Trust Your Gut

I haven't been well and this kind of pisses me off a bit.  You see, the thing is, I take care of myself very well. At least I hope so. I run twice a week, don't take sugar in my tea or cereal, have my five a day and drink at least two litres of water. You see I follow all the rules.

I guess I expected to be of perfect health all the time. Obviously this is impossible. I can accept the occasional cold and the flu but what I'm experiencing now is just not me. The thing is, what the doctor has diagnosed me with just doesn't make sense. I don't drink, nor do I eat highly fatty foods so it really sucks to think that after doing what's right I land up with what's wrong.

But after going through all the motions I have accepted that it is possible for a triathlon athlete to drop down dead at the age of 30 and a heavy smoker and drinker to live until the age of 90. Life has a funny way of teaching us more about ourselves than anything else. At the end of the day it really is about me. Not about the smoker I'd been resenting, that's their business, their life and their journey.

I decided to give up all the rules of what's good and what's bad and decided to refocus on what's good and what's bad for me as an individual instead. Yes, five a day is great, but what five a day are good for me? Of course excess sugar is bad, but what sugar is good for me? This has lead me to the book 'Eat right for your blood type' by Peter A'damo. What I've picked up from it so far is that as a blood type A, I really should be a vegetarian, with specific fruit and vegetables that I can eat.

Type A's have low stomach acid which makes the digestion of animal products quite difficult. Which can lead to stomach cancers, Gastritis and other sorts of stomach and bowel problems. This was my Aha! moment. It seems that even though I'd been doing the correct thing, I wasn't eating the correct thing for my blood type hence the diagnoses of the condition.

It's trial and error for me and like I said before, what might work for one type A person might not be what's right for me.  We are all individuals with different needs.  If our fingerprints are unique and no one on this planet can match them, then surely our health needs are just as unique. I guess we have to do what's right for us and as a guide I've began to follow the type A diet. And will see what works for me.

At the end of the day, follow your gut, it's always right. Only you know what you need. Listen to yourself because you are the only one that knows you.

Be blessed. 

Beware of Ebay scams

You know what, I always ask questions. More often than not anything that seems too good to be true usually is. It's just crazy how some people operate and try to cheat you out of a buck. Well I was one of those people who got hit on by an eBay scammer.


I'd listed a mobile phone on eBay recently. What shocked me was the immediate response I got from it. Here is the email below

Hi, would you accept £240 for it inclusive shipping today, am sorry for the offer, I couldn't wait until the bidding ends ,once you provide to me with your PayPal it will do for sending the payment.

Pls, Write me back asap.

You have got to be kidding me!!!!! I'm not sure what attracted this person to me but there must’ve be something I said that made the person think I was an easy target. Not!! First of all why would someone offer me £240 on a mobile that is used and you can get the very mobile brand new for £199. No, no no, I dooo not think so. That doesn’t make sense to me. Alarm bells went off immediately. So I wrote back and told the person that if they really wanted the mobile, I'll put a buy it now offer on my eBay account for £160 and will ship it tomorrow.

This is the response I got back

Thanks for the email, there's bank holiday today, but I can still send the payment today once I have your PayPal email, it will do for sending the payment today and then ship it tomorrow morning.

Hope to hear from you soon.

What is it with this person wanting my email address? So I just wrote back what I'd said before. Click on the buy it now.

The person responded to say that the button was not working. Oh c'mon, tell that to my backhand. So I just told the person that if they are unwilling to use the buy it now button I'm not prepared to sell them the phone. So there. That was the end of it.

Apparently there is a scam going around that asks you for your papal address so they can make payment into your account. You will then get an email to say that funds have been put into your account and that you should please send the item to some place in Nigeria. The thing is, the email is so well duplicated that if you don't pay attention you could almost fall for it. It also claims that it will hold onto the funds until you've sent a tracking number of the item posted. Seriously??????

Never click on such emails. To make sure that money has been sent to your PayPal account go to the PayPal website directly and log on from there. So many people have been caught out by this scam, sending items to addresses in Nigeria and are never to able to track the item to get it back or get the money.

Always listen to your instincts. Never ever doubt yourself and always ask questions. It's your right to protect yourself first.

Be blessed.

Indecision

Don't you just hate it when you can't make up your mind? Well I've been struggling with something the whole day. Not anything serious but it just keeps nagging at me to make a bloody decision. The thing is, I think I've made up my mind already but I keep justifying why I've chosen the path I've decided to take. Why can't I just make the decision and run with it. Right or Wrong without all the uhmms and aahhs?


Anyway I've just made a final adjustment and I will take full responsibility for the decision I've made.  I don't have a choice really. Boy doesn’t it suck when you have to make the decisions? When you know that if you've made the wrong one you'll have to own up to it and take full responsibility. But hey, I guess that's what being grown up is all about.

Keep on living and loving yourself no matter what you decide.

God bless.

Following your inner voice

So get this. I was struggling to get to sleep last night. I'm a light sleeper, but last night was really hard. I was tossing and turning trying to convince myself that I'd fallen asleep. Not!! It was awful. What happened next was quiet odd.


