I had to learn to snowboard. And of course, David took me to learn on a live volcano, and then left me, a newbie boarder in the middle of a blizzard, on the slopes.

Of course, I passed the test and we go back to the volcano every few years. Mt Rupheau is in the middle of the north island of New Zealand. The place is called Whakapapa, and it is an excellent ski field full of bowls and gullies created by lava flows.

We stay at a place called the Chateau Tongarao, named after another nearby volcano. It is a grand old place in the middle of nowhere and perfect for relaxing, especially after having thrown your body down the hill all day.

From there we went to a conference, and then home to the children who has been in the care of grandparents.

Bintan, Indonesia, July 2009

2009-07-24T21:49:00.012-04:00

School holidays are still new to us, so it was slightly surprising that we actually aligned our travels with one. David was working in Singapore and had time between training days, so we met him in Club Med Bintan, an hours ferry ride from Singapore. Some people that had met David in Tokyo would be there too.

I have never been to a Club Med and was not keen on the concept. I am happy to say expectations were surpassed by a long way. Both the girls went to kids club the first few days, keen to get into the activities - from archery, to kite making, fish feeding, water slides and so on.

David and I relaxed and enjoyed time off. And then we threw ourselves into the Club Med experience.

Swimming, yoga, massages, sailing, windsurfing, though David was unhappy with the wind's performance over the week. The photo on the left is of David on the one relatively windy day on a sailing boat - in the background you might be able to see a girl who jumped overboard.

Each night after dinner there was circus skills practice, a show and then line dancing and of course the free drinks. We learnt how to juggle, diablo, hula hoop, and indeed salsa dance too. The major shows each night were quite amazing, cirque du soleil types, to comedy, and rock and roll.

The high point, literally, for us was the trapeze. I took to it like a duck to water, getting to do tricks and catches. Trinity took a little longer to warm to it, ending up doing many flamingos and a final knee hang and back flip off which turned into ten somersaults in a row. She made firm friends with the crew. Monkeys even came to watch.

The big story was watching David trust himself and his body to fly through the air. After a couple of days of simple swinging he decided he was ready for a back flip and then the next day went the whole way to do a knee hang and then back flip off the trazpeze (see the video below). I will load videos of Trinity and me flying too and will send out the links separately.

Totally satisfying as holidays go. Then to the ferry, airport hotel for the night and an early flight home.

New York June 2009, part 2

2009-06-26T09:24:00.003-04:00

As always, I leave this town with my head spinning. It takes time to adjust, and get into the rhythm and just as I do, it is time to leave.

This trip has been a good one. We found, thanks to Jaimie and Joe, a great venue for David's book launch on October 13th (see the view to the right). Our friend Ara helped us come up with a fabulous idea for the launch, which we will keep under our hats until the event.

Trinity tried out Tai Kwan Doe, which she loved. We watched eight year old's spa, and were impressed by their energy and focus. She loved chasing around the instructor trying to land a blow with both fist and foot.

Summer camp run by blue school allowed Trinity a week of hanging out with other kids and doing great creative projects.

One of the big events of the trip was going out to Coney Island to see the Mermaid parade which happens around the summer solstice each year. Sadly it was raining this year, so the parade ended early.

We walked along the board walk past lots of amazing creatures and costumes. Our favourite was the sea creature, which India was entranced by, as he ate his fish and chips under cover during the rain. We all dressed up, with Trinity as a mermaid (including a blond wigand a shell shaped bra top). Unfortunately I didn't get any good photos but it was great fun for her.

Coney Island is an interesting place. The fun fair has lots of great rides for little kids, though operating intermittently due to the rain on the day. I was tempted by the 'Shoot the freak' game (!). We were deeply sad to miss the hot dog eating competition that was due to take place in 12 days.

Trinity and I also had the pleasure of going to the Broadway show 'The little Mermaid'. Last time she saw the 'Lion King' with her father, so this time we got to sing along with Ariel. We then walked around Times Square which is now a more pedestrian place, as they have fenced off many of the roads to allow for the vast amounts of tourists that walk around there each year.

The trip ended on a high note. We got to JFK burdened with the normal extra luggage collected in NYC and found that we had been upgraded to business class the whole way home. Ahhhh, such happy events.

