Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Beating Cancer to the finish lineMy quest to raise awareness and funds to help fight Cancer
Only 2 more weeks to go before my big race. Training has been rather grueling but nonetheless exciting. Been thinking a lot about the big day and hoping that my nerves won’t get the best of me. My trainer has been giving me challenging exercises and pushing me to limits I never thought I would be able to achieve. No pain, no gain.I want to thank all my friends for their generous contributions towards my goal of raining funds for Cancer research. My quest is still not over, I am still hoping to raise more to help combat the fight against Cancer. So ANY contributions are welcome. Once again I want to thank you all for your support.All of your kind thoughts are giving me more energy to achieve my goal of beating Cancer to the finish line.
Where to donate
Donations can be given to me directly or you can make an “In honor donation”(Sharon Hillenaar 1st 1/2 Marathon) online at the Canadian Cancer Associations website. http://convio.cancer.ca/site/PageNavigator/Quebec/%20General%20fundraising/DONATIONS_QC_home
If you wish to make a donation but none of the above options work for you, please contact me and we can make an arrangement.
Contact details:
Email: Sharon@kinderklipz.com
Tel : +31641362887
My 1/2 marathon T-shirt
The man that inspired me to where this T- Shirt
My Dad
Koos Hillenaar
Jan 29th,1943-March 26th,1985
Monday, October 18, 2010
Just breathe
As a busy mom of 2 goregous kids, I often find myself feeling stressed irritable, quick to snap at any small thing and at times just plain frustrated. Now I know this is what most moms feel and if you haven't felt it than I envy you. It is normal to have these feelings, in fact, it's okay to have these feelings. I suppose it's how we handle and move on that makes the difference. So here's my suggestion.... Just breathe.A few days ago I went to a training session with my trainer. He started off the session with having me stand upright with limbs and muscles feeling relaxed. He instructed me to breathe. Now that may sound like an easy feat but in fact to do it properly and to get the most out of it you need to be focused and relaxed. I began with rather shallow breaths but eventually was able to breathe into my belly and then out again. While I did this I felt a sense of calm erupt all over my body. My focus was in gear and every muscle in my body became numb. This exercise went on for probably less than 5 minutes but it felt like a 1/2 hr. I left that session with a strange yet calm aura around me. I found myself throughout the day being much more aware of my breathing and the feeling I got from it.
So this morning I woke up, looked at my kids, and thought to myself "today I need to put a few minutes aside to just breathe". At 9am, I stood in the middle of my living room and breathed. I let all my inhibitions sway away while I took breaths in and breaths out. As I did this, I felt more and more like I didn't want it to end. I just wanted to remain in this serene spot for as long as possible. So, I did this for as long as my kids gave me before the ever familiar "MOOOOMMMMMMM" came out of their mouths. When I opened my eyes I felt calm. Relaxed. Clear.
I have read quite a bit over the last 2 years about "being in the now" and how taking the time to breathe is so important to remaining focused. It transcends all your thoughts into one funnel which slowly seeves through all the thoughts of what needs to be done, who needs to be called and which emails need to be answered. Breathing and focusing on each breathe and how it travels through your nose and into your body, when done well, erases all other thoughts you may have had. When done well, you almost have a feeling of revival and rejuvenation.
So when I finished my little exercise, I quite simply, felt better. Now did I still get stressed throughout the day. Yes. Did I shout at my daughter for pouring water all over the floor. Yes. But what I didn't do was let it stress me out. I just took a deep breathe, focused on now and moved on.
So why not wake up tomorrow. Look into the mirror and Breathe. Just breathe that's all. Take those few moments to clear your mind and just breathe.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Importance of family
Over the holidays I found myself thinking back over the past year. And as I did, I realized that the year had gone by so quickly. It almost felt surreal to think that a year had passed. Is it possible that 2009 is no longer and 2010 is now upon us? YEAH! Not only had I awakened to the shear amazement of it all, I also awoke to the realization that family is everything to me.
For the first time in my life I feel at peace.
What is my peace? My peace is.... being happy with me. Being happy with who I am, what I look like; at peace with life in general. Before my husband and I left Canada on our overseas adventure, I worked as a Human Resources manager. Who I was, was what my job was. I quantified who I was with my job, my salary, my title. When we left Canada I left all that behind. I found it incredibly hard for the first 3 yrs to deal with no longer having a job or as I have come to think of it a "purpose of life title".
Since we moved to Holland I am much more at ease with the fact that I don't work outside of the home. I no longer associate who I am with my work nor do I feel any less of a person for being a stay at home mom. I know that what I am giving to my family is someone who dedicates her life to just being. Not "being" something but rather just being me. I read a fantastic book that basically taught me to just be. Be in the moment. Forget the future, forget the past ,just be there with the now. The moment you start thinking about the past or the future you lose sight of what is really important and that is being present in the current moment, because you only live for the now not for the then or the soon to come.
