Advice from a tree
Stand tall and proud
Go out on a limb
Remember your roots
Drink plenty of water
Be content with your natural beauty
Enjoy the view
So everyone out there, go do what a tree does and let me know how it works for you!!!!
Advice from a tree
I cannot claim any of these words as mine, however I love this!!!!
Advice from a tree
Stand tall and proud
Go out on a limb
Remember your roots
Drink plenty of water
Be content with your natural beauty
Enjoy the view
So everyone out there, go do what a tree does and let me know how it works for you!!!!
Advice from a tree
Stand tall and proud
Go out on a limb
Remember your roots
Drink plenty of water
Be content with your natural beauty
Enjoy the view
So everyone out there, go do what a tree does and let me know how it works for you!!!!
Day 90 of 100
I have been undertaking a walking challenge for 90 days now.
The challenge is 100 days long.
I am obsessed.
The challenge is with a group of 7 to walk at least 10,000 steps a day for the 100 days. It an external company who sets it up and encourages organizations to take part.
I have to confess I have not consistently walked 10,000 steps a day, but over the period, I have gotten increasingly better, and my average is now about 15,000. I think I started at about 6,000.
The step count also includes cycling, it does a fancy conversion thing.
What I have learned is that to do 10,000 steps a day, you really do have to change your habits and your mindset.
For example, when I have a meeting now with one other person, we walk.
We get up from the table, put on our coats, and we go outside. I tell you its wonderful, suddenly the conversation opens up and there are no boundaries. It really is a double win. You move and you think differently.
The mindset change I underwent was that going to run that errand was a good thing. So rather than thinking, oh do I really have to go to the post office, or get some milk. I now jump up and say, I will do it. Each trip add hundreds to the count. And 10,000 is not an easy feat. So you need a few errands a day to get to the goal.
I will report out on the results when complete, however I know that I have gradually upped my game. And not through more sport and more gym attendance, but through changing my habits.
I have been suprised by that.
Really suprised.
How much do you walk?
Are there slots in your day where you can squeeze it in?
Have a think, I was suprised how possible it was to change things.
The challenge is 100 days long.
I am obsessed.
The challenge is with a group of 7 to walk at least 10,000 steps a day for the 100 days. It an external company who sets it up and encourages organizations to take part.
I have to confess I have not consistently walked 10,000 steps a day, but over the period, I have gotten increasingly better, and my average is now about 15,000. I think I started at about 6,000.
The step count also includes cycling, it does a fancy conversion thing.
What I have learned is that to do 10,000 steps a day, you really do have to change your habits and your mindset.
For example, when I have a meeting now with one other person, we walk.
We get up from the table, put on our coats, and we go outside. I tell you its wonderful, suddenly the conversation opens up and there are no boundaries. It really is a double win. You move and you think differently.
The mindset change I underwent was that going to run that errand was a good thing. So rather than thinking, oh do I really have to go to the post office, or get some milk. I now jump up and say, I will do it. Each trip add hundreds to the count. And 10,000 is not an easy feat. So you need a few errands a day to get to the goal.
I will report out on the results when complete, however I know that I have gradually upped my game. And not through more sport and more gym attendance, but through changing my habits.
I have been suprised by that.
Really suprised.
How much do you walk?
Are there slots in your day where you can squeeze it in?
Have a think, I was suprised how possible it was to change things.
A cure?
In the papers this week, there was some breaking news!!!
There may be a cure for alopecia!!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/11039593/Alopecia-cure-fully-restores-hair-in-five-months.html
It was reported in quite a lot of the world press and I received it via a number of channels!!
Agreed it is only 3 patients who have been cured, but it is early days.
To my knowledge there has been no cure to date.
So this is quite wonderful.
Am I rushing to be part of the clinical trials?
Am I researching to find out more?
Well not really, but imagine if this drug worked.
Imagine if I could get the hair back on my head. Imagine if it stayed off everywhere else.
Boy would I be the envy of every girl out there.
I will keep following this one to see what happens.
This is an exciting development.