New York, June 09

2009-06-14T09:32:00.003-04:00

I love New York. It is such a great town. We arrived Wednesday night, way too late, and on Thursday afternoon went to the last hour of the last day (before summer break) of Blue School with Trinity. The kids and teachers greeted her with joy and excitement.

One of the children, Charles was having his birthday party that afternoon so we gate crashed the party, which happened to be one of the most amazing birthday parties I have ever been too.

Held in a photographic studio on the waters edge, there was soccer, t-shirt painting, floating balloons, dress-ups, plays, dancing and great food. What an entry to New York. I connected with the mothers, arranged some play dates, drank some champagne. Such hard work.

I feel very blessed to be part of the blue school community, the parents are open hearted and welcoming to us, the kids are bold and creative and it feels like coming home in many ways. Trinity fits right in. David is on the board of the school and contributes the latest neuroscience to the curriculum. See the Time magazine video here.

We are also blessed to stay with the Cloud Levine household in NYC. They open their space to us, and allow us to be as chaotic as we are! We have common ground in growing businesses, and similar values in improving our world. Jaime runs sustainability training for K-12 teachers across the US, and David is a sustainable chemical composition guy, who lobbies the government about recycling materials, makes jars out of corn and other fantastical things.

Other big news is that Trinity has two new teeth coming up in front at the bottom. Unfortunately the two teeth already there need to make way, so we are waiting with baited breath for the tooth fairy to arrive for the first time.

Prague, Czech Republic June 09

2009-06-11T09:27:00.001-04:00

David left for London to teach his class at Oxford and pitch some business, while the girls and I flew from Singapore to Frankfurt and then on to Prague. I had heard a great deal about the beauty of Prague, so was a little disappointed in the first few days walking around. High expectations can do that.

I found that Prague grows on you. Walking through the old town is beautiful at every turn. The squares are surrounded by amazing old clock towers and churches. Every building has an ornate front, sculptures and friendly gargoyle types. And the river winds its way through the city. Our first day we took random tram trips all over the city to get the lay of the land. The next day we went to Prague Museum which was filled with thousands of stuffed dead animals.

Summer in Europe is never to be trusted, especially with global warming. It was almost arctic so I spent time searching for warmer clothes for the girls. Luckily our rented apartment was wonderfully warm.

David arrived, and he and I focused on business. The reason for our visit to Prague was a Leadership Retreat for our businesses licensees from around the globe. Sadly a couple of them couldn't make it, so with three of our team from Australia we met as a group of 12 and had two days of solid talking and thinking about where we want to take our business, and what is next for us as a business. Really worth while, and a precursor to our next meeting in late July in Sydney with our regional managers from around the world, from markets we manage.

After the retreat was over we got to enjoy Prague again with the girls, by visiting Prague Castle and most importantly a toy museum with a '50 years of Barbie' exhibition. It just doesn't get better then traveling half way around the world to walk through rooms full of barbies.

The Czech people seem to be an outdoor loving group (that and fatty foods), with a decided lack of politeness for tourists. Overall a lovely city, and glad we had the opportunity to experience it (with the help of locals - thanks Vladi and Kristin).

Singapore May 09

2009-05-30T08:12:00.000-04:00

The female Rocks left Sydney on May 27th 2009, with the au pair Emily in tow. We left a few days late due to a mumps scare. David went to Tokyo first to speak at the first TED conference there. Unfortunately he was laid low in bed for some of his short time there so didn't get to enjoy it fully. We met him in Singapore, where we slowly got to recover from the cold/sinus infection we had. Having Emily was a blessing which allowed for much needed rest.

Time by the pool and a trip out to the Sentosa Shangri La, with it's three water slides was relaxing and a nice way to start this trip.

Sydney May 09

2009-05-14T16:05:00.000-04:00

The first Sunday in May is opening of the Icebergs season. We head down to the pool, where, after much ado, ice blocks are thrown into the water and then the members all jump in. We then swim 5o meters, have a sausage sizzle and beer, and head slowly home to a relaxed Sunday afternoon. See Guy and Siani doing their duty with ice in hand.

It was also Trinity's sixth birthday party with lots of chaos, family and friends to celebrate. She was thrilled that everyone came and more importantly gave her lots of good presents.

We also had the good news of a new niece, Natasha Hain, with a happy, though tired Danielle, Barry, Mikayla and Rhys. Congratulations to the Hain family.

