Flannelette Sheets Are The Best!

 You know what simple pleasure I love...? Getting into a bed with flannelette sheets.

Last night hoping into bed on a colds winters night and feeling the warmth and comfort of those raggy old thick flannelette sheets I felt grateful. It had me thinking how blessed I was to have such a luxury as a bed. There are currently over 100 million people who sleep every night without one.

If you have a bed to rest your head at night be thankful ... your one of the lucky ones!

I Pray That This Madness Ends

Do images like this upset you like they do me?

Am I the only person who finds this picture and the many others like it incredibly upsetting?

Every time I see images like this it only inspires me to do more and be more. The world needs us all to LOVE MORE and KILL less. What utterly shocks and disgusts me is that there are facebook pages dedicated to hunting. Pages were you post your killings, show them off and brag to others about how it went down.

Yet, I cannot blame them or the men and women who do this. Because if they felt what it is I currently feel then there is no way they could do such a thing. My wish for him and the many others that kill is for one moment, to feel the pain and suffering of another like that they are causing.

I pray that this madness stops. I pray that we are as the human race no longer use anothers pain, killing and torture as a form of entertainment.

This moment of 'happiness', exhilaration and excitement in killing this beautiful creature would have lasted that man a day at most, yet cost the deer his life. No doubt as the mans excitement, exhilaration and 'happiness' wears off he will be out to gain it again by killing. You will never and I repeat never, will you find happiness and joy in taking the life of another.

The Brown Rice Fast Detox - Day 3

 

Today ends Day 3 and a little over 72 hours since beginning this Brown Rice Fast Detox and I have mixed feelings. Glad to see its end but also that possibly I could continue? 

I say this now that I could continue as the night draws close to an end but if you had spoken to me a few hours earlier it would have been a different answer entirely.

Today was my hardest day yet. This morning was hard on me, I woke with very little energy and felt really off but that soon ended once I ate ... you guessed it, a bowl of plain brown rice!

I will sum up day 3.

• Hunger - I was really hungry today. I also found that I felt hungry soon after eating and needed to eat more rice today. I'm not sure if this is because I may have overexerted myself yesterday or because I'm on day 3 and my body was needing more.  My recommendation to those fasting would be to do as little as possible whilst on it. As most of your energy is being taken up by the fast, you don't have that much to spare!  

•   Temptation - It was at its peak today! There have been so many times during the day where I have wanted to pack it all in and end this.  Everything today was tempting even foods I don't normally eat. I continued though and sitting here tonight I am not in anyway tempted to eat something. The nights are easy for me, as I eat my last bowl of plain brown rice I feel settled for the evening I feel really confident and I guess you could say, pleased with myself.

• Mood -  Apart from being hungry at times today and my mood slipping when it does I have still felt happier, calmer and more positive than usual. Removing food from my list of things to do such as, thoughts of food, preparation of it and eating it has freed up so much more time in my day. I have always found I have been more productive with my time.

Tomorrow morning I will not eat a bowl of brown rice.Yay. Instead I will eat an apple and then throughout the day eat things such as salad, nuts, vegetables and unprocessed foods to help kick start my digestion.

As tempting as it will be to grab that hot chocolate and biscuit my body would not thank me and I would end up with crippling stomach pains as my body tries to digest it, after only eating brown easily digestible rice for the past few days.  I have done that in the past and learn't the hard way. Not again!

The Brown Rice Fast Detox - Day 2.

 So Day 2 has been and gone and tomorrow is my last day. I plan to break this detox/fast on Thursday. However, with how I felt today I was tempted to go another day, tonight not so. Had my first challenge, temptation to break it and struggle.

Ideally this fast for optimal benefits is to be done for 10 days. Can you imagine 10 days of plain bland brown rice. You would crave flavour and some sort of different texture!

Here is a summary of Day 2.

• Feeling Great - I woke feeling great this morning. I wasn't hungry at all, so much so that even though I woke at 7am I didn't end up eating my first bowl of brown rice until 10am and that was after spending some time at the supermarket.

•  My Body - I've noticed the bloating I normally experience in my belly has disappeared toady. I haven't weight myself yet but I do feel much lighter and trimmer.  

•  Mood - My mood again today has been great. My thinking has been clearer and I just feel a general happiness.

•  Energy - I have found my energy to be good today. Not tired at all. In fact last night I didn't go to bed until much later than usual as I felt quite awake. Perhaps this is because our bodies tire so quickly from all the digesting its doing. 

•  Temptation - A few times during the day I almost licked a spoon, ate from my childs plate and sipped a drink, though I don't think this was from temptation but more habit and forgetfulness. Each time I stopped myself and reminded myself that I was on a brown rice fast only eating brown rice. It showed me today just how much I eat scraps, and unconsciously!  

•   The Night - Tonight was the first time I've been tempted to break the fast. I'm not sure what it was but unlike the days I lost all confidence and motivation to continue. I kept trying to convince myself that it won’t matter if I ended it now and that no one would know. However I only have one more day and I set out to do this and I will.

It must be mentioned that in the mornings I am drinking a warm glass of hot water with half a squeezed lemon in it. I have been doing this for aroudn a month now and figured it can only help the process not hinder it.

 The reason I drink warm lemon and water in the morning is to aid my digestion and I read many benefits of drinking warm lemon  and water and decided to start.

Also last night and tonight I added a sprinkle of chilli powder on my rice for warmth and something different. It was amazing how strong this was and how something so simple such as a little chilli powder became so appreciated and enjoyable!

I will update again tomorrow. The last full day of the fast. I'm confident it will be much the same. I can do this. YOU can do this. Its amazing what we can all do when we put our minds to it.

