Productive

We had Sweet Potato patties with our chicken wings at lunch time. They were very nice, but I needed to make them a bit earlier to cool the potato mix in the fridge properly before forming the patties.

I will try them again and take photos and share the recipe next time!

I got a bit more of my assignment done .. not a lot because my brain was still suffering the effects of 5 glasses of wine the night before! I didn't feel hungover (in the usual sense of the word) but I did feel a little scrambled.

So much to do, so little time!

.. and for my positive take on what tomorrow will bring ..

Only 4 more sleeps til Bubbles and Knight in Shining Armour arrive! Wahoo!

I do believe the weather has turned a little chilly this evening. Time to put the big UGH boots on!

Or perhaps it's time for bed .. 8.30pm .. it's been a long time since I went to bed THAT early!

Nite all.

TGIF

I really look forward to Friday nights at the local Bowls Club with our friends.

The Bowls Club has a badge draw, lotsapots draw, $100 club and the weekly raffles, all on a Friday night.

Just about everyone at our table won something tonight, except Adoring Husband and I, which is unusual in itself, because Adoring Husband is known as the 'raffle king' and wins regularly.

We all had dinner in the restaurant together, after the raffles, because Lady Lynn and Happy Harry are off on holidays for a couple of weeks.

I had an extra glass of wine tonight, which made me extra chatty! I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I had fun, so I don't care if everyone else struggled with my chattiness.

I did get a good chunk of my video assignment done today .. none of the video itself, but I laid out the basic plan and wrote the script for my role play. I also discovered that the assignment is due on the 8th August and not the 5th as I first thought .. which gives me an extra 3 days to procrastinate!

Wahoo!

I took some photos this morning, but once again haven't looked at them yet, so if any of them are worth sharing, you'll see them tomorrow.

Ten minutes til midnight .. I'm off to bed.

Nite all.

Annie

I recorded a program on the Studio channel early yesterday morning on the famous photographer Annie Leibovitz. She began her career with Rolling Stone magazine and moved to Vanity Fair and she also took the very last photograph of John Lennon just 5 hours before he died ...

and you all remember the pregnant and naked Demi Moore!

I think Annie is beautiful .. she reminds me of a cross between Barbra Streisand and Julia Roberts.

She makes me want to be a portrait photographer!

So, after Adoring Husband arrived home from his SES meeting, we spent the the rest of the evening watching that program.

It's almost midnight and I seriously want to pick up my camera and go wake people up to photograph them!

Unfortunately, I didn't get another photo for the symmetry challenge and now the challenge is over. There are some great entries (and some not so great), however, I don't stand a chance this month. The winner will be announced next Monday .. I have my favourites picked out already.

I think I have stretched my procrastinating to it's very limits and tomorrow I simply MUST get serious about my video assignment. Wish me luck!

Nite all.

Symmetry

I'm struggling to find the right pic for the 'symmetry' challenge this month.

Here is the front runner at the moment .. with only 24 hours left for submissions!

I'm not completely happy with it, so I am still searching the universe for something else. I have two more ideas which I will try tomorrow, but I'm not feeling confident.

The video presentation for my next assignment is also swirling around in my head, so the brain needs to go into overdrive and I simply MUST get creative and stop procrastinating.

I'm looking forward to morning tea tomorrow, with a friend who I haven't spent time with in a while (more procrastinating?).

Now, I'm off to watch a little more of the Commonwealth Games before bed.

Nite all.

Quick Pics

Just quickly sharing some pics tonight ...

Crested Hawk (aka Pacific Basa)

Cauliflower and fresh turmeric soup with walnuts

Chocolate cake sandwich with chocolate mousse, cream and strawberries

Nite all.

Grounding or Earthing

Walking bare foot on the earth.

Kick your shoes off and spend half an hour in your garden or walk on the beach or play frisbee in the park or splash in muddy puddles!