Trinity and I got some quality time to go to the Kusama exhibition at the MCA, walk around Circular Quay and eat ice cream. We loved the magical fairly light room, and the fluro polka dot lounge room.

Also just before we left Trinity had a trial at Montessori East and decided she wants to go there despite the kids calling her Trinity Infinity. She will start back third term as she needs a week of quarantine, which segways into school holidays nicely.

The other big news is that David submitted his final manuscript for his new book to the publisher, promising not to write another book for another five years. I don't quite believe it myself. India didn't really help with the speed of the process either.

Singapore March 09

2009-03-24T11:10:00.000-04:00

Time with David is sometimes hard to get. So much so that we have to travel, as we did this time, to Singapore to catch up. A week in the warm weather of Singapore is always welcome as the food as fantastic. We stayed at a serviced apartment called Liang Court, right near the financial district and almost on top of Clarke Quay, a major restaurant and bar hub.

I decided that it was time to do the full tourist thing with the girls and took the week off. We went on a river boat, to the Asian Civilisation Museum, a Hindi temple, and to a China town immigrants house museum. Trinity asked lots of good questions, and the only sad spot was loosing 'sparkle barbie' while looking around China town.

For the weekend we moved to the Sentosa Shangri La, which is a five star resort on the South China Sea. It is a 'created' tropical environment, next to a major shipping lane. The upside is it is possibly the best place in Asia for kids. Great food, amazing pool, full service kids club, and, wait for it, three water slides.

The girls love it. and so do we as we sit on the sun lounges in front of the slide pool and watch them go up and down, up and down, up and down. We even have peacocks joins us at the breakfast buffet.

On the Satuday afternoon we went to the Zoo, and then on to the night Safari, which was well organised, smooth, and a general delight. The best part was just on closing time at the zoo as they prepared to feed the lions behind the scenes. The roars where spectacular.

Sydney Summer 09

2009-02-02T16:37:00.000-05:00

Summer is always so magical in Sydney, with so much happening and generally good weather. We enjoy where we live taking advantage of the beach when we can. Sometime a trampoline and hose will suffice though.

As part of the Sydney festival there was a Dawn Chorus performance at Bondi Beach one morning with the Sydney Philharmonic Choir. The girls and I got up and went down to hear the beautiful voices in the still dawn. It was magical and worth the early rise.

India started day care and was a brave trooper, carrying her own bag and walking in with no prompting, ready to be entertained. Aside from a little separation anxiety she loves London Carriage, especially the singing and sandpit play.

Australia Day was spent at the bergs, being part of swimming relay team. I swam for Japan, as there was not enough team members, and we did exceptional well. I think it was rigged that we didn't come second. But like all things at the bergs, we know not how they work. We do know that it is great family fun, laid back and a wonderful community to be a part of.

India's 2nd birthday was on January 30th. We had a family party involving cupcakes (thanks Thersea and Siani).

Trinity started school this year. Her first day at Kindergarten was made easy by a buddy she was assigned called Asia. Trinity was brave and determined, and focused on fitting in. She loves Bondi Beach Public School, and loves running around the playground at the end of the day, just one more time. She also has a fairy house in the nook of a tree that she enjoys playing at.

Fiji, January 09

2009-01-10T08:31:00.000-05:00

Outriggers on the lagoon was our last minute vacation for New Years. I checked my favourite travel guidance site trip advisor and off we went on an seven day adventure. We didn't have high expectations of Fiji. All we needed was a pool to sit by, with the ocean being a bonus.

We started off with New Years eve. We are talking limbo competitions and so on, a real family resort (gulp). We now realise we are a family and as such can benefit by attending a 'family' resort. Kids clubs are blessings, shallow pools are great, and other children are excellent distractions for our own smaller friends.

The food was awful, the service average, the pool excellent, and the holiday wonderful. We rode horses along the beach, visited a conservation and animal sanctuary. We lazed by the pool and ate. What more can you ask?

David and I got some time for massages and general relaxing.

The only sad comment was to see the decimation of the coral reef out front of the hotel. We were near a river outlet and the pesticides used by farms along the river have flowed out to the ocean and made the reef a waste land near by.

