Saturday, January 18, 2014

On Hiatus

You may have noticed that I have slowed down writing posts.  I am struggling with keeping up posting as I rarely if ever receive comments.  I know that everyone is busy with their own life and understand that commenting requires time and effort that we often feel we don't have.

I am going on hiatus.  Giving myself time to think if this is what I want to keep doing.

Thank you for coming by.  The visitor counter tells me you have been there and I appreciate the time you took to visit.

Stella


Monday, January 13, 2014

Page Eight


What a great movie!  Just finished watching.  Got home from work, made supper, did some laundry, washed spinach and kale for green juicing in the mornings, then I went to Netflix to see what was new.

A great storyline, very suspenseful but no violence.  This movie has a lot of class, noble values like integrity, honor, friendship, loyalty... I love Bill Nighy.  Not used to seeing him do a really serious role.  I think of him in Love Actually, The Boat That Rocked and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  I really like him in this he inspires respect, the deep down real stuff. A quiet hero.

Oh! the British and their ability to spin a wonderful mystery/suspense/thriller... Watch it, you won't be sorry.

Bonne nuit,

Stella

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Monkey Mind Week

Image via

What a week I had teaching.  It's been 8 years since I taught a course at the University and I'm a little rusty.  Spent the week working morning till night brushing away the cobwebs and trying to make sense of the new technology to reach my students.

I teach two courses, one is an introduction to the world of teaching which is quite fun as I am part of a three-person team.  We have guests in and we visit schools and have seminars...

The other course is a planning methods course which is less stimulating and more effort for me as I have to plunge into various programs of study and rev up my knowledge on content which has lain dormant for some time.

I've had a few short nights as my monkey mind makes me toss and turn.

 “I am burdened with what the Buddhists call the monkey mind. The thoughts that swing from limb to limb, stopping only to scratch themselves, spit and howl. My mind swings wildly through time, touching on dozens of ideas a minute, unharnessed and undisciplined.”
                                                                                                                              ~Elizabeth Gilbert

Then, just this Thursday I saw this clip on the O Network and thought I should share as I know there are many of you afflicted with monkey mind.








Have a great weekend,

Stella

Sunday, January 5, 2014

An Amazing man


Vancouverite Ray Bethell is 80 years old and flies kites for a hobby he began in 1980.  He's a gynecologist by profession.

Here he talks about himself and his fortune in life although he is almost deaf.  When people want to applaud him, they wave so he can see because he can't hear...  To see him at his best, watch this...

When I am 80, I want to be like Ray in mind and body.

Bonne journée,

Stella

Saturday, January 4, 2014

30 Years Ago

 
This was us.

3-Day Cleanse - Day Two

Green shake ingredients
I am half way through Day 2 and have a bit of a headache.  Some of it due to my eternal problem with my sinuses but some of it is from the cleansing. The authors warn that headaches are a common side-effect of the toxins moving through the body.

I have to say that the green shake first thing in the morning is my favorite.  I may do this when I'm not cleansing.  I know there are a lot of green shake recipes out there that I can try. Here's the recipe for the one I've been having:

Greens with Apple

handful (3 ounces) spinach
3 medium stalks (3 ounces)of kale
2 Golden Delicious apples, cored and quartered
1/2 large cucumber (I am using English) cut into pieces
small handful (1/2 ounce) parsley, long stems removed
1 lemon (peeled)

Run all ingredients through a juicer.

This green shake makes me wake up  and makes my tummy feel good.  Vegetables do that.  I was reading in January's O magazine that we should eat 2 lbs of vegetables per day:

Loading your diet with vegetables will naturally crowd out things you shouldn't be eating... aim for 1 lb raw, 1 lb cooked.... Though two pounds might sound like a lot, a single sweet potato can get you a quarter of the way there...

Gonna have to talk to my vegetable fairy...

Bonne journée,

Stella

Thursday, January 2, 2014

3-Day Cleanse

January 3rd, I'm doing this three-day cleanse.  It was suggested to me by a few colleagues at my last job. I figure that after the holidays is probably as good a time as any to do a cleanse.

It includes more fruits than veggies, surprisingly. I'm also going to do the detox ultra bath suggested in the following 3 day detox by Dr. Oz:

Have you ever done this type of cleanse? If so, tell me how you liked it.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Stella

Happy Birthday to Me

My face is on fire as I write this.  Can't go outside for three days because I've had Photodynamic Therapy for pre-cancerous cells o...