It kept popping its head up and I've largely been suppressing it - continuing on a path that wasn't working just to avoid a glorious risk.
And then it was all about to fall apart. All of the tiny neat stitches holding it all together started to come loose.
I was dropped into quiet and darkness and the spectre of a decision.
I've been quiet on this blog as I have been in my day to day life, allowing thoughts to silently, slowly wash over me without outside influences or editing.
Image credit: Nowhere by J. Star
As I allowed myself to venture into the quiet I found a different self. A self unafraid of quiet, unafraid of slow. A self prepared to be raw and exposed in a more genuine way.
I doubt I'm the only one who took advantage of fast-paced life and noise and chaos to avoid true reflection and self-understanding.
Nor am I the first to realise I was hiding behind urgency and using lack of time as a crutch for lack of guts.
Image credit: Sometimes the smallest touch is enough
Interestingly as I allow myself to accept my real self, I've got to know others better too. I've discovered that many of my friends have amazing skills and talents that I hadn't even begun to recognise before.
Over the next few weeks I'll tell you more about my own new direction and will also introduce you to some of my supremely talented friends.
I'm looking forward to hearing your stories too - please post your thoughts in the comments, or send them to me privately if you prefer.
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]]>Now I've done my fair share of the latter (think impossibly perfect goat satay and delicate yet sharply spicy, flaky and moist fish, under a completely non-signposted and unlabelled umbrella set up halfway off a cliff just out of Pelabuhan Ratu for only a few hours every few days) but that kind of exploration takes serious planning and hard work. And just forget about matching wines with your dinner - the local stuff is closer to what you find in cardboard boxes back home - just slightly less refined.
But then there's Vanuatu. Inexplicably and incompetently jointly managed by the British and the French in its days as the New Hebrides, the French influence remains on the table.
Just don't leave your pain au chocolat on the table too long - the humidity here is no friend to pastry.
Organic beef, fresh coffee cherries, gargantuan tropical fruit and schools of deep sea fish find their home in the lush environs of Vanuatu. Combined with the precision of French training, enthusiastic local chefs and baristas, a wide selection of French wines and proper butter in the supermarket, white sand and gently cleansing waves, you've got something very special indeed.
Vanuatu is an island archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, just North-East of New Caledonia and West of Fiji. It is only a few hours flying time from the East coast of Australia. Flights are available from Sydney and Brisbane and fly to both Port Vila (the capital, on the island Efate) and Santo. Vanuatu is also only a hop, skip and a jump from New Zealand.
The local Ni-Vanuatu people mainly engage in subsistence agriculture but the tourism industry is a growing source of employment. We met locals who proudly showed us their community crops, including bananas, coconuts and the oddly named breadfruit tree, which were tended to and available to the whole village. We were also shown markers in the water that were used to rotate fishing locations and protect fishing stocks for future generations.
The welcome we received from the locals was significantly friendlier than that given to some early European arrivals - many of whom soon became star attractions at the dinner table.
Vanuatu is now better known for its beautiful beaches, amazing scuba diving and snorkeling. There are American WWII relics that were thrown into the sea after the war and now make interesting and relatively accessible dive sites.
As keen snorkellers we spent plenty of time underwater. The visibility from the surface is impressive, particularly if you can avoid the touristy areas which have suffered from coral bleaching.
For political, military and history buffs, Vanuatu's past is interesting and worth discovering. Its recent status as a tax haven and the zero income tax also make it an interesting proposition - but be warned - it seems that the Australian Federal Police are as fond of Vanuatu as we are, and the Vanuatu Government is being increasingly cooperative.
Check back later or subscribe to see my reviews of accommodation and dining options in Vanuatu.
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]]>My exercise philosophy has always been no. Too hard, too boring, too sweat inducing, just no. Until that horrid turning point in my life when my previously fast metabolism decided to be as lazy as I am. All of a sudden I started putting on weight. And it didn't come off.
While I'm modifying my eating to be more healthy, even I have to admit that being active has to be part of the bargain.
A way to a healthy life by Abdullah AL-Naser
I considered a number of options for introducing exercise into my life. Despite the fact that I can't see the logic in working more hours to be able to afford more things to save ourselves time and effort and then paying to exert ourselves, I was even prepared to invest some money in my future health and fitness.
Swimming at the local pool
Good:
- I'm not completely hopeless at it
- Not expensive
- Easy to get to
Not so good:
- Crowded swimming lanes
- Being seen in my bathing suit
- Poo in the pool
Gym near home
Good:
- Not pretentious: low number of posers
- Not ridiculously expensive
- Easy to get to
- My husband and some friends go there
Not so good:
- Gym equipment confuses me
- My husband and some friends go there
- I'd have to get up before 6:00am
Gym near work
Good:
- I could go immediately before or after work, or during lunch
- Lots of nice equipment
- Great, encouraging staff who will show me not to look like an idiot
Not so good:
- Sweaty gym hair at work (ew) or wet hair for the rest of the day (it takes two hairdressers a long time to blow-dry my hair)
- I'd have to take gym gear/makeup/work clothes on the bus to and from work
Jogging or running by myself
Good:
- Fresh air
- Can do it anywhere
- Free!