There may be a cure for alopecia!!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/11039593/Alopecia-cure-fully-restores-hair-in-five-months.html
It was reported in quite a lot of the world press and I received it via a number of channels!!
Agreed it is only 3 patients who have been cured, but it is early days.
To my knowledge there has been no cure to date.
So this is quite wonderful.
Am I rushing to be part of the clinical trials?
Am I researching to find out more?
Well not really, but imagine if this drug worked.
Imagine if I could get the hair back on my head. Imagine if it stayed off everywhere else.
Boy would I be the envy of every girl out there.
I will keep following this one to see what happens.
This is an exciting development.
Beautiful words (but will they last into teenage years)
As I was putting my little one to bed, she said:
"Mummy you are the best mummy in the world"
then she paused and said:
"and Daddy is the best Daddy in the world too".
Thats nice I said, why do you say that, I asked.
"Two reasons" she said.
"The first, you are kind."
"The second, you let me do what I want".
Golden eh?
I loved the fact that she appreciated these facts.
So I had a moment of feeling good....................
Then I began wondering. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that I let her sleep in the clothes she wanted to wear for school the next day!!!!
I guess everything!!!
Well she is only 7!
"Mummy you are the best mummy in the world"
then she paused and said:
"and Daddy is the best Daddy in the world too".
Thats nice I said, why do you say that, I asked.
"Two reasons" she said.
"The first, you are kind."
"The second, you let me do what I want".
Golden eh?
I loved the fact that she appreciated these facts.
So I had a moment of feeling good....................
Then I began wondering. Mmmmmmmmmmm.
I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that I let her sleep in the clothes she wanted to wear for school the next day!!!!
I guess everything!!!
Well she is only 7!
Asking for help.
Asking for help is a really difficult thing for many of us.
I will tell you a story. It's a personal story. However 4 or 5 years on, I still reflect back on this story. The teachings were rich and I draw upon them regularly. Each time, saying a personal thank you, to the person who taught me.
About four years ago, we were struggling with school and friends for our eldest daughter. Without disclosing any of her personal details, lets just say she has mild learning and social difficulties, which were causing her emotional distress.
As parents we felt helpless. No one had given us the manufacturers manual for this stuff.
One day at work I was at a bit of a low, and me being me, I was keeping all this to myself.
A colleague of mine saw the weight on my shoulders and asked what was going on. I deflected and did not divulge. She however did not let me off the hook (which was actually a brave strategy considering my closedness on such personal matters).
She dug and poked, till I spilled the beans.
She listened and took it all in.
She then turned around and said, "I can help. I dont know how, but we can solve this one."
I was a little taken aback, but I have to say it felt good to have someone else co-owning the problem and promising to move it forward.
After a while of brainstorming, we came up with a solution.
She said, "Listen, I have a daughter of similar age, I will tell her that your daughter is struggling at school and needs a friend. We will not force it, but I will speak to her and encourage her to be kind and show warmth to another little girl who needs some help."
And that was it.
A few weeks later, we brought them together, just for a few hours, and left them to it.
The experience was wonderful.
They not only got on together, but seemingly enjoyed each other.
Over the period of a few years, we brought them together maybe 3 or 4 times. No more than that. However they became BFF's (Best friends forever!).
I was suprised that a BFF could be built on such few interactions, yet what I failed to understand was that they both enjoyed the fact that each other existed. For mine it was a friend who accepted her for what she was and for the other it was an international exotic new influence in her life with who she could laugh and do silly things with.
Even now they refer to each other as BFF's and I know my daughter draws a lot of strength from this friendship, despite the miles and infrequent play dates, but the sheer fact of her existence is enough to carry her when things get too much.
So story aside, here is the deep learning I got.
You have to let people in. You have to share your stories and let people know what is going on in your life. Keeping it to yourself, does not allow creative new ideas in. Ideas which you would never come up with and ideas that actually work!!
Asking for help is not easy. In fact it is a skill even to know how to ask for help.
However I learned that day 4 or 5 years ago, that asking for help is not a weakness it is a strength.It is a strength that inspires others, allows others to help and ultimately brings goodness to all involved.
Do you share your stories?
