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Healthy Snacks to See You Through the Day
Published on 2012-05-24 04:58:56
I get asked so often what would be the best thing to eat in between meals or when you are on the run. It is ever so easy to grab the high sugar/salt options that are on offer in most stores and petrol stations, but with not too much effort you can make some very [...] > read more
Very Pregnant and Preparing for an Exam
Published on 2012-05-22 11:34:31
I think I am on the home stretch, apart from a tiny, miniscule little hurdle that I have yet to overcome. I am 33 weeks and counting down to both my final exam and of course the due date. Precisely in this moment, when I am surrounded by my books, old exam papers and pages [...] > read more
The How You Manage Your Time Pie Chart
Published on 2012-05-21 14:51:36
Stop and think about how you manage your time. You have to stop to do this and pause the treadmill momentarily, even if most minutes in your day are accounted for. You will only get perspective when you stop and take in the view. The world may not stop, but you can whenever you choose. [...] > read more
Create a Treasure Chest of Amazing Moments
Published on 2012-05-17 02:48:45
What to do when positive thinking doesn’t work Over the years I have read many books and attended many talks about being positive and the power of the mind. However inspiring and thought provoking that material often was, I cannot help but believe that positive thinking isn’t always the golden answer to everything. In the [...] > read more
Find the Light and Positive in Everything
Published on 2012-05-15 14:59:20
Seizing the day Do you truly seize the day or does it grab you and throw you on the treadmill? Do you wake in the morning appreciating that you’ve got a clean slate for another day, or do you wake up to the weight of yesterday and yesteryear? As you get out of bed do [...] > read more
Eat Well and With Variety: Try Delicious and Healthy Mangos
Published on 2012-05-14 16:13:19
Never mind calorie counting and reducing your intake of certain foods, it is very important to eat well and with variety. That way you stay inspired about eating a healthy and balanced diet, instead of staring into your fridge wondering what you can throw together next! I know that most people have busy lives and [...] > read more
Swim Yourself Fit
Published on 2012-05-09 06:46:58
When you mention swimming as regular exercise to people, then most think about the nuisance of having wet hair (that’s us girls), the hazards of chlorine and the time consuming occupation of getting changed, getting wet and getting changed again. I certainly don’t believe that one type of exercise is superior over another (frankly, physical [...] > read more
Have Fun Growing or Making Your Own
Published on 2012-05-08 08:33:55
I can’t claim to have green fingers by any stretch of the imagination, but I love the green, the yellow, the purple and all the other magnificant colours that are appearing everywhere at the moment. Neither am I a chef or an extraodinary cook. They are just areas in my life I love to learn [...] > read more
Please God, Don’t Tell Me That I’m Waddling
Published on 2012-05-04 04:49:18
The word “waddling” says it all. That’s the beauty of the English language: words don’t only sound exactly like their meaning, they almost taste of it too. To “waddle” means to “walk with short steps and the weight tilting from one foot to another” according to the dictionary. But who needs a dictionary? Just say [...] > read more
Happy Yellow
Published on 2012-05-01 07:14:30
Flouring stretches of yellow rapeseed fields are surrounding us everywhere at the moment. Where ever you look there are stretches of happy yellow, for as far as the eye can see. Let the colour impress you, as is it impossible to see anything but yellow happy when you spend time looking at these fields. > read more
Lucky Rain on Your Wedding Day
Published on 2012-04-30 02:17:49
What you see depends on where you stand! I got married last year. In August. In a spectacular setting in the Cotswolds. It was a total celebration of love, of making a fresh, committed start as a family and the beginning of a new life. It may be reasonable to expect fairly good weather in [...] > read more
5 Top Tips to Eat Better Without Effort
Published on 2012-04-27 06:06:18
I have written lots of pieces in the past about eating habits, losing weight, improving dietary balance and so on. Everyone is interested in staying healthy, fit, young and beautiful -even those people who say they are not-, but not everyone has the space in their life to invest in this in the same way. [...] > read more
Bluebell spectacle
Published on 2012-04-26 07:30:54
Admiring nature on a family walk, we came across a bluebell forest. Nature does all the talking.Pure purple-blue and perfect. Awe-inspiring and beautiful. She just needs to be admired. Where else do you want to be? Press pause and remember. Please click the ‘Leave a comment’ link below, I love to hear from you. For [...] > read more
When Mum Looks Backwards, She Looks Like a Camel
Published on 2012-04-24 05:00:44
I have entered the third trimester and I am pinching myself as I write this. There is something very surreal about it and at the same time inevitable. Throughout this pregnancy I have been surprised time and time again by how much I am a passenger on this ride. This is happening without me having [...] > read more
Most Wars Are Fought In Our Own Minds
Published on 2012-04-23 03:48:29
There is so much I should do, could do, ought to do…. I could earn more money, see more places, buy more things, make more friends…. I could reach further, drive myself harder, work smarter, learn more. If only I hadn’t turned right here and left there. If only I had listened, accepted that offer, [...] > read more
Variety In Your Diet: Lentils!
