A teacher's life

I've just set up the winter marking corner.

Electric faux fur throw rug rolled up on the back of the couch.

Unseen in the image is the pile of marking I have not done on this sunny 28 C (85 F) day.

So..... enjoy another percolated coffee on the mini-deck then off to the gym for some strength and a bit of Pilates.

There's a word for this, but it escapes me right now.

The winter marking corner

Homegrown pomegranate

Pondering at Port Fairy.

Tip:
Go with the flow.

Take responsibility. 

Be the cause for the effect you want.

BE no regrets

It's been a while.

I've been adventuring into Landmark education courses.

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men [sic] as a whole experience it.

Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."

This Helen Keller quote came from one of Landmark Insights articles.

Sounds dangerous enough to expose yourself to.

Tip:

Nothing is right nor wrong.

It just IS or IS NOT.

So why not be daring?

A daring darling?

Must Love Stress

It exists.
It is.

You can of course use your energy to fight against stress as the apparent evil.

It has just got a bad rap, this stress stuff.

My unreasonable list
.... aaaaand loving it.

It shows me that I am alive.
It loves me.
I love it.

Tip:

One step at a time, powerfully, without resentment.

Without resentment.

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.