Happy Christmas !!!

Happy Christmas day !!!!
I hope Santa brought you everything you wished for yourselves and that you’re enjoying spending relaxing time.with friends, family and loved ones – have a great day – love you all
Happy Christmas day !!!!
I hope Santa brought you everything you wished for yourselves and that you’re enjoying spending relaxing time.with friends, family and loved ones – have a great day – love you all
As well as giving me the chance to goof around outdoors, the recent snow also gave me a chance to do some thinking about a whole range of things. It’s great fun to let your mind wander around like this sometimes. While it’s not exactly meditation, for me, I can find it even more restful than sleeping and certainly more enjoyable !
One of my recent daydreams had me wondering. You know we’re always racing from one thing to another, what would we do with more time ? If you’re anything like me, probably more running ! But isn’t it crazy that the less time something takes to do, the less likely we are to do it ?
So girl, its time to put down that mobile phone, abandon the Facebook status update and dare I say it step away from the cake………. (I know, I can’t believe I typed that either) Instead, why not try one or more than these quick routes to a better day and happiness ?
Breathe. That’s right, just breathe ! The best thing about these five minutes is that you can literally do it anywhere, office, home (there’s even one girl in the salon that does it in the ladies – she gets embarrassed) You don’t need to “do the pose”, sitting cross legged with your thumb on your fingers, just comfortable !
Close your left nostril with your left thumb and breathe only through your right nostril and let the energy flow through you. You’re looking to keep a regular rhythm with your breathing and keep your breaths in and out the same length. I also prefer to close my eyes closed personally, but beware, I’ve heard ladies snoring a couple minutes in when they do this ! Just settle into your rhythm and enjoy for five minutes. Heaven !
Find your balance.
This is my personal favourite 5 minute exercise. Ok, so you don’t have to stand on a mound, looking like the cross between a figure four and a belly dancer, but studies have shown that simply standing on one foot for 5 minutes can have a positive effect on your core strength and joint stability. I know what you’re thinking though – are you having a laugh ?
The simple answer is NO ladies !
Try standing on each foot for a couple of minutes to get a real benefit in your core – if nothing else, you’ll learn to wobble evenly !
Doodle (or colour in)
#YNotbU recently bought the Authentic image modelling agency and their Creative Director Amanda is an AMAAAAZING doodler, but even if you aren’t as talented as Amanda, there’s still a great mental benefit to doodling and colouring in.
Just listen to Amanda’s advice “Don’t let a perceived lack of talent stop you – get some pencils and a pad and just create your own masterpiece. Whatever you do will be an original so don’t forget to sign it !”
Doodling isn’t just a way to keep yourself occupied in a dull meeting either, studies have shown it can help improve your memory and ability to retain information, improve focus, reduce stress and help you think more creatively. Dedicate a few minutes a day to doodling and see where the blank page takes you…. I’d love to see what you create !
Getting back to an exercise theme though, I want to talk to you about probably the most important 5 minutes of your workout. The 5 minute warm up before and the 5 minute warm down afterwards. Follow this simple routine at the start and end of your workout and thank me later !
So let’s get going girls AND Don’t forge to tell me how you get on !
Madds
What a lovely article and such a talented woman !!! Thanks for sharing her with us Lynn ❤❤❤
Good afternoon friends. It is so great to see you all. Today I have a real treat for you. Photographer Laure Dherbécourt is here to chat about her work. This woman is amazing and each aspect of herself describes just that. Come on over and meet this talented and humble woman.
Tell us about yourself.
I was born and raised in France. I wasn’t born there but I grew up in Normandy, in the country surrounded by goats and plenty of other animals and my parents always showed me the sustainable development. I made my entire schooling in Normandy… I worked 8 years near Paris after my graduation from college. It’s when I had my 1st experiences with women… 10 years ago, after I’ve lost my job I had a wonderful opportunity to come in Réunion Island (a French overseas department located in the…
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There’s not many feelings greater then when a friend of yours gets recognition for their efforts. It’s one of the things i love to be able to share, so i was really thrilled for K’anne earlier when her book the Outsider was nominated in this top 100 list. Why not check it out for yourself and find out why ? Yoi won’t be disappointed !!!
Earlier this year, a close friend of mine, the lovely Waritsara, got in touch to ask if I could help with her music career which had stalled for the last four years and gotten to the stage where she was thinking about giving up.
Well, I couldn’t have that !!!!
