What sort of blog post refers to warts in their subject title?  Weird people like me.

You see. I hear you beautiful ladies at the moment.  You’re going through some tough times.

And it hurts.

You wonder if there really is any purpose in the lesson, the grieving, the crisis. You wonder if it’s going to get easier.  It’s dark.  You can’t see beyond what is right in front of you. It feels like your heart is racing all the time.  The enormity of the circumstance is just too much.

Today lovely ladies I want you to know. I see you and I’ve been there. I wanted to do something a little different for you this week. (more…)

The Thermomix Debacle

This week I noticed that there was an upgrade on the Thermomix Australia Facebook site. Man it was like feeding time at the zoo.  People were complaining about how they had bought their machine only days before and now were upset because their machine was now obsolete.  This new fancy machine, with digital everything, including a recipe chip, was now the new must have.

Well this little social justice warrior had enough.  So I posted the following:

(more…)

Hi there ladies!  What a gorgeous past couple of days it has been here in Queensland.  It has been perfect picnic weather.

Last week I spoke to you all about the inner struggle I was having with whether or not to continue studying the Naturopathy course or to explore other options.  I wondered “What would people think of me if I quit it now?”  “How about the identity of this blog?”  and “Have I failed?”  As I sunk into the rest of the week and I didn’t have any study to do I felt so much more relaxed and calm.  I felt like a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders.

Then I had this dream.  I don’t know about you but when I’m going through some sort of decision making process or transformation I dream about houses and water.  For a while the waters in my dream have been choppy.  This week they were calm.  The house was beautiful and as I looked out over the waters an elderly man came up to me and said he was an author.  There are other weird parts to the dream which I will leave inside my crazied mind but there are some points worth noting.

Often houses in dreams represent our own soul and self.  Water usually represents our subconscious and emotional state of mind.  And for those of us Christian skeptics who don’t think that our dreams mean anything at all, Joseph interpreted dreams when he was in captivity.  Need I say more.

I felt like God was saying to me that I was now on the right track.  That the peaceful waters represented where I was currently at, a state of peace and calm.  The house that I was in was pure white and white often represents purity, peace and new beginnings.  I woke up from the dream feeling incredibly peaceful and assured that I was indeed making the right decision for now.

Can God give us signs?

(more…)

To Naturopathy or Not To Naturopathy?

I’ve been feeling a little like the girl in the picture.  You see over the past few weeks I’ve been studying for my Anatomy and Chemistry exams.  And if you don’t know much about me yet, I currently work as an English and History teacher. Let’s just say Science is not my forte.

At the beginning of the year I took the leap to apply for my Advanced Diploma in Naturopathy and Nutrition.  After struggling with infertility for so long I wanted to study it for myself and to help others.  My interest in health and nutrition was also rising. It made sense to study it.  I dreamed of days filled of running my own Naturopathy business and then I realised I wanted to also add in the Life Coaching element.  And you know what Life Coaching is what actually makes my heart sing.

(more…)

Being ‘plus sized.’

I haven’t been to the gym in four months due to my anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in my knee.  In layman’s terms if you haven’t been following over here at “The Butterfly House” I pretty much busted everything I possibly could in my knee due to a hockey injury.

I’d seen this store pre injury but for some reason this sign seemed to peeve me off even more this time round.  You see. I’m a size 12 and I wouldn’t consider myself ‘plus size.’  And why label people anyway?  Is it really necessary to label a certain size as ‘plus size?’

Robyn Lawley, a 24 year old ‘plus size’ model said that skinny models should perhaps be called ‘minus size.’  In the interview that showcased in Clique magazine she also asserts that she should not be called ‘plus size’ when in fact she is the size of an average woman.

No wonder we are so messed up.

(more…)

The Wellness Warrior Green Shake

I don’t know about you but a good green smoothie recipe is hard to come by!  What makes this one so much yummier is the banana and maca powder in this.  It just takes that nasty edge off the bitterness of some of the other green recipes out there.

(more…)

Surrender

I wasn’t planning on making the transformations post a two part series but lately this seems to be the theme of my life.  Right now I am going through a transformation period.  It’s scary, exciting, weird and strange all rolled into one.  There are so many changes going on here in the Braybrooke household.  And that’s ok!  But how do you navigate some of these transformations?

A couple of weeks ok I declared my intentions on a form at work to go down to four days a week teaching.  You know what?  That was darn scary!  It still is freaking me out.  I know people who once they declare what they want feel this immense peace but I don’t feel that.  It’s weird.  I did however have two words that just kept coming to me:  “Trust Me.”

(more…)

An All Day Sucker

I was having a mind blank.  Insomnia will do that to you. Last night was not the greatest for sleep.  In fact, it totally sucked, like one of those all day suckers!

I then decided to stop fighting the ‘mind blank’ and instead decided to change my motivational desk phrase thingymebob to a new phrase.  It came up with this:

‘In the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take.’

(more…)

Blueberry Tarts for Two

This recipe is so super easy to make and absolutely morish!  I found it over at Rawsome Vegan Life.  Enjoy!

 Crust:

1/2 cup almonds

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon maple syrup 

(more…)

Welcome to my new feature “Honour Roll.”  (Get the teacher reference!)  In this new addition to my blog I will be featuring some people who have wisdom in their chosen field.

Today I’ll be honouring natural skin care expert, facialist and aromatherapist Audra James.  I came across her when I was searching for solutions for my insomnia. That first purchase was ‘sleep drops’ an essential oil blend made up of French Lavender, Sweet Orange, Frankincense, Sweet Marjoram and Vetivert.  I slept through the whole night after using it.

This produced a love affair for Audra James Botanical’s products.  What I love the most about this product is that you may choose Bespoke if you wish.  This means I can have the product suited to my skin type, my mood and fragranced with my favourite smells.  I also love that Audra is personable. She always emailed me a thorough response to my requests and she provides great wellness advice.  I don’t feel like just another order to Audra.  She clearly puts all her love into the products she blends.

(more…)