Tomorrow I will sit my final exam...well, final exam for one module of my course with the IINH. Friends & family who ask me when my 'finals' are seem to think tomorrow is the final hurdle, but really, it's one of many. Anatomy, Physiology & Pathophysiology is tomorrow and it's the only module we have a sit down exam for. Still on the list is a literature review, dissertation, clinical case study write up, modelling project for practitioner development skills and clinic log. D-day is 20th of June and I have to say I am looking forward to it.
I have been looking forward to that day for, oh at least a year and yet, it struck me recently that it's only the beginning. That day in June won't signify the end of the hard slog, just the end of one phase of it and that is a tough pill to swallow. I have so much work to do to get my skills up to standard and at the same time build my new business! I'm scared of that, no idea where to start really, but I'll figure it out and the roller coaster will keep on running. How naive of me to think that I could sit back and relax once I had finished college!
So, I think I have read about as much as I can for tomorrow's exam. I can do no more. Fingers crossed the topics I can wax lyrical about will come up! Wow, it's after 9pm already, almost time to get my ass into bed so I'm bright & shiny for tomorrow.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
New beginnings
Two friends of mine have, in the last week, launched new businesses and associated websites. In a time of hibernation, fear and preserving resources these brave excited human beings are taking a chance,ignoring the begrudgers & fearful, trusting that their ideas are sound.
One is a florist, who has, after much sweating and tearing out of hair, launched wildbunches.ie a wonderful, cheeky, elegant, refreshing way to buy flowers online.
The other is...well, he defies a label. He is a sprite, a lightbulb, a slap in the face. Every time we speak, which sadly is not often enough, he has a new idea, has progressed the last idea to the next level, has discarded the ones that were not delivering...and he still has time to question me on my intentions, my progress - groan! This kite surfing dynamite has launched westcorkstags.com the boutique west cork hostel, providing exhilarating weekends for those crazy people about to tie the knot and looking for one last hurrah. Indeed.
I am impressed, I am somewhat ashamed...but it is spurring me on.
One is a florist, who has, after much sweating and tearing out of hair, launched wildbunches.ie a wonderful, cheeky, elegant, refreshing way to buy flowers online.
The other is...well, he defies a label. He is a sprite, a lightbulb, a slap in the face. Every time we speak, which sadly is not often enough, he has a new idea, has progressed the last idea to the next level, has discarded the ones that were not delivering...and he still has time to question me on my intentions, my progress - groan! This kite surfing dynamite has launched westcorkstags.com the boutique west cork hostel, providing exhilarating weekends for those crazy people about to tie the knot and looking for one last hurrah. Indeed.
I am impressed, I am somewhat ashamed...but it is spurring me on.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Learning to Learn and the Simple Pleasures in Life
I've been so busy having fun for the last few days that I haven't had a chance to blog! I have taken a leaf out of William Nealy's book (Mountain Bike! A Manual of Beginning to Advanced Technique) and am learning to learn. His theory goes something like this:
Most mountain bike learning is of the self instructed variety. You ride progressively harder & harder stuff and learn from your mistakes. Eventually you will train your body to react quickly and instinctively to a wide variety of obstacles and trail conditions while having loads of fun. The golden rule of successful self teaching is 'Be kind to your student'. Before you begin a self training session RELAX; this aint Wall Street. You can't lose riding a mountain bike. If you are working on a technique and you fail 2 or 3 times in a row STOP!! So something else & try again later. This is called 'training to failure'. If you push a training session beyond 3 successive failures you are 'training to fail'. As you become more adept at self teaching and pushing yourself appropriately you'll be able to discren where good (beneficial) training ends & bad (regressive) training begins. HINT: lack of fun marks the spot.
Couldn't we apply this approach to any new skill we want to learn? Dare I suggest that we could even use it to learn non physical skills? Try hard a few times, but don't keep trying if you're getting nowhere, do something else & come back to it. That way you are not setting up a pattern of failure associated with that skill or task Works for me. On Wednesday I tackled a steep chute that has defied me every time I have attempted it (no more than 3 times each occasion!) and I did it! I had a great day's riding & finished it off with that. I wanted to celebrate, whoop, holler, jump for joy....so I did! And then I did it again, just for kicks.
On one of my journeys across the back roads of the Dublin mountains, I passed a little old man and his wife, girlfrend, sister (?) in a Mark One VW Golf.