Published on 2012-04-20 03:30:34
Trying to keep the family healthy and coming up with new recipes and ideas is hardly easy. There is an enormous temptation to fall into repetition and stick with the things that are convenient. But home cooking is so rewarding and doesn’t have to be complicated. Try to go for different choices when you are [...] > read more
The Kiss of Life
Published on 2012-04-18 11:50:03
Who’s the authority on how I live my life? Do as the priest says, or not. Do as mum and dad believe, or not. The teacher, my friend, the celebrity? Lived in fear so very long pretending to be confidently seeking couldn’t be taught had to find it and live it but every time humility [...] > read more
A Year on from Relocating
Published on 2012-04-17 01:17:14
First day back after the Easter holidays. I woke up and that almighty machine gets into motion, the machine that directs a systematic sequence of events from making the beds, helping the kids get dressed, breakfast, pack lunches, PE bags, doing a little reading, brushing teeth, polishing school shoes…. By the time they run ahead [...] > read more
Get a New Perspective
Published on 2012-04-12 05:15:30
Time is much more precious than you may realise. Don’t waste it being stressed, worried or overwhelmed. Instead actively create the time of your life. Please click the ‘Leave a comment’ link below, I love to hear from you. For daily inspiration please follow my Tweets @doodlelounge. Thank you, Kirsten. Related PostsPictures to Pick You [...] > read more
If You Do What You Love Then You Will Love What You Do
Published on 2012-04-11 03:48:07
Living a life of fulfilment I grew up in Holland in the part where the bulbs come from. Honestly, you may think that every Dutch person makes this claim, but in my case it is really true. It is the kind of landscape where you can see about two-thirds of sky because wherever you look [...] > read more
Giving Life
Published on 2012-04-09 07:40:26
For all the minor physical issues that pregnancy brings with it, I need to stop at times and remind myself of the very fact that there is perhaps nothing more important in the world than “giving life”. Having ability to give life is a blessing but its long and sometimes rocky ride heralds the danger [...] > read more
Or Rise
Published on 2012-04-06 03:24:33
Amongst the bricks of devastation where the wall came down of life it is all about translation you rest your head on bricks or rise Glue your eyes to rubble handcuffed to debris amongst the bricks of devastation that is all that you will see Broken is a promise broken is a word broken is [...] > read more
Keep Moving, Always, it’s Your Life Blood.
