Women need Women....

I have always been blessed with an amazing bunch of girlfriends in my life. The majority I have known for over 20 years. Since I was young, I have always felt the importance of nurturing friendships. Over time, some girlfriends need more help than others whilst other girlfriends just need to have a good time in a positive space.  I always feel so much better after a girly session at the movies, lunch dates or girls nights out.

On the weekend I was chatting with my Aunty who was telling me a story about a friend of hers who had recently been made redundant. With the timing of it all, she also had a trip booked away overseas with her girlfriends. The friend felt guilty in going especially after just losing her job. However, my wise Aunt explained to her and to me, that women need women.

The timing of going away with a group of your closest girlfriends who understand, love and care for you, could not have been better. Sometimes we just need to be taken care of to be able to stand tall again to take on the next challenge. Our girlfriends are the best people for this support role. It's different type of love, support and nurturing than what we receive from our partners. My Aunt explained she could have survived her life thus far without the network of girlfriends who have become like family over the decades of friendships.

Whilst we care for the women we know, this subject also makes me think about mothers  we don't know. Regardless, we can easily provide a non-judgemental smile of support when we another women's child having a tantrum in the grocery aisle or refusing to put on their seatbelt. Instead of rolling our eyes or thinking to ourselves, "that kid is out of control", give her a reassuring smile that says "sister, i know how you feel, you are doing fine". It will make their day.

Give your girlfriends a hug this week - betcha they need one x

What's for dinner Mum?

Like every mother out there, I am sure you are asked this question at least once a day from one of your children.....sometimes (more often than not) you have no clue what is for dinner! As cooking is one of my all time passions, I have a secret recipe I would like to share with you. I guarantee the kids will love this. It takes no time. Its good for them. It's all done in one pot. Need I say more.....I usually cook this when I know the day is going to fly by and there is no time to cook anything!

Mumma's Retreat Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

1. Pour yourself a glass of wine.....you always need one in hand when cooking

2. Oops, I forgot, this is a slow cook recipe, so maybe save the wine for when you eat instead of 7am in the morning before you head out the door

3. Turn on your slow cooker (if you don't have one, do not muck around, you need to buy one)

4. Place a whole chicken (free-range or organic), 2 carrots chopped, 2 zucchinis chopped, 1 broccoli chopped, 3 gloves garlic chopped, chicken stock cubes x 4 in the slow cooker

5. Cover with ingredients with water - enough to cover the chicken

6. Cook on slow for 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours

7. At the end, add cup of peas and a tin of corn. Break up 2 packets of instant noodles and add to soup. Season with salt and pepper. Serve into bowls.

8. That's it! Its a filling, delicious, healthy meal. Kids will love it.

For adults, you can add chilli, coriander, ginger.

Save the leftovers in the fridge or freeze in containers.......its all about knowing the easy shortcuts to feeding a family. More to come...............

The Happiness Project....

"In my mind...[if] you wake up healthy, and you wake up happy, and your family's safe and happy and healthy, then everything else pales in comparison." Faith Hill, singer



I recently had dinner with a great friend of mine. We had not seen each other for ages and it was awesome catching up on our lives. My girlfriend filled me on a book that she had just read, which had a huge impact on her life. I was enthralled by her review of the book and the changes she had already made in her life.

When I returned home at midnight, I ordered the book online and excitedly waited for the postman to deliver the goods. Fast forward to this past weekend, when I finished the book. Well, I have to say, its a pretty good book and one I would recommend to other women.

It is called "The Happiness Project" by Gretchin Rubin - http://www.happiness-project.com/. It is about a woman who has two young children, a career, a marriage and the juggling act we are all familiar with. Her mission is to spend a year discovering her true happiness in every area of her life and then incorporating changes to ensure her happiness is fulfilled. Its a book that really gets you thinking!

What is happiness? Do you experience true happiness every day? The goal is to fall into bed at the end of the day, as we all do, exhausted, with a smile on our face knowing that we have experienced happiness in some form or at least helped someone else experience a little bit of happiness in their day. It costs nothing. All it takes is for you to think about it and act on it. Try it. It could be the difference in our day that we all need.

Back to routine....

For the mother's in Sydney, we can now take a big breath and welcome back routine!

School holidays are great for a break from the same old, same old and to have unstructured plans with the kids. However, it also a great feeling to go back to routine with a new school term. It feels more organised.

When I finished work today, I came home and took a long, hot shower and washed my hair (overdue!!). In the shower, I looked down at my disgusting chipped nail polish on my toes and vowed to take 5 minutes to remove the scaly nail polish and repaint them with a bright colour. My feet look fantastic and it somehow also gave me a spring in my step. Although, my feet are freezing, I am not wearing shoes to admire my fresh toes! Gosh, the little things in life...