The Brown Rice Fast Detox - Day 1

So its been a little over 24 hours since I started this brown rice fast and so far so good. I have been incredibly thirsty today, but I'm taking that as a good sign and hoping my body is starting to cleanse and detox.

There were moments today where I felt a bit odd and lightheaded but it soon passed after my next bowl of rice. I ate 3 times today, 3 small bowls of plain brown rice and have only been drinking water and a herbal detox tea which I had with each meal.

Breakfast I found the hardest. I love my breakfast and eating rice for breakfast just isn't quite right. So Day 1. Easy. No temptation and full of confidence. Tomorrow could be a different story. I guess I'll find out.

To sum up Day 1 experienced the following:

•  Thirsty.  I have found that I’ve been really thirsty today. A lot more than usual. I am taking this is a great sign and hoping the detox has started. I obviously was in need of it.

• My Heart Rate.  I have noticed that my heart is beating fast every now and then. Mainly when I do things that require exertion. Nothing concerning and anyway I figure it has to be a good thing! I would normally have to work out to get my heart rate going like this. Think of the calories I’m burning!

• Hunger. I haven't been that hungry at all today. Well no more than I usually would. I was hungry at my usual hunger times and I would eat a small bowl of rice and that would satisfy me until my next meal. In total I ate 3 cups of rice today. One at breakfast, one at lunch and one at dinner.

• Energy and Mood.  I have felt overall quite great today. More energetic and motivated to do things. Perhaps subconsciously this was to keep my mind of food. My mood has also been good today.

Tomorrow is another day. Here's hoping it was as kind to me as today was. I also must mention that today was the most perfect day for a brown rice fast. Whats makes a perfect day for it? A day that is cold, wet and raining, the kind of day where you don't want to venture outside unless is absolutely necessary. Well today was one of those days. Perfect for sitting indoors and eating a bowl of plain warm stocky brown rice!

The Brown Rice Fast Detox

Last night I started a brown rice fast/detox. It’s where you eat nothing but brown rice for  10 days. However I will only be doing 3 days as I am going away this weekend and I figure 3 days is a good place to start and I should still reap most the benefits.

So a brown rice fast sounds easy? It’s actually a lot harder than you would think. Well at least it was for me the first time I attempted it.

I’ve done many fasts before including this one, such as the juice fast, but the brown rice fast is by far my favourite for a few reasons.

1. It’s a gentler form of a fast and you get to eat
2. I’m not a fan of fruit, especially juice. I really cannot stand the stuff.

So this fast/detox is perfect for me.

I started this fast mainly because my body is need of a detox and cleanse. I’ve also noticed my association with food lately getting out of hand. Particularly with chocolate and sweets. But what pushed me over the edge if I’m really honest is jumping on the scales the other night and noticing I had put on 3kg (which to most people isn’t much but on my slight frame is) and it scared me. This 3kgs can only have come from one place … the chocolate, cake and biscuits I’m currently obsessed with. It has to stop so I’m taking drastic action – the brown rice.

During the next three days I’ll document my thoughts, feelings and emotions on how I handle the process.

Here goes....

Contrast In Life

 

This morning out walking on this very cold winters morning I felt grateful that it was so cold. I was grateful that we get to experience seasons.

If it were always warm with perfect clear sun shining days, how boring would that be! It would be nice at first but after a year of it I do believe you would begin to crave a change, the cold.

Contrast in life is what makes us appreciate what we have. No way could I appreciate the sun and its warmth if I did not experience the cold. Just like there is no way I could know pleasure if I didn't occasionally experience pain.

I am slowly learning to embrace it all. To be grateful for all life has to offer me as I know there is always its opposite

Ears and Hearts.

Last night I watched this video posted on facebook.

It touched me quite deeply and I spent my evening thinking about it, mostly through tears.

I  wasn't sure what it was that upset me so much about this video. The boy, Christian, was so obviously loved happy and healthy so it wasn't that. I tried to figure out what it was that was upsetting me and I realised, I felt sorry for him.

I felt sorry that he has to live his life this way and throughout his life be at the receiving end of cruel remarks and jokes. Then I remembered he is blind and will never see his own face and will never see the face of another to compare his to.

This made me realise something profound. As he will never see his own face or be able to compare his to another it is unlikely that he will ever judge another person because he is blind.

So many of our judgements and criticisms are over the way people look, act and do things. To a blind person we are all beautiful. How much kinder of a world would it be if we were all blind and loved each other with our ears and hearts.

I do not in any way take my eyesight for granted or wish I were blind, but it is our eyes that judge not our hearts. That is what I learnt last night. So as sad as I was for young Christian I realised that in his eyes he is as beautiful as you and I.

Favourites

I thought I’d share something I’ve been doing with my kids now for a while. It’s a bedtime ritual we call “Favorites”. Previously I would read a book as I tucked them into bed or tell them a made up story. However one night (about the time I officially started recording my own gratefuls ) I started telling them my favourite thing that happened that day. What had made me happy and what I loved most about the day.

It has since become a nightly occurrence in this house and a must. My boys will not go to sleep without hearing my favourite and sharing theirs. I remember originally doing this one night because I wanted to send my boys off to sleep with happy thoughts so their dreams would be pleasant. However it has since become more than that.

My favourites must always involve them and I now find myself consciously looking out for what will be that night’s favourite. As it’s normally something we do together, if I am unable to think of something I realize that I clearly haven’t spent enough time with them. And when it’s something they have done (such as good behavior or a kind act) it has me focused on the good in them rather than the bad I would usually see, and I have found that I now notice it more.

I absolutely love that we do this and think it’s one of the best things I have incorporated (even if by accident) into our family. It is something that has changed the lives of us all and I’m certain that it has been for the better