Arienne Loves...TiLT #4

Well Ladies and Gentlemen,
What a week in this world. Earthquakes in Christchurch, Libyan uprisings and all those things big and small that have happened and changed people's lives.

It's definitely a time to be thankful and grateful for the things in your life and to put things in perspective.

Here are the good and the great; the serious and the light-hearted that made me laugh or smile or get inspired.

Darling Harbour in Sydney - I know it can be super touristy but I love the ambience Fresh water when I turn on the tap My sister getting a social work job in London (go Nunny!) Organic food My little elderly cat Charlie who is still a super-bully Fresh chillies - add a bit of spice to your life Catching up with philosophically aligned friend Ms L while sipping on take-away teas Going to a great young entreprenuer's breakfast with BossLady - was really great to listen to some interesting peeps Having a juicer and a blender - and the awesome things come out of them Being almost half way through the Raw Food Challenge Planning some of the meals I'll be having when it's over Meeting with such inspired and motivated women who are real action takers Looking forward to my Dad arriving from Switzerland in the first week of April - I miss him Finding some great blogs out there filled with great content and inspiration Thinking about my 101 bucket list Giving my speech at Toastmasters Seeing myself getting fitter and stronger The Man making me feel so loved and together having a wonderful stroll through Darling Harbour where we experienced our first kiss. Awwww Having a wonderful home around me My car. A black Holden Astra I have dubbed Schwatzy - it flits me around and makes my life so much easier and convenient I got my hair done. It was totally dry and crunchy (ewww) and needed a trim. Thank you lady hairdresser! Electricity The ability to read and write I love that I feel safe in my everyday Choice and freedom to do pretty much what I want in my life The massage that almost killed me and my pain threshold and the ensuing relief my body felt from the aches and tension I was holding Speaking to my sister on Skype Remembering that I have a wonderful family even though they are all so far away

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Toastmasters - The Speech

So I know that you may not normally do a prepared speech on your second time at Toastmasters, but I did (hey what can I say, I like to do things a little differently!).

I have a speech to give at a government department in Canberra, for their celebration of International Women's Day on the 10th March. I wrote about the synchronicity of how it came to happen here.

So, at my first evening at Toasties, I explained the situation and they said to bring what I'd like in and do the speech so I could make my mistakes there and know what to polish up.

Well, I left the speech creation until pretty much Wednesday, the day I was to present. There was a number of factors in this, work was busy, I had some commitments, and I wasn't really keeping track of my days very well. It pretty much went like 'OMG it's Wednesday...OMG Toasmasters is on tonight...OMG I need to write the speech...OMG I've got so much to do today...'.

Well I managed to work on it in the afternoon. It was great that I was basing it on an article I'd written for 10thousandgirl so I knew what I wanted to say. I just had to convert it to being interesting to listen to and shorten it to a certain timeframe.

I wrote it out, shortened it, expanded some areas for interest, highlighted the key words to prompt me and started walking around the backyard talking to myself like a crazy person. You see, it is very hard to practice a speech when you're just saying it in your head. You actually need to say it out loud. Since I have neighbours, I had the interesting task of trying to say it out with expression and emotion and inflections at a very low sound level...quite a feat.

Then I decided to practice on The Man. Hilarious! Have you ever tried practicing something professional in front of someone you know? I got all nervous and got the giggles. Eventually got there. He was a great listener (thank honey!). He even agreed to sit through it a couple more times as I tweaked and re-emphasised.

I was nervous, but also really aware that the crew at Toasties is really open and welcoming. Constructive in the feedback but very supportive. They told me I was in a safe place and I really did feel like I was.

So I did it. I did it imagining 60 people at the government department sitting there. I started strong, then almost cried at one part which was very embarrassing, I thought I was maybe losing some of the older gentlemen in the room, but the women seemed to be paying attention (thank god!). I had trembling hands at the beginning, didn't notice them in the middle and then as I was sitting down afterwards I did feel shaky!

