“You can’t fit in the backseat because you are too fat”

I heard this said the other day to a friend of mine by her beloved. My eyes goggled and rolled around in their sockets for a bit as a I processed this one.

It was said very matter of factly with a dash of blame and it was said, I assumed, by rote as though part of a conversation often had and still going.

Then, someone else I know said to their partner of decades something so insulting yet said so off-the cuff that she didn’t even realised she said it and could not understand why on earth he got upset. Couldn’t fathom it all.

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I love Nora Roberts books. They are my tub of ice cream, my pepperoni pizza with extra cheese, my sanctuary of fantasy and comfort when it all gets too achingly hard, or I have something tricky to mull or my bones are scraping on the ground they are so exhausted.

I step into her world and get lost in sex, romance and hopefully if one had been published a murder or two. (I really love her murder  ones!!) . I will binge and gorge, shovelling words into my mind and losing myself in the lives of others. I will fang through about four or five books at one time.

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Last week this video was making the rounds. Have a gander.

Man Barely Able To Stand On His Own Does The Unthinkable.

It is a remarkable story that is all about personal transformation, determination, faith, commitment and yoga. This man took it one stumble at a time. He never gave up. He rediscovered himself and as a by- product he lost all his weight. You can actually see the transformation unfold in front of your peepers.

My eyes poured out buckets of salty water in response

Deal with the heart stuff, open ourselves up to success, start to love and care for ourselves, and the transformation happens. The weight not only comes off it stays off.

Yoga lesson anyone?

love

Zali

David Castillo Dominici

Some of us, are lucky little tigers to have a wonderful relationship with our mums. Others of us, ahem, may find it a little more difficult and look longingly with big droopy, tear drop eyes at television families, girlfriend’s families and anyone else we can think of who would be willing to adopt us (even if we are now many decades older!).

With Mother’s Day steam rolling towards us, here are some ways to consider how you think about your mum alive or no longer here.

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Photo by: Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroo'

Food Journals. The very notion of them makes my creative side want to scrunch my eyes up and grit my teeth. The image of them immediately led me down the path of calorie counting and weighing in and diets.

BUT, I am now a convert, in fact so much so that I have included one in the new book.

It is funny how these things happen. I got an email from a friend who is using a food journal to lose weight and talking about it’s benefits. Then I was reading a great book called , “52 Small Changes. One Year to a Happier, Healthier you.” by Brett Blumenthal, and this is one of the changes he recommends.

A study, published in the August 2008 edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, included 1,685 overweight or obese U.S. adults aged 25 and older showed that just by tracking what you eat participants lost an average of 13 pounds over a six month period!

So here is a list of the 10 ways that writing down what you eat at every morsel will help you lose the flab and become all you were meant to.We can:

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Image by SundayMornings

One of my favourite foods in the whole galaxy, including any undiscovered planets, is hot chips. I think everyone else but those of us from Australia, call them fries. I love them whatever the weather, the occasion or moment. Their crispy goodness is a comfort to my cockles and has soothed many a a heart-ache and bad day.

So, what’s a woman to do when she is dedicated to honouring and treasuring her body and filling it with whole-some goodness? Find some healthy recipes for chippies that’s what!!

Here is a personal favourite.

Moo Moos Chippies (One of my nicknames. I don’t want to talk about it:)

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Healing takes it's own time. Image by digitalart

“It won’t happen overnight, but it will happen”.

-from an advertisement in Australia that I can’t remember the name of. 

Most of us have some ache in our bones from a past hurt, a putrid, foul relationship, a childhood that would send the bravest into tears. For some, it is the cause of  a hunger that we sate with food rather than love.  For others, it is the justification for dreams unfulfilled, relationships un-nurtured and years of pain and misery.

The personal development and spiritual wisdom says how important it is surrender our pain; to let it go. But, there is an assumption there I think, even if it unspoken, that this will happen overnight, or with a process within a definite time line.

I was reading a blog by that wonderful writer Oriah about past hurts and traumas. She makes an excellent point and one that I hadn’t thought to bring up, but it is an imperative one.  It really doesn’t happen within a set time. It will take as long as it takes and for some of us, it will be about learning to live with emotional reactions and consequences for our whole lives. It must be done with self-care, attentiveness and time.

In my early twenties, I was involved in a fatal car accident.   It was just a dreadful, dreadful accident. Anyway, as you can imagine I knew this would have a profound effect on my life. So, I tried to hijack and short circuit the process. I did a bit of counselling, I cried, I got drunk, I changed jobs. I poked around for the pain of it all, but I couldn’t find it.  Read the rest of this entry »

How to feel connected. Photo by Chris Roll.

I do love being alone sometimes. I am like my dad in that regard I reckon, I could happily live in my little cave and do my cave like things with just a few beloveds in it. Sometimes, I like it in my cave so much, that I have to drag myself out pajamas and all. I have to unwrap myself from my cosy cocoon and start to be a part of something bigger, because I know it is so good for me.

The link below is something I just love. It expresses to the extreme just one of the benefits of being connected.

Oprah and Black Eyed Peas Flashmob.

Every time I watch this tears pour out of my eyes. It is nothing logical and yes perhaps I need to up my vitamin B, but for me this is all about connection! There are so many benefits of connection.  Love, support, learning new things, being part of something bigger than just me and my world.  Yet, it is so easy to stay isolated and in my cave. It’s safer there. No risk involved. So, here are some easy peasy ways to feel connected again.

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Think of Turkish food and if you are anything like moi, you think of 2am doner kebabs from a time
when you were still able to keep your eyes open at 2am and turkish bread, whose primary purpose in life is to smuggle scoopfuls of deliciousness into your gob.

As I was lounging and exploring a small part of Turkey last week, I discovered food paradise. Pides, olives, tapenades, fetta, salads, curries and kebabs. Oh My!!  There were honey drenched baklava and this delicious pudding things too. Chickpeas, seeds, and pomengranates. It was all whole food yumbo. Pistachio nuts are the beloved favourite and go in as many desserts as possible. I am not an eggplant fan, but these guys have transformed eggplant into a new favourite for me. Partnered with tomato and olive oil , my tastebuds were a dribbling mess of ecstasy.

So, I thought I would share with you one of my favourite recipes. These are HEALTHY and jaw, droppingly delicious.

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Clothes never lie about how we feel about ourselves.

There has been a distinct lack of blogs this past week and a half, because I snuck off with my family to Turkey. The blood in my veins needed some warming and this little sojourn did just the trick.

We stayed at a great beach hotel. It was quite busy, and filled with lots of people holidaying. Now, I have lived in Moscow for over a year now and I didn’t think it had changed me greatly, until I rocked up to dinner on the first night with my dress and heels on. Read the rest of this entry »