Gina's Diary
November 2006 Archives
Diary Entry #6
27th November 2006
Hello again and welcome to my 6th weekly newsletter.
This week I have begun the media trail with the release of the first single and video. (Check out my web page, My Space and You Tube – the new video “Live It” is on there, starring all my family and friends!)
Speaking of friends and family, I consider myself to be pretty blessed in that department!
As I do all of these interviews with radio and press for the 1st time in 4 years, I’m realising that my “Girls Night Out” crowd, (Girls Night Out was one of the first hit songs I had about 12 years ago) have kind of grown up with me. 12 years ago we were all single and enjoying it! And now we’re all married with kids, some divorced or separated, but none the less we have been through a lot of the same stuff together!
It’s kind of weird growing up or maturing as a person so publicly, but what’s been great about it is, I feel as though I can relate to you girls out there, either through my music or as friends.
Some men will never understand the depth of our friendships. That we talk about everything. (And we really mean everything!) Blokes have their mates too, but we women really do rely on each other. We help each other through so many of life’s big issues. The older I get it seems, the closer I get to my girlfriends. Or maybe the further I travel into my life’s journey the more like minded souls are put in my path! All it seems for different reasons!
Natalie has been my best friend since we were 11 years old. She is my forever friend. My friend who knows everything!!! Really more of a sister than just a friend.
Natalie is the only friend who has been there all the way through fame and anonymity!
While I was touring all those years, you really don’t get to make really close new friends because you’re never have your feet on the same piece of ground for too long!
Nat was there, though living in Queensland, New Zealand and Brazil!!!! Long way away!!! Happy to say now she has moved with her hubby and kids just 2 minutes up the road!!
Rod’s best friend Al is a wonderful man and I am very close to his beautiful wife Toni. These were our understanding friends who would welcome us home on the rare occasions we came home!
And of course as you know, Beccy Cole and I have been completely connected from the moment we met!
But since being home for the last 4 years with our little boy, Jackson, I have been positively blessed with some new friends who feel like old friends!
Sam, Aimee and Pete from Jackson’s play group have helped me through all the traumas of learning to be a first time mum. Allison, my neighbour has made me laugh (a lot!) and nursed me a little!!! My other neighbour Karen and I have laughed and cried together and feel absolutely like family.
And my friend who I swear is a gift from God or some kind of return for good karma, or something way beyond my understanding, is Susie. Our little boys love each other and so do we! We have been through so many of life’s ups and downs. I think Susie in the sister I never had.
Anyway to all my old friends and my new friends, I love this beautiful little circle we have and I feel so lucky to have you in my life.
To all the women out there reading this, embrace your femininity and your girlfriends!!!
Live well, Laugh often and Love much!
Gina x
Diary Entry #5
22nd November 2006
Hello and welcome to my 4th weekly newsletter!
Thanks for taking the time.
This week we had a repeat performance of the previous week with the Leukaemia Foundation charity lunch, but this one was held in Brisbane.
I thought I should tell you why I became involved with the Leukaemia Foundation in case you’re wondering why we do so much with them and why we are donating $5.00 from every sale of my special limited edition “Walks of Life and Christmas Wish” album pack.
About 10 years ago, I received a letter from a little girl through my fanclub.
It said, “Dear Gina, I’m writing you this letter to tell you goodbye, coz Mummy and the Doctor’s say it’s time.” She said, “I’ve got Leukaemia.” She said, “That’s a big word for me to spell isn’t it‘coz I’m only six.
I’ve got 2 wishes. I want to swim with the dolphins and I want to meet you.” At the time we were on tour and sadly got to her home town too late. But this little girl, Louisa, left me things in her will. Things like her jewellery, just little plastic rings and necklaces, a fridge magnet that said, “Those who wish to sing will always find a song.” And a letter that changed my life.
Up until that point of my life, it had all been about me….. how could I sell more records, sellout more shows all of that showbiz stuff, but that single moment was a life changing moment for me. I thought, this letter hasn’t reached me in vain. There is a very good reason this little girl came into my life. I knew because I was relatively famous, I could gain media attention pretty easily and let Australia know that the Leukaemia Foundation isn’t government funded and we need help to find a cure. I could also perform at charity events and help raise money. So I got in touch with the Foundation and became a patron in 1996.
We wrote a song taken from Louisa’s letter. The chorus was taken from her words and you must keep in mind that she was only six. She said, “If you feel a hand on your shoulder, or a kiss right out of thin air, and you turn around and there’s nobody there, well that’ll be me.” We called the song “That’ll Be Me.”