Published on 2012-04-04 05:03:05
How every illness, physical or mental, is helped by movement For over 20 years I have worked in health, fitness and coaching aiming to help improve many client’s lives. I have worked with people from all walks of life assisting them in getting fitter, leaner, more mobile, stronger, flexible, increase their confidence, self esteem, effectiveness [...] > read more
The Obstetrician
Published on 2012-04-03 04:44:44
It was a long wait to see the consultant. A very long wait. She had been away and was apparently catching up on many appointments or that was the explanation. I wasn’t exactly sure why I was even there. Out of the blue I had received a letter with an appointment date. The ante natal [...] > read more
Don’t Break Your Habits
Published on 2012-04-02 05:32:41
How to not waste endless time on those things you no longer want in your life. Don’t break your habits, create new behaviour instead. Please click the ‘Leave a comment’ link below, I love to hear from you. For daily inspiration please follow my Tweets @doodlelounge. Thank you, Kirsten. Related PostsNo Related Post > read more
Spending Time
Published on 2012-03-30 03:52:14
What –indeed- have we got unless we spend the most valuable currency of all, Time Unless we spend time we are like ships in the night deer running in a dark forest blinded participants of life holding the donkey’s tail and a faded map Life stirs, unfolds, reacts bubbles up, evolves where life meets life [...] > read more
Kirsten’s Diary of a Pregnant Woman
Published on 2012-03-29 07:02:14
Body’s changes: Varicose vein map on left leg Bleeding gums and nose Possible sometimes likely spillage when sneezing Belly button outie (looks like end of elephant’s trunk) Bending forward not easy (and more things fall on the floor) Need for sleep announces itself very unexpectedly (and then I wake up) Toilet breaks like the arrival [...] > read more
Conversations with my Seven Year Old
Published on 2012-03-28 07:10:42
As I drove back last night from a tutorial at the university and contemplated my day, I suddenly remembered the conversation I had with my seven year old before I went out. How is it that you sometimes don’t get the impact of what your children say to you until you have time to properly [...] > read more
This Life
Published on 2012-03-26 04:22:41
In this life which is undoubtedly and purely bliss count what is And in the days that are wonderfully and humanly bizarre reach for go far Please click the ‘Leave a comment’ link below, I love to hear from you. For daily inspiration please follow my Tweets @doodlelounge. Thank you, Kirsten. Related PostsMy Getting Fit [...] > read more
There You Are – Our 20 week Scan
Published on 2012-03-23 02:22:45
As I lay down on the couch, I actually saw my heart beating out of my chest. All of a sudden I had become really nervous. This was the date we had been counting down to. After all, counting down to the due date seemed absurdly long. This interim scan date was a milestone, a [...] > read more
My Getting Fit and Losing Weight Journey – Part Two
Published on 2012-03-22 09:55:38
I almost lose my way every week when I go shopping at my local supermarket when ads shout out to buy 3 for 2, with racks and stacks of pizzas, microwave meals and confectionary. I may take a little longer finding my way through the maze resisting sugar temptations but I come home with fresh [...] > read more
Can’t Lose Weight; Get Real and Go Back to Basics (1)
Published on 2012-03-21 01:04:06
The world is obsessed with food. In one part of the world there is way too little supply and people are dying due to a lack of resources and in the other part of the world there is abundance, excess even and people are dying because of consumption greed. It’s a world gone crazy. How [...] > read more
The Life of my Top Button
Published on 2012-03-20 03:05:43
I have been pregnant before and yes I am aware of the fact that over time your belly starts expanding and clothes no longer fit. It is stating the total obvious, yet miraculously I have managed to more or less avoid the whole clothes issue until last weekend. Thank heavens I work from home which [...] > read more
Attitude
Published on 2012-03-19 01:10:05
A long time ago when I was taking part in some personal development workshops one of the speakers once asked me “if you could only pick one word from the English dictionary, one word only, what would it be? One word that was able to sum up a way of life in one breath.” I [...] > read more
The Ice Cream Van Announcing a Change of Season
Published on 2012-03-16 03:05:16
The disappearance of the yellow ice cream van last year meant the imminent arrival of the dark days. My boys stood on the empty spot where the van had held its position until early autumn with disappointed looks in their eyes. They have little sense of time yet, so when I said that the ice [...] > read more
Back to the Gym
Published on 2012-03-15 05:12:42
There was no sudden cut off line. It wasn’t that I got to 12 weeks and the sun appeared from behind the clouds supplying me with boundless energy and sickness free days. The 1st trimester more or less gradually faded out, whilst the 2nd trimester faded in. One morning last week I realised that I [...] > read more
Pictures to Pick You Up
Published on 2012-03-13 07:19:57
If this isn’t your best day and you need some motivation, I hope you can find it here. If you leave this page feeling a few percent better, then you are back in the upwards spiral. You may have forgotten that you are so much better than you think you are. Doubt, greyness, feeling low [...] > read more
Feeling Like Homer Simpson