I noticed the ccar first, a lovely old goldy green colour...and then the driver caught my eye. He must have been it's 'one careful gentleman owner', he looked so proud, happy, smug almost...and it made me smile. He didn't notice the effect he had on me, but that smile lasted all day, it set me up for a great day's riding. A simple pleasure for him, maybe even a random act of kindness.
Happy Friday.
Most mountain bike learning is of the self instructed variety. You ride progressively harder & harder stuff and learn from your mistakes. Eventually you will train your body to react quickly and instinctively to a wide variety of obstacles and trail conditions while having loads of fun. The golden rule of successful self teaching is 'Be kind to your student'. Before you begin a self training session RELAX; this aint Wall Street. You can't lose riding a mountain bike. If you are working on a technique and you fail 2 or 3 times in a row STOP!! So something else & try again later. This is called 'training to failure'. If you push a training session beyond 3 successive failures you are 'training to fail'. As you become more adept at self teaching and pushing yourself appropriately you'll be able to discren where good (beneficial) training ends & bad (regressive) training begins. HINT: lack of fun marks the spot.
Couldn't we apply this approach to any new skill we want to learn? Dare I suggest that we could even use it to learn non physical skills? Try hard a few times, but don't keep trying if you're getting nowhere, do something else & come back to it. That way you are not setting up a pattern of failure associated with that skill or task Works for me. On Wednesday I tackled a steep chute that has defied me every time I have attempted it (no more than 3 times each occasion!) and I did it! I had a great day's riding & finished it off with that. I wanted to celebrate, whoop, holler, jump for joy....so I did! And then I did it again, just for kicks.
On one of my journeys across the back roads of the Dublin mountains, I passed a little old man and his wife, girlfrend, sister (?) in a Mark One VW Golf.
I noticed the ccar first, a lovely old goldy green colour...and then the driver caught my eye. He must have been it's 'one careful gentleman owner', he looked so proud, happy, smug almost...and it made me smile. He didn't notice the effect he had on me, but that smile lasted all day, it set me up for a great day's riding. A simple pleasure for him, maybe even a random act of kindness.
Happy Friday.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Breakfast thoughts...
As I eat breakfast (bowl of porridge, with quinoa, sultanas & berries) I am revising for my final exam at the end of this month, module 1 is the musculoskeletal system...and it occurs to me, not for the first time, how the facts about how the body works is manipulated to suit those who have something to sell.
It is a fact that bones contain a whole lot of calcium, in the form of calcium carbonate, as well as magnesium hydroxide, fluoride & sulphate. It is also a fact that this store of calcium acts as an alkaline buffer when the blood becomes too acidic - due to diet, stress, toxins... This means that calcium is leached from the bones into the blood to balance it's PH. So, we could be forgiven for thinking we need to eat lots & lots of calcium carbonate to protect our bones. Here comes the twist: Calcium carbonate is incredibly difficult to absorb, so taking supplements of this form is a waste of time. For some reason, this is the form of calcium in most supplements. Why, when calcium citrate is much easier to absorb? Yet another twist; eating copious amounts of dairy for it's calcium content seems to make sense. But does it?
Well, dairy foods also contain a lot of animal protein, which in itself is not a bad thing, but it is acid forming, ie it lowers the PH level of the blood and makes it acidic. Which in turn leeches calcium from the bones. So, in a nutshell, including dairy in your diet for it's calcium content is more likely to damage your bones than suport & strengthen them. I wonder why the dairy board tells us otherwise?
For now, bear in mind that calcium is not the only mineral we need for healthy bones. Magnesium is also vital, along with Boron, Vitamin D & Vitamin C. Eating a varied diet, with plenty of vegetables, wholegrains and good quality fats is the way to go and certainly has more than enough calcium. Check it out, read the research...in the not too distant future, I will have links to all of this information on my website - watch this space.
It is a fact that bones contain a whole lot of calcium, in the form of calcium carbonate, as well as magnesium hydroxide, fluoride & sulphate. It is also a fact that this store of calcium acts as an alkaline buffer when the blood becomes too acidic - due to diet, stress, toxins... This means that calcium is leached from the bones into the blood to balance it's PH. So, we could be forgiven for thinking we need to eat lots & lots of calcium carbonate to protect our bones. Here comes the twist: Calcium carbonate is incredibly difficult to absorb, so taking supplements of this form is a waste of time. For some reason, this is the form of calcium in most supplements. Why, when calcium citrate is much easier to absorb? Yet another twist; eating copious amounts of dairy for it's calcium content seems to make sense. But does it?