History shows that humans once had constant contact with the earth. That was before shoes, floors, bitumen, rugs and all those things that now separate us from bare ground.

There have been, and are currently, multiple studies documenting the improvement in balance, stress, sleep, heart health and blood viscosity, among other things, when grounding is practised.

Earthing allows a transfer of electrons (the Earth’s natural, subtle energy) into the body.

Inflammation is caused by free radicals and they are neutralised with electrons from any source, so this is where grounding will be beneficial in easing, healing or improving all manner of different ailments and illnesses.

Earthing restores natural self-healing and self-regulating mechanisms.

If you really want to get into the nitty gritty (pardon the pun) of earthing, then go here, where you will find lots of detailed information.

For more studies and some interesting videos that show how grounding works, go here.

You must admit, you always feel good after a long bare-foot walk along the beach. The sand grinding between our toes and the fresh, cool, salty water cleansing our feet.

I know I'll be doing that more often and I hope to drag Adoring Husband along to enjoy the benefits.

I've taken a few photos over the last couple of days, but I haven't looked at them yet .. perhaps tomorrow. Food, birds, symmetry, flowers and bees.

It's almost 11pm.

I think I'll get an early night!

Nite all.

Relief

Headaches seem to be a common problem among my friends and family.

Headaches are generally caused by:

• Poor digestive health
• Dehydration
• Caffeine - either too much, or withdrawal from.
• Alcohol
• Sugar consumption
• Food intolerances
• Artificial food additives such as MSG, preservatives and colourings
• Mineral imbalances
• Vitamin B deficiency
• Prescription Drugs
• Artificial sweeteners
• Chemicals such as household cleaners, pesticides, perfumes etc
• Lack of grounding
• Lack of sunlight
• Chronic stress
• Tight muscles
• Misaligned skeletal system
• Smoking

I am very lucky because I rarely get headaches - perhaps once or twice a year - and when I do, I prefer to drink plenty of water and then sleep it off, rather than take any type of pain relief medication.

The most popular forms of pain relief are codeine and non-codeine. Non-codeine - ibuprofen, paracetamol and aspirin are most common. Codeine pain relievers are related to morphine and are used for chronic pain and are generally prescription medications.

If you suffer from a headache once a week or more, then you need to take a close look at your lifestyle and make some changes for the better.

• Eat a healthier diet full of fresh foods and remove processed foods
• Take good quality probiotics to improve gut health
• Reduce your caffeine and alcohol intake
• Drink more water
• Cut out sugar - read the labels on on everything because there is sugar in all packaged food
• Stop using artificial sweeteners - they are as bad, if not worse than sugar!
• Get yourself grounded - walk bare foot in your garden or on the beach (I will write a post tomorrow explaining more about grounding)
• Get 30 minutes of sunshine every day - this is my number one piece of advice for good mental and physical health
• Get a massage. Learn yoga. Meditate. See a chiropractor. These will cover/relieve chronic stress, tight muscles and misaligned skeletal system.
• Change your cleaning products to vinegar and water - chemical cleaners are completely unnecessary and we only buy them because clever advertising has convinced us that a house is not clean unless we use strong chemicals to kill the germs. Quite frankly, the chemicals are far more dangerous than any germ in our home.
• Check the side effects of your medication - talk to your doctor. You may need to reduce or change your meds to stop the headaches

The fact is, you should not be suffering from headaches and instead of popping pain pills every day/week/month, you should be investigating further and eliminating that which is causing your pain.

As with all forms of medication, there are side effects and long term effects of using pain relief medication on a regular basis:

• Headache (how ironic)
• Dizziness
• Thirst
• Ringing in the ears
• Fluid retention
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Heartburn
• Bladder irritation including pain or frequent urination
• Anaemia
• Ulcers
• Kidney and Liver disorders
• Blurred vision
• Dry mouth

So pain medications are not as harmless as they seem - especially if they are being used on a regular basis.

It may be time to look more seriously at your pain relief habits.

Nite all.