Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Our Mind has the Power

Some interesting reading matter about how the body is capable of healing itself - how the placebo effect is more powerful that anybody first realised.

So powerful, in fact, that the drug companies are having trouble getting their medications approved, because the people who received the placebo, had just as good results as the people who received the real thing!

The mind and the human body are truly amazing.

Why Is The Placebo Effect Exploding In The U.S. But Nowhere Else? - Forbes:

Placebo Effect Grows in the US

Altered Placebo and Drug Labelling Changes the Outcome

Healing with the Power of Placebo

Adoring Husband drove me to the Sunny Coast today so that I could spend three nights with the Chicklet family.

I spent the day playing with Chicklet who was very hyper and full of exciting playing ideas that sent her into overdrive.

The one time I got her to sit still on the bed with me to watch a dvd, she saw a GREAT idea and jumped out of bed urging me to follow her so that we could create our own igloo!

We played 'Three Little Pigs', 'Dragon and The Three Bears' (as opposed to Goldilocks and TTBs), we made a litter of dogs out of toilet rolls, we experimented with chalk dust to see what colours we could create and then massaged the dust into some pet dinosaurs and crocodiles, we played on the swing, we played hide and seek, we played tag (she is much faster now - I can't catch her and she CAN catch me!) and we did some drawing and cutting out.

Yes, you might say that I'm feeling a little worn out and after the 'TAG' fiasco, I may be feeling a little sore tomorrow!

We are starting with an early breakfast at The Bare-chested Chef's restaurant tomorrow morning and according to Chicklet, we will be having a 'sock party' some time during the day. Who knows what that will entail???

I'm off to catch up on some episodes of Grey's Anatomy and then fall into a deep slumber.

Nite all.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Hullo Goodye

This is short and sweet.

We are off to the Sunny Coast tomorrow, so I'm heading to bed for a delicious night of sound sleep.

Check this out ... coconut oil

Nite all.


Thursday, March 10, 2016

Funny or What?

I read 100 jokes by famous comedians today and only six of them appealed to me. There were a couple of others, but they were too naughty to share here.
  • Two cannibals were eating a clown when one said to the other "Does he taste funny to you?"
  • I thought I'd begin by reading a poem by William Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine!
  • How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
  • Do you know how many middle aged men go out for a litre of milk and never come back? Not enough.
  • My boyfriend had a sex manual but he was dyslexic. I was lying there and he was looking for my vinegar.
  • How come Miss Universe is only won by people from earth?
I thought this little video was hilarious and was I imagining BGWLBH and I in the same situation. 



I spent some time in the kitchen today and was very happy with all the results. For lunch I made crispy skin chicken, cauliflower puree with candied walnuts and garlic butter asparagus.


This afternoon I mad some paleo apple and walnut muffins.


I don't have a photo of dinner, but I made Chicken and Liver Larb. It sounds terrible but it was more like a chilli lime chicken dish made with chicken mince and finely chopped chicken liver. Really delicious with toasted sesame seeds and spring onions and lime juice and chillies and mint and basil and coriander (all fresh) stirred through it and flaked almonds sprinkled over the top. Full of flavour and so nutritious. Served with lettuce and cucumber.

My job from the job board today was to clean the fridge out. The timing for that job was perfect because the fridge was shiny and sparkly clean, ready for all the fresh vegetables that came in the FROG box today.

I spent thirty minutes sitting in the shade overlooking the river this morning listening to music and watching all the boating activity happening on top of the water and enjoying the sea life that was visible under the water. Lots of bait fish about!

I had a short visit with The Motivator this morning too. We laughed a lot.

So it's been a busy and productive day. I must say, that after just four days back on the paleo program, I already feel more energised and clear headed. The caffeine withdrawals have disappeared (hopefully for good) and I'm feeling fine!

It's 10.30pm, so I'm off for an early night.

Nite all.

Under the Stars

Yesterday, I was invited by The Motivator, to drive into The Bay with her, and meet with a group of people on the beach for an evening of meditation under the stars.

Meditation is on my list of 100 things to do this year, so I was very excited that she thought of me!

We picked up another lady on the way. I will call her 'Hippie of Hope'.

We arrived nice and early. They were still setting up on the beach .. not far from Enzo's .. and we introduced ourselves to the two women in charge. J1 and J2. There was a man there lighting candles that were sitting inside about twenty glass jars scattered about the allocated area.

Apparently, the group usually meditates under the full moon, but tonight, without a moon, the beach was very dark and the stars were amazing! We spotted satellites and shooting stars and we got to spend half an hour star gazing before we meditated.