Supposedly I have very fantastic presence (woohoo), a great voice, good inflections, body language and eye contact. They said that the structure could do with a little bit of work and gave me some pointers. I am so happy I didn't crash and burn and have blanks or confused myself or them. So I will do a bit of reworking, some tweaking, some rearranging and will have an amazing speech to present when the actual time comes.

One of the ladies from Toastmasters emailed me the next day saying she thought it was a great speech and if there was some way to become involved in 10thousandgirl with us. Awesome feedback!

I really loved being up there. Maybe I will be giving a keynote speech to an important audience one day. Just like is on my bucket list.

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

'I feel good about me' List

I wrote a blog post recently that suggested that you sometimes need to be your own cheerleader. I suggested making a list that you can keep in your organiser or diary and refer to when you need a bit of a pick me up.

What have people complimented you on?
What have coworkers said?
Why do your friends love you?
What goals have you reached?
What do you love about yourself?
What do you know is great about yourself?
What have you done well?
When did you feel satisfied, or even ecstatic about something you were involved in?
What are you proud of in your life?

Keep adding to this list as time goes on. Add to it regularly! And look over it regularly, perhaps especially when you're feeling a little down, or have run into an obstacle.

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Raw Food Challenge Days #7-11: Can you feel it?

I sure can! 

After 11 days on Raw Food, I really am starting to feel great :) On the most part it has been a lot easier than I expected and I am soooooo proud of myself to have cut out caffeine, dairy, meat, processed foods etc. But I am kind of craving some things (hmmmm steak...) with another 20 days to go, I really feel I can do it and even afterwards, while I may not stick to 100% raw, I am going to be carrying over many of these fabulous habits and ways of eating.

I'm perhaps not seeing as big an impact as I have heard from some people. There could be a few reasons for this:

• I'm still going through changes and it is only day 11 after all. There may be even better improvements ahead!
• My starting point wasn't too bad
• My body is pretty hard working and efficient at what it does already

It is hard to describe the positive changes I am feeling but they are there!

• Clearer eyes - who knew they could be this white (the pic above is not my eye though)
• I can breath easier, it just seems that things are flowing well. Goodness is flowing all around me
• I've got more energy. I've had some pretty early starts and am getting through the day really well
• More confidence in me. I mean 11 days in a row without without a coffee? Or a glass of wine? Or milk and meat? Pretty cool.
• I'm slimmer and stronger from both the diet and bootycamp :)

I'm discovering some great food combos and flavours that I haven't tried before and may not have made the effort to try if I was sticking to my normal routine.

Tonight we made a delicious smoothie with watermelon, banana, coconut water along with chia seeds, LSA and physillium husks. Delicious!

We've been totally juicing it up. Got some spinach? In! Zucchini? Why not...Chard, beetroot, carrots, brocolli stems, apples, cucumbers, kale it makes a wonderful juice.

I have to say that I am really interested in the reactions people are having to the Raw Food Challenge. I have had several different people really anti the idea. And quite vocally too! They don't understand enough about it or the reasoning as to why I'm doing it. They are thinking Fad Diet, stupid and ridiculous etc. Not seeing that I'm doing it to see how I feel, for my overall health. Gosh, it's not like I'm living on lemon water for a month. I'm having the largest range of fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds as possible, in versatile and delicious ways, that is giving me pretty much all the vitamins and minerals I need (I've been taking B12 supplements as you can't find it in this diet).

I'm not doing this as a drastic way to lose weight (because that is definitely not the way it is working for me - though I'm losing a little and feeling slimmer and building a little more muscle).

Anyway, I know the big picture and it is not a fad diet. It is a health challenge. Though I guess it does sound pretty fad-dy - Organic Vegan Raw Diet...

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Beautiful!

This picture just made me happy. Butterflies & Pink & a Berry Bush. Lovely!

What makes you happy to see?

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

Raw Food Challenge Day #4, 5 & 6: Onwards and...upwards?

Well I've been a little slow in the updates, but here are three days rolled into one post. Why not?

