Cut out the Crap: Kim Morrison - Like Chocolate for Women and Twenty8

Good Morning friends! I hope this finds you all well and having a lovely week so far. I don’t know what the weather is like where you live but the sun has been shining so much here the past week or two – it is simply gorgeous! Too nice to be inside so the twins and I have been making the most of heading out to parks, going for walks or simply hanging out in our backyard!

I am so excited to bring you another guest interview – I always love reading these myself – so I hope you do too! This lady I met through the fun world of Instagram and photos! For those of you that know me, you will know I have a slight obsession with taking photos, whether its random things like my garden, my shoes or my days events, my children and of course my cooking and food…it much more enjoyable than (call me naive or uneducated I don’t mind) listening to or talking Politics! Intsagram: collette_cutoutthecrap

I would like to introduce the beautiful, friendly, always smiling and truly inspirational….

Kim Morrison

Author of “Like Chocolate for Women” and Founder of Organic Skincare and Aromatherapy “Twenty8″

Tell us a little bit about you and your family …

I have a beautiful wee family. My husband Danny and I have been married 20years. We have two amazing children – a daughter Tayla who is 15yrs of age who loves her dance and ballet and a son Jakob who is 13yrs of age who loves his cricket and rugby. Danny played cricket for NZ for ten years so I guess you could say I was a WAG for some time! And I had the auspicious honour of running for Australia in ultra marathons in my early 20′s. We moved from NZ to the Sunshine Coast 7years ago and although it was very hard to leave our beautiful families and friends back there we have felt right at home here.

Please tell us more about your business and what a typical workday looks like for you?

Ok… right… my business… what do I do? I am sure there are many women out there that ask themselves this question every day!! Like Chocolate For Women is all about girlfriends, friendship, relationships and self-care. It started out as a book I wrote with my dear girlfriend Fleur Whelligan in 2001. We brought out a new edition of this book in 2009 and to compliment this updated version we created an online chemical-free organic skincare and aromatherapy range called Twenty8. Fleur returned to live in NZ in 2012 and now I run the business. My hubby Danny is away 8-9 months of the year commentating cricket around the world so often it is just me and the kids. A typical day is getting up early, I meditate then go for a run or do some yoga and check all incoming emails before brekky. I drop my beautiful kids to school and head straight to the office. We get through all I need to with my lovely office manager Kaz who is just extraordinary at ensuring all our customers are attended to and orders fulfilled. I usually spend my time setting up my speaking engagements, in home SPArkle events, writing articles or blogs, attending to the website, product development and answering customer queries. Before I know it – it is time to get children from school and get them to dancing or sport. Then its home for dinner, and either out for a speaking engagement or more emails and some time with Jakob before I get back out to get Tayla from dancing about 9pm each night. I try to get to bed by 11pm each night and its fair to say like most mum’s I am pretty exhausted – but fulfilled with the day. I feel incredibly blessed to do what I love each and every day! Of course this is my ‘ideal’ day – but like most of us working mums out there the reality is 90% of the time it is subject to change!! If I can put my head on my pillow each night with a smile then it doesn’t matter – its perfect!

How big a part does food play in your overall daily health?

Food is EVERYTHING! I could not do what I do if I did not eat well. My children could not fit in everything they do without a good diet. We spend a lot of money on food I guess, but we try to get to local markets and support our local farmers whenever we can. As far as I am concerned eating clean, beautiful, fresh, healthy organic food is a privilege that needs much better care.

What inspires you?

People who give their all… Passion. People who care… Kindness. People who rise through adversity… Faith. My extraordinary children are a huge inspiration for me as is my amazing husband, they each inspire me to be a better person. My girlfriends inspire me with their greatness. Although far away sister, brother and mother inspire me. Danny’s mother is an inspiration with all that she gives. My beautiful grandmother, although now gone is a motivating inspiration every day for it was she who told me to get out there and conquer the world! Good, healthy, beautiful food is inspirational. Nature is incredibly inspirational. And I must say my beautiful products, customers and business inspire me beyond belief.

What is one piece of advice you could pass on to other Mums?

Look after yourself. Take care of yourself. We are such giving creatures that sometimes we forget to give to ourselves and top our own tanks. It doesn’t have to be much, but maybe an aromatherapy bath at the end of a busy day, going for a run or walk or getting to yoga, date night with hubby, having a chai or wine with a girlfriend can all do wonders for a busy mum. Remember – if the woman of the house is happy and healthy life runs smoothly for everyone else! Taking care of ourselves and making self-care a priority is not a luxury – it is a necessity.

If you could have dinner with any 3 people in the world who would it be and why?

There are lots of people I would love to meet and share a meal with. But if I was really honest to have dinner with any three people in the world I would want nothing more than to share it with my husband, my daughter and my son… I am at my happiest when it is the four of us laughing and hanging together!

Please tell us 3 fun facts about yourself.

1. I set a world record at 21yrs of age for being the youngest female to run 100miles in less than 24hours! Not sure running those races were ‘fun’ but its fun recounting them now!
2. I am an authorised Marriage Celebrant! Now that is fun…I love doing weddings!!

3. I have a hidden tattoo! My girlfriend and I got the same one and had such fun doing that together!

As always I would like to say a MASSIVE Thank you to Kim for taking the time to speak with me and share a little more about her life and family. Don’t forget to show your support by popping over to Kims pages and saying HI!

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