Good Health Naturally

Our naturopath sends out a seasonal newsletter, at first I thought it was just another piece of junk mail, but once I started reading it I realised how often her little pieces are on something that I may have been pondering that very week. Im so happy to have a care provider who looks under some of the same rocks as i do.

This quarters one is no exception. Most interestingly she talks about essential fatty acids (EFA's), and their importance to kids. Recently we had a couple of sleep filled nights with Hamish it coincided with us giving him a power smoothie an hour or so before bed, it didn't last but my thinking about these power smoothies did, and now often in the afternoon I will make one, I try and make sure that it is full of protein and EFA's

The Power Smooth Recipe

1 Mango
1 Tablespoon Protein Powder
1/2 an Avocado
1 1/2 Tablespoons Natural Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Flaxseed Oil
1 splash of milk

Both of the boys love it and its something that I feel fills a gap in their eating without resorting to vitamins and supplement tablets

Now on to make the chicken noodle soup recipe YUM!

Just a quick photo of Jack when he was about 6 months old looking very healthy naturally :)

Top 10 ... ??

Andrew and i were watching PartyMax on cable on Friday. It was so much fun, all of these songs that i hadn't heard for years, and the film clips, the whole things got me thinking about how some music stays with you for your whole life. When i was young, probably about 10 Simon and Garfunkel's Cecilia was my favorite song, as i went through my music yesterday i realised it was still up there along with a lot of songs from those angst fill teenage years i have been talking about :)
I thought i would put together a list of my top 10 all time favorite songs as it stood today, it was an absolute disaster i couldn't get it down below 38, i think the issue is that i like most types of music so i have Porno for Pyros next to Harry Belafonte and Cat Stevens next to Nirvana
Do i want to dance? sing? feel mellow? each one of the 38 makes me feel something?

So i cant do my top 10, its impossible, i cant even pick out the highlights to show you, if there were highlights then there would be some that i liked better than the other ..... you see my dilemma.

So I'm sorry it could well be the longest post in history, but i am going to list the top 38 songs of my life so far ...... mind you there could well be some missing so if you think that there is a song that should be on there let me know maybe i just skipped past it or maybe i didn't have it in iTunes.

I learnt a lot finding the links to these clips, did you know people make there own clips for songs that the Artist didn't release a clip for? a good example is Mad World by Donni Darko someone has pieces together some Final Fantasy clips, there was also the one i came across for ruler of my heart of a woman who had just put lots of pictures of herself together, each to his own. Enjoy xx

1. Paper Aeroplane - Angus and Julia Stone
2. Mother Natures Son - The Beatles
3. Hyper-ballad - Bjork
4. Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
5. Glycerine - Bush
6. Red Apples - Cat Power
7. Peace Train - Cat Stevens
8. My Jones - Counting Crows
9. Colourblind - Counting Crows (i tried hard to only have 1 song per artist but this was an impossible choice)
10. Burn - The Cure
11. Rocket Man - Elton John
12. Criminal - Fiona Apple
13. Zion - Fluke
14. Mad World - Gary Jules
15. Hearts a Mess - Gotye
16. Jump in the line - Harry Belafonte
17. When you Gonna Learn - Jamiroquai
18. Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
19. Hardly Wait - Juliette Lewis
20. Gorecki - Lamb
21. Ruler of my Heart - Lisa Fischer
22. Lightning Crashes - Live
23. Love Rears its Ugly Head - Living Colour
24. Teardrop - Massive Attack
25. Fade into You - Mazzy Star
26. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
27. Hey Ya - Outkast
28. Pets - Porno for Pyros
29. Glory Box - Portishead
30. Leave by Leave - REM
31. I could have lied - Red Hot Chili Peppers
32. Its Tricky - Run DMC
33. Cecilia - Simon and Garfunkel
34. Bootyfull - Skunkhour
35. Connected - Stereo MC
36. After Dark - Tito and Tarantula
37. Aurora - Veruca Salt
38. In the Waiting Line - Zero 7

I wish I loved anything the way kids love bubbles

What do you Love ? I don't mean who that's easy, but what makes your heart sing? what makes you feel alive? what makes you feel peaceful and content?

These days I think we get so caught up in what life throws at us or in the everyday grind, we forget that we have things big and small that could change the balance of the day, by nurturing our spirit.

I love baths, they make me feel pampered and how i get to read my book

I love coffee, well made creamy strong hot coffee

I love thunder storms,

I love music and the way it can evoke feeling and thoughts that have been lost or misplaced i especially love to sing

I love doughnuts, they are the perfect desert and nectarines the perfect fruit

I love to dance,

These aren't loves that are going to change the my life but they are some of the things that when the day is getting away from me I use to try to find balance.

