The queen has arrived.

Super sassy notebooks awaited each Fun Fem.

Need I say more?

I had a FABULOUS time with the Funtastic Feminar Fems on Tuesday, April 5. Janet Ellis gathered 25 women, three presenters, some fun times and good laughs for an evening out. She opened the event with describing the 9 month process from idea to reality, and shared it in a witty analogy of giving birth.

The image on the left was the cover on my notebook waiting in my seat at the feminar. Very appropriate, I must say. I am a giant diva. No, I am serious. I am giant. I measure in at 5 feet 10 inches, and 175 lbs of pure woman.

C'mon, these girls
are edible!

Add some spicy 4 inch red heels and hockey players have got nothing on me. I call myself "Abby A." when I am in my hot red pumps, short for "Aboriginal Amazon" and golly girls, do I ever strut when I have them on.

Last night was no exception, girls.

Moi getting saucy in Pashmina red with
the Fun Fem herself, Janet Ellis

I joined Janet at the beginning of the conference for a silly sassy cheesy pose, and got ready for a fun evening out with the girls. Janet had lined up an awesome array of women, from Brita McLaughlin working on the inside job to Jennine Cook and Scarlett Ballantyne polishing up the outside with makeup and hair styling with accessorizing tips.

By golly, you CAN teach an old b**** new tricks!

I don't know about you, but I am stuck in the same makeup style I learned from the Clinique counter when I was 15 years old. If it works, don't break it, I say. However, I learned things about makeup that I never realized, and found out that I can do some simple things to smooth my "more refined" features...Tip for you: we diva ladies don't grow old (perish the thought!), we just become more refined!

The Femtor Line-up

Brita helped the gals go from the land of
"I suck" to "I am FAB!" with a kick-ass
presentation on zeroing in on all our brilliance!

Who knew how easy-peasy it is
to step into your inner diva...
Here is a fab fem signing up for more!

Brita McLaughlin of Brita McLaughlin Coaching was the first presenter of the evening, looking fetching in a sassy pink top, wedge sandals and cute jeans. Brita took us from feeling blah to feeling waaaaaayyyy better about ourselves, sister. The girls threw on some boas and strutted around the room claiming their fabulousness! Juicy!

Brita also introduced her Coaching Gym© - one-hour group coaching for only $20 a session! AND, she offered 30 minute individual sessions just for the Funtastic Fems - Grab that golden ring now, ladies! Trust me, I have been chewing on Brita's ear for a year now, it's so worth it. I am so worth it!

Jennine Cook offered tips like using a
makeup primer for a smooth skin finish &
using half a false lash instead of the full lash
for a more natural look.

Jeannine is a fun fem
that KNOWS her stuff!

Jennine Cook of Pure Beauty Ltd. & Transformations showed us how to jump out of  the standard 9-5 look and into everything from a natural day look, gorge smoky eyes for evening & how to apply those bloody, sticky false eye lashes without ending up with one stuck to your brow.

A gorgeous fem herself, Jennine gave tons of great makeup tips, we watched one of our participants transform from a woman without makeup into what I would refer to as a rare orchid before our very eyes.

A talented lady, Jennine Cook operates a shop for styling and costumes called Transformations on the waterfront in White Rock.

I felt a little more confident watching Scarlett
at work on the model's hair...
"I can do this," I thought.

To see Stella & Dot is to
love Stella & Dot
Drama, Drama, Drama!

Scarlett Ballantyne brought her hair tips for dramatic styling, including - hold the presses - incredibly easy updos. How effortless looking good can be! Who knew? Scarlett quickly twirled some delicious curls with a pointed hot iron, and shared 3 ways to create a "bumpit" look to add volume and glam to the crown of the head.

Oohs and ahhs filled the room when the lovely model flashed her smokey lashes at the crowd. She was covered in seemingly natural ringlets, pulled back in a wrap-and-pin do that said, "I don't have to try hard to look hot." Loved it!

We also got to enjoy the look of - excuse me while I catch my breath, girls - Stella & Dot... I am swooning... the HOTTEST trend in jewelry to the stars... affordable pieces for day and diva wear. I was trying not to drool over the glam pieces, and plan to host my own party with Scarlett based on her samples alone. Yummy!

Lots of smiling fems throughout the evening!

Fabulous Fems of Every Sort Joined in the Fun!

There was a buffet of (as Janet quipped)  "Tips & Hints or Hips & Tints," for us to feast upon. It was so fun to see such a magic array of women in all their glory. It's a privilege for Ideas In Bloom to sponsor the Funtastic Feminar Series. I'll keep ya' posted on next week's fab adventures!