I now live for the now. I live for every moment I can spend smiling with my husband and kids. I live for every second my daughter asks me for the millionth time "when is my birthday?". I live for every second my son looks at me and says "Mom, I love you". And I live for every hug and kiss my husband gives me. Those are the things that count. That is the importance of family.... of life.
For the first time in my life I feel at peace.
What is my peace? My peace is.... being happy with me. Being happy with who I am, what I look like; at peace with life in general. Before my husband and I left Canada on our overseas adventure, I worked as a Human Resources manager. Who I was, was what my job was. I quantified who I was with my job, my salary, my title. When we left Canada I left all that behind. I found it incredibly hard for the first 3 yrs to deal with no longer having a job or as I have come to think of it a "purpose of life title".
Since we moved to Holland I am much more at ease with the fact that I don't work outside of the home. I no longer associate who I am with my work nor do I feel any less of a person for being a stay at home mom. I know that what I am giving to my family is someone who dedicates her life to just being. Not "being" something but rather just being me. I read a fantastic book that basically taught me to just be. Be in the moment. Forget the future, forget the past ,just be there with the now. The moment you start thinking about the past or the future you lose sight of what is really important and that is being present in the current moment, because you only live for the now not for the then or the soon to come.
I now live for the now. I live for every moment I can spend smiling with my husband and kids. I live for every second my daughter asks me for the millionth time "when is my birthday?". I live for every second my son looks at me and says "Mom, I love you". And I live for every hug and kiss my husband gives me. Those are the things that count. That is the importance of family.... of life.
Give it a go. You might be surprised at the outcome.
Love
Sharon
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Follow your dreams
My family
A little about me...
Over the last 5 yrs so much has gone on in my life. I gave birth to 2 wonderful children (Tristan 5yrs and Sienna 2yrs 8 months) and moved countries twice (1st to Australia and then to The Netherlands). During this time I had a lot of time to look at myself and see what it was I really wanted from my life. And the one re-occuring theme was... I wanted my own business.
My husband who saw the passion in my eyes, offered me unconditional support. His support/strength gave me the courage to fulfill the desire that was building inside of me. That was close to 2.5 yrs ago.
I started KinderKlipz with this "Great" new idea! An idea that I thought would become the next "Big" thing. I surrounded myself with like minded people and gathered as much information as I could. When I look back now, it all seemed so overwhelming and being someone who wants to do everything now, I found myself wishing there were more hours in the day. I worked tirelessly at tweaking my idea, coming up with "Marketing"plans and doing research. I learned so much during that time.
Throughout this time, discovered a whole "other" world of other ambitious Stay at home Mom's who were also taking part in the new "Mompreneur" lifestyle, balancing family and their dreams. Some Mom's had made their businesses part time work whilst others had developed their businesses into full time work.
Every time I would encounter a Mompreneur I always had so many questions, "Where do you find the time?", "Do you have help?", "How do you remain so creative?" the list of questions was never ending. I wanted to understand everything possible about becoming a Mompreneur. I had so much emotion connected to starting my own business that was drummed up out of fear. Fear of failure, fear of not being a good mom, fear of not being a good wife, fear of being unable to do everything I want to do, basically an overall feeling of fear engulfed me. I persisted on. My "great idea" never did materialize but what did was so much more than I could expect. My new world/life was awakened and became alive.
Life is so much more than just going through the motions, it's about pursuing what your heart burns for, it's about being able to look at yourself in the mirror and saying to yourself "at least I tried", it's about... following your dreams.
My husband who saw the passion in my eyes, offered me unconditional support. His support/strength gave me the courage to fulfill the desire that was building inside of me. That was close to 2.5 yrs ago.
I started KinderKlipz with this "Great" new idea! An idea that I thought would become the next "Big" thing. I surrounded myself with like minded people and gathered as much information as I could. When I look back now, it all seemed so overwhelming and being someone who wants to do everything now, I found myself wishing there were more hours in the day. I worked tirelessly at tweaking my idea, coming up with "Marketing"plans and doing research. I learned so much during that time.
Throughout this time, discovered a whole "other" world of other ambitious Stay at home Mom's who were also taking part in the new "Mompreneur" lifestyle, balancing family and their dreams. Some Mom's had made their businesses part time work whilst others had developed their businesses into full time work.
Every time I would encounter a Mompreneur I always had so many questions, "Where do you find the time?", "Do you have help?", "How do you remain so creative?" the list of questions was never ending. I wanted to understand everything possible about becoming a Mompreneur. I had so much emotion connected to starting my own business that was drummed up out of fear. Fear of failure, fear of not being a good mom, fear of not being a good wife, fear of being unable to do everything I want to do, basically an overall feeling of fear engulfed me. I persisted on. My "great idea" never did materialize but what did was so much more than I could expect. My new world/life was awakened and became alive.
Life is so much more than just going through the motions, it's about pursuing what your heart burns for, it's about being able to look at yourself in the mirror and saying to yourself "at least I tried", it's about... following your dreams.
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