Mangoes World

Welcome to the world of Ms M Mango


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I created a natural and Vegan shampoo bar called Solibar… 🌿

Sitting at home one afternoon, I was watching my daughter (one) play with her toys, most of which are made from plastic in one way or another. It got me thinking.

The world we live in today is all about the end result. We choose products for the desired outcome without considering the consequences of these products and furthermore their effect on our health or the environment. 🌿

There are chemical additions to everything we eat, we use, we clean and even we wear. These chemicals are the bad guys. And whilst they have allowed us to achieve a higher form of convenience, they are resulting in a lower form of health.

Born out of the need to find a product that doesn’t contain unnecessary chemicals for my toddler, I created a shampoo bar called Solibar.

Solibar is a natural and Vegan shampoo bar that is designed to moisturise your hair whilst giving you the amazing benefits of natural ingredients.

As a baseline, all of my Solibar’s contain coconut oil, olive oil, castor oil and shea butter. Where they differ is the inclusion of super ingredients like zinc, Alkanet Root, French Pink Clay, and French Yellow Clay – which are all incredible ingredients designed to promote hair growth and keep sensitivities at bay.

The best part – they’re all handmade in Melbourne! Which makes them individually unique but loveable at the same time.

I wanted to create a shampoo bar that was going to:

• shampoo your hair in the same way as conventional shampoo 🧖🏼‍♀️

• be the best option for healthy haircare & not contain any nasties 🌴

• decrease the need for conditioner, by creating a bar that is moisturising 💆‍♂️ 

• not contribute to the already increasing rubbish created by plastic bottles 🌿

 

So, if you’ve thought about making the switch to a healthy haircare alternative – now is the time to do it. Head to the website and check out my Solibars – www.solibar.co (And the pics below)
~ Mango

Ps: sorry I’ve been busy but I’ve had a kid / started a shampoo bar brand. #MumLife

Kiss By A Rose Solibar
Lemon-e Blow Ya Mind Solibar
If You Like Pina Coladas Solibar
Rose Solibar Bundle
Coconut Solibar Bundle
Lemon Solibar Bundle
Solibar Bundle O Bars
Solibar Shampoo Bars
Solibar Shampoo Bars


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#IPledgeToCheck for Breast Cancer! 

Did you know that 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with Breast Cancer before they turn 85?(1) 

Put your bras out ladies and #IPledgeToCheck. To join in the cause visit –www.bit.ly/IPledgeToCheck and get together to put your bra out in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. 

As a daughter of a Breast Cancer Survivor this campaign is close to my heart! 😍❤️✌🏼️ 

Thanks @qvskincare and @mcgrathfoundation for this great initiative. #BreastCancerAwareness #BreastCancer #Pink #Bra


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No question left unanswered.

Over the past month I have discovered Quora.

What I really mean is – I’ve heard about it before but never really thought about how I could use it / what it could do for me?

Since leaving teaching, one thing is clear – the academic development that I once had does not exist in my corporate world. There is nothing like consistently re-assessing my own knowledge by the constant challenges faced by the evolving door of curriculum and assessment. I miss delivering content daily. I just don’t miss dealing with everyone else’s problems.

So after listening to the Question Of The Day podcast – I got addicted to Quora. Honestly, it wasn’t hard to do because it is almost fulfilling the educational void that I have been missing since leaving academia.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Quora, it is a place to ask questions and provide answers. Sounds fun right? I thought so.

Once you set up you profile and provide details such as educational achievements and degrees, as well as experiences, you can begin to ask or answer questions.

At first I found it a little difficult to get the hang of things, as my answers were constantly being hidden due to lack of credibility as an author. It meant that I needed to fill my profile up with more information so that I could be an expert in the fields that I was providing answers for. Ironically you could just make it all up and become a self-proclaimed expert without a hint of experience. But I believe that these people are only ultimately cheating themselves.