Loretta Voth of Ways of Seeing Consulting

A budding actress joined the group with
her fabulous auburn locks and youth!

And thrilled I was to see Powerhouse Loretta Voth of Ways of Seeing Consulting spicing up the group. Lovely Loretta is my co-Leadership Committee member for Women & Words Conference, coming up at the end of this month! (Are you a burgeoning author? Do you want to stretch your writing muscle? Early Bird rates are still available for the first ever Women & Words writing conference in BC - CHECK IT OUT!)

Stick out your chin and take a great shot!

Oh yeah, one last GREAT photo op tip from the stylist diva, Scarlett... to avoid that annoying turkey waddle under our chins, just stick your chin out ladies!

Here's me giving it a whirl... not bad... You see my smile instead of my waddle!

Scroll down, I put a slice of sunshine in for you...

Peace & Flowers to You Ladies!

Every fem loves a little sunshine in
a flower!

It was my pleasure to give a gift of a gerbera to each of the participants at the close of the evening. I was pleased as punch to receive this email from one fun fem this morning:

"Thanks again for the lovely gerbera. I used to work as an assistant for my sister's landscape design business and I love flowers. When someone inquired about the meaning of "gerberas" I just had to look it up! I think you have chosen the perfect business logo for yourself! Here's what I learned:

The meaning of a gerbera flower stems from those attributed to the general daisy family. The gerbera represents innocence and purity, and daisies are also a classic symbol of beauty. The gerbera variety holds an added meaning of cheerfulness, which stems from the assortment of colors available." - Charlene

Isn't it great that the gerbera is a symbol of beauty? Go ahead, girls, that's what it's all about.

---

Tonia Lenk is a brand specialist and owner of Ideas In Bloom, a brand design studio specializing in collaboration on projects with clients who are dedicated to excellence, committed to the community and sustainability in the environment. She is a proud mother of four, and in the process of writing her first novel, "Mended Wings." She recently took up flute, and shares her knowledge on print, web and brand design freely!

Exercise? What, who, me?!?

...and take five, or ten. This one is a scroller today. I couldn't help it. I got trigger happy this past weekend. So, scroll on, baby. Fun stuff to feast your eyes on. A dozen glimpses into my last weekend, and a few insights...

I woke up at 7:30 am on Saturday morning.

"F***" was the first sound I heard come out of my mouth.

Even before my eyelids attempted the involuntary action of opening, the echo of a guttural curseword cooed my hubby awake as he shifted his head on the pillow. "I love you, too, Tonia," says he. As I cleared the fuzz, yawned and realization began moving through my mind, the squirrels in my head were chittering. "Tonia, what in the heck were you THINKING when you signed up for a day of PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, on SATURDAY, no less, in the MORNING?!?" They had a point.

C'mon, I am a creative-type night owl. 

At least that was what the squirrels were telling me. I like to see double digits on the clock when I wake up on the weekend. I am not a jock. I like my J-Lo bum. Not so today. Damn. Alright, I had committed to Buddha (AKA Brita McLaughlin), and planned to meet her there after she jumped off the aloha red-eye from Hawaii to do a workshop at the event that afternoon.

I got out of bed and got ready, gathering a couple of healthy munchies and fruit before I scooted out the door with my barely used yoga mat and new sporty yoga outfit (hey, if I wasn't going to be a jock, at least I was going to look good). The folks at every WOMAN suggested what I should bring, so I ticked off the list and headed out the door with a bottle of full of spritzy emergen-C... You never know, paramedics might be slapping me into consciousness if I overdo it at one of the hi-energy workshops like Laughing Yoga or Wham Modeling. I was ready for the worst. Seriously, folks, I would have rather gotten my little curlies plucked than head into an environment of active women.

Shoot me now.

At the S. Surrey Rec Centre, I was greeted by the every WOMAN volunteers, and made to feel extremely comfortable in their brief and clear orientation. I headed into the first class, Pilates with Fay Acton, and enjoyed the easy, gentle pace of strengthening my core. I tapped on Brita McLaughlin's washboard pecs later in the afternoon, and she winked and said, "Pilates, baby!" Hmm, I like results... OK, I thought, I liked that. What's next?

The high energy every WOMAN volunteers stood ready to welcome participants to the South Surrey Rec Centre.