Sydney, December 2008

2008-12-30T17:42:00.000-05:00

David and I started the Results business 10 years ago and we were thrown a ten year anniversary party by our Australian regional manager Kylie Evans, held in Sydney, which was lovely. In that time we have amassed a fortune in friendships and connections around the globe and for that we are extraordinarily grateful. We have also lived fully, traveled lots and had some amazing experiences.

Trinity 'graduated' from her day care place, London Carriage. The graduation ceremony was something to behold including the singing of the Australian national anthem. Tears came to the eyes for all the wrong reasons.

David also got the first NeuroLeadership Journal published, and we sent it out just before Christmas. Quite an achievement which David is deeply proud of.

Christmas was cold and gray only lit up by our Christmas tree making attempt using big blocks.

We traveled to Hyams Beach to be with my family. Sadly Trinity had a cold and the gray continued. Our surroundings were beautiful as was the normal excess of food that makes an Ellis Christmas.

New York October 2008

2008-11-30T13:04:00.000-05:00

We came to New York this time to run the third NeuroLeadership Summit. It was also the run up to the US presidential election, and the air was full of noise. Come to think of it, that is always how New York is. The economic slump was barreling down, so a strange mix of hope and anguish as retirement funds halved, stock portfolios were left in tatters, and people lost their jobs.

Our summit was a great success, held near Time Square. The vibe of the participants and scientists was optimistic, and the room full to the brim. The best bit for David, I believe, was that Werner Erhart, the founder of Est was there (and is speaking at the next conference in LA).

I feel in a sense that it was a coming of age for David and his ideas, to have the top scientists in the field talking about the neuroscience with consultants and change agents from all over, thinking about how to apply the findings to their work and organisations. The feedback was extraordinary.

Our good friend Stuart Ziegler joined us to do the photography for the event. His ongoing support technologically, artistically and emotionally does wonders (thanks Stu).

It was Halloween. We carved pumpkins, wore funny clothes all day and generally tried to live the American dream, at least for the day. David Levine and Griffin, worked on inducting Trinity and India into the halloween thinking. The girls got dressed for school: Trinity was dressed as a fairy, while India was dressed as Dorothy the Dinsoaur. The big parade starts a couple of blocks from Wooster Street where we stay, so we watched start, and saw some wonderful characters, including monsters from 'Where the wild things are'.

During our visit Trinity and India both got to go to the Blue School for two weeks straight. India enjoyed the 2yr old class twice a week, while Trinity was in Kindergarten five days a week.

The light in the class rooms, the wonderful resources, and energetic teachers where a thrill to be in contact with. Trinity made some friends including Sidney her new pen pal (right).

It was also the run up to the US election. New York is a very blue state, all democratic, at least in Manhattan. On the day of the election the students at Blue School held a poll, and found that all but one student were pro Obama. We went to an election night party with my friend Marni, and shouted out from the balcony with the cars beeping on the streets below as the results became clear.

David and Stu went to Time Square to dance with the crazy crowds, strangers hugging, high fiving anybody moving. Then the long flight home.

Hong Kong August 08

2008-08-30T13:55:00.000-04:00

A one week short trip for business allowed us to explore Hong Kong a little. It was mostly work, though the girls came along to enjoy the pool. It is hard to be tourist when it is so hot, and there isn't a resort at hand.

India seemed to get a taste for travel on this trip, and wanted to go her own way.

Sydney, Byron Bay Winter 2008

2008-08-15T13:57:00.005-04:00

Zoe Ziegler is Trinity's best friend (since birth). Zoe held her birthday at a horse riding place in Sydney which involved ponies and pink iced cakes (what more could a girl want).

To the left is Zoe, Trinity and Amelia, good friends from daycare, London Carriage.

We also took time to go to the entertainment quarter at Moore Park to do some high jumping and tightrope walking. Trinity was incredibly brave and climbed up a high ladder without pausing. She gave it a number of goes and did not seem one bit frightened.

Next was Sid Sandberg's 70th birthday celebrations which was held at the community center in the housing area he and Carole (David's mum) live in. Sid is one of Trinity and India's many wonderful and loving grandparents.

It continues to be a blessing to have such an extended family network.

It was on to also another wonderful extended family event with Michelle and Niki having a wedding ceremony in Byron Bay.

Michelle gave birth to Ezra not long after the wedding, a beautiful baby boy.