I switched on my bed lamp and next to it lay my bottle of lavender that I use for my hair. Never had I thought that this little bottle was my magic potion. A little voice in my head said, 'Pour a few drops on your pillow.' I didn't hesitate, I just did it. I would've given all my toes just for a good nights sleep.

The smell was immediately relaxing. The next thing I knew it, it was the following morning. Not only that, I was feeling pretty dam good. So I decided to Google lavender.

Some of the many benefits are:

Helps with sleep: it induces sleep
Pain relief: Headaches, back pain, sore muscles etc.
Urine Flow
Skin Care
Hair Care helps hair growth, effective on nits and lice.
Blood circulation
Immunity
Digestion

I had no clue all the wonderful things it can do. And of course I was a bit sceptical but the I way felt this morning, well lets just say I didn't know I was missing anything until I woke up. I feel great. Was I depressed and didn't know it? Where had this good feeling been all this time? I love it and I'm glad I listened to my inner voice.

Always listen to yourself, the more you do the more you'll hear.

Be Blessed.

Loving my hair

So, my hair's feeling lovely. I've started a new hair care regime. It might sound strange but I've got rid of all my hair products. Yes all of them. I know I took the big step of getting rid of the relaxers but I took it a bit further. For the past three weeks I've been treating my hair with products you find around the house and I must say I'm loving the results. My hair is sooooo soft, none greasy and isn't stripped of all its oils after a wash.


The first week I did the natural yogurt treatment. Left it on for about three hours. It kind of loosened the curls a little. It gave my hair its life back. I've only done this once; it's quite the messy business. The following week I treated my hair with virgin olive oil. Did it on the Friday night and covered it with a shower cap and my night cap and left it on over night. What I did was warm the oil for a short while in the microwave, then parted my hair and massaged the oil into my scalp then worked from the root to the tip of my hair. The result: soft shiny hair. The following morning I washed it out with my shampoo then deep conditioned it with virgin coconut oil. The results were fantastic.

The following week I went a step further. I didn't use any shampoo at all and cleansed my hair with baking soda and rinsed it with apple cider vinegar. Boy, don't like the smell of the vinegar but it did wonders for my hair. I added a drop of Lavender to the water for fragrance then finally deep conditioned it with coconut oil. I must admit that it felt weird washing my hair without the foam but the baking soda didn't strip my hair of all its oil. I've noticed less breakage, less dandraff and my hair is getting healthier as I let it air dry instead of using any type of dryer unless it's absolutely necessary.

These have all been trials that have worked perfectly for me. So not only is my new hair care doing a great job, it's damn cheap :-).

If using home products is not your thing, always try to use organic products. Especially for afro hair as it easily dries out. There are a number of online stores that sell great hair products that are chemical free.

Beauty4ashes.co.uk is one. They have absolutely fabulous hair care products for all hair types.
Harmony curls is also a great for curly girls.

If you are looking to loosen your curls without wanting to use chemicals then try naturalaxer. It won't straighten the hair or perm it. It will just make your beautiful afro manageable ;-).

So keep loving your hair!!!

Transition

I finally did it. I got rid of all my relaxers and unnecessary products that just build up grease in my hair. I must be honest, going back to an afro is not easy. I've never really had one except when I was really young and once when I thought I could go natural. I've always weakened and gone back to the relaxer. But this time I'm determine to stick it out.


It is hard work though, what to do with your hair every morning is a mission on its own. Sometimes I wonder if I've made the right decision but I know I have when I hear my daughter say, ' I'm loving that afro!' This is what it's all about, loving me. As I am. There is nothing wrong with straight hair, but the chemicals that go into making it straight can't be any good. For me I think going straight was deeper than I'd like to admit. It's true, society paints a pretty picture about straight hair, that it almost alienates you when you go natural.

At first people look at you funny or find it strange to see you with your natural hair, but hey, this is me. So I'm rocking my afro with pride. Each one of us has a choice of how we choose to live our lives. For me, it's going natural and learning new ways of how to manage my hair. It has opened up new ideas that I would never have got otherwise. You see, it's like being introduced to myself all over again, but this time I'll actually learn how to manage my hair in its natural state.

Stay true to yourself. Love to all.

OMG

I can't believe how long it's been since I last wrote on this blog. I have been writing though, my book. It's finished and I'm actively seeking an agent. Got my first response, not negative, just not what they are looking for at the moment. I'll wait a while yet before sending it off to more agents.

Life has been great, I've done some amazing things. I'm training for the Leeds 10k at the moment. Will be running for cancer research, which is pretty cool. It's seems like divorce was the best thing that happened to me. Sometimes your life begins when you are rid of the heavy load.

Have I found love? Well that's a story for another post. I have met some interesting people though, each one with a lesson to teach. I must say that the past three years have been a wonderful experience. Life has so much to offer and sometimes at the time you don't realise it, but each downfall brings with it a triumph.

So, I can't wait to share all my new experiences with the world. I'm at the beginning of transitioning with my hair. I'll be sharing that too. But for now, I'm just saying HIYA. :-).

Take care, be present and in the moment. Today is all we've got. Peace.