Nesting

I'm cleaning like I'm pregnant!

Interesting situation for a menopausal woman. Wonder what I'm going to birth. What life situation?

I have the full spectrum of expectations for my life.

Let the universe provide?

Plan, organise, list, list, list?

In the scheme of things, it all works out. I toggle between the 'universe' and 'lists' processes.

The ingredients not labelled...
chia seeds, star anise powder, honey, cacao powder.

Tip.
Go with the flow.
And make good chocolate to rest, retreat, and revel outdoors with.

Not my house.
My inspiration though.
dwell.com

Protein kick gellies & marshmallow

In a random act of kindness, my second youngest sister gave me Sarah Wilson's Simplicious.

It is a book of food. The eating. The making. The sustainability of doing it all.

It is me, on the next level or sixty. It has inspired me to be a week without eating out, nor having coffee out.

Turns out I lost a kilo. Amaaaazing. I wanted to feel like my digestion was clean. It did.

I was aided by the yumminess of the natural protein kick gellies.

Gelatin(e) is 88% pure protein. Sources vary widely, but food gelatine's density is about 1 g/mL.

So in my cup of fruit & coconut milk I have added about 32g protein. I erred on the side of caution and used a figure of 80% pure protein in the calculation.

In my case, this is purrrrfect to snack on after work or the gym.

If I haven't used a fat in the fruit mix, I'll eat the gel with 12 or so almonds or macadamias.

Blueberry and coconut milk:
gelled with Sarah Wilson's
pasture fed cows' gelatine (gelatin)

Tip.

Keep reading. Read widely.

Get involved in random acts of kindness.

You could try this marshmallow recipe with Sarah's gelatine, too.

Buy from SarahWilson.com

Deferring Dementia, p.95.... by physical exercise. YES.

Degenerative changes start in the hippocampus part of the brain in Alzheimer's disease.

Get this book: The Brain's Way of Healing  by Norman Doidge M.D. The information in this post is from this book. I have not read his earlier book, The Brain that Changes Itself. Yet.

I came back from the gym on Australia Day and felt great, even though I've still got to get my tax in order. I decided I wasn't going to get on to Duolingo and learn some more French. I was going to read. Non-fiction. Always non-fiction. Almost.

I was up to the part in The Brain's Way of Healing where Pepper was walking through his Parkinson's Disease symptoms and strategies. And the mice. And the rats. Of course.

I then got up to the part that said, 'Exercise was the most powerful contributor to decreased risk of both general cognitive decline and dementia.' This statement was made after a 30 year study done on a group of 2,235 men living in Wales by Dr. Peter Elwood and a team.

Other studies showed that exercise increased the size of the hippocampus.They still do not know whether incorporating mostly aerobic exercise would defer dementia indefinitely, but something to remember is that dementia is not inevitable in a long life.

To reduce the mental decline even further, follow a healthy diet, be a normal weight, have a low alcohol intake, and don't smoke.

Absolutely  Flabless 24/7 gym
Brighton, Qld, Australia
Prevent mental decline.
Get moving.

Tip.
It's a bit bleeding obvious....
Prevent mental decline.
Get moving.

Spirit meets bone

Tip.

"Have compassion for everyone you meet, even when they don't want it. What seems conceit, bad manners, or cynicism is always a sign of things no ears have heard, no eyes have seen. You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone." - Miller Williams

Gallipoli Beach, Eceabat, Turkey: 8 August 2015

This quote was extracted from an email from Danielle La Porte. Get on her list.
Follow the link.

Moon baking

There's a storm brewing, spits of rain, the moon's 99.4% full, and I've mowed the grass. 


All good reason to lie on the outdoor laundry's colorbond roof after an Estrella, except Whitey the greyhound is panting anxiously because of the spider vein lightning and distracting me.

The corrugations of the colorbond, when they're padded over with an old quilt doubled up, are just the right width to massage the backstrap muscles and cradle the old skull.