Friday there wasn't too much to talk about health wise. My arms were super sore from boxing, but I guess that is expected. Lucky for me The Man is good at rubbing Tiger Balm into my back for tingly soothing. Total hightlight of my day.

Saturday saw me venture to the Organic & Farmers Market at the Orange Grove School grounds. There are some great stalls there and if you hunt around a little you can find some bargains. The other great thing is shopping for seasonal fruit and veg and enjoying what is meant to be eaten now (though I really did want cucumbers and nobody had them...).

Sunday started with a lovely juice. I weighed myself and pH'd myself. Oooh, is it possible after all this to go backwards in acidity?? I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that the scales and the pH levels hadn't moved too well in the right direction. Though I'm not beating myself up about it. It is only day #6 and maybe I had one too many gazpachos for the acidity? And this is really for better overall health, and I am noticing some things changing. I'm feeling a little more energetic and something in my body is feeling pretty good. Though it hasn't been leaps and bounds.

I bought Kris Carr's book Crazy Sexy Diet on Kindle to read on my iPhone as it is not available in Australia until April or something this year! I've just read a few chapters and the way she writes is inspirational and motivating, so I am reading it at the right time.

It is opening my eyes to different perspectives on food. Better health in general is really quite straight forward. Even if we don't practice it, we all know that it is about healthy eating and exercise. When you really look in depth at food it is quite fascinating. and learning and understanding where your food comes from should be a necessity for everyone. I think we are often so unconscious about what we put in our mouths that a little bit of focus and attention on these areas is important. Just so we can create informed choices, and perhaps if we choose meats and eggs, choose the ones that are better for us, for the animals and for the environment. I think The Man might think I'm becoming this crazy food activist from all the discussion I was having with him in the car, but rest assured I don't think I am. At least not yet...I would still like to have a juicy steak and some cheese...but perhaps I would now want it as organic beef and goat cheese.

Anyway Sunday then progressed to having brunch with a lovely friend of mine Miss S. About Life is a great place to go for Raw Food and healthy options. They are probably one of the only places in Sydney that I've found that are offering Raw options on their menu. Poor BFF C went to get some take out from Raw place she'd found online last night and was very disappointed with the food and the pricing :( I had a wonderful Bircher museli made from nuts with fruit salad and a big green juice.

I'd been warned that weekends can be a bit trying as you're not always as busy as you are during the week. It wasn't too bad, though today has been a little bit harder as I've given myself some time to relax and read, but my mind keeps wandering to the fridge (and I've just been given a bowl of rockmelon and some kiwi/banana 'ice cream' - who am I to say no?!).

So it's almost been a week, only three to go...But I am feeling better than I was a week ago! How much better will I be after another week? Heaps? yeah, bring it on :)

Make it as you wish SSSs!
Arienne xo

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Arienne Loves...TiLT #3

I don't have too much time at the moment so this TiLT is just a quick one!

What's been making me feel good and what I've been loving:
Juices galore The sun shining through after cloudy days Beautiful pictures and photos people take Google - what did we do before it?? Fresh air Awesome girls doing our 10thousandgirl Life Planning Workshop True Blood Episodes! Finally catching up Bookstores Being able to sit in the pub for a few hours without wanting a drink - go raw water ;) Kris Carr Melody Carlson's new book Glamour in the On The Runway series - random I know but I love something about it Travel literature - one day I would love to go to Italy and/or France and immerse myself in the culture and write a book - it's been done, but I'm sure I could put my imprint on it My Mum, she came for a whirlwind visit and bought me a bunch of my favourite flowers - stargazer lillies Picnics - had one with The Man for Valentine's Day Working when in the flow - how awesome is that?! Big Hair...Big Nails nail colour by OPI Health food stores - all the awesome things I don't even know about Blenders, juicers, graters - wonderful tools! Holding strong despite the detractors Love, love, love Did I mention Love?

What are you loving this week?

Make it as you wish SSSs
Arienne xo