Well, dairy foods also contain a lot of animal protein, which in itself is not a bad thing, but it is acid forming, ie it lowers the PH level of the blood and makes it acidic. Which in turn leeches calcium from the bones. So, in a nutshell, including dairy in your diet for it's calcium content is more likely to damage your bones than suport & strengthen them. I wonder why the dairy board tells us otherwise?
For now, bear in mind that calcium is not the only mineral we need for healthy bones. Magnesium is also vital, along with Boron, Vitamin D & Vitamin C. Eating a varied diet, with plenty of vegetables, wholegrains and good quality fats is the way to go and certainly has more than enough calcium. Check it out, read the research...in the not too distant future, I will have links to all of this information on my website - watch this space.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Last night I watched a documentary; Space Station, narrated by Tom Cruise; originally shot for IMAX format and you can tell. There are some of the most beautiful shots of space I have ever seen, and some edge of your seat sequences of shuttle take off. One astronaut's comment that you can't see borders from where they are, 220 miles above the earth really stuck with me. You can't tell where the United States ends & Mexico begins. For him, the experience made him feel part of humankind, rather than any particular nationality.
It got me thinking, especially after the last few days when continuity IRA members are trying to maintain a presence in the north of Ireland. They say that 'as long as there is British involvement in Ireland, these attacks will continue' What planet are they on? Who do they think they are? We are all one, we are all humankind, there are no borders, really. There is no 'us' & 'them'.
What does that have to do with food? Nothing, but it has something to do with humanity and kindness, love and respect. Eating well is just one thing we can all do to respect our bodies and live long & healthy lives. Being respectful of those around us, being grateful for what we have is just as nurturing and healthful.
Today, I am mostly researching salicylate & histamine intolerances for a client; baking banana bread (that's an overflow from last week!) and committing random acts of kindness.
It got me thinking, especially after the last few days when continuity IRA members are trying to maintain a presence in the north of Ireland. They say that 'as long as there is British involvement in Ireland, these attacks will continue' What planet are they on? Who do they think they are? We are all one, we are all humankind, there are no borders, really. There is no 'us' & 'them'.
What does that have to do with food? Nothing, but it has something to do with humanity and kindness, love and respect. Eating well is just one thing we can all do to respect our bodies and live long & healthy lives. Being respectful of those around us, being grateful for what we have is just as nurturing and healthful.
Today, I am mostly researching salicylate & histamine intolerances for a client; baking banana bread (that's an overflow from last week!) and committing random acts of kindness.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Banan Bread
This recipe is sugar & dairy free. Using spelt flour reduces the gluten content too and even for those without gluten sensitivity tends to be easier to digest than wheat flour. The agave syrup is incredibly sweet, you may decide to adjust this further once you've tried it. Enjoy!
Preheat oven to 375F/190C
Whisk oil & syrup together, add mashed bananas & mix thoroughly
Add sifted flour, baking powder & walnuts
Pour the mix into 1lb loaf tin (23 x 11 x 5cm)
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (remember, because this is made with fresh bananas the loaf will be quite moist)
To bake muffins, prepare the batter as above and bake for 20-25 minutes at 400F/200C in center of oven
Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, before removing and cooling on a wire rack
- 120ml sunflower oil
- 100ml agave syrup
- 2 eggs
- 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
- 180g wholemeal flour (spelt is wonderful!)
- 1tsp baking powder
- 55g toasted walnuts, roughly chopped
Preheat oven to 375F/190C
Whisk oil & syrup together, add mashed bananas & mix thoroughly
Add sifted flour, baking powder & walnuts
Pour the mix into 1lb loaf tin (23 x 11 x 5cm)
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (remember, because this is made with fresh bananas the loaf will be quite moist)
To bake muffins, prepare the batter as above and bake for 20-25 minutes at 400F/200C in center of oven
Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, before removing and cooling on a wire rack
Happy Friday...
I recently bought some wonderfully inexpensive kilner style jars from IKEA and yesterday got an indecent amount of pleasure from emptying bags of beans, cous cous, pasta & lentils into them. My larder is now an oasis of order and calm. No more random bags, tied with elastic bags. No more rooting around blindly for those linseeds I'm sure I had...ah the simple pleasures
Yesterday was a funny day, the day after my birthday and somewhat anti-climactic, but I actually got a lot done. Finally worked out how to export tasks from my mind-mapping programme to outlook, so now I have a 'real' to do list; no more forgotten tasks.
