Baby, I’m Giving You Up

Do you know what’s great? Food.

I’m not really picky about it. Candy is my biggest weakness, followed swiftly by baking. Then comes the other usual suspects; pizza, anything you could serve for brunch, and all forms of caffeine.

So when I have to choose between food and my vanity, believe me, I’m torn. Because I’ve just found out that dairy is triggering the eczema that’s plagued me since I was a teenager.

Hello, beautiful.

Do you know what dairy is in? Everything delicious.

How’s it going, pretty?

And do you know how difficult it is to switch from lattes to long blacks when you’re trying to finish a book? (Great success there by the way, but more on that later.)

I miss you, my lovely.

The worst part is that dropping dairy has worked. So now I have to stick with it. Although I’ve gotta say, my skin in general is glowing. So if vanity wins, at least it wins big time.

Have you given anything up lately? Also, does anyone have good recommendations for dairy-free treats?

How To Be A Skinny Mini With No Friends

Happy New Year! This is typically when people think about goals for the year ahead, and I’ll admit I fall into that trap. But I like to set the bar low for any resolutions. Really low, so I’m almost guaranteed to feel smug by December.

So, none of this losing weight, or becoming neat and tidy. I would fail. This year I’m aiming to have matching underwear more often. Cross your fingers for me, I have a terrible track record at this!

The goal to lose weight must still be a favourite though, as all of the lifestyle sites I read are currently full of tips and tricks to lose weight without trying. Which is fine, but this one nearly made me choke on my coffee. Can you imagine trying to hold a conversation with someone doing these “hard to notice” movements?!

“So anyway, Claire, then I told my boss-”

*fingers tapping on the table*

“Sorry, am I annoying you? We don’t have to talk about work.”

“No, it’s fine, please continue.”

“OK… So I told my boss-”

*eye roll*

“Seriously, what have I done?”

 

I’ll stick with the gym, I think.

The Not-So-Sweet Life

Every now and then I’ll be persuaded to go on a health kick. The guilty culprit this time is my husband. He’s given up sugar and caffeine, like some sort of sadist. Who does that?! They have to be the top two best things in life!

Now, while you can pry my coffee out of my cold, dead hands, I do have a problem with my sweet tooth. I’ve been a sugar fiend since I was a kid. Probably one of the few way to ensure good behaviour from me when I was younger was to bribe me with candy. Actually, that’s still one of the few ways to ensure good behaviour from me.

So, fine, I’m also trying to reduce sugar. No cheating allowed – my beloved diet coke is also gone! The first two days were a bit tricky, but now I’m finding I’m coping with the help of a lot of sweet fruity herbal teas. Surely that alone means I’m a bit healthier?

Have you gone on a health kick lately? Or even given up sugar? If you have any tips for sustaining it, help a girl out!

P.S. Am I the only one that now has this tune on repeat in my head? It’s also the song we played when my husband and I were cutting the cake on our wedding day. Still get mushy when I hear it.

Oil Pulling: Would You?

Thank you everyone for your flu remedies! I’m feeling so much better now, although I’ve probably had enough lemon and honey drinks to last me a lifetime. I even lost my voice for a couple of days – the husband was quite amused at my attempts to keep chatting by using hand gestures and hand-written signs.

While making full use of my returned voice, I was talking to a friend about oil pulling. I mentioned I do it most mornings. You just swill some oil, in my case coconut, around your mouth for about 20 minutes. I combine mine with a shower, killing two birds with one stone.

Mmm, goopy

The benefits I’ve noticed are whiter teeth, cleaner mouth in general, and fresher breath. Some people think it helps with things like eczema and acne as well, just by reducing the amount of bacteria generally in your body. I have no idea if that’s true, but hey, it probably won’t hurt.

My friend thought this sounded disgusting. Words may have been mentioned, including but not limited to, “silly hippie”. To be fair, it did take getting used to. Coconut oil is solid when you first get a teaspoonful, then melts thanks to your body temperature. Holding oily liquid in your mouth for 20 minutes certainly feels a little odd at first. Olive oil would probably be too far for me, purely because of taste.

But hey, I like whiter teeth, and am not willing to go to the dentist for it! So the oil stays.

How about you, would you give oil pulling a whirl? Or are you joining my friend in shaking your head at the silly things some hippies will do?

Attack Of The Peak Flu Season

Approach with caution

While everyone in the northern hemisphere is enjoying the heat of summer, here in New Zealand, we’ve hit mid-winter. While I wrote before about the benefits of staying home to write next to a glorious wood fire, there is a downside. Everyone is sick right now, including me.

I am usually a pretty brave, soldier on, kind of sick person. Not this time! It hit at the end of last week, with such force that I crawled into bed and stayed there for two days. The husband was at first amused, then happy to join me over the weekend, all cuddled up while he read a book and I kept sleeping. Ladies, if you find a man who likes to snuggle, put a ring on it!

I’m almost better now, but ironically, I sound worse than ever. My voice has completely disappeared. I’m far too much of a chatter box to let this stop me, so I’m just squeaking and creaking all over the place while people try to keep a straight face.

So, writing’s been on the back burner for a couple of days, but don’t worry, straight back into it tomorrow. Gotta get that second book ready to go so you guys aren’t left hanging too long after I release the first!

Have you been sick lately? And please, any home remedies, share them with me!

What makes a great kiss?

Happy International Kissing Day! Yes, you read that right, and no, I’m not making this up. It really is a thing, apparently designed to make us remember the joys of kissing for kissing’s sake. Personally I’m well aware of how awesome that is, but I suppose it never hurts to get the reminder in there.

It got me thinking about what makes a really good make out session. I think partly it’s chemistry: you either want to jump someone’s bones, or you don’t. No matter how technically attractive a person might be, if you don’t have chemistry, it’s just not going to be a great kiss.

I’m not entirely sure what chemistry really boils down to, but part of it has to be a connection with a person. I like to joke that I’m sapiosexual, which means you’re aroused by someone who’s intelligent. But in all seriousness, if we can’t have a good conversation, I’m not interested!

There’s another criteria that I do think needs to be put out there: hygiene. Funky breath is gross at the best of times, but if you want to swap spit with me, you’re going to need at least average maintenance. It’s basic manners.

Beyond that, kissing is pure fun. It’s apparently linked to stress relief, which I can believe, because after a stressful day I love to pull my husband aside and make out with him in the kitchen! It also works out your facial muscles which makes you look younger. Bonuses all round.

What do you think makes a great kiss? Did you realise we had a day dedicated to this?