Resolution for 2010

Like most people, I have a couple of NYRs in mind at the end of the year….and am hell fired inspired to put these into being at the beginning of each New Year. I also have to confess that the only NYR that I have ever kept was to give up smoking – 14 or 15 years down the road I am still off the fags.

That was my NYR crowning glory. So this year, I have pushed the thoughts of dieting, more exercise, paint the skirting boards, etc etc to the back of my mind – not that I am not going to do these things …. But if I focus on my one NYR this year, really devote myself to it…then hopefully, achieving all this other stuff should follow.

My resolution for 2010 (and forever) is to practice “being mindful”.

Not always as easy as one thinks…..I was reminded of “mindfulness” a little while ago when someone asked of me “where do you go to when you are with people?” I know how damn irritated I feel when I think someone is not giving me their undivided attention - but you guessed it, little old me is just as guilty of drifting off with my own thoughts.

There are many aspects to Mindfulness and I think that this is a really nice topic for Happiness Soup to touch on… being mindful reaps its own rewards and I am quite sure improves happiness levels.

My first Mindful assignment is to be more In The Present: Focus on what is happening right now, give the proper attention to what is happening around me, what is being said to me, enjoy being in the moment and enjoy the time with people around me. I am going to try not to think of what funny/enlightening/profound thing I am going to say next or what I am going to have for dinner…..

My second Mindful assignment is: Develop a Very Healthy Relationship with Food. I want food to be my friend. This means I will enjoy each and every mouthful of food, plan my meals and take my time eating. There is no need to gobble down food..….I will make each mouthful count, savour each and every moment and mouthful (especially because I really am going on The Diet of all Diets on the 4^th January). I am told that one eats less this way so I think it’s worth giving it a Really Good Try.

These are the 2 assignments I will concentrate on for a bit…… After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day ….. but I will be adding to the Mindful list as the year progresses and share these with you.

Wishing you Love and Happiness for the New Year. Hope it’s a good one.

Christmas musings

Christmas is really for children:

Hell no….. If this was so, why on earth do we angst over the ham, turkey and producing the perfectly cooked Brussel Sprout; Christmas pudding so soaked in brandy that even I cough, Christmas cake and mince pies that bring on an attack of heartburn even thinking about them. No…. if Christmas was for the kids we would have hotdogs with bright pink tomato sauce and mello yello mustard out of squeezey bottles, pizza and hamburgers and chips. We would have ice cream in cones to save on washing up and paper tablecloths instead of white linen and glitzy little table decorations, 5 wine glasses per person and kids sitting at the kiddy table. Be honest, Christmas really is for all of us…. I love getting pressies, I love seeing friends and family and so enjoy all the kisses, hugs and feeling of goodwill. I am convinced we all secretly enjoy Christmas but feel we have to moan and groan and be all grown up about it…. I love doing the “whole Christmas” thing because we have always done it, our parents did it and it is a nice bit of tradition and a really good way to wind down the year.

Hint: It is time to come out the Christmas closet and just give yourself over to this really nice time of the year.

The Turkey is dry:

Ditto the above – hell no….. I am astounded at how many people trot out “turkey is dry” and how much they hate it at the mere mention of the T word. Well, a well cooked turkey is really delicious. And besides: have you ever wondered why the supermarkets are chock-a-block stocked with turkeys at Christmastime? It’s because people buy them and eat them and if they were all that bad, people wouldn’t but them…would they?

Hint: Get yourself good directions on how to roast a turkey.

Leftover Day (it used to be called Boxing Day):

My sister-in-law was planning her menu for Christmas day lunch when my brother commented that this seemed like a helluva lot of food. Bren said, “Yes, but we need leftovers to take to Lorna’s Leftover Day on Saturday”. hahahaha.

Hint: Just do it – cook for lots of leftover days.