Not so good:
- How would I stay focussed?
- I have no idea what I'm doing
As tempted as I am to say that the above lists prove that exercise is no good, I did some more research.
Lazy Cat by dougww
I found out about the Couch to 5K program. The program was designed by Cool Running and involves, um, running. The program is a gradual one, progressing from couch level fitness (which is where I'm sitting right now) to being able to run 5 kilometres. At once. Without stopping. It takes about 2 months to get to that point (although depending on fitness level it can be slowed down a bit) and involves a three day a week commitment.
The Couch to 5K website gives you a handy guide for how to progress your running. There is a schedule (I like schedules) prescribing what to do on each run. This solves my problem of not knowing what to do or how to do it.
To keep up the motivation and to make it easy, Robert Ullrey has made a series of podcasts for the program, incorporating music and directions on when to run and slow down during the workout. I found my husband's old ipod and was able to easily load them all on.
To top it all off, you don't have to pay a cent for the program or the podcasts. It is all provided free from the goodness of peoples' hearts. I figure if they're going to do all this to help me get fit and healthy the least I can do is get on with it.
So I checked with my doctor, (which is a very good idea if you're starting a new fitness program, particularly if you have medical conditions, are overweight, over 40 or just hopeless like me) and with her approval I've gotten off the couch.
What you need to start
- Couch to 5K program
- Couch to 5K podcasts
- An ipod, mp3 player or mobile phone that can play mp3s
- 45 minutes, 3 times a week
- Properly fitted running shoes
- Health check-up with your doctor
I'm now at week one - which means we can do it together if you'd like to join me. I'd also like to know what fitness and exercise you prefer and what your health goals are - tell me in the comments below.
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]]>Oops...
Case in point: in an act of complete stupidity last week I fell over and landed entirely (and heavily) on one knee. It goes without saying that I am incredibly uncoordinated. (It won't be a surprise to anyone who knows me that I somehow, unconsciously, protected my capacious handbag/briefcase in the fall which suffered not a scratch.)
As a result of my stupidity I have been forced to become acquainted with a pair of rather boring looking crutches and my footwear is restricted to my rather meagre collection of flat shoes.
photo credit: Patience
My doctor has also told me to do the unthinkable - rest - and stay downstairs for the foreseeable future. This is all very well but I live in a 2-storey house and my kitchen is upstairs.
The situation is dire indeed. Not long after I met my husband, he offered to cook me dinner. When he pulled the bright yellow Old El Paso box out of the pantry I knew that I was in trouble.
Things have moved on from there slightly. 5 years later I can confirm that he is fabulous at tidying up and putting things away.
However not much has improved in his cooking. Luckily there are no yellow boxes in my pantry!
Keep some pre-cooked meals in the freezer
photo credit: my freezer
While as a general rule I am not friends with my freezer (freezer burn is friend to no-one) I do have an emergency stash of pre-prepared and pre-cooked (by me) meals in the freezer, vying for room with the huge top tier of my wedding cake that has been in there for nearly 3 years and counting.
While I was stuck downstairs, lame and miserable, my husband was quite able to defrost some chicken schnitzels that I had previously crumbed and cooked.
As per my instructions he smeared the schnitzels with some tomato paste and sprinkled them with fresh rosemary from the garden and some grated cheese.
He chucked them under the grill to warm through and melt the cheese.
They would have been quite perfect if he had put them on the grill tray rather than in a baking tin, but served with some spaghetti tossed in some fresh and lively organic olive oil and lots of cracked pepper and some steamed vegetables, it was a satisfying dinner. (The baking tin warped in the high heat but was able to be restored to its previous shape.)
To make the schnitzels
Slice trimmed chicken breasts in half width-wise.
Bash the chicken with a meat mallet or you can use your fists and roll over the chicken with your knuckles.
Dust them in well seasoned flour (I often add paprika to this), then swoosh them into an egg wash (about a tablespoon of milk to each large egg) and into a mix of fresh and dried breadcrumbs, finely grated parmesan, herbs or whatever takes your fancy.
Shallow fry in hot oil until golden (don't overcook or the chicken will be dry and awful), drain well, cool, then wrap individually and pop them into a labeled freezer safe container or bag.
To reheat, warm through in the oven or make parmigana as directed above. Please don't use the microwave to do this, unless you have one of the fancy convection ones.
Buy it pre-prepared
photo credit: Whole Foods deli counter
Many butchers and delis now stock a great range of pre-prepared and easy to cook meals that are surprisingly budget friendly and tasty when added to some fresh ingredients.
My local butcher sells lovely little handmade meatballs which can be easily browned and then cooked through in a sauce of tinned crushed tomatoes, garlic, onion, fresh herbs, a good glug of wine, a small dash of balsamic vinegar and served over pasta with a generous amount of freshly grated parmesan.
You could even use a good quality basic store-bought pasta sauce or passata instead.
A tray of meatballs is less than $6 at my butcher and will serve 2 very hearty eaters for dinner with leftovers for lunch.
So despite all predictions we're eating well during my exile from the kitchen and thanks to some generous offers from friends and family that is likely to continue.
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