Today I'm working on my website (soon to be launched, watch this space) studying for my final exam at the end of the month (eeek) and doing some preparatory reading for the literature review. I'm really glad that I've started early, focused and ready to get stuck in. With any luck I'll get it all done and spend the afternoon baking (banana bread) and preparing dinner, chicken, chorizo & cannellini bean (inspired by my larder clear out) stew. Yum.
Yesterday was a funny day, the day after my birthday and somewhat anti-climactic, but I actually got a lot done. Finally worked out how to export tasks from my mind-mapping programme to outlook, so now I have a 'real' to do list; no more forgotten tasks.
Today I'm working on my website (soon to be launched, watch this space) studying for my final exam at the end of the month (eeek) and doing some preparatory reading for the literature review. I'm really glad that I've started early, focused and ready to get stuck in. With any luck I'll get it all done and spend the afternoon baking (banana bread) and preparing dinner, chicken, chorizo & cannellini bean (inspired by my larder clear out) stew. Yum.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
An update on yesterday - found 4 of the research papers I am critiquing for my literature review - hooray! I also had a very successful meeting with the director of my college, who told me not to worry about the fees I owe. They will wait until I have the money and will just hold off on awarding me the diploma until then! What a relief...
I woke this morning to sunshine streaming in the window and lay there marveling at it for an hour, wondering where the hail, sleet & snow we were promised was hiding. A birthday present
o
f the best boots on the planet from Glenn (fiveten's with super cool stealth rubber soles to keep my feet on the pedals!) encouraged me out of bed and on the road with my bike strapped to the back of the car.
Almost 2 hours of riding later, I was covered in muck, snow and sweat - a pretty sight indeed. I arrived at Ballinastoe mountain bike trail before anyone else and had the mountain to myself, for a short while at least. Snow must have been falling for a few days, there was at least 3 inches in places...so so beautiful, but my word, hard to cycle on; especially with my novice skills! I slipped and skidded around the 14km of trails, but had loads of fun. Winter Wonderland doesn't describe it, such unexpected sparkly gorgeousness, I had to take some
photos.
A few hours later I was surrounded by girlfriends in Powerscourt House having the most delicious lunch - pea & mint soup; gorgeous texture and minty flavour and lovely fresh wholefood salads. The soup came with a multiseed bread, a specialty of Avoca who run the cafe there, in hindsight I should have bought a whole loaf! Home again, with a cup of steaming hot Butlers chocolate (another gift from Glenn) and a very tired achey body. Happy birthday to me!
I woke this morning to sunshine streaming in the window and lay there marveling at it for an hour, wondering where the hail, sleet & snow we were promised was hiding. A birthday present
o
f the best boots on the planet from Glenn (fiveten's with super cool stealth rubber soles to keep my feet on the pedals!) encouraged me out of bed and on the road with my bike strapped to the back of the car.Almost 2 hours of riding later, I was covered in muck, snow and sweat - a pretty sight indeed. I arrived at Ballinastoe mountain bike trail before anyone else and had the mountain to myself, for a short while at least. Snow must have been falling for a few days, there was at least 3 inches in places...so so beautiful, but my word, hard to cycle on; especially with my novice skills! I slipped and skidded around the 14km of trails, but had loads of fun. Winter Wonderland doesn't describe it, such unexpected sparkly gorgeousness, I had to take some
photos.
A few hours later I was surrounded by girlfriends in Powerscourt House having the most delicious lunch - pea & mint soup; gorgeous texture and minty flavour and lovely fresh wholefood salads. The soup came with a multiseed bread, a specialty of Avoca who run the cafe there, in hindsight I should have bought a whole loaf! Home again, with a cup of steaming hot Butlers chocolate (another gift from Glenn) and a very tired achey body. Happy birthday to me!Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The day before the big day
Tuesday, 3rd of March...tomorrow is my birthday and I'm going to be 31! Yikes... Quite excited about it actually, looking forward to a fun day - going out for a ride on my bike, meeting a friend for coffee in the afternoon, popping into St. Declan's school where I used to work - to say Hi to the kids there...that'll bring a smile to my face!
Yesterday was a good day. I got an awful lot done which included the design of a flyer for my new business. I spent all morning on it, but I'm happy with progress. Yesterday evening I spent a few hours on the couch with my partner Glenn, both of us working on our websites! It needs quite a bit of work, but I am doing it myself, which is a massive learning curve. I also played around with the settings on this blog and now it looks pretty awful, so need to fix that!