Once I have chosen my interests, Social Media Marketing and Education, I set off to answer as many questions as I could before my eyes shut on me. The very first night I was on Quora, I was awake till 1am typing answers to a variety of questions.

As I am now an active member of the community and have finally reached 10,000 views on my content, and as a result I am finding that more and more people are asking me to answer their questions.

However what is annoying about listing Facebook as an area of expertise is that a lot of people are asking questions about stalking blocked profiles, or how to contact people that they have a crush on. These questions I hate and pass right away. I am on Quora to help people with Facebook marketing, not stalking.

From my experience on Quora so far, there are four types of users;

  • The questioner – this is the person that is on Quora frequently to seek advice on a variety of topics.
  • The answerer (me) – the person who enjoys responding to questions in their area of interest or expertise.
  • The reader – the person who reads both questions and answers but is unlikely to ask a question or provide an answer.
  • And finally the confused – the person who totally misses the point of Quora, asks stupid questions and provides stupid answers. (Although mostly moderated by Quora, some still get through the cracks).

Thus leading me to my next point, what is the point of Quora? I believe the contention of Quora is to provide users with a network of shared knowledge. That the network is in fact responsible for the development of an educational community of acquired knowledge. I think it is the next step from Wikipedia in the sense that it is not moderated and controlled as vigorously and it works on a question and answer system as opposed to topic-based encyclopedia.

I think you miss the point when you are on Quora, if you ask questions that lack depth and are loaded with a personal vendetta.

I think you miss the point when you are on Quora, because you are too lazy to do a Google search to bring up the appropriate websites.

And finally, I think you miss the point when your questions tinkers on the privacy laws and are indicating that you are crossing illegal boundaries.

On Quora, I am the one answering questions. I’ve asked a couple of questions but to be honest, it is probably easier for me to seek those answers through Google. I am not one to completely trust shared knowledge yet, but I am excited to see how this builds over the coming years.

I look forward to developing a further analysis on the type of people who partake in the network Quora. But in the meantime, I suggest you give Quora a go.

Find me – Em Mango

~Mango
“Seek and you shall Quora.”

 

 

 


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The Starlight Children’s Foundation – Great Adventure Challenge 

I would like to start this story off by thanking the large number of family and friends who were able to donate to my participation in the
Great Adventure Challenge. Without your generosity I would never have been able to reach my target. In fact, I managed to raise $1116.00 for Starlight.. 

It all began by one of my bosses calling me into his office. “Hey Em, you are fit”, “Argh, I’m flexibile”, “Well, we need you for the Great Adventure Challenge in November.” – At this point, I rambled a couple of Softball related excuses before agreeing to participate… If Kate does. 

And just like that, I was in. On the website it said that it was about a 35km mountain bike ride, 15km of trail running, and a 10km kayak. 60-70kms altogether and I was only planning to do the bike leg. 

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At 7am on Saturday 14th Novemeber, we arrived at the starting line in San Remo. And it was cold. I was wearing almost everything I own. It was at this point we recieved our map, and information on the challenge.  

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After half an hour of quick decision making and route planning.. We were off.  

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As the kayak leg was first, our courageous team paddled their way from San Remo to the sandy shores of Phillip Island. It was cold, and I was happy I was waiting for them on the other side, in the car. After completing a memory challenge, we waited for the kayaks to arrive so the runners could head off on their first 10km beach run. 

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After racing back to the kayaks, the next stage was to paddle back to San  Remo. Having planned a little better this time, the kayaks were off with a new tag in from Matt.

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Once we arrived on land, we were challenged with a blind tent assembly. Then it was off to the bike track. 

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It was finally my chance to jump on these incredible Scott bikes, that were so generously given to us from Scott.

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And oh did the bikes make a difference! Not only were we envied by our competitors, but we were speedy on the track. Not to mention the fact they were all matching. 

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After getting lost and losing a team member, we finally made it to the next check point. Then it was time for the coasteering. “Run along the beach and rocks, they said. It will be fun, they said.”