Have you also benefited from sharing them?
Do you like hearing others' stories?
Any advise to those of us who struggle sharing?
I will tell you a story. It's a personal story. However 4 or 5 years on, I still reflect back on this story. The teachings were rich and I draw upon them regularly. Each time, saying a personal thank you, to the person who taught me.
About four years ago, we were struggling with school and friends for our eldest daughter. Without disclosing any of her personal details, lets just say she has mild learning and social difficulties, which were causing her emotional distress.
As parents we felt helpless. No one had given us the manufacturers manual for this stuff.
One day at work I was at a bit of a low, and me being me, I was keeping all this to myself.
A colleague of mine saw the weight on my shoulders and asked what was going on. I deflected and did not divulge. She however did not let me off the hook (which was actually a brave strategy considering my closedness on such personal matters).
She dug and poked, till I spilled the beans.
She listened and took it all in.
She then turned around and said, "I can help. I dont know how, but we can solve this one."
I was a little taken aback, but I have to say it felt good to have someone else co-owning the problem and promising to move it forward.
After a while of brainstorming, we came up with a solution.
She said, "Listen, I have a daughter of similar age, I will tell her that your daughter is struggling at school and needs a friend. We will not force it, but I will speak to her and encourage her to be kind and show warmth to another little girl who needs some help."
And that was it.
A few weeks later, we brought them together, just for a few hours, and left them to it.
The experience was wonderful.
They not only got on together, but seemingly enjoyed each other.
Over the period of a few years, we brought them together maybe 3 or 4 times. No more than that. However they became BFF's (Best friends forever!).
I was suprised that a BFF could be built on such few interactions, yet what I failed to understand was that they both enjoyed the fact that each other existed. For mine it was a friend who accepted her for what she was and for the other it was an international exotic new influence in her life with who she could laugh and do silly things with.
Even now they refer to each other as BFF's and I know my daughter draws a lot of strength from this friendship, despite the miles and infrequent play dates, but the sheer fact of her existence is enough to carry her when things get too much.
So story aside, here is the deep learning I got.
You have to let people in. You have to share your stories and let people know what is going on in your life. Keeping it to yourself, does not allow creative new ideas in. Ideas which you would never come up with and ideas that actually work!!
Asking for help is not easy. In fact it is a skill even to know how to ask for help.
However I learned that day 4 or 5 years ago, that asking for help is not a weakness it is a strength.It is a strength that inspires others, allows others to help and ultimately brings goodness to all involved.
Do you share your stories?
Have you also benefited from sharing them?
Do you like hearing others' stories?
Any advise to those of us who struggle sharing?
Exposed heads
Hair provides a natural protection of the head. This means when you bang your head against a low garage door or something hard, you get an almighty whack, a shocking pain that really takes your breath away.
One can argue that any bang to the head is unpleasant, but consider it without a layer of protection, the hair.
It's probably like hurting your hands without gloves on.
So once again being bald, has a little downside that is not known. Alopecia leaves your scalp exposed and as such an impact to the head can be more serious and possibly providin more damage.
The workaround is clearly simple. When in the garden or out and about, wear a sturdy hat. This applies equally to balding men as well as us alopecians.
Protect your head always. It's kind of useful to have one.
Happy hat wearing.
Without music, life would be a mistake
I love listening to music. Each time I do, I realise that I don't do it enough.
Music really evokes emotions in me, that otherwise remain dormant.
I often find myself thinking the craziest of things whilst listening to music. I come up with creative and quite possibly unrealistic ideas to the beat of Muse or the Beautiful South. Rhythm and harmony clearly access something in me that nothing else reaches.
Also piano music brings me out in goose bumps. I find it so moving to listen to. It really shakes up my insides and makes me more aware of myself.
One of my friends is quite an accomplished piano player and whilst staying with her (and her adorable family) at the seaside, she played to us. It was amazing and I was so touched by the magic of her fingers on the ivory keys. It really was a beautiful sound. I could have listened to her playing for hours, it really was quite something.
As someone with little to no musical talent or rhythm, I am deeply impressed by the discipline and dedication it takes to get to a good level, or in fact any level, of music playing.