Welcome back to routine - we are all back on for another 11 weeks. I am sure by mid way, we will all be looking forward to the next school holidays but for now, we can just stop, breath and easy back into it. We might even get five minutes to do our toes and/or have a cup of tea in peace. Enjoy!

The week of being a Psycho Mother

Over a glass of wine during the week, my husband gently said to me " Do not come home tomorrow unless you have bought your vitamin B6". I glarred at him, knowing exactly what he meant, but of course, denied his accusation and said "I have no idea what you are talking about!". He looked at me, knowing me too well as words were not needed.

It has been a huge week with the balance of work and school holidays. Not to mention frustrations with our renovations moving forward, the dog on his death bed, my eyebrows being overgrown, our cleaner leaving us, organising Hanna starting her new school on Monday, entertaining the kids and rushing from the moment I woke up and remembering to smile through it all!

On top of this, I had the worst pre-menstrual symptoms in a long time. My friends would confirm that nothing much fazes me, I usually take life on and deal with it as it comes by. Ah no, not this week. Everything aggravated me.

After the conversation with the husband, I realised why! About 2 years ago, I went to a hormone naturopath as I was at my wits end with my periods. My body had been through a lot with hormones and medication over the past 9 years with my babies and it had taken its toll. After my consultation with this amazing woman, my life changed for the better. No more cramps, no more heavy periods, no  more cravings, no more fatigue, no more bloating, no more psycho moments.

The concoction included expensive herbs and tonics, as well as the best vitamin on this planet - B6. After I finished the herbs/tonics, I continued to take B6 and I felt amazing. UNTIL, this month! I ran out of my lifeline vitamin and went up to our local health shop to buy more. They had run out and suggested another brand and overall B vitamin. I asked for assurance that this will not make me a psycho woman!

Well, I have learnt my lesson. The substitute has not worked. This week, all the symptoms came back and were amplified with school holidays. It was time to go and get the B6!

The result.....I came home yesterday with the B6. I made my husband his favourite Duck & Miso Soup for dinner. I hugged my kids and apologised to overreacting from tripping over toys and being on edge. I went to bed last night with gratitude knowing that I would wake up with a calming presence.

So far so good!

NB: Please note I am not a doctor or naturopath, this just works for me. If you have similar symptoms, please see a professional before taking any supplements

Does Motherhood Define You?

"You don't stop being a woman when you start being a mother. Motherhood doesn't define you. It is one of many roles that you assume. You have to bring all your own gifts, traits and characteristics to the role. Your actions must be consistent with what you think, hope, believe and value as a person. You cannot have peace in your mind and heart unless you are being authentic."

— Dr. Phil

Women have many roles in life and motherhood tends to plays the major part.However, this role does not have to define who we are or take over our individuality. It is a tricky balance to find, as motherhood is the most consuming role. One that we are part of every day, every week, every minute.

Somewhere in the cycle of playing our different roles, we need to remember and reclaim who we really are. This may be done by simply including something you really enjoy for yourselves every day - having a coffee on your own, sewing, painting, reading, cooking (for passion not for a chore!), having a warm bath.. Its about including passions back into our life to remind us of what we really like to do.

It may also be balanced by career - having a part-time/full-time job or own business. Women find themselves in their field of work as they are seen in that place as a person, not a mother.

It may also be found by having a break. Whether this be one day a week, one hour a week or a weekend away.

Sometime today, take 10 minutes and think about who you truly are beside a mother and try to incorporate little acts of pleasure that will remind you of who you really are.....welcome back!

Give up Champagne to lose 1kg in 94 days? Are you serious!

There is nothing more refreshing than popping open a bottle of champagne! Whether this be with a group of girlfriends, at a dinner party, with your partner or at a crisis.

A glass of champagne can make a world of difference and does not require a full blown celebration to be popped! Its always a winner at kids parties for mothers to take a moment to chill whilst the children are running wild on sugar.

I have often wondered if eliminating champagne would reduce my muffin top or shed a few kilos, as I always seem to read that this is a key point to reduce your calories. However, I  have always carefully considered the options of either sanity or crankiness!

Today I read in the paper that an option to lose the muffin top is to eliminate one 120ml glass of champagne (which is 94 calories - who knew!) and guess what, you will lose a kilo in 94 days!!! God give me strength.

I personally believe that the one glass of champagne that you have every three months is worth the one kilo of weight we will keep. Life is too short to not have bubbles. Muffin top is here to stay!

NB: Please note I am not suggesting to drink gallons of champagne, so survive motherhood.......I am just stating this from a personal viewpoint, which I know, the majority, would agree x

Source - Body and Soul, Sunday Telegragh 3 July 2011