Now that 10 years have passed, I’m realising that the greatest gift Louisa left me was that letter. Not only because she is the reason Rod (My Husband) and I now help out the Leukaemia Foundation, but there is not a day goes by that I don’t look at our little boy and thank God for his health. I believe Rod and I are better parents because of that little girl. Sometimes when we have to leave Jackson at home with Nanna and Poppy and fly off somewhere to help with charity work, he really doesn’t want us to leave, but at just 3 ½ he is learning that we are a family who help other people. I love that so much. I really believe we are better people because of Louisa and I love how she has made me think about the way we are raising our child and also I believe that he will be a better person, growing up in a family who believe it’s important to help other people.
Ooh typing through tears now……
Until next week
Live well, Laugh often and Love much!
Gina x
Diary Entry #4
15th November 2006
Hi everyone.
Thanks for checking in again!
Been another busy week here!
Monday I went up to Toowoomba (my home town) and filmed a commercial for breast cancer. I have been working for over a year now with a wonderful group of people from a fund raising organization called “Margies Quilts of Hope.”
Talented quilters from all over Australia send in blocks or quilts and then the finished quilts go on an exhibition tour all around Australia and finally they are auctioned off to raise money. I have met so many wonderful people through this organization and it always makes me sad to meet such beautiful people who have suffered such loss. Though this wonderful charity organization not only helps raise money to try and find a cure, they also provide a circle of friends to lean on. Almost a little community that helps each other brave it through the hard times and turn their loss into something positive for others. I am truly honoured to be friends with these people!
Tuesday they put on a fun fund raising event for the Melbourne Cup!
Wow! What fun that was!!
Rod (my husband) couldn’t make it, because he is running a little behind with mixing my album!!! So another wonderful guitar player Duncan Toomes came. Duncan and I performed for about 30 minutes and had a whale of a time!
My favourite cousin Julie and my Aunty Yvonne were there too and they just make me laugh all day so we had so much fun!!
Then I jumped on a plane back home to spend all day Wednesday with my little boy!
Thursday, Rod and I went to Sydney to perform at a fundraising event for the Leukaemia Foundation and then Friday flew down to Melbourne to do it all over again!
Friday was my Dad’s birthday, so we caught an early plane home just in time for a wonderful family dinner for him.
Mum and Dad bought a new caravan on Saturday, so we gave him some nice things for his caravan. They are so looking forward to getting to travel around in it!!
Saturday we had a celebration party to go to because a childrens tv show we are working on received it’s P classification!
The weather here has been beautiful, so over the rest of the weekend, we went to the beach with friends and lazed around friends pools while my husband braved the chilly water with our little boy!
Well I am very excited to announce that you can now officially order my limited edition sneak preview of my brand new album "Walks of Life"! Just follow the instructions on the website and get your copy before it's even in the shops, but most exciting of all, you can help the Leukaemia Foundation out too simply by purchasing our exciting new offer of 2 records for the price of one! (that's new album "Walks of Life" together with my Christmas album "Christmas Wish") and we will donate $5.00 from every sale.
Woohoo!! Very excited to be helping out the Leukaemia Foundation!!!
Also the new website is up and finished!!
I am so proud of the new site! Been working very closely for a few months now with Joanne and James from Net Perceptions and they are just wonderful!!!
Please have a look around and check out the forum page. (where you can log on and comment etc......when I say please I'm actually really saying it with a big whine in my voice because the website is so new we haven't had many people log into the forum!! Pleeeease!!!!!! (Ha ha!!!)
Also if you have a chance checkout my new "My Space" Once again I'm calling favours with you all to log on and add yourselves to my friends, coz the site is so new, I really need you!!!
Thanks a million!!!!
Aagghh, I’m exhausted just typing it all!!! Ha Ha!!
Anyway another week begins and I’ll write to you and tell you all about it next week!!!
Live Well, Laugh Often and Love Much!!
Gina x
Diary Entry #3
12th November 2006
Hi There!
Thanks for checking in again!
Well this week we have been doing the finishing touches to the album! There were still 3 songs I hadn’t sung on yet, so I went up to the studio (which is about a one hundred metre walk from the house!) and sang my little heart out!
Because we have done this record over such a long period of time (almost 3years!) it’s really exciting to go in and hear some songs that we band tracked ages ago.
Rod (McCormack, husband/producer) will be finished mixing in about a week, then it goes off to be manufactured, and then it will be available for you to order your pre release copies on my website. I am so excited!!!
Later in the week I am doing a photo shoot for Woman’s Day for their “At Home” special. So I see myself doing lots of housework this week!!! It will be in the January edition, so make sure you check it out.