Published on 2012-03-12 04:02:40
Every woman who has been pregnant knows the top button feeling. Unsuspected, it creeps up on you. It is not that you get dressed one morning and nothing fits you anymore. In fact most mornings I think “oh, that’s alright” as after a night’s rest things seem to appear to be in the right places [...] > read more
Telling the Boys
Published on 2012-03-09 08:00:03
We picked the boys up from school through the storm. They had enjoyed their first day back and ran into the playground with excitement. As we arrived home I made their some juice and snacks and said the official sounding words “we want to have a family chat with you”. The boys hopped onto the [...] > read more
Exercise Throughout Pregnancy
Published on 2012-03-08 04:10:22
I have some lovely and very caring people around me, who all know that exercise is an important part of my life, yet their facial expressions reveal a picture when I say I’m off to the gym at 22 weeks pregnant. I’m not trying to be heroic, nor am I obsessed with weight or in [...] > read more
Super Healthy, No Cooking Recipe
Published on 2012-03-07 06:33:06
Smoked mackerel, apple and fennel salad This recipe ticks all the boxes: fast, easy, great protein, oily fish, tasty and “something different”. If you are insistent on eating healthily, then remember that is not synonymous for “boring”. This recipe is so much more than your ordinary salad and will take you no time to prepare. [...] > read more
The First Scan
Published on 2012-03-06 03:00:01
I had tried to call the hospital to bring the appointment forward. Partially because it clashed with something else, but mainly because I was so impatient. I had been given an appointment at the last possible window for the combination test to be done and I wanted it over and done with. But there was [...] > read more
Coping with Life, Your First Aid Kit
Published on 2012-03-05 14:30:55
Hit Pause, Not Panic! Life sometimes falls on you like a wave, pulling you in different directions without drowning you completely. Overwhelm is a typical symptom of the modern Western world. You are swimming and trying to come up for air at the same time. The water is hitting you from every angle and you [...] > read more
Design the Life You Want
Published on 2012-03-01 02:01:43
To live a life of fulfilment and abundance is completely within your reach! These days there is no such thing anymore as starting at the bottom of the ladder and climbing your way up. It is more like starting at different levels of various ladders and moving upwards, sideways, diagonally before flying over to another [...] > read more
Blue Vein
Published on 2012-02-29 04:00:05
I’ve seen you. In fact I saw you before I felt you. I recognised you, because you used to wave at me during the pregnancy of my second baby. Those days I tried to ignore you and keep you intensely private. After all, that is where you travelled to, my privates… But you are back. [...] > read more
“Mum has gone a bit mad”
Published on 2012-02-28 02:15:06
The walk to school is short. Yesterday my eldest had asked me if the world could ever be destroyed. It was 830am in the morning and I struggled to find a comprehensive answer. Later that day he told me about the Eco-letter in his schoolbag and the fact that clouds in the sky come from [...] > read more
Words Within Words: Struggle
Published on 2012-02-27 06:56:26
We all struggle at times. For all different reasons. Sometimes things may seem to go uphill and sometimes we create our own hill. It may seem sometimes that other people or situations are to blame, that you want to throw in the towel, that you are helpless because no matter what you do there is [...] > read more
Mummy, you’ve gotta go to the gym!
Published on 2012-02-27 00:00:58
Because of the time of year I am having to wait a little longer than normal for the first scan. You could argue what does a week and a half matter, but at this stage of the game –believe me- it matters. I am finding myself in this bizarre in-between-world where nobody yet really knows [...] > read more
11 Weeks Pregnant, I Am Invaded
Published on 2012-02-23 01:00:59
A short adding up of the 1st trimester so far is that is has been pretty awful. I have to keep a check on my own mind and not confuse my hormonal state with who I am. I have been feeling sick day after day and week after week. Everything that previously worked for my [...] > read more
Tools to make your workout so much more enjoyable
Published on 2012-02-21 16:18:51
I have worked out from the moment I truly realised that there were no short cuts to living a healthy lifestyle other than to make regular investments into your wellbeing. It followed years of dieting, starving myself and start-stop exercise regimes, too punishing or non-existent. Once I qualified as a personal trainer in my early [...] > read more
Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Published on 2012-02-21 02:00:15
Chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes Half term treat Abandon the healthy eating regime for a day and splash out with this creative treat for the kids. Surely when you are having that much fun the calories only count half? Ingredients: 150g plain flour 25g cocoa powder 120g caster sugar 1 tsp baking powder pinch of [...] > read more
Life Boats
Published on 2012-02-20 03:30:02
“We all need rescuing at times” My friend and I took our boys to the beach today. Boys are easy to please near the seaside. Throwing stones, finding smelly crab remains, chasing birds and almost getting wet. A full spectrum of entertainment all in one place. Without meaning to sound unkind, I imagine it is [...] > read more
Oohhh Mummies Boobies!