There were probably 25 of us spread out over the sand. Some were sitting in folding chairs, some lying on towels, some sitting in the lotus position, some face down on their belly, some on their back. The ages ranged from 8 to 78 and everybody was happy and friendly.

At around 7pm, J1 began guiding us through the meditation. She slowly weaved her way between us all taking us, with her words, deep into the ocean with golden lights and helping us wash away our fears, our bad memories and our anger, then lifting us with thoughts of love and asking us to spread our good energy and positivity all over the planet, starting with our loved ones and spreading outward to everyone and anyone who we thought needed it.

All the while, a soft breeze was caressing our skin and waves were rolling and breaking gently on the beach as the tide came in.

It was the tide that ended our evening a little earlier than planned. The waves almost reached the toes of the people closest to the water, when J1 brought us out of our meditative trance.

The lesson I learned from tonight, is that my cane mat is not comfortable for meditation purposes. Either a yoga mat, or just a towel would be better. I took a tiny pillow for my head, which was ideal, but the cane mat was very hard under my hips and lower back and the discomfort interfered with the process.

The joys of getting older.

I didn't even think to take a photo. I was too 'in the moment' as soon as my feet touched the sand, but we'll be going for the full moon meditation in two weeks, so I'll try and capture the ambience then and share it here.

It was morning tea with the girls today. As usual, an enjoyable couple of hours. We discussed a website that I often shop at, because I opened a parcel that arrived in the mail, with items bought from there. I promised to provide a link to the site so here it is ...

Zulily

Now it is rapidly approaching 1am, so I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Still Withdrawing.

Word of the day: 'Somnolent' (adj) sleepy or drowsy

This is how I feel during the day while I'm withdrawing from caffeine .. but then when I go to bed at night, it takes forever to fall asleep!

I am experiencing most of these symptoms ...



... and that's why my blog posts will be short and erratic for the next few days.

We are still working our way through the jobs on the board, although Adoring Husband didn't do his chore today - instead he pinned it face up on the board, so I guess he might get to it tomorrow. I like to watch the cards disappear each day.

I made paleo lamb moussaka for dinner tonight. I haven't made it before and I didn't follow the recipe because it was quite late when I started dinner and I didn't have the time to do it by the book, so I adapted it to suit my time restrictions. It worked well.

It might be time for me to go to bed. If I go now, I might fall asleep by midnight if I'm lucky.

Nite all.


Monday, March 7, 2016

A Bit of WOW

Apparently this film has been making the rounds since 2014, but today was my first viewing of it and I was amazed. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



Today is day one of my ten week paleo program and I haven't had a coffee. I felt like I was doing ok, but it has been a slow and gradual decline and the withdrawals are beginning to kick in with vengeance!

Still no vision board.

Two more jobs removed and completed from the job board, so that's a positive for the day.

Now I'm going to sleep off some withdrawals.

Nite all.


Sunday, March 6, 2016

Lots of Jobs!

Word of the day:

'Dysania' (n) the state of finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning.

I do love my bed, and most mornings I enjoy spending an hour sitting up in bed reading or using my iPad. Some days I definitely experience dysania.

It seems, by the many comments (on FB, private messages, emails and here), about how many jobs are on my board, that the rest of the world is a lot better organised and more efficient than I!!

I hope that one day I will become proficient at 'adulting' .. OR .. I will give up, and continue excelling at being a middle aged teenage hippie with no interest in being house proud.  There is always something more fun or more enjoyable or more relaxing to do, than housework.

My vision board didn't quite come to fruition today. I have a pile of magazines stacked beside my 'spot' on the couch, with a pair of scissors and a small box to store the pictures and words and symbols that I choose, but between Facebooking, watching two games of football, cooking lunch and dinner and completing my job off the board, I didn't quite reach the high motivational requirement to be as creative as I wish to be for this board.

Perhaps tomorrow will be the day. Photo still to come!

I'm starting the 10 week paleo way program again tomorrow.

Having re-introduced certain foods into my diet, my body is sliding back into it's unhappy 'pre-paleo' state. Too much coffee, dairy, potatoes, rice and sugary fruit has helped see the return of aching joints, broken sleep, fluctuating energy levels, duller skin and crazy mood swings.

I want to feel vibrant, energetic, calm and glowy again .. especially after all the work I've had on my mouth to help me reach a healthier state.

So it seems that I'm trying to gain control in a few areas of my life at the moment!

Tomorrow morning, I'd like to find my way to the water and possibly catch some wind surfers out practising. Burrum Windfest is on this week, so I might dust the camera off and attempt some action photography.

That means I need to sleep now.

Nite all.