I grabbed a sip of my go juice and got ready for the next seminar, Laughter Yoga with Carol Ann Shannon of Laughter Yoga White Rock. I am a clown at heart (I think every mommy has a little clown in her), so this was going to be fun. Let me just tell you this: my face muscles and rib cage were given a workout, and I had tears of laughter streaming from my face by the end, and even my skin was softer. Looking a stranger in the eye while speaking giggling gibberish like a toddler can be quite invigorating.

We were bumping bums and chortling a hearty "Guten Tag" greeting around the room. How deliciously silly.

I then joined about 15 other women for Modeling with Makai Genovese, a saucy lady whom I discovered wears a clingy wrap dress with pure, dripping attitude. I panicked. My tomboy squirrels started chittering, "Oh, Geez, Tonia, you have two left feet. There is NO WAY you are going to do a model walk, strike a pose and prance off." The extra 20 lbs were giggling and jiggling every time Makai introduced a new step. My confidence was diving fast. I had to find an excuse to leave. Then, something happened. I started to laugh at myself. I started to laugh with the other participants. I started shaking my thang, b****!

"I'm too sexy for my body" was booming as I strutted down the make-believe runway with over-exaggerated moves and divalicious poses. It skyrocketed me out of my frumpy-post-baby-jiggly-bits-over-forty-mama shell, and I had a riot! What a workout for both my body and soul!

Then came April Lewis, Zoomer Extraordinaire. April, April, April.  What can I say? I was smitten with her brilliant humour, in touch with self attitude, savoury love of the saucy heel, and her excellent delivery of putting one foot in front of the other while embracing our lives as women in transition. She's got life by the balls, and magazines, newspapers and periodicals know it. She's a campy writer, and I look forward to her installments. I will definitely keep in touch with this lady!

April - A gal with Zoomer Verve!

"Every woman should have the right to keep her favourite glam shoes in flawless condition by wearing them only in the bedroom." - April Lewis

April Lewis struts it 'cuz she's got it!

I got to see Buddha do the hula!

Brita McLaughlin came flying through the front doors of the South Surrey Rec Centre, tan, gorgeous and fit, ready to rock and roll for her 2 pm workshop: Accessing Your Best SELF. I jumped in to assist Buddha for her workshop, and she had me cue up a cd while she put a hula skirt on. She shared that she had only arrived less than an hour before from an all-night flight from Hawaii.

You'd never know it.
She looked like a million bucks!

Brita took the full room of every WOMAN participants through a workshop on the difference between self-esteem and confidence (I AM and I CAN), and got us up and moving with the hula right off the bat. We all got to introduce ourselves in an absolutely fabulous way with boas draped over our necks. Mahvelous, Dahling!

Still smiling on no sleep at the closing of the event,
Brita McLaughlin is such a rocking positive force!

Brita was a key presenter at this year's every WOMAN White Rock, and a rocking positive force. Brita is launching her Coaching Gym, giving people an affordable and easy way to stay the course as they tap into new perspectives and tools and co-create their own definition of success in a group environment via telephone or Skype.

BRAG ALERT: All of the materials
on Brita McLaughlin's presentation board were designed by moi!

As I mentioned, I got trigger happy. 

Here are a couple of the people I met during the day, and some cool bits! Enjoy!

One-on-one sessions for body balance and health.

OK, cool shoes. Wonder if they'll help my butt as much as they can help my foot health?

Jazzercise - it's super popular and a fun way to get in shape.

I tried my hand at Speedminton with a birdie that had a super high bounce
with super low effort... my kind of fun!

Co-founder and former Olympian, Lynn Kanuka with her daughter.

The session closed with Yoga Nidra with Marita Wieser of Sol Yoga, an amazing guru. She lulled us into the state between waking and sleep, as we opened ourselves to our powers of intuition, creativity, health and abundance. Her voice was resonant and trancelike. It was like gold dropping on the ears. I ended the day 180 degrees from how I started it. WOW!

Thanks to Lynn of every WOMAN for your continued vision to help women stay active and healthy! I left the day feeling content and that I had accomplished more before 10 am than what I usually do in a full weekend.

And, now, if you will excuse me, I have a blanket I'd like to pull over my head now, and a cozy pair of jammies calling my name.

Keep on Bloomin'!

---

Tonia Lenk is a brand specialist and owner of Ideas In Bloom, a brand design studio specializing in collaboration on projects with clients who are dedicated to excellence, committed to the community and sustainability in the environment. She is a proud mother of four, and writing her first novel in 2010. She has taken up the voice of playing flute, and shares her knowledge on print, web and brand design freely!