The development is called Red Frog Beach. It is named after the endangered red frog that resides on this island. What is very interesting is that this is a relatively undiscovered area called, Bocos del Toro, meaning “Mouth of the Bull” and it is located in an archipelago in the Caribbean just off the coast of Panama. There one will find pristine corals and underwater caves, exotic flowers and birds, giant green sea turtles, white faced monkeys and macaws. It’s like a dream come true...ancient forests just like when Christopher Columbus first discovered them.

About a year ago, I created a “Dream Board” and attached a picture of “Jungle meeting Beach.” What’s amazing is this is exactly what I was dreaming of. This Isle of Bastimentos is actually a Smithsonian Marine Park and Red Frog Beach is developing only a very small part of the island. Although they own 1600 acres, they are only developing the area that was a teak farm...about 1/3 of the land. The balance of the land is pristine rain forest and will be left in tact! They are working with the Government and a full time environmental team to make sure the area stays pristine.

I cannot wait to host our first Smart Women’s Retreat in this Caribbean paradise. If you are interested in learning more about joining us, please email me back. We will only be taking a small group of 10 women on this amazing journey of rejuvenating your “Mind, Body and Spirit.” Women who attend should be serious about Reinventing their Lives with purpose, passion and prosperity, because they will return with a step-by-step plan, new friends to support them and a totally new outlook on life. Feel free to email us at: info@smartwomenscoaching.com

For more information on Red Frog Beach and to see a streaming video of the new home for our Retreats, visit their site at:

http://www.redfrogbeac h.com/s-smartwomen/contact.home

Or visit the home page of Red Frog at:

http://www.redfrogbeach.c om/s-smartwomen/index.home

Learn more about the Red Frog Foundation’s vision to help preserve the environment and support the local village through health and education:

http://ww w.redfrogfoundation.org/

~ Katana

Katana is an expert in helping women prepare for taking care of their aging parents. She has been a featured speaker with the Area Agency on Aging as well as the Federal Reserve Board’s Money $mart Week. She will soon be launching a new program called, “The Designated DaughterTM— Living in the Sandwich Generation.” For more information, you can visit her website at www. Smartwomenscoaching.com

• 7% = The words you use
• 38% = Your tone (pitch, volume, tempo, etc.)
• 55% = Your physical appearance (clothing, grooming, posture, etc.)

If your appearance isn't professional, what you say may not even be heard!

You need to be concerned with not only your first impression, but also with your on-going impression. If you consistently dress as if you were already successful, you will attract success to you. A distracting or unprofessional image places your "success potential" in jeopardy. Distractions are roadblocks to effective communicating.

An attractive, professional image engenders greater confidence and higher self-esteem, which translate into better performance on the job. Anyone can achieve an attractive professional image. It is all about your polished way of dressing, the way you carry yourself, and your projection of confidence!

Pay attention to your wardrobe. Here are some universal ideas that work every time, whether it's for an interview or making a presentation when all "eyes" are on you:

• Wear a classic suit or simple dress with a jacket
• Avoid trendy fashions (reserve them for after hours)
• Lighten up your colors for springtime but keep them monochromatic (It's nice to break away from the traditional black, navy, and gray)
• Avoid constricting clothing or garments that are too revealing (Leave the provocative or sexy outfits for Saturday nights)
• Wear minimal (or none at all) cologne or perfume - many are allergic
• Wear minimal jewelry (and none that make "noise")
• Sandals are not considered professional
• Don't "bulk up" - carry a briefcase or portfolio and leave the handbag behind

Be polished, stand tall, and smile. The confidence that you deliver opens doors and opportunities far beyond your imagination!

~ Jill

Jill Jordan is available for speaking engagements, corporate workshops, private seminars and personal consultations. For more information or to book an engagement, Jill can be reached at 248.408.2432 or by email at jill@smartwomenscoaching.com.

The insects here are quite interesting. Two that immediately come to mind are the dung beetle and the thatch spider. I've been quite intimate with both.

The dung beetle is a beautiful insect. They get quite large here--it seems all insects here are super-sized. These beetles are shiny black. The ones I've seen get to about the size of a silver dollar. They have the same beautiful ancient markings as the scarabs I saw in Egypt, except the dung beetles are perfectly round. Yesterday as I sat on a rock happily watching my horse graze on our lush spring grass (it was a slow day). I watched these critters deal with my horse’s dung. They are ambitious. They roll up a ball of it about five to ten times their size and roll it away for the family feast. What perfect recycling.

The thatch spiders are another story. I am at war with them. They live in my thatch roof and come in two varieties. The scarier looking ones are the big brown hairy leg monsters used in Hollywood jungle scenes to scare the living begeebers out of you. It sure works with me. These guys get as big as your fist. The interesting thing is that these spiders are harmless--not poisonous and they eat lots of other creepy critters that I would just as well do without.

I now consider them my friends although when I see one every hair on my body rises and I have to go into my mantra about sentient beings. The spiders with whom I am engaged to the death are quite beautiful but poisonous. They have bodies about the size of a dime and long, graceful, non-hairy legs. They move incredibly fast. They are poisonous, but not deadly. I've been bitten three times and I've killed four of them.

