She’s eccentric, sassy, mature aged, adventurous and has the courage of a lioness. She’s was a modern-day, mature-aged P.I. who has hung up her binoculars and even thought she doesn’t take on any of the painful long days of surveillance in the hot sun, she is very successful as a Search and Reunion Specialist with over twenty years experience as a specialist investigator. Suzanne Hammond began her journey into the dangerous and challenging profession of a private investigator when she decided to look for the baby daughter she gave up for adoption in 1960. Suzanne was sixteen years of age and a product of the era when pregnant teenagers with illegitimate babies were condemned, and although she wanted desperately to keep her baby, the authorities and her mother had other ideas. When her ‘baby’ turned eighteen Suzanne began her journey to find her baby to see if she was well and happy.

This journey opened up a Pandora’s Box of events that eventually led her to writing her first book, ‘Adoption, Lies & Conspiracies’ now being considered for a feature film. Her own story led Suzanne to challenge the missing pieces of her past where she eventually met her daughter, then evolved as an adoption mediator and specialist private investigator locating and reuniting many families around the universe. Currently Suzanne is working on a series for television entitled “Gumshoe Granny’ outlining many of her escapades in the industry.

It’s called GREY POWER and seeing that I’m 71½ I’m honoured to be eligible for this exclusive  club!

2008 will be My Best Year Ever because it’s time for a change! I’ve been selling my stained glass appliqué cushion covers and wall hangings (in the floral symbols of all the states) in a haphazard way for the past 2 years but 2008 will see a difference!  Starting with the name of Giddy Gifts it’ll be Giddy bags, Giddy coasters and Giddy place mats as well as my  other  hand crafted Giddy Gifts and the stained glass appliqués.  

Stained Glass Appliqué you wonder?  Imagine a photo of an orchid and picture all the petals surrounded by a thin line of black on a pale background – it’s circled by another thin black line and voila - you have your stained glass window created in a cushion cover or wall hanging.  My husband makes the black bias binding which pictorially replaces the lead of  actual stained glass and I do the rest. 

I belong to an exclusive club called ‘Those of us left behind after a suicide.’ Though exclusive, it's not a pleasant club. There are no leisure activities, no dream vacations. No one ever applies for this club membership.

Many members do not even want you to know they are in the club. In this club, members deal with grief. They must also take on two different types of grief: one for their own life, left bereft and empty because their loved one is gone, and another one, a deep mourning for the sad life of that loved one.

People Pleasing and Learning to say NO!

As women, it’s in our nature to want to please and be liked by others.

The art of assertiveness and saying ‘No’ is not something taught to us as young girls – in fact we are encouraged to do the very opposite.

So how do you learn to say ‘No’?