Next time you feel a bit sad or down, think of smells, tastes, sounds, touches, and sights that make you feel a bit brighter, try and think about what you love the way kids love bubbles

Love ya work!

A few months ago channel 10 brought out their version of a show called dirty jobs (it flopped). It was a take off of the discovery show also called Dirty Jobs the host is this guy, Mike Rowe who tries his hand at every gross/dirty job you can think of, from sewer worker and pig farmer to crime scene cleaner and cob house builder. Its a pretty cool show you get to see the underbelly of civilisation, as a lot of jobs that he does keep the rest of us living in the state we are accustomed.

I remember hearing a few years people ago about a guy who's job it was to be a cat food taste tester, and thinking, i can cope with what life throws at me as long as i don't have to do THAT job.

Recently i went to my first birth that wasn't my own, i realised how much closer i was to doing a job that i loved, i was inspired to start studying hard to get to the place where i can do that every day. Not only being with women who are birthing, but being around, teaching and being inspired by couples as they go through that process.

Have you thought about what your ultimate job would be, and what your dirty job would be. If you aren't already, why are you not working your ultimate job? what would you need to put in place to be able to get there? when we spend so much of our life working its a shame that so many people are not in love with what they do.

Maybe all you want is a job that will give you the money to live life the way you want and that's cool as well, but are you? are you actually living your life in a way that makes your job worthwhile?

Food for thought.... We don't really do it either but we try, here are some photos of us Living our Bliss, try and live yours

Leave you hanging

Andrew mentioned that my last post was a little boring but to be honest things have been a little slow and i have been a little vague but i don't want to leave you hanging on a dodgy post. So for the first time I'm going to do a bits a pieces post.

Firstly, a lovely woman i know from the magic yellow bus who i had been talking about the Six word memoirs with told me hers and i though that it spoke strongly of her life it was; 'lived til 35 enjoying the rest'. So whats yours? come on think about it!

Also today our close friends and their two kids and our family went fishing. No i didn't fish, and neither did the kids but Andrew and the other couple did. I sat on the mat with their little boy and the three older kids explored. It was beautiful to watch, for hours the three of them talked about monsters, dinosaurs, bugs and birds, they hid and ran poked sticks in holes and threw rocks in the river. It made my heart feel really full for them.

A few years ago when talking to a friend of ours who had a few kids, i talked about wanting to take the kids to a village that i had seen where you could stay and live with the villagers, you got your own hut on the beach but like the village it had no electricity. You basically joined the village ate meals with them bathed with them and generally did what they did (I'm not sure about the whether you work with them though) I was talking about how i thought the kids could learn so much from playing with the kids in the village and how much we could learn about living simply. The friend scoffed at the idea, she said 'i give you 2 days before the whining from boredom stops you enjoying yourself" .

I was a quiet upset at the thought that being out in nature playing with sticks and sand wasn't going to be enough for kids to keep them occupied, i wondered about how you would go about giving your kids the ability to entertain themselves.

I have memories of spending hours playing with mud, making fairy baths out of magnolia petals, climbing trees with a packed lunch, and (thanks Trina) making sleds out of old boxes to slide down the grassy hill behind our house, called the hump. Were my kids not going to have that?

Today thanks to 3 year olds imagination and a good friend and brother to play with i think my kids proved that friend wrong, i think they would love that experience, now how to keep it that way :)

Oh the last thing that has happened since the boring post :)

It was Andrews grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. Pretty cool hey, can you imagine 60 years together. I wonder if the person looks more familiar to you than they do at 8 years? do they still interest you? do you still feel connected? can you even remember life without them? i think 60 years is amazing, they have been loving each other for almost twice as long as i have been alive. They have been together over 2.5 times longer than they were alive before they met. I think its marvelous that they still love each other, it is an inspiration.

The 2020 Summit

I woke up this morning and though, you know what, my blog needs more social commentary ....... :)

A few months ago i joined a group called Homebirth Access Sydney (HAS) in the hopes of helping community awareness about homebirthing. I didn't really know what they did but i knew that i had seen their stall at a mainstream baby expo and it had been the first time i had really known that homebirth was an option and i wanted to make sure that that happened for other women. We meet once a month, they put out a magazine, and try and have a presence in the community.

Recently they have started to become more political, talking to ministers and members to put the homebirth issues in front of the new government. Who would have thought, even this time last year, that i would be part of a group with a political agenda.