David and I stayed at Rae's at Wategos Beach, with the owner being a mate of his from his living in Byron days. It was rainy and windy weather and we enjoyed the beach mostly to ourselves. Tal, a second cousin had a close encounter with a local turtle while we were there.

We also took the time to walk up to the iconic light house and breath in the fresh air at Australia's most easterly point.

Back in Sydney we held the second NeuroLeadership Summit in September - the first was is Asolo, Italy in 2007. It was held at the MCA on Circular Quay with spectacular weather and fascinating speakers. We had a good time, as did the participants (I hope!)

To the right is Lee Hull, Operations Director of the Institute, who did a stellar job of coordinating the event, and Kylie Evans, Regional Manager of our Australian business.

To the left is the irrepressible Dr Jeffery Schwartz from New York, who has partnered with David on writing an article for Strategy and Business Magazine in the States.

Maui, Las Vegas April 2009

2008-04-30T14:01:00.000-04:00

For the first time for a while we had a family holiday. It was David and my tenth wedding anniversary, and we took a week to enjoy our relationship and family.

We chose the Sheraton on Maui as we wanted to not move for a week. No car, no bus, just walking, swimming, lounging and relaxing. Most of the day was spent by the pool, in the pool, on the beach and of course in the ocean.

Just in front of the hotel was a rocky cliff head that had a coral reef around it. There was a family of large turtles that would appear amongst the waves at various times of the day. The first day both Trinity and David had shocks as the turtles would swim underneath them, and an accidental kick would connect with a large turtle.

Trinity was extraordinarily brave, swimming with mask and flipper out past the waves to the reef and colourful fish, 20 meters out from the beach. David and I were amazed at her courage, and one of us was constantly by her side to help should she need it.

We took walks along the beach at sunset, ate ice cream and pizza, and generally had a great time. We left feeling relaxed, connected and ready for anything.

We flew to Las Vegas for a one day conference David was running. We checked into the hotel and found ourselves booked into a high rollers suite. It was enormous, with white and gilt fittings. Quite something, with a view over the dolphin filled pools below (of course!).

The hotel also had Roy & Siegfields Lion and Tiger sanctuary as part of the property, as well as a 'live' volcano out the front (sadly closed for maintaince). Got to love Las Vegas.

On the first night in Vegas David admitted he was now official ready to get married to me, so I called up Elvis and organised a renewing of the vows.

Elvis walked me down the aisle, and David promised to be my hunk-a-hunk a love, and I in return, vowed other things from various Elvis songs. The girls were our witnesses and we all crooned at the end. Very satisfying. ( I only have proofs).

So after all that we went to see the dolphins, and the tigers and lions. The cages were so small and I felt a sense of dark satisfaction thinking of Roy's attack by a lion a number of years ago. Terrible, and true.

We went to the Bellagio, saw the fountains dancing to music, and the amazing flower displays in the lobby, including little houses with butterflies fluttering around inside. There was also a chocolate fountain which transfixed Trinity.

If you haven't been there, Las Vegas is such a torn town. Beauty, creativity, amazing resources, partnered with gambling, and any way to hide from ourselves.

David and I lashed out and got a very expensive babysitter (it is after all, Vegas, and you want to have a good one). We went to the tables and played some Texas hold'em. We won lots and left the tables on a high. I got to go shopping the next day to buy myself something pretty ; ).

And then it was time to leave. I took India and Trinity late in the evening onto a plane from Vegas to LA and had the delight of managing two sleeping children, luggage and a stroller onto a bus to change terminals. We got on the plane (just) and made it safely home while David went on Dallas to run another conference.

Singapore, Asolo May 2007

2007-07-04T20:02:00.007-04:00

This was the first trip of with our new baby India. We traveled from Sydney to Singapore, for a week to break the travel, while David had some business development meetings. Trinity was sick and couldn't take advantage of the hotel pool which is her normal thing to do. India was a koala bear at four months of age - stuck to mum. At least we got to explore Sentosa, and take a ride on the cable car across the Singapore harbour.

We then flew to Venice and then drove an hour to Asolo where the first NeuroLeadership summit was to happen in a weeks time. This was perhaps the most intense plane leg I have been on, and India was not happy by the end, screaming the entire drive to our apartment. We were all sick on arrival and there were trips to doctors, finding a pharmacy etc. Thankfully we were fully supported by the team at Cimba. Al's 2IC Christina was particularly an angel.