   
 

To say it was fun, would be a complete and utter lie. The sand was soft and the rocks were hard. I was not risking tearing a ligament. It was however a perfect time for a photoshoot on the rocks, and to pay special mention to our sponsors. 

Then it was back on the bike, for another quick dash back to the checkpoint and the runners were off.

  

All reports conclude that the trail was treacherous, and pushed the group right to the end. By the time they scurried up the cliff face, we were on our bikes and headed for heartbreak hill.

  

The last part of the ride was painful. But we managed to pull it together to become #BadBoysForLife, we scaled the highest mountains and cruised down the other side. We had finally come together as the hardest bicycle gang around. Nothing could stop us now. 

Pulling up to the last check point, it was time to assembly the team and race through the finish line –  5 hours and 42 minutes later. 

   

 

Overall we rode at least 45-50km, I managed only to capture 31km of it here. (I kept forgetting to take my iPhone with Strava). We did however track the running legs which were about 21km. The kayak ended up being 14km return. As a team we were able to raise just over $8000, which did nothing to our help our time allowance, but was a great gift for Starlight. In all we came fifth and were only an hour behind the winner. 
  

We would like to make a special thanks to Scott bikes for kindly lending us their incredible bikes, as well as KX Pilates Hampton for helping me to reach my fundraising target. 

But most of all, I’d like to thank the seven other people who were in my team and supported me on the day. I had a great time, can’t wait to do it again. 

   
There’s still time to donate: http://bit.ly/1KXhBfG

Follow me on Instagram – @MsMMango

~Mango

#GetFitOrDieTrying 

Images: provided by Starlight Children’s Foundation event photographers and a few I snapped along the way. 


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Thirty.

The countdown is on – I have just over two months and I am 30! I can’t believe that this is happening…

I can remember being a teenager and being excited about being in my 20s, with all of the things to come. I imagined teaching in London, travelling the world and becoming a millionaire.20090806-wanderlust1

For the most part, I have travelled a lot. But really – the more you travel, the more you want to travel. And it is expensive. Not as expensive as buying a house, at least I can say I’ve done that.

The problem with being a ‘wanderlust’ is you get lost in the experiences outside of the world you live in. But they are not a reality. And they are not forever.

Somehow all of these travel aspirations have drifted off in my mind for more prevalent issues, like how to pay my mortgage or what wedding gifts I am going to buy for my friends. As Notorious BIG once said “Mo money, mo problems”.

Turning 30 is a weird feeling. I think that I have finally reached the point in my life where my mind is hanging out in my 20s and my age has surpassed it. It is a strange feeling to know you are one age and feel like you are another. I imagine as you age this feeling doesn’t change. You are still that crazy wanderlust of your 20s, only you have two children, a mortgage and a dog.IMG_0473

I feel like I need to be more responsible, save more money and stop hanging out at underage dance parties. (Insert sarcasm emoji). I don’t care so much for the latest fashion, but I am checking on my Health Insurance to ensure it covers me in emergencies. I am staring at my forehead in the mirror and trying things like an Acupuncture Facial to dissolve the fine lines.

More alarming is the number of children, proposals and marriages that are popping up daily on my Newsfeed. It is like a race to the finish line. Quick!  – Is just symbolic of the stage of the life that I am now in?

In a world of social sharing – how do we stop ourselves from comparing ourselves with others?

I believe that the moment that you stop dreaming about the ‘what if’ and start looking at the ‘what is’ we are able to become happier with our own achievements.

IMG_0479I made the decision a year ago that I would plan to be as fit as possible, to stop eating the bad things and focus on being the best version of myself. I was sick of thinking about things that I wanted to change, so I made the decision to start changing them.

I want to be awesome by 30 and I believe that I am on the right track. Moreover, it is my version of awesome not anyone else’s that counts.

 

Follow my journey to awesome on Instagram – @MsMMango 

~Mango
“Find the extraordinary within yourself.”

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