One of our members even works for the minister for woman, and she was asked to submit to the 2020 summit. I love the idea of the summit, i don't know how it will play out or if anything will happen from it but i love the idea of a bunch of people from all walks of life getting to stand and make their passion, ideas and voices heard.

HAS's submission is here, I hope someone hears it and looks at the policies surrounding homebirth and 1 to 1 midwife care.

End social commentary promise I'll try not to do that too often 'grin' time for a cute photo of the kids.

Hamish at the Botanic Gardens in Sydney last Sunday.

Hamish just saw this photo and like he always does when he sees a photo of himself he said

"look mummy, you"

Jack at the Park last week

Quiet and thoughtful

Today like every Wednesday i went out to Camden. I have mentioned before that my mothers sister who lived round the corner as i was growing up is dying of cancer. Its been such a journey being with her through this process, she has had a few really bad periods and had been housebound and mostly in bed for the best part of two years now.

This week she is really not well, death feels close, but as a family we know that death can feel close and then we reach a new plateau and we learn and live with that for a few more months and we are thankful for the time although we wonder how it must be from her side of the path.

It is hard to watch her fade slowly, but then mum went so fast and that was hard too i guess death is never easy.

Normally when i go out to Camden, i go straight to her house, i don't like driving around the town i grew up in.

Today i needed something from the health food shop while i was there the young owner (i swear she is younger than i am) mentioned something about health food changing over the years and i mentioned to her that my mum had owned the first health food shop in Camden, we talked about what it was like in mums shop and all of the memories came flooding back, i started to feel quiet sad.

Then as i drove along the main street and through the backs streets on my way home, i feel like i saw the ghosts of old friendships and loves and memories of times when i was young and life was simpler, i saw picnics in the park with my family, late night jaunts with old inseparable friends whom i no longer know, stolen kisses with boys who's names i don't remember.

I drove past the hospital and remembered all the times i parked and steadied myself before i walked in to talk to mum while she was unable because her asthma was bad. I drove past the oval and thought of the shows where $40 could last you a weekend and you'd have a bed full of carnival throw outs and show bag treats.

Mostly i saw me, crazy, young, sad and eager for life to pass so that i would be older ...... silly that i already see that youth is wasted on the young ...... i wish that i felt now as light as i remember feeling then although I'm sure i thought like all teenagers that life was hard and i had it the hardest.

Ah yes i would like to do it over knowing what i know now, but then i wouldn't change a thing least it change where i am now .......... and in another 20 years i will probably look back to now and say yes youth really is wasted on the young :)

Posting comments without logging in

I have been wondering why so many people were sending me their comments by email instead of using the comments section of the blog. Andrew nicely pointed out that you needed to join blogger to comment so i have changed the access so you can comment without being a member of blogger. Remember to tell me who you are though :)

The Coolness of You

The last few days we have had a breakthrough, WE HAVE SLEEP!!. I cant tell you how mentally refreshed I feel, not from the extra sleep (not yet) but from the freedom of being worried about sleep.

I wont bore you with the details, but I have started making a power smoothie for dinner and needed some help designing the best smoothie I could. Google is your friend, only as long as you have some real knowledge to back it up and I needed some help. I talked to some friends and picked their brain about ingredients, but still felt like I needed a few more answers.

So I called Dad and he talked me through ideas about raw milk, protein powder pros and cons and eating ideologies. I got off the phone with a load of ideas to try and things to Google further.

Later on I got to thinking, how cool is it that I can ask my dad about that! ..... when so many people in their 60's are wearing cabana shirts and thinking Elvis was the last great musician.  My dad is travelling to India to work with an orphanage, learning how to meditate, exploring diet ideas and listening to what he used to call doof doof music.
Now cabana shirts may make a come back and you might agree that Elvis IS king but the difference is that my dad is still growing, still exploring the world and himself.
How do you get to that? why do some people stop challenging themselves? and why do others keep on searching? and most importantly how can you make sure you you are still searching and exploring and being brave when you are 60?
I'm proud of my dad, don't get me wrong we haven't always and often still don't always, see eye to eye.  And like dads are meant to, sometimes he drives me nuts (waves cheekily at her dad) but generally I think that the person he is and the courage he shows regularly to shake it up for a bit is admirable.

I hope genetically I am predisposed to be a little like him, and I hope that more people find their own ways to be brave when so many people start slowing down.
I'm glad my dad and my beautiful stepmother are going to be influences on my kids lives as well.  I think that their example will show them the freedom in being yourself and taking chances.  I hope that they learn the same things from their dad and I as well.