She’s a super talented bunny with a really unique sound, chilling and haunting at the same time and her lyrics (all her own work) So, we set about a plan to get her out there, to hook her up with some great people and lone behold, two months later – this great video !!!
Would love to know what you think !!!
Like it ? Of course you do !!! You can catch up with up with her on her Facebook page here
1. Everyone has rolls when they bend over.
2. When someone tells you that you’re beautiful, believe them. They aren’t lying.
3. Sometimes we all wake up with breath that could kill a goat.
4. For every woman unhappy with her stretch marks is another woman who wishes she had them.
5. You should definitely have more confidence. And if you saw yourself the way others see you, you would.
6. Don’t look for a man to save you. Be able to save yourself.
7. It’s okay to not love every part of your body….but you should.
8. We all have that one friend who seems to have it all together. That woman with the seemingly perfect life. Well, you might be that woman to someone else.
9. You should be a priority. Not an option, a last resort, or a backup plan.
10. You’re a woman. That alone makes you pretty damn remarkable.
Being Emily is a delightfully written, easy to read, compelling, heartfelt read, completely different from the majority of transgender fiction out there (which is usually fetish) and all the better for it. I absolutely adored it from beginning to end.
It’s more than a book about being transgender though, so don’t be put off if you aren’t trans yourself or interested in the subject matter. It’s the story of a person discovering and learning to love themselves with their own sense of identity and purpose. Emily, the lead character ably supported by her friend Emily take us through her voyage of self discovery, without it ever feeling like an in depth examination with over explicit details of gender re-assignment surgery. We get to see the influence of the church on Emily’s mother and Claire, the futile hope of reparative surgery through the eyes of sleazeball Dr Webber, the sense of loss of a son from Emily’s mother.
Rachel displays a wonderfully expressive writing style throughout this book – from her beautiful descriptions of scenes and moments, to the detached emotions conveyed in Emily’s “computer programme speak” when confronted by a scene where she is acting on automatic pilot. By writing chapters from each of the leading characters perspectives, Rachel gives herself the opportunity to explore Emily’s story deeply, in an age appropriate way, without getting hungup on the gory details of surgery. All of the key moments in the transgender journey are here. Doubt, isolation, peer to peer support, parents wanting their old child back, hate, hormone prescriptions, old and new approaches to therapy, a best friend for an ally and the subtle influence of religion on peoples behaviour and in particular her parents.
It’s a thought provoking and sometimes jarring read. In one scene, Emily returns from a meal out to barricade herself in her room, before picking up a knife to cut her clothes from her body, to stand in front of a mirror, knife in hand, poised ready to remove the cause of her dysphoria. Cue her dad’s arrival, literally smashing through the door to come to her aid. This scene, one of a number of pivotal scenes in the book, serves to wrench Emily’s dad from his initial position of the detachment typical of so many male parents, to a realisation that leads to a “tolerance” of her situation and the gesture which ultimately puts her on the path for college and the surgeries she so badly needs to be herself.
I highly recommend this delightful book for any library, school reading program, or any other educational or organised activity, as it’s an interesting, valuable and positive insight into the transgender community and the issues they face.
If you would like to buy the book or yourself – yu can catch it here
This latest novella from Anastasia is a variation on her well established theme of exploring love and romance against a bdsm backdrop. In this book, you have a fun collision of two different cultures and distinctly different people. Indigo, the nervous, timid tourist abroad for an “interview” compared to the assured, confident Hyunkyung, definitely make for a case of “opposites attract”.
Without wishing to give anything away, suffice it to say their first meeting doesn’t go well, but as the Anastasia explores and develops the characters through the book, you get to understand a little of why, paving the way for you to use your own imagination and let yourself into their world and definition of a one night stand.
This is a fun, well written and crafted book which, if you’re like me and catch the bus into work in the morning is a delicious way of spending time on the journey. If you’re new to Anastasias world, I’d definitely recommend it – if for nothing else than the one liners which I’ll leave you a few, before signing off……
◾Kimchi tastes best when served with a side of spanking.
◾”Come I said, and she did”
◾“Say my name the right way,” she said, “and I’ll unzip my dress another few centimeters. Say it wrong, and I’ll spank you with my crop.”
and its follow on
◾“Oh my God.” I writhed. How could she make me choose only one?
If you’re curious about Anastasia and her world of quilting, cookies, spoons and writing, you can catch her at
http://governingana.wordpress.com
which also has links to all her publishing outlets
At the end of the day, who’s really full of it?.
Christine at her most honest vulnerable thought provoking best. Not looking for sympathy, just being her, for you.