Day 35

Hubby got called in for a supply day this morning so I was able to get a tonne of stuff done this morning before a beloved childhood friend from Brisvegas came over for a day out in the high street. Rachel and I met when I was twelve and I have many happy childhood memories of summer holidays that my brother and I spent with her family at Cleveland. I don't know how her mum ever got us five kids into her little VW beetle  but I remember going on outings in that car. After spending nine years living in the UK, Rachel is just settling into life back in the land of Oz! She has been hearing all about our colourful lives here in Ipswich and wanted to come and see it for herself! We visited a few of my favourite spots in the Top of Town and spent more than a moment in each as I introduced my old friend to all of my new friends here and she was made to feel most welcome by each vendor. We enjoyed great conversation about the joy and simplicity of the 'good life' over a refreshing beverage at Cactus before heading home to sample my experimental 'veggie chips' (courgette, pumpkin and beetroot), a light, colourful salad and raw 'pecan pie'. My friend headed off to her first ToastMasters class at New Farm, refreshed and inspired, and I hit the gym for a running session with my K sisters (Karen and Karyn). I haven't run in quite awhile so I wanted to see what I could do in 20 minutes. I cracked out 4km so was very happy with the achievement and will now slowly build up to 5km in 25 minutes. My knees have given me some grief since the Park 2 Park last August but they were absolutely fine this time. We went to see Eve Hillary speak in the evening. Eve is an expert in complimentary medicine and authored 'Sarah's Last Wish' the true story of a family whose lives were dramatically impacted by the rare illness of their daughter and the consequences of an inflexible health care system here in Australia which despite being a few years old resonates strongly with the current debate on complementary health practice courses in Tertiary Institutions, largely driven by pharmaceutical companies who are financially 'compromised' by people staying well. Please consider sharing your views on this matter via this petition. Eve shared about the effects of stress and other factors on micro-nutrient levels which are vital for everyday functions, healthy cell reproduction and longevity. Her main message was to be robustly pro-active in maintaining excellent health via supplementation and focusing on prevention rather than cure. You can check your levels with a simple test. I began daily supplementation in 2006 and it must be working because I took my Real Age test the other day and I scored seven years younger than my true age. Now does that mean I can say the younger version of me when next asked...I'm going with a yes for now - let's see if anyone guesses....I'll leave you with twelve ways to a younger you!