Friedrich Nietzsche was reported to have said
"Without music, life would be a mistake"
A bit dramatic, but I get what he is saying.
Does music do the same to you? How do you ensure your get music into your life?
Music really evokes emotions in me, that otherwise remain dormant.
I often find myself thinking the craziest of things whilst listening to music. I come up with creative and quite possibly unrealistic ideas to the beat of Muse or the Beautiful South. Rhythm and harmony clearly access something in me that nothing else reaches.
Also piano music brings me out in goose bumps. I find it so moving to listen to. It really shakes up my insides and makes me more aware of myself.
One of my friends is quite an accomplished piano player and whilst staying with her (and her adorable family) at the seaside, she played to us. It was amazing and I was so touched by the magic of her fingers on the ivory keys. It really was a beautiful sound. I could have listened to her playing for hours, it really was quite something.
As someone with little to no musical talent or rhythm, I am deeply impressed by the discipline and dedication it takes to get to a good level, or in fact any level, of music playing.
Friedrich Nietzsche was reported to have said
"Without music, life would be a mistake"
A bit dramatic, but I get what he is saying.
Does music do the same to you? How do you ensure your get music into your life?
Seeking.......sunflowers
As I was walking down the bottom of the garden last night, harvesting the tomatoes, I turned my head and saw these beauties.
Standing tall and strong and seemingly sprouting from nowhere. These radiant flowers had not been planted consciously. At least not by me.
What a lovely surprise. They had clearly been there for weeks now, but today I saw them in all their glory, for the first time. It was like they had just popped up to pass on a message.
I am not really a flower person, so much so that my boyfriend (now husband) bought me a cauliflower for valentines day once, as he said her knew I would enjoy food more than flowers!!! So he got me both - cauli - FLOWER!!! I knew then that I had to marry him :-)
Anyway......sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers. They are beautiful, last a long time and are very clever. They turn their heads to face the sun. They know what they need to grow and they are able to move their heads to ensure they get maximum exposure to the sun rays, to get their needs met. Not bad for a flower. Tournesol, is the the French name, which literally means, turn to the sun. I like that name.
In Greek mythology, the sunflower is the symbol of Clytie, a water nymph, who turns into a sunflower after grieving the loss of her love, Apollo. The mythological symbolism is that Clytie is always facing the sun, looking for Apollo to return. A sad tale, but one we can relate to.
In Chinese symbolism, the sunflower simply means a symbol of happiness. The yellow meaning vitality and intelligence. Yep I get that.
Whatever the story or belief, sunflowers are unusual flowers. Striking and tall. Bright and smiley.
On my way to work today, I saw them everywhere. In gardens, in vases, on paintings. All looking at me wishing me a nice day.
Today I send sunflowers to you all.
An abundance of them. Bright and yellow. And I know they will all be sending you little messages too!
Standing tall and strong and seemingly sprouting from nowhere. These radiant flowers had not been planted consciously. At least not by me.
What a lovely surprise. They had clearly been there for weeks now, but today I saw them in all their glory, for the first time. It was like they had just popped up to pass on a message.
I am not really a flower person, so much so that my boyfriend (now husband) bought me a cauliflower for valentines day once, as he said her knew I would enjoy food more than flowers!!! So he got me both - cauli - FLOWER!!! I knew then that I had to marry him :-)
Anyway......sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers. They are beautiful, last a long time and are very clever. They turn their heads to face the sun. They know what they need to grow and they are able to move their heads to ensure they get maximum exposure to the sun rays, to get their needs met. Not bad for a flower. Tournesol, is the the French name, which literally means, turn to the sun. I like that name.
In Greek mythology, the sunflower is the symbol of Clytie, a water nymph, who turns into a sunflower after grieving the loss of her love, Apollo. The mythological symbolism is that Clytie is always facing the sun, looking for Apollo to return. A sad tale, but one we can relate to.
In Chinese symbolism, the sunflower simply means a symbol of happiness. The yellow meaning vitality and intelligence. Yep I get that.
