Who am I?

Hi there,

My name is Elle. I am a 35 year-old proud Aussie gal with bold, curly red hair. I adore my husband and French bulldog (Odin) more than anything else in life. Okay to be honest, sometimes Odin takes top position ;)

This blog has evolved out of my journaling that started in a old-school style notebook with a pink pen. I was finding it so helpful to write down what I was feeling, and following some very wise advice, I started to end each entry (no matter how dark it was) with a simple gratitude or positive action, that even at times, may be completely unrelated. I thought to myself that if only one other person was positively impacted in some way by trying a similar approach, that it was worth the time to share.

I can’t even tell you how much I love being around people. My whole life is about people. In addition to being a HR exec (yes my job is people), I am also a psychologist. I have always considered myself a great facilitator – in a boardroom, team meeting, counselling session or even around the dinner table with family and friends! I always want to be the best version of myself and I love to help facilitate and support others to do the same.

My favourite part of this ‘about me’ section is my love story. My hubby and I are high school sweethearts who met as friends when we were twelve years old and have been together as a couple since we were seventeen. We are the very best of friends, there is not a day that goes by (even during our darkest) that we haven’t made each other laugh. We love good food, travel and a bit of adventure. We have actually lived in 5 different states having recently moved up to the Gold Coast to enjoy the sunshine. We just decided why would we not live 52 weeks year where people go to spend their precious 1-2 holiday weeks! We of course have Odin with us, who we love to the moon and back. He has been our rock (quite literally – he is a solid little thing) through some tough times.

We have unexplained infertility and have trying to have a baby for 6 years. We have done at least 12 IVF cycles (we honestly have stopped counting) and sadly experienced 5 early miscarriages. I am also now in remission (after being diagnosed during IVF) and can’t use my own eggs following 18 months of cancer treatment. We tried surrogacy with no success & we are now embarking on a donor egg cycle as a final step before wrapping up this chapter of our lives. I am also now living with lymphedema, a chronic condition I will have the rest of my life as a result of the cancer treatment.

Through all of this, my ability to stay focussed on what matters most to me, love, health & wellness and just being cheerful has enabled me to persevere. I had previously counselled others on ‘acceptance’ and had to really learn myself just how important it is as a skill. Like any skill, it takes humility, hard work and determination to be able to radically accept what is and be resolute in taking action. I am so passionate about sharing my experience with you. We’ll focus on all things health, beauty & wellness, how we can all take a step towards feeling empowered about our fertility and also how to kick the big C’s butt!

If you would like to reach out to me directly, I would love to connect with you and hear your story.

E xx