Moon in Cancer, c1984

Tip.
Don't worry about
what the neighbours think, or anyone else for that matter.
Redirect that worry energy to something you can change.Like how to engage the transversus abdominis and the pelvic floor during squats.

Nous sommes vendredi

Nous sommes vendredi. French. We are Friday. Like we people are part of the days. 

These days don't just come about to cause us trouble.

Far better than TGIF don't you think?

Tip.

Relish Your Existence.

Ma relishing the company, mine, and the gardens in Ararat

The Law of Conservation of Money Energy

The latte factor. The place where the little bits of my money go.... often. 

Thereby making it trickier to get what I REALLY want. 

I definitely want the ristretto or small mocha at the time. And I know it's a want, not a need. Captain obvious, but I'm not gonna die if I don't get it. 

So when I heard the term The Latte Factor, coined by David Bach on Marie Forleo TV, it struck a chord with me. It's the trigger I NEED to keep on track with where I want my energy to go. 

And money is just a form of energy. It can only be transferred or transformed. 

One place I prefer to channel the energy is into growing my own food.

Yummy homegrown figs.
A critter helped itself to one of them, but I still got plenty.

The tip?

Spend less than you earn.

Earn more than you earn.

Be aware.

Be very aware

of what you want.

Growth is the only option.

Remaining puddles after the recent rain were muddy & stinky.
Perfect for greyhounds.

Out walking Whitey the greyhound when I saw the mango tree had sprouted.... 

the mango tree that had been chainsawed down.

I think I can. I think I can. I think, I think, I think I can.
New growth at top right corner of the stump.

Tip.
Growth is the only option,
especially if it seems impossible.

Benedict Cumberpatch & the refugee crisis

A link from Roy Reekie's Facebook page led me to Cumberbatch's appeal for refugee crisis help on the Channel 4 news:

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-11-16-uktvsherlockbenedictcumberbatch5_1.jpg

Tip.

Use yourself.

Shine your light.

So bright, little darling.

Cumberbatch appeals for refugee crisis help
“F*** the politicians” – Benedict Cumberbatch (aka Sherlock) has reportedly given an extraordinary speech about the official response to the refugee crisis, after last night's performance of Hamlet. The actor’s remarks, which on this occasion were not captured on camera, are the latest in a series of impassioned speeches on behalf of those displaced by the civil war in Syria.
Posted by Channel 4 News on Friday, 30 October 2015

Listen to your inner dog.

Whitey the greyhound is my dog. 

Fact from somewhere: people with dogs walk more.

I take Whitey for a walk in the natural bushland park near my home. She tells me when she needs it. She also makes herself comfortable and waits for my routines and rituals. No pressure. Well actually it's gentle pressure.

She knows how to make herself comfortable. She has a lovely sheepskin topped, doubled-up queen sized mattress topper to dream on, right at the back door. But she knows best and chooses dirt, freshly dug.

Tip.

Choose your own dirt.

No matter what other people think is just right for you.

Even if it is sold in the kindest of ways.

Trust yourself.

Whitey the greyhound

Sometimes I can't help giving advice. Sorry about that!

I've been thinking about you and the speeding fine. 165 km/h. Speed limit.... 70 km/h. 

Not insignificant.

Tip.

If you are not happy with your life situation, instead of keeping on doing the same thing, do something different to get a different outcome. 

Go talk to someone to get different words and ideas in your head that lead you to do positive things that do not hurt people, including yourself, or property. 

There is no need to BLAME anyone or complain.

You need to assess your situation as it is now, right this minute, and go from there. 

Go to a life situation that YOU desire. 

Get a mentor from Headspace for example. 

But go and get help to achieve your goals. 

The ONLY person you can change is YOURSELF.

If you're happy with your life situation, you can ignore this message of course.

xo

Posted while at Eclectea after a ristretto and chocolate brioche.