David disappeared to make things happen with the summit, while I handled the sick kids. We were in the most fantastic small town - where nobility spent summers when Venice became too hot. Spring had flowers blooming, warm temperatures and a magical atmosphere. We could see all the way the Dolomites from our apartment window.

The only downside was the venue for the summit (where David went to work each day) was about a kilometer up a hill, with cobbled streets. Sounds lovely,until you strap on a child and push a stroller all the way up. I think I lost about five kilograms while in Asolo. A hard thing to do considering the quality and quantity of the food and wine (and hospitality of Al Rhingleb, head of the business school head quartered there).

The summit went on, and was successful with fifty participant from different corners of the globe. David was thrilled, and many interesting conversations were had between the scientists and practitioners.

Shortly after the summit we held a leadership retreat for the heads of Results business units from around the world, including South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. This was one of our first steps transforming into a more professional business.

David's sister, Deborah, who lives in Paris also came to visit. We roamed the countryside by bus with her help while David worked. We got to see sculptures, and other fabulous things that I could not have managed on my own. We visited Passagno where the sculptor Antonio Canova was born and worked. We also saw Bassano with a beautiful river with Trinity starting on her journey as a photographer.

After we had completed all our work in Italy we took some time off to hang out in Venice for a few day. We saw lots of beautiful things - the bridge of sighs and of course took a gondola ride. San Marco Piazza, the Doge's Palace, the Academia Galleria, the Peggy Guggenhiem Collection and the various squares and bridges and churches were in our itinerary.
Then on to New York, but that is for another post....

Hyams Beach, Avoca December 2005

2006-01-19T19:48:00.004-05:00

The time had come to leave our lovely apartment by the sea. Going to sleep with the sound of the ocean has been soothing and healing as we have gone through the business stress of the last two years. The view of Bondi Beach each morning, the northern sun streaming in all winter, and being able to see where the best swimming spot is from the balcony. All this is over for the time being.

We are truly busting at the seams from a small two bedroom apartment with minimal storage, an office at home, including people coming to work here most days and a one and a half year old child.

Miraculously, across the road a house had become available, so we moved in. We love Fletcher St so much, it is a relief to know we are not moving far, and will not loose all the neighbours and friends we have here.

We could not have described a better house for us. A veggie patch and compost in the front so we get to talk to neighbours as they walk past, and a trampoline where the kids can jump while we garden. Out back is a Balinese style garden with a hot tub and splash pool. And a kitchen to entertain with. Heaven after our tiny apartment.

Just like shopping, as soon as the fridge is full, it is time to go out for dinner. So we go to Hyams Beach for Christmas, south of Sydney to stay in a big house with my family. Sue and David (Nana, right and Granddad) meet us there with my brother Stephen (reading to Trinity below) and his partner Steve. Michael and his family have other obligations.

Trinity constantly attacks the Christmas tree, re-hanging the baubles, again. The food is overwhelming, as is Christmas in my family. We trundle down to the beach for a lazy swim. Hyams beach is in Jervis bay, a protected lapping beach with, so the Guiness Records say, the whitest sand in the world. Perfect for a little girl.

The favourite present is the dinosaur tail that roars if you press a button and can be worn to compliment any outfit.

We came back in time for New Years Eve and our friends Siani and Guys wedding. It is a nice continuation as Guy was at our wedding too. The ceremony is held on a private beach overlooking Sydney Harbour Bridge, which always has spectacular fireworks displays on this night. Half way through the ceremony a sky writer draws two love hearts in the sky. Guy immediately claims false credit and the crowd goes ohh, ahhh!

We dance into the night, and Trinity falls asleep on my chest (hard to get baby sitting on new years eve!)

We then took of to Avoca where Davids step mom Monica (Oma) has a lovely apartment overlooking the beach and a seventies garage fitted out for the 'kids' who all now have kids of their own.

We loll around, and do very little. Eat too much and occasionally swim. There is something about daggy environments that allow me to do much less then normal.

And cheeky girl that she is, Trinity continues to get in trouble.

