Adios Sickness, Hello Good Health!

My brother swears by the restorative power of Lemon and Honey but previously I have loved my coffee a little too much.

Reading this article from Elephant Journal, I am inspired to give it a try. From tomorrow, my day starts with a warm honey lemon water drink!

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/02/i-drank-warm-honey-lemon-water-every-morning-for-a-year-heres-what-happened/

 

A little bit of Mocha

I am a HUGE fan of Ann Le {Anneorshine} and am often browsing her YouTube videos for craft and gift inspirations. So when I stumbled upon her 'Hot Chocolate Spoons', I thought I'd give it a go.





It really is as easy as she says and I am really pleased with the end result!

But they needed to pass one more test... the a-okay seal of approval by my hot-chocolate-loving brother. He gave it a two big thumbs up with a surprising twist! He didn't use them for hot chocolate but to make the 'best mocha he has ever had!'

Hurrah!

 

Two Remarkable Stories. Two Remarkable Men.

With three days off, there was no excuse not to fit in two movies I have been wanted to see since the first hints they were in the works.

The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything.

Amazing, sympathetic and inspiring movies. Highly recommended!

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

Thanks to heritage and travel, I am both Australian and British. You can throw in some Finnish to the mix but I'm also a 'Southern Gal' at heart. I love the Deep South of the US and you can't get more Southern than using a Mason Jar.

So my first craft project was to paint a Mason Jar to drink fruity summer delights from .... but then I wanted more!

Next project? A Mason Jar soap dispenser. It can't be that hard, right?

After looking on eBay and Etsy for converter kits, I decided to forgo the expensive but cheap looking converter kit and make my own. Enter YouTube and The Sorry Girls.

 

What a brilliant tutorial. I couldn't wait to get started. I checked off my supplies (Mason Jar - check; Cheapo Soap Dispenser - check; nails, hammer, pen and Gorilla Glue - check, check, check and check).

 

In no time at all (not withstanding the 24 hour curing time for the glue), my first Mason Jar soap dispenser came alive. I luuuuuuurved it!

 

 

But why stop at one when I had other colours and gold metallic paint to try....

 

So incredibly chuffed and so easy to make. Try it yourself.

 

Supplies from:

• Wilkos
• Home Bargains

 

What Now?

So I have been quietly lurking, pondering how to reinvent my blog when I received an email from Kristine Carlson on the power of intention. It seemed a perfect place to start: What Now?

Reinventing life one question at a time beginning with:

What Are Your Intentions?

 

By Kristine Carlson

 

If a guy hears that question, “What are your intentions?” immediately we think of a father and daughter scenario where the guy has his hands in his pockets, anxiously shifting his weight side to side while he waits for his date.  I remember a time in high school when a baseball player who was already in college came to our door to pick me up for a date.  My dad took one look at him and decided he was too old for me.  He asked him the question, “What are your intentions with my daughter, young man?”  (By the way, this was a first and only date and the meaning of my dad’s question was clearly a warning.)  The guy uneasily replied, “I guess my intention, sir, is to have your daughter home by 11 o’clock, as you say.”  My dad said, “Good, son, I’ll be waiting.”

Intention is a powerful thing and “there are many a road that have been paved with good intentions.”  And, many a road that remains unchartered territory without them.

There are times in life where I’ve felt like a nomad wandering aimlessly through the desert of possibility. Having too many options can be as incapacitating as having too few, however, defining my intentions point me in the right direction and gets me started.    

Intention is the first and fundamental step in the beginning to unravel the questions we have when we are standing on the precipice of the unknown asking, “What now?”  

It’s easy to get lost in day-to-day life and routine and to live unaware of our habits and unaware of our intentions.  When we don’t have our bearings then it leaves the door open for anxiety and fear.
 
We act on our intentions daily, stated or not, by habit and without realizing it. Something quite magical happens when we consciously state our intentions on a regular basis. “Intention” by definition is having an aim or objective or quality of purposefulness. It is the juice behind our disciplined actions and how we practice life.

The Surprise of Lent

Truth is, I get a little twitchy when someone mentions religion to me. I'm always the first to say I'm not religious but spiritual although I am starting to think I am just in denial. But it has given me a warm reassurance to hear how many people - normal people - have chosen to give something up for Lent. It feels like a return to old-fashioned values and for some reason that I still can't pinpoint, brings me comfort.

So what am I giving up for chocolate. I'm going for a two-fer. Chocolate and Negative Thinking. Begone!

Sad News

To quote Elton John,

It's sad, it's so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd...

It was only yesterday that the news broke that Oscar Pistorius had shot dead an "intruder" in his South African home.

I am still reeling over the news that Oscar Pistorius has now been charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. I hope this God-awful tragedy has just been an accident and not something sinister as eluded to in the press.

I was shocked to hear that nearly 50 people die in South Africa a day and I honestly can't truly comprehend living in an environment where there is a high crime and mortality rate. But I am anti-gun. For every case where a gun has been used to save someone's life, there are far too many other instances where it has taken lives by accident (mistaking someone for an intruder). For every case where a gun has been used to save someone's life, there are far too many other instances where it has been used in schools and taken the lives of children.  For me, that cost is too high.

This whole situation has left me bereft. A loss of a young life and questions over the intention of an international sporting hero who had done so very much to change our views on "disability". Tragic all round.