So listen to new music always, travel to the places you dream, find a job you love, or at least a job that will fund a life you love, take chances and be brave and most importantly, in the always poignant words of graffiti

Six Word Memoirs

Today my lovely man sent me an email, it said "saw this and knew you'd love it", sweet that he thought about me and thought about what i would like, even sweeter that it was this.

The Legend of the Six-Word Memoir

Apparently Hemingway was challenged to write a story in only six words and he wrote "For sale; baby shoes, never worn."

The story that these words creates is clear and full of emotion, it might be my version of the story but none the less they tell me their story.....

The Re-Ignition

Last year, a magazine called SMITH asked their readers to do the same for their memoirs, they got loads of replies including “Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends” and the beautiful “I still make coffee for two”. Some where funny, sad, or clever, all were personal.

I thought about my memoirs, what six words would i use to sum up my life, it is obviously something that would grow as life moves, but today for me they are;

'Bore two boys and found myself'

I encourage you to think of your Six Word Memoir would be and i would love to hear it, how would you describe your life so far when is stripped away? And in the immortal words of a well thought out birthday card (and Oscar Wilde quote)

"Be Yourself Everyone Else is Taken"

So very tired

Jack Johnson - I just cant got to sleep

Don't you know,

I just can't go to sleep.

Oh mama don't you know,

I just can't go to sleep.

You told me go to bed hours ago but,

Mama you know I just can't sleep

It's getting late,

I just can't close my eyes.

Well it's, getting so late,

I just can't close my eyes.

I'm so afraid if I close my eyes

I just won't see what's outside

You told me go to bed hours ago but,

Mama I just can't sleep.....

My darling boys i know you sleep i have proof, please please find your way there tonight.

Love you go peacefully and i hope i dont see you till the morning

Monkey Hugs and Kisses

Love Your Mumma

The Entertainment Quarter?

Today we went to Fox Studios or as it likes to be know 'the Entertainment Quarter'. Its a funny place, it seems to be lacking identity, certainly as we walked around it we couldn't figure out what it wanted us to do there.

We had a bite of lunch with in Inlaws + 2, Jack and Hamish enjoyed a play in the animal farm and while they played with and bottle fed the sheep and goats we were also watching a bunch of kids try tight rope walking.

I have always wanted to do some sort of circus school, its actually one of the great things you can do in the community center next door so anyone wanting to give the the hundreds of dollars it cost for my next birthday 'grin', anyway Andrew dragged me over and the next thing i knew i was trying my hand or is it feet at it.

Its harder than it looks and you only get three goes, which is about as many steps as i took before i fell ..... maybe next time, although the girl that runs it said even she cant do it and by the time i fell the third time and the not soft air bag punched me in the face, i was up for a rest anyway


Its not climbing Everest but its number 236 on my to do list that i can now cross off, by the way Everest ..... not on the list

A Natural Death

There are as many ways to die as there are to live, and as with birth their are many ways you can take control of your (or your loved ones) process of death, but when faced with a sick and dying loved one who thinks to question the system.

Generally if people are dying of an illness they go to hospital to die, imagine if we could put as much trust in the process and plan a home death the way we do with a home birth. What would death look like then?

Recently i was reading Kindred Magazine and i was excited and inspired by the articles they have on natural dying.

As i have mentioned i have been lucky enough to be with my aunt on her journey of living and dying with terminal cancer. Don't get me wrong, its challenging and sad but it is also so inspiring to watch her conviction her strength and the families determination to give her what she needs and keep her home and comfortable. We are not at the really hard stuff yet, but i have no doubt that our family will pull together and do what is needed so that she can die with dignity and know that she is valued and cherished and important enough to put all other things on hold and give her the time and support she needs.

When mum died we mentioned that she had wanted a cardboard coffin, the lovely funeral director looked into it for us and found out that legally in Australia at the time it was not an option. We had so few choices and because of the suddenness of her death we were not in the head space to research or think outside the box. Looking at it now there is a company that are providing low cost biodegradable coffins.

There are also places and organisations that are working toward setting up sustainable cemeteries. These are 'green' cemeteries that only take biodegradable coffins and they plant local native trees over the burial site to create a sustainable bushland environment that contributes to the planet, instead of manicured lawns tombstones and plastic flowers.

There are people who will paint your coffin for you in any way you or your family want

or you could take it home and paint it with your family

So many ways to take control and reclaim cherish and nurture our family member at this sacred time. I hope when i die my loved ones do more than call their local funeral home ........

Links

The Natural Death Center UK

The Natural Death center Australia

Funeral Rights