Paris, New York - October 2004

2004-10-23T19:25:00.009-04:00

We left Sydney after the festival of the winds at Bondi Beach. The blue sky was enlivened with riotous coloured kites which fascinated and amazed Trinity.

This trip we went to Paris to meet with Alexander Calliet, one of David's mates. Trinity and I tagged along for the ride. It started with British Airways losing our luggage. It was cold so we had to go out and go shopping with the lost luggage allowance that our insurance provided.

In fact we didn't need a thing as we were staying with the Calliets who have young children of similar ages so we used their clothes. But still we shopped, stockpiling hip Parisian clothes the next size up. See Lili being chased by Alexander in a playground, and Trinity midway down a slide below.

Janice, Alexanders partner is a fabulous cook and we ate garlic and butter snails fresh from the market in their apartment over looking the Eiffel tower. It was night so every ten minutes the lights sparkled. Trinity and I got up and danced to the imagined music that goes along with the sparkles.

Deborah, Davids sister lives in Paris too, so we got to meet up with her and run through the Marais with hordes of children and, of course, the ever present chaos. And the playgrounds in Paris don't have the avoidance of litigation at their heart, so there were wonderful swings, flying fox type equipment and much dangerous fun for kids and adults alike.

Then we moved on to New York....David worked with Dr
Jeffery Schwartz at a presentation at the Harvard, while we rented an apartment in Times Square, with Toys R us right next store. David was also building the graduate certificate at New York university were we had built a commerical alliance.

We did a brief trip to Washington DC for David to speak at the Positive Psychology conference run by Martin Seligman, founder of that movement (left). We also got to sit in on sessions with people like Csíkszentmihályi who created the concept of being in flow. Lots of food for thought, though mostly a little academic, with little linked to how to apply the concepts being discussed.

Back in New York we spent time on the weekend in Central Park, with David's favourite destination - the roller disco. There were a number of characters skating round the small track, doing their thing. My favourite was the guy who did the slow motion run, backward with a water bottle on his head. We also came upon some folks giving free advice, which David loved the concept of.

We got to hang out with my good friend Marni too. Then a wonderful thing happened. We decided to get out of the Times Square apartment and stay somewhere else and got connected to a wonderful space downtown in Soho, with a kind family who welcomed us into their home for the rest of the trip. Then we headed home to Sydney.

Mudgee & Byron Bay - March/April 2004

2004-04-30T06:19:00.000-04:00

Georgia Lush, one of our long standing (and perhaps long suffering) employees got married in March to Frasier Slack-Smith. It was a lovely afternoon, with the wedding held in a vineyard west of the Blue Mountains, completely appropriate for a Lush event. I think Trinity found a kind of peace sitting on a barrel of wine.... a sign of things to come?

The next month we went to Byron Bay to meet up with an American friend of David's, Alexander Calliet, who was running a workshop in Brisbane with a business associate of his Ken. Both had brought along partners and children. We rented a beach front house on Tallows beach, ate feasts and swam each day. So great to meet people with common interests and great business ideas.

Showing people around this part of Australia is great fun. We visited the light house at the eastern most point of Australia, the Byron markets and generally reveled in the sunshine after a stressful phase in our business.

Johannesburg, London & New York October 2003

2003-10-04T19:05:00.007-04:00

Our first trip with Trinity was a big one, when she was four months old. Her first passport is something to behold, with a very cute photo and lots of stamps.

We flew firstly to Perth so David could deliver a talk, then flew out to Johannesburg, where we met with our South African Licensee Miki. She showed us around making sure we got the full experience including going to a drumming based musical performance with Trinity in the sling. It was incredibly loud, though she danced happily along for the first half and then final went to sleep through the second half.

From South Africa we flew to London to present at our annual event for people who have trained using our Results methodology. We stayed in Notting Hill, and of course had the normal Australian reaction of being appalled by costs - a $10 cup of coffee etc. Carole, our UK manager, also took us boating on the Thames which was lovely.

We then flew to the States. We stayed at a friends summer house (Thanks Lisa Rubinstein) in upstate New York. We walked around in the beautiful forest and walked to the start of the Appalachian trail. It was truly incredible.

David and I decided to be a bit cheeky and we took a photo (after many tries) that looked like Trinity was already standing at four months of age. We were still getting used to having a baby, learning not to think about her as a toy, and failing. Then it was home to focus on the business.