The Gammon:

Until the other day I had never cooked a gammon and the reason is that I was damn terrified. When we were still going up to Zim for Christmases, my mother was the family member designated to cook the gammon or ham. The process started (with a touch of drama) months prior to December with the ordering and then came the cooking – also with a touch of drama. My Mum had this enormous pot and it seemed like the gammon or ham was boiled for days on end and then on Christmas Eve the pot was wrapped up in what looked like an old grey dog blanket and put on the floor in the pantry – and there it simmered and festered over night and the next day we feasted on this truly delicious and succulent ham/gammon (and turkey) ….. I am positive the deliciousness had something to do with the dog blanket. A hard act to follow but I managed this year sans the dog blanket and days of cooking.

Hint: Never be intimidated by things your mother does/did….

Presents:

Make sure that if you make the rule that presents are for "kids only" that you stick to this. Please don’t give me “just a little something” especially when I have stuck to the rule. But one thing I do go with is drawing up a wish list (and you can use it for your birthday).

Hint: Whilst my list still has the miniature horse, white duck and alpaca on it, it is nice to give your nearest and dearest an idea of what you would really like.

Family fights and feuds:

This is a funny one – but if you really can’t stand someone then don’t invite them to your house and don’t go to theirs - avoid them at all costs. Leave the country, go on holiday…….

Hint: As much as you might like to, this is not the time to try to score brownie points. It’s not the time to “put Susie in her place”, “lord it over” your cousin who has just lost his job, show your “brother whose boss”. As the saying goes…just chill and enjoy yourself.

My Christmas Present:

Lisa gave me some stuff called Crazy Clay – it's for persons 4 years and older* and I can honestly say that like youth, this stuff is wasted on the young. I made this little Christmas critter after our pud and got a bit miffy when others wanted to play with my clay….. but my critter was the best.

*You can find Crazy Clay in any good toy shop

Random bits and pieces (ramblings)

Initially I thought I would write a year-end blog about my 2009 and after spending a few hours pounding away on the keyboard I decided that it was getting very, very heavy; and whilst I thought my musings very, very profound you might not have the same feelings ..so I have filed it in a safe place.

Rather, I thought I would say this instead:

Thank you:
The first Happiness Soup Blog went out on the 11th January 2009 and I have written 79 blogs this year....Yes, that is more than one a week! A really big thank you to everyone who has written to me about a particular blog, to those who have challenged me on certain points - I have thoroughly enjoyed our interactions and to all of you who read my blogs.... and say you enjoy them. Thank you.

What did we do before?:
Facebook: I have been on FaceBook for 6 months or so now.... I love it, I am not the most active person at posting stuff but I love reading the various posts from family and friends. And I just love the way you can find and be found by old friends.
Satellite Tracking: Whilst Lisa was racing in Abu Dhabi the other day I was able to follow the race via their satellite tracking system. I can now yell instructions to her like: "turn right, right", "left, left", "why are you going that way?"..... and so on *grin*. But it is so nice to firstly: know that she is moving (= she is OK) and secondly: I can be a spectator albeit from 2 miles up. The blue line (trace) in this picture shows her route in the desert...Her team is No. 033 and you can see where they heading for!

My kind of Rubic Cube:











Despair:
I am filled with the most profound despair and distress at mans cruelty to animals. I am filled with horror when I read a headline - I cant read the story - about people using live dogs and puppies as sharkbait, at abandoned and mistreated aminals and so on - I cant go on with the list.....




Clouds in the sky:
When my daughter was quite small she looked up at feathery clouds in the sky and asked me if "this was the hair of the wind". So today when I saw feathery clouds in the sky I took this photo.


Couragous people:
A number of family and friends, (Gus, Lisa, Chris, Michael, Ros, Jeannie & David) did some amazing things with their careers this year despite the gloom and doom of the recession and predictions of all sorts of unmentionable things happening or that it wouldn't work or wasn't the right time.
My very dear sister-in-law Brenda who handled her breast cancer with great dignity and bravery.
And a couple of very dear elderly gentlemen who have had to also deal with cancer this year and can still make funny jokes.

Photography:
Lisa has let me have unlimited access to one of her cameras (= she hasn't quite given it to me yet) and I have had great fun reviving my love of photography. Digital is just the best - hundreds/thousands of photos without worrying about the cost of film, developing and printing! This camera has great zooooom functions and the lens can flip 90 degrees which means that when taking pictures of my cat I dont have to necessarily lie on my tummy to get the cat level photo.
In fact I have taken so many photos of her, my cat that is, that I decided to open Bracken (my cat) her own facebook page and post the photos there. Apart from the photos she has quite a large and growing collection of friends and fans.