I consider the score four for three. The first time I was bitten was pretty bad. They bite at night and this happened during the cold months so the only exposed part of my body outside of my mummy sleeping bag was my face and one hand. I was bitten on the wrist. My arm went numb for a few days and the area around the bite got ugly--like bad poison ivy. Since then either smaller spiders are biting me or I am developing immunity. I prefer to think the latter.

The reality is they do live up there in the thatch and I live down here and I do have my big brown furry friends to keep them under control. Whenever I see one of the furry ones I just wish them bon appetite-- neighbors might think this is a blood curdling scream but it's really just "bon appetite"--real loud!

Enough about bugs. We have been having fabulous rains. Crops are shooting out of the ground. Everybody is working furiously getting seeds planted-- even me. I feel like Johnny Appleseed running around the village with my stash of herb and Colorado mountain wildflower seeds. I think we can grow the herbs, dry them and sell them to tourists as "herbs de Menkhoaneng" aka herbs de Provence.

The wildflowers are simply for esthetic effect. I don't know if they are indigenous to the area, probably not, but can columbine, Indian brush etc. really hurt? There is lots of cosmos here and, frankly, not much of currently existing flora is Stone Age original.

Next week I am meeting with an archeological paleontologist whose job it is to keep this place "pure". I will follow his direction but I hope he will allow the wildflowers.

Everyone in the village, and in the country, is hoping that the current wonderful rains signal an end to the drought. They have been torrential.

Today I taught English classes in Mate. There is a river to cross. Previously, my horse has had no problem walking through the little stream. Last week we went across up to his belly. This week everyone told me not to chance it. There is a narrow little footbridge further up the river that no self respecting Basotho pony will attempt (it's metal and the sound of their hooves panics them). So, grudgingly, I walked the 18 km round trip. My advisors were right. The river was fearsome--a torrent of rushing, silt filled water.

Rain here is both good and bad news. The good, of course, is that the crops have a chance of survival. The bad is the issue of erosion. For decades fields have been planted without proper attention to either terracing or to crop rotation. The result is a once fertile country whose face is now horribly scarred with erosion ditches called dongas. Donga reclamation is a national objective and certainly an issue in our attempt to revert this valley to its initial pristine beauty. It is a major challenge.

I will spend most of next week in Maseru in meetings with various Ministries. I don't like to leave the beauty, safety and relative comfort of this village but the people who can make things happen are in the capital. Sometimes I feel like a lobbyist.

It's difficult to believe that the Christmas holiday season is upon us. For one thing it is now summer here. And, although this is a Christian country, Christmas is not celebrated in anything close to the attention it is given in the US.

It's probably just the poverty. There is simply no money for toys or gifts. I plan to spend the holiday in the village. The tradition here is to visit friends and share food. You can imagine my cooking plans. Every time I get to a camp town I haul back as much as I can possibly carry.

The last couple of trips I've taken a tall strong village girl with me to help. She loves the adventure - most villagers never go to town--the taxi fare is $1.50-- way beyond their means. And, of course, we do lunch, talk to lots of interesting people and shop 'til we drop. It's always fun.

The village knows I'll be here for Christmas and I think everybody will be stopping over--there are about 500 people in this village--it should be an interesting day.

I don't know how many people from neighboring villages will stop by, lately while in other villages people stop me to say they will be celebrating Christmas with me--the day could get completely out of hand. I'll let you know. I'm just hoping to keep from feeling too blue about being so far from all those I love. My heart will be firmly in America that day.

Happily, my reservations for a visit home are firmly set and I have my airline tickets in hand. I'll be arriving in Michigan on February 14th and will stay until March 1st. I hope to see as many of you as possible although I will probably stay put in Michigan. However, please consider that time just one big "open house" and come on over!

May you enjoy the very happiest of holiday seasons.

Love, Peggi

The overriding comment was that the Smart Women Coaches presented genuine, "real life" stories from their experience and offered "encouragement, motivation to embrace new personal and professional perspectives". Other remarks included:

• "Packed with knowledge"
• "Presented the windows at the end of the tunnel"
• "Listen to your intuition - trust your inner voice"
• "The honesty and straightforward approach of the speakers was excellent. Perfect!"

Katana will be offering her “Designated Daughter— Living in the Sandwich Generation” for the Washtenaw Bar Association on January 25th, 2007. If your organization would be interested in learning how to host this or another speaking event, visit our new website or email us for an information packet at info@smartwomenscoaching.com

Fill Your Groups Now Teleclass – If you offer group classes, workshops, web-seminars, teleclasses or would like to learn how to use this new technology, I encourage you to check out the fr^ee new mini course that my friends, Travis Greenlee and Suzanne Falter-Barns have created. I have worked with both of them extensively and they really are the best!

Please let us know and you will receive your own complimentary copy of our “7 part audio mini course, Reinventing Midlife”. You will also receive your complimentary copy of “The Science of Getting Rich” which was written 90 years ago when the author, Walter Wattles, identified the secret of attracting abundance and prosperity.

I read this book a couple of years ago and when I did, I experienced a totally new shift in my thinking as a financial advisor.

This is now the affirmation that I practice daily:

“People, opportunities and money flow to me in avalanches of abundance.”

I no longer strive or try to force anything. I have lost my fear of the unknown...I just trust that the Universe will help me manifest what I need to live with Purpose, Passion and Prosperity and it just happens! We hope to hear from you...

~ Katana