The Canberra florist is a family-run, socially-sustainable business, that was started as a way to create meaningful employment opportunities for people with special needs, like 15-year-old Gayana (pictured right) who has Down syndrome.

The cheeky teenager, who is full of compliments and always has a huge smile on her face, works with her florist mother Geetha to create their beautiful arrangements, and then personally delivers the flowers.

Mother's Day and Valentine's Day are among their busiest days of the year, and Gayana's big sister Nip (pictured left) said that they're employing three extra people with special needs to deal with the rush.

"I have so many special needs people or their parents call us and say 'look our son or daughter would really like to help out', but it really depends on orders," she said.

"Obviously I want them to be busy and have a real-life work environment, but not push them too hard. And we want to pay them and we want to pay them well."

The GG's Flowers team, who have just celebrated their first birthday, will also be helping out at the Heart Foundation Valentine's Day ball at the Canberra Hyatt.

Nip was awarded Canberra Young Citizen of the Year for 2014 and won the Emerging Young Leader Award at the 2014 Chief Minister's Inclusion Awards. She hopes to continue to add more employees with special needs to the GG's Flowers family.

"I'm thinking, when the business picks up, I can send them to floristry classes at CIT," she said.

You can sneak in a last-minute order at ggsflowers.com.au.

Down at the races

Next time you're unhappy about the time you have to set your alarm for, spare a thought for Julie Snook (pictured), who sets hers for, "a rather depressing 1.15 in the morning".

The former Mix106.3 newsreader moved to Sydney in September 2013 and now reads the morning bulletin on Channel Nine.

"I used to complain about doing the breakfast hours at Mix - I thought 4am was early. Now it's a sleep in," she said.

"I start work at 2am and we're on air at 5am. It's very dark and very quiet. Once upon a time we used to go to bed then. I pretty much go to bed once the 6pm bulletin's over now. It's good fun though - it's a fast-paced shift."

During the six years she called Canberra home, Julie moved around; working at Canberra Weekly, Southern Cross Ten and then Canberra FM as the Mix breakfast reader.

She's coming to Canberra this weekend to check out the Multicultural Festival - "I'm gearing up to eat my way through the streets of Canberra" - and will also take part in an event gearing up for the Black Opal Stakes race day next month.

The Black Opal Experience on Sunday, February 15, is a cocktail event hosted by Danielle Cleary showcasing the latest trends in race day fashion, beauty and millinery.

Julie is emceeing an event on the actual Black Opal Stakes on March 8, but said the Black Opal Experience was a great prelude to Canberra's biggest race day.

"It's a good chance to showcase Canberra racing style and talent ahead of what's a really, really fun race day," she said.

"I'm a huge fan of Canberra millinery and boutiques - I've certainly spent a lot of money at Canberra boutiques in the past. And I spend more every time I visit."

The event also features Gerard Middleton, Thoroughbred Events Australia's Sharon Lenton and local racing identity Frank Cleary, who has successfully trained two Black Opal Stakes and Golden Slipper winners.

The Black Opal Experience is on February 15, at Hotel Realm, from 3-5pm. Tickets are $79, which includes sparkling wine on arrival, wine tasting and canapes from danielleclearyevents.com.

How well have you been sticking to that New Year's resolution to get fit? It might be time to kick your training up a notch.

Local personal trainer and obstacle race expert Lee Campbell (pictured) has started Canberra-only adventure race The Bravest, at Stromlo Forest Park on March 14.

The 15-kilometre course features about 30 natural and constructed obstacles, and Lee assures contestants that there are no electrocution obstacles or the like.

"None of the obstacles are frightening - there's no electricity and there's no fire. It's about introducing some simple but achievable obstacles," he said.

One obstacle even involves being hosed down by firefighters - sounds pretty enjoyable to me.

Lee trains a wide range of clients, including some who have overcome cancer, who will all be battling their way through the course on the day.

"These people have faced challenges every single day - you're talking about survivors of cancer, one of the biggest killers in the world. So there's plenty to be inspired by," he said.

"That's why I tagged it 'The Bravest' - it's about everyone being brave and doing extraordinary things. And everyone can do these things. It's just about understanding that everything is achievable."

One of Lee's clients who is busy training for the event is 59-year-old Roze Frost, who hasn't let two battles with cancer slow her down.

After being diagnosed with bowel cancer and undergoing surgery and chemotherapy in 2011, Roze found she was falling back into her old lifestyle.

"If you have cancer you have to think 'what am I going to do to myself to make a difference?' Someone introduced me to Lee and I started training twice a week," she said.

"I was 56 at the time. I'd played sport until my late 30s. But in my 50s and in a corporate role, I was unfit."

Roze found her mobility increased and she was even able to run - something she couldn't do in her first session - but then she was dealt another hurdle.

"I was diagnosed with lung cancer about 15 months later. That was a bit of a blow. The first time I was quite crook, but I wasn't frightened by cancer. When I got the lung cancer I was a bit thrown," she said.

As soon as she was home from hospital after the surgery, Roze said Lee came and took her walking every day, and she was back at the gym three months later.

"I thought to myself, 'are you gonna sit there and frighten your three adult children or grab the bull by the horns and do something about it'," she said.

"You have to think about how you want your life to be. I was doing my darndest to live life the way I wanted to."

Roze said she's a bit nervous about The Bravest, and thinks she might, "be doing the walk of shame around some of the obstacles", but is "not scared to get dirty or wet".

And even though the event's only a mere month away, Lee believes it's definitely not too late to start training.

"You can even rock up on the day if you haven't done anything - it's just about having a go," he said.

The Bravest is on March 14, at Stromlo Forest Park, from 7am. Tickets are $150 from thebravest.com.au, and include race entry, T-shirt, drink bottle, cap and bag, and also support the Heart Foundation.

You either love or hate Valentine's Day - there doesn't seem to be much in between. But surely there's one thing everyone loves - free ice cream.

Gelatissimo is celebrating the day of love with a limited-edition flavour, the Peppermint Kiss, with peppermint gelato, dark chocolate pieces and crushed peppermint meringue.

And if you head there on February 14, you can score a free cup or cone of the Peppermint Kiss in exchange for a kiss with your sweetheart.

Just head to their store at Westfield Belconnen, Canberra Centre, or Manuka and pucker up.

February 15: Catch a special screening of Canberra-made film, Locks of Love. From Florence to Paris, Melbourne to Seoul, public places abound with padlocks connecting people forever through love. The film tells the tales behind 11 padlocks. Centred around a gate of padlocks in Glebe Park, almost 300 locals were involved in the making of the film. Screens at 6.30pm, followed by a Q and A with directors Christian Doran and Kris Kerehona. Palace Electric Cinemas. Tickets $15.90 from palacecinemas.com.au.

February 20: Meet the real Indigenous all-female group the Sapphires in a special Black Chat Q and A session, followed by a screening of the hit film inspired by their lives, at the National Film and Sound Archives. The free Q and A is from 5.30pm. The screening of The Sapphires is in Arc Cinema from 7pm - tickets are $8. Bookings on (02) 6248 2000.