The same day I am doing a photo shoot for a pet magazine called Adore. It’s a special edition on country stars and their pets. Well the truth of the matter is, I don’t have a pet! But we live in a beautiful rural area and all our neighbours have animals so it’s kind of like having a Clayton’s pet!! Our little boy is very lucky to be surrounded by horses, cows, chooks, wild hares, and friendly neighbour dogs and cats!! We’ll just have to wait and see how interested they are in having their photos taken!
This Sunday, Rod and I head up to Club Macquarie for an annual fund raising event we have been doing now for about 7 years. It’s called “Gina Jeffreys and Friends” and over the years we have had Rick Price, Beccy Cole, Adam Harvey, Felicity Urquhart, Bella, Dave Proust (bush poet), and many more join me for the show. It’s a great cause and over the years we’ve helped raise many thousands of dollars for the Leukaemia Foundation.
Another busy week!
Talk next week!
Live Well, Laugh Often and Love Much!
Gina x
Diary Entry #2
6th November 2006
Hello again!
Thanks for checking in!
This week has been really busy again getting the new album ready for release!!
There has been a heated debate over which photo should be the cover of my new album, and at last, we have all agreed and made a decision!! Phew!!! Anyway, I hope you like it!!
As you know, we have called the record “Walks Of Life”. Once again this was quite a decision! I’ve decided that naming an album is a little like naming a child! Some people love the name and some don’t but in the end it always grows on you and you couldn’t imagine calling it anything else!! The reason we chose this for the name is there is a song on the record of the same title (written by my husband Rod McCormack and good friend Jerry Salley) that really sums up what you go through in life and how every step you take can take you through another of life's stages.
I won’t give too much away but I feel that I have been through so many new walks of life since the release of my last album, including Motherhood, that I really do feel different from the last time I had an album out.
It’s actually been 15 years since my career started and a lot sure has happened in that time, not only to me, but I’ve noticed at my concerts, that my fans have also come through a lot of life's “biggies!” When I first started touring, I noticed my audience were a lot like me. Lot’s of young women out having a “Girls Night Out”, and now those same girls are married with kids and the whole family comes to the show!! I really think we have all kind of grown up together!
Anyway, I really hope you like the new album and thanks for listening!
Live Well, Laugh Often and Love Much!
Gina x
Diary Entry #1
1st November 2006
Hello and welcome to my first ever weekly newsletter!! I will update this every week to keep you informed about everything that’s going on.
My most exciting news at the moment of course is that the new album is almost finished!!!! I know it’s been a long time coming and I appreciate your patience!
There is a song on my new record that just sums up my life and really explains why this record has taken so long! It’s called “Live It”.
I think the reason this song really struck a note with me when I first heard it is because it is very much our life philosophy…..We have a huge painting up on our wall at home that says, “Live Well. Laugh Often and Love Much”. This song is all about that!
We actually started recording the song about 3 years ago, but to tell you the truth, I just got so caught up in “Living It”, that I put the record on hold while I enjoyed the moment! Precious things like tucking our little boy into bed every night, singing him lullabies, and spoiling my beautiful husband.
I am so glad I made our family my priority now I look back, because you just can’t get those years back!!!!
So really while our gorgeous little boy Jackson is the reason I stopped making music for a while, he is also the reason I started again! My heart has never sung like this before!!!
I hope you can hear the happiness in my heart on the new record!
I know all you Mum’s out there feel this way too!!
The new album is called “Walks of Life.”
The first single is called “Live It”.
Watch out for it on CMC and please feel free to request it if you don’t see it often enough!
We are currently working on an exciting new website. (There is a new temporary page up right now while it’s being built so check it out!) In the not too distant future you will be able to log on and see all of the behind-the-scenes photos of the ‘Live It’ video shoot! It was such a fun day. Keep an eye out for all of my very best friends and my wonderful family who are all starring in the clip!
I am thrilled to let you know also that after about 7 years of working with the Leukaemia Foundation to help raise money and awareness, we are very proud to be releasing a special limited edition copy of my new album, combined with my Christmas album “Christmas Wish”, for just $29.95 (yes, that’s right, 2 cd’s for the price of 1 !!!) and we will donate $5.00 from every sale to the Leukaemia Foundation ‘message of hope’ Christmas Appeal.
This offer is strictly limited and only available on my website!!
So you will be receiving my new album before it is even released to the public!!!
Our official release date is January 19 at the Tamworth Country Music Festival.
Please support this wonderful cause….You too can make a difference to the lives of seriously ill children and their families!
Check back next week for my next newsletter!
Until then,
Live Well, Laugh Often and Love Much
Gina x