Today, well today will be a busy one. I need to get some work done on my literature review for college - find 5 papers to critique and get stuck in! I'll spend a few hours on that and this afternoon I have a meeting with the director of the college. He doesn't know why we're meeting, but I need to convince him to let me finish the course, despite the fact that I owe most of the fee for this year! Hopefully he'll be in a position to bend the rules for me...we'll see! If he can't, I'll have to magic up the money from somewhere. The universe is sure to provide, it always does.
A yoga class this evening with the wonderful Mari Kennedy will be followed by more work on 'My best year yet!' I really want to have worked out my 10 goals by the end of the day, with my birthday tomorrow, it seems the perfect beginning to a new year!
Yesterday was a good day. I got an awful lot done which included the design of a flyer for my new business. I spent all morning on it, but I'm happy with progress. Yesterday evening I spent a few hours on the couch with my partner Glenn, both of us working on our websites! It needs quite a bit of work, but I am doing it myself, which is a massive learning curve. I also played around with the settings on this blog and now it looks pretty awful, so need to fix that!
Today, well today will be a busy one. I need to get some work done on my literature review for college - find 5 papers to critique and get stuck in! I'll spend a few hours on that and this afternoon I have a meeting with the director of the college. He doesn't know why we're meeting, but I need to convince him to let me finish the course, despite the fact that I owe most of the fee for this year! Hopefully he'll be in a position to bend the rules for me...we'll see! If he can't, I'll have to magic up the money from somewhere. The universe is sure to provide, it always does.
A yoga class this evening with the wonderful Mari Kennedy will be followed by more work on 'My best year yet!' I really want to have worked out my 10 goals by the end of the day, with my birthday tomorrow, it seems the perfect beginning to a new year!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Carrot Cake
Ingredients
3 medium eggs
175g soft brown sugar/120ml agave syrup
175g plain flour (or a mix of wholegrain spelt & white)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
175ml sunflower oil
175g walnut pieces
2 ripe, medium bananas, mashed
175g grated carrot
Icing
75g butter, softened
75g cream cheese
150g icing sugar, sifted (or 100ml agave syrup or 50g xylitol)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Chopped walnuts, to decorate
Or
Greek or Natural yoghurt on top, no icing or sugar!
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 3. Grease a 20cm-diameter cake tin with removable base.
- Beat the eggs and the sugar/syrup together until thick. If you do use the syrup, the mix will be a lot wetter, but it still works! Sift in the flour, baking powder, salt and bicarbonate of soda. Mix well then add the oil and walnuts, then the banana and carrot.
- Pour into the tin. Bake for 1¼ hours or until a skewer comes out clean (with the banana in this it doesn’t really come out clean!) Cover with foil if it begins to brown too much. Cool on a rack.
- For the icing, beat the butter and cheese together, then add the sugar and vanilla. Spread on the cold cake. Finish with chopped walnuts.
Motivational Monday
Motivational Monday!
I woke up to Motivational Monday on 103.2 Dublin City FM 'I am what I am' helping me to raise myself from my warm & cosy bed. After another gloriously sunny weekend I woke up to grey skies and a cold wind this morning. Better for getting some real work done I guess!
I'm reading a rather wonderful book at the moment,'Your Best Year Yet' by Jinny Ditzzler. The idea behind it is to come up with 10 goals for the year ahead, but to arrive at that point, you first need to assess the previous years achievements, disappointments and lessons. Just going through the process is fascinating and forcing me to take a good hard look at the way I operate, the things I should be proud of, the small changes I can make so that I actually achieve those goals! I'm only half way through the book and already I am excited about the coming year. It's quite apt really, given that it's my birthday on Wednesday...the new year can start then!
This morning I am also re0rdering my free business cards...the first batch I had done were wonderful, but of course I spotted several things I wanted to change as soon as they arrived! It's really exciting to be embarking on this journey, but I know in my heart & soul that I need to put in a huge amount of planning before anything real actually happens. A good friend of mine said to me some time ago that the amount of planning needed to set up your own business is akin to that needed to murder someone. Interesting guy...and at the time I thought he was a bit mad & scary, but I see now how true it is.
Getting back to food; I have a rather fabulous carrot cake recipe, which I made at the weekend to share...I'll post it up seperately. It even satisfied the sugar fiends in my house and was completely sugar free!
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