Whatever the story or belief, sunflowers are unusual flowers. Striking and tall. Bright and smiley.
On my way to work today, I saw them everywhere. In gardens, in vases, on paintings. All looking at me wishing me a nice day.
Today I send sunflowers to you all.
An abundance of them. Bright and yellow. And I know they will all be sending you little messages too!
Spending pocket money
Over the holidays, our girls had twenty pounds pocket money, for their two weeks of holiday.
It was great for them to be independent and wonderful for us to see how they were going to go about spending it.
It was clear that this money was a focus for them most days. Some part of it needed to spent every day. It was like it was burning a hole in their pocket!
We agreed that they were allowed to spend it on what they wanted, however we encouraged them to dicuss their purchases with us, so we could give them some input. And we also asked them not to spend it all on sweets!!!
My youngest took so much pleasure in considering the prices and always ensuring there was some money left for other days.
She bought bracelets, colouring books, pens, and many other little things, see below.
However two things she chose to spend her money on really stick out in my memory.
1. She gave some money to the lady singing beautifully on the streets of Chester and she insisted that it was her money she gave her.
2. She insisted on paying for the car park in Buxton, it was one pound for the pay and display, and despite me explaining that this was mummys and daddys job, she demanded that she paid this time, as we always pay!!
So lovely.
So the money brought treats and education and kindess on many levels!!
And it also lastest the whole two weeks - who would have thought!
Well done girls.
It was great for them to be independent and wonderful for us to see how they were going to go about spending it.
It was clear that this money was a focus for them most days. Some part of it needed to spent every day. It was like it was burning a hole in their pocket!
We agreed that they were allowed to spend it on what they wanted, however we encouraged them to dicuss their purchases with us, so we could give them some input. And we also asked them not to spend it all on sweets!!!
My youngest took so much pleasure in considering the prices and always ensuring there was some money left for other days.
She bought bracelets, colouring books, pens, and many other little things, see below.
1. She gave some money to the lady singing beautifully on the streets of Chester and she insisted that it was her money she gave her.
2. She insisted on paying for the car park in Buxton, it was one pound for the pay and display, and despite me explaining that this was mummys and daddys job, she demanded that she paid this time, as we always pay!!
So lovely.
So the money brought treats and education and kindess on many levels!!
And it also lastest the whole two weeks - who would have thought!
Well done girls.
Laughing at alopecia
The last few days were spent with some of my closest and longest friends.
It is in these relationships, the jokes can be really personal and close to the bone and as a result very very funny.
We do enjoy teasing one another, especially about our hang ups and issues. Sounds mean, but these relationships are built on years of trust and experiences. The ground is solid.
So as my friend was complaining about the state of her hair, I could reply. "Well that's just fine, you complain about your hair, whilst I am here all bald"
Then she was talking about her hair turning grey, again I could reply " Well at least you have gotten hair"
Later I continued, saying that she could at least have shaved her legs if she was going to wear shorts.
And on it went. Hair jokes, amongst all the others.
What was great about these jokes, is that they were jokes, and everyone knew it. I was officially declaring that the doors were open to make fun of me and my baldness. No jokes were off limits, and I could be mocked.
It is very British to be self deprecating in our humor, and a new genre had now been added.
Again a new stage in the journey.
It is in these relationships, the jokes can be really personal and close to the bone and as a result very very funny.
We do enjoy teasing one another, especially about our hang ups and issues. Sounds mean, but these relationships are built on years of trust and experiences. The ground is solid.
So as my friend was complaining about the state of her hair, I could reply. "Well that's just fine, you complain about your hair, whilst I am here all bald"
Then she was talking about her hair turning grey, again I could reply " Well at least you have gotten hair"
Later I continued, saying that she could at least have shaved her legs if she was going to wear shorts.
And on it went. Hair jokes, amongst all the others.
What was great about these jokes, is that they were jokes, and everyone knew it. I was officially declaring that the doors were open to make fun of me and my baldness. No jokes were off limits, and I could be mocked.
It is very British to be self deprecating in our humor, and a new genre had now been added.
Again a new stage in the journey.
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