Published on 2012-02-20 03:20:53
I try and disguise my feeling awful in the morning by either remaining quiet or just getting on with the making if the lunches and doing homework with the kids. They tend to be full of beans and chat away to me without noticing I only occasionally mumble something back. The other morning my 5 [...] > read more
10 things you are good at?
Published on 2012-02-16 09:48:05
It seems like a simple question. And perhaps if you have been alive for more than 25 years then it should potentially not be a problem to answer this. After all, after 25+ years you will have acquired a reasonable amount of self knowledge? I have asked people this question in different circumstances, but nearly [...] > read more
Feeling Sick, Sick, Sick
Published on 2012-02-16 02:00:43
We had friends over on Friday evening. It was a lovely social night and of course I abstained from the wine. People find this easily to accept as they know that, due to my history as a fitness professional, I am very light drinker. I believe you call this “a cheap date” here. But I [...] > read more
First Official Appointment with Bouncy Midwife
Published on 2012-02-14 06:24:38
The midwife bounced into the house full of energy and brightness. “How are you? Excited?”, she said as she made her way into the living room before I had a chance to show her. “You must be so excited!”, she said again. With all the will in the world, I couldn’t lie to her. I [...] > read more
Valentine’s Day, Give Yourself Some Love!
Published on 2012-02-08 18:10:23
I walked into a large super market this morning. Whilst pushing the trolley and half arranging the bags in it that I had brought along, I suddenly found myself in a more or less red Valentine’s isle. “Romantic” music was playing and as I looked up from my rushed and disorganised entry of the shop, [...] > read more
Heart and Soul Warming Red Pepper and Ginger Soup
Published on 2012-02-06 19:37:12
My favourite soup ever Heart and soul warming Red Pepper and Ginger Soup If –like me- you struggle a little with the bleakness of February and the fact that it is so cold and there are no leaves on the trees, then pour yourself a big bowl of this delicious soup. It is healthy winter [...] > read more
Almost 8 weeks, all the symptoms everywhere
Published on 2012-02-03 08:34:41
I could make a quick summary of the physical symptoms: spots, very sore boobs and plenty of nausea all combined in a delicious cocktail of overwhelming tiredness. No, tiredness is not the word, I simply disappear from the planet for 10-20 minutes, awakening unaware of where I’ve been. But the spots, the blown up boobs [...] > read more
What do you see when you look in the mirror?
Published on 2012-02-03 08:26:47
I met up with a friend yesterday for a cappuccino and a granola bar. Yum, I am loving my one coffee in the day now (I am 16 weeks pregnant and that’s my quota!), especially if shared with great company. Once I am over feeling slightly guilty for taking a large part of the day [...] > read more
Happiness is a Decision
Published on 2012-02-02 01:00:38
Food for thought: Happiness is a decision So many people in my coaching practice used to say “I just want to be happy”, without having a clue what that really meant. Just wanting to be happy was a stop gap statement for what seemed the right thing to say, but in reality it was an [...] > read more
New Year, New You – Week 4
Published on 2012-01-30 20:26:39
Lets get started – Week 4 This is the last week of the 4 week programme; time to evaluate. Ask yourself what has worked for you. What made you feel good, what was easy to follow on a regular basis, what kind of victories did you have? Under no circumstances reflect on the things that [...] > read more
Living with Purpose
Published on 2012-01-29 20:49:36
Food for thought: living with purpose We can all go through life, doing things. Being busy with “doing things” can absorb one’s entire day, entire week, month, year. But it’s never what you do, it’s how you do it. People do things on automatic pilot, just because they have to pay your bills, because they [...] > read more