Chloe Sparkle:
Lisa's young cousin and my neice by marriage - it was wonderful to meet Chloe again - we last saw her when she was 3 and she is now 13. She calls herself Chloe Sparkle because she says you just dont know how people manage to mangle de Speville... I do Chloe, I do. But I think her choice of name is so apt....she really does sparkle, is so funny and so bright and intelligent and such a delight to be with. Chloe introduced me to The Twilight series - I have read all 4 books and seen the 2 movies..... and I have become really fond of vampires. In fact I am about to make Twilight Cupcakes for a Christmas market on Saturday.


Family and friends:
Blessings on me. I have lovely, amazing friends and family. Thank you. In August we celebrated Grand-mere's 80th birthday and family from all over came to SA. This is the first time Lisa and her cousins have all been together. This photo shows (L to R) Chloe who lives in London, Karine who lives in Paris, Marc who lives in Madagascar and Lisa.




Happiness Thrives:
Happiness thrives in all sorts of places - I took this photo of the carry bag I bought from my local Fruit & Veg City this morning.








Politics:

I have made a firm resolution - I will not talk or even think about politics any more. It is not good for me. Instead I will make some more of these felt sandwiches - they are non-fattening and keep my mind occupied.





In conclusion:
If I think of anything else I promise I will blog about it!
In the meantime, lots of love and happiness to you all, have a wonderful festive season, if you are travelling then travel safely.

Liz xxxx

Work the problem

The other day I popped into the pet food shop to say hello to the lady who works there. I like her because she takes such an interest in her customers pets; I swear she probably knows them all by name, and she knows her stuff and has been able to recommend food that has, albeit for the shortest space of time, satisfied my “picky eater” cat.

She is a tiny sparrow like person and as I hadn’t seen her around for a while I asked her where she had been. She told me that she had been off sick; had a lung removed because of cancer. This is her 2nd occurrence of cancer and she had previously had a breast removed. But, she told me, despite all that she was just fine and getting back into the swing of things.

She then went on to tell me about the recurring response she has had when telling people about the lung cancer. The first thing they ask is “do you smoke” - in quite an accusing way. Like it is all her fault…even when she says she used to smoke but gave up about 25 years ago, she says there is that hint of “well what did you expect”. As she says, she is not looking for sympathy, she just replies to enquires about her health – but her problem at the moment is the cancer; not whether or not she smokes/smoked. She does not want to have to defend herself or try to convince people that this probably wasn’t caused by smoking, that it is a secondary cancer, and just because she did smoke – 25 years ago - she really doesn’t think she deserves it.

Her story reminded me of the quote by Tom Peters: "The problem is rarely/never the problem. The response to the problem invariably ends up being the real problem."

So true. How we respond to someone’s problem is really important. A suggestion I have is to just “work the problem”….. Recriminations can maybe happen afterwards – or maybe you should just keep quiet because the person is probably feeling really bad as it is.

Happiness Necklaces

My friend Ros made me this Happiness Necklace and when I wore it for the first time the other day, a number of people stopped me to ask about it – their comments: “Yes, it is a happy necklace”. Ros is exceptionally talented and makes unusual and eye-catching jewelry.


In this photo, unfortunately the colours are not quite true. The whitish buttons are actually acid green and provide a startling contrast to the purples and orange. And yes, the entire necklace is made out of buttons. One of the buttons, co-incidentally, has Liz & Co stamped on it *grin*

Ros is very happy to make many more Happiness Necklaces –she has a barrel full of buttons so each necklace will be quite different in colour and layout.

If you would like one, please email me with your address. The cost of the necklace (including postage) is R72.50 - (I will send you banking details etc.) For people outside of SA please add on a bit more for postage.

For the guys…..well, if you want to get in touch with your feminine side, I guess you could always wear it under your shirt. I will however ask Ros to look at something a bit more masculine!

Enjoy! The necklace is really beautiful.