Day 42

I love down dog it must be one of my favourite yoga poses. I don't know what it is about that pose but I often find myself lingering there whilst the class has moved on. I am loving Monday night yoga class and tongight experience a definite transition in my practice. When I recently took the Real Age test the questions asked really made me think about those factors in our life that contribute to our health and longevity. Happiness clearly has a significant impact on health and I'd encourage you to consider spending more time doing things that bring you joy and happiness. Why not cut out TV and instead schedule some happy time like catching up with friends that energize you, taking a yoga class or playing a game. Whatever it is that makes leaves you feeling refreshed and invigorated - they are your happy places! One of mine is my garden and everything looked so lush, green and inviting after the rain this afternoon that I grabbed the camera and went for a little exploration. As I discovered some beautiful flowers, two new little pumpkins, the beans from Ruth that have started producing (I sampled a few) I was reminded of many friends and family as I spotted plants and herbs that had been gifts or cuttings from others. My garden reminds me that we are all connected and in the same way that we need fresh wholesome food for health and vitality we also need fresh and wholesome community and connection with others. Friendship online kind of reminds me of food from a can, it's ok but fresh is best! I think it's time to invite someone over for a happyshake!

Day 24

Happy Australia Day! I bet you're all wondering what I ate today right? BBQ's being the usual on such patriotic occasions! After a leisurely sleep-in I enjoyed a green smoothie and fruit in the morning and made Shaun a veggie omelet with a side of sauteed shrooms, swiss chard and toasted burgen. We hit the gym around 12pm for a workout and then I prepared two huge salads, peppered with pepitas, sunflower seeds, walnuts and avocado for lunch. His salad also got two eggs and some chicken wings on top! Whilst he hasn't taken completely to raw, my man definately feels as though he is eating better at the moment as I have been paying more attention than usual to food preparation which has been a plus for him! Here is a lovely post with some tips on being more raw inclusive. We spent the evening with my sister-in-law and her family - playing in the garden with Uri (2) running around 'in the raw' after the chooks and both squealing when they copped a cheeky spray from the hose whilst watering the veggie patch! Hayley showed us documents from the Brisbane Organic Growers Group (B.O.G.G.) c.1980's that she discovered in her grandmother's archives - we poured over the hand-typed papers with sentiments around the importance of saving seeds and educating people on how to grow vegetables. I found this fascinating as it was at this time when our parent's generation ceased to grow food and inspired me with what is possible through the Ipswich Kitchen Gardening Community that we are launching in February - stay tuned! We enjoyed a delicious salad with courgette, cucumber and rocket from her garden, marinated mushrooms and the others had some snags on the side too. This weekend I want to try raw sushi using quinoa!

Day 16

We did a variation of the 300 training session this morning. I haven't done one in a while and really threw myself into it and got my heart pumping, I imagined the oxygen just flooding every cell! Felt so good! It's a great muscle building workout whilst keeping the heart rate up. Strength training is essential to maintain or build muscle mass which assists with weight control and bone density and strength. Tuesday morning we are meeting at Limestone Park for cross training so if you want to join us for some action - come along! Meeting in the car park near Lyons Road at 5:30am. Today I have been working on putting the feelers out for interest in a new project I'll be launching this year under the Transition Ipswich umbrella - Ipswich Kitchen Gardening Community - a community of people growing food locally that connects both online and in person, shares knowledge, seeds, surplus food, friendship & fun. Then this evening I attended an inspiring presentation by Beyond Zero Emissions on sustainable energy solutions for Australia. Europe is really leading the way and we saw many examples of practical and renewable energy sources that we can tap into! I enjoyed a lovely quiet ride home under a sky full of stars, a frozen banana, blueberry, coconut, chia and flaxseed smoothie, wrote my blog and now it's time for bed!

Day 3

Summer mornings are just divine, the crickets buzzing, the birds singing away enticing you to come and see them and a cool breeze in the window that tickles your cheek. Whilst I taking a break from the intense cardio I usually do during the juice feast, I am continuing with strength training so we hit the gym early with some steam room bliss afterward. I love to reward myself and am trying to think up creative treats that don't involve sweets or caffeine - I'd love to hear your ideas around this topic. So today I must say I have felt better than the first two days for sure, I had juiced fruit after the gym and then made up 3/4L juice to take with me to work (first day back after the Christmas break!). I was really surprised at how great I felt all day and no hunger pangs, headaches or anything. I thought with the gym session and cycling to work and home that my put a dint in my energy for the day but it was the opposite and I am quite excited as this whole project has been unknown territory! We spent the afternoon until sunset gardening again and then I even made Shaun dinner without any qualms! He was delighted and quite surprised that I could cook for him and not be drooling over it! I've popped up a few photos of what I am juicing at the moment because it's so easy to grow and you can use pots if you don't have a bed - silverbeet (chard), beetroot (you can eat and juice the leaves also) and basil. The succulent we re-potted yesterday and created a few new ones using offshoots - I just love the colours and the juxtaposition of the terracotta really works.

Day 2

Woke up feeling very light and refreshed. There is an increasing sense of lightness which feels really good. My sleeping is definately improving - I noticed over the Christmas period that I wasn't sleeping as well I usually do which I think was a combination of larger meals later in the evening and a few too many red wines. At the end of the first day I was also feeling a little funny with a slight headache but a good sleep seemed to clear that up. So day has been good without those symptoms and I think that's also attributed to taking in a few more calories today via juicing more fruits. We went for a visit to Rosewood today. It's a gorgeous little spot about 20 minutes from Ipswich with a quaint little township surrounded by rolling hills. I found a gorgeous vintage tapestry purse which has been on my wishlist - I've posted it on Très Chic but am secretly hoping it might be a keeper - well for awhile anyway. It was very warm today so we jumped in our swimmers around 5pm and went out for nice cool hose down in the backyard - later afternoon is a great time of day to get some safe gentle rays and Vitamin D! Our Thai friends came over around 6pm and we had another Thai gardening lesson until dusk, planted a new hedge, transplanted the bananas to the bottom of the garden where they will have more room to grow and popped the strawberry plant we got from Chelsea at Travellan Lifestyle Centre in their wake under the poinciana which is providing us with a great natural greenhouse. After goodbyes we (both) had a nice juice for dinner we went and spent the evening with family - it's wonderful to be so close by - all in all a really lovely day!