Saturday 18 December 2010

Janey loves...The Enchanted Christmas House

One bit of me wants to run screaming for the hills but I do have four kids and the little ones are still enchanted and so bring on The Enchanted Christmas House. We've already done the Lapland UK experience (and its wonderful, totally magical, snowy and properly freezing with some fab ice skating thrown in and real husky dogs to pat) so hubby was not looking forward to another afternoon of elves and small children. He suggested he took a newspaper and sit in a nearby cafe while I endured 'the hell'. He needn't have worried, within seconds of arriving at The London Art House in Islington we were greeted with mulled wine, mince pies and decent coffee while the kids ran agog into the winter wonderland, a veritable treasure trove of activities. The 7 year old quickly dressed up as buzz Lightyear while the 5 year old girl had a quick turn at karaoke before doing a quick drum session, then we all watched a show with the very professional theatrical elves before being sectioned into two groups for our next activities - where kids decorate ginger bread men or christmas baubles, various characters appear for amusement ( we particularly liked the person dressed as a christmas cracker) and the refreshments are available throughout. We had our own short and sweet audience with santa who had a very shiny beard and gave the kids a decent gift. (won't tell !)
After some more theatrical entertainment by the elves at al it was time for the kids dinner, fairly basic pasta with tomato sauce but lots of yummy cakes for after.

All in all a fantastic few hours, get in quick, there are 3 slots a day and its worth it just to experience the incredible venue, (you will need a small child as an excuse though and I recommend no kids over 8/9 - its really aimed at the younger ones) but I guarantee you'll be planning your next birthday, anniversary whatever in that gorgeous space, if so please invite me I want to go back !
www.theenchantedhouse.net

Friday 3 December 2010

Janey Lee Grace hosts Green Awards





The 5th annual Green Awards was a spectacular occasion held at the Natural History museum and I was thrilled to be asked to co-host with Wayne Hemingway MBE (yes of top designer Red or Dead and much more - fame).


There were shortlisted entries from companies from all over the world including china and the highlight was the lifetime acheivement award which was given to Sir David Attenborough CBE - what an inspiring speech ! We also heard from Chris Huhne MP and Sir Paul Judge, not a judge (even of the Green Awards) but the president of the chartered institute of marketing.


Twas a fab dinner with organic wine and chocs and at the end I was presented with not your usual bouquet, indeedy this was a wondrous art statement, a bunch of 'fake' flowers fashioned from newspaper and card - sounds awful - looks gorgeous !


Check out the 'dinosaur in the room' he was very well behaved over dinner !

Sunday 28 November 2010

Ragdale Hall health hydro and thermal Spa

Feeling stressed and exhausted I'd slogged up the M1 so when I arrived at Ragdale Hall and Spa a shadow of my former self, I was relieved to find the staff at this family run business are incredibly freindly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble from parking my car after unloading to carrying my bags to the room, most of the staff have a midlands accent which is music to the ears of a Nottinghamshire gal !. My girlfreind Dawn was equally shattered and trust me it was gonna take one fantastic place to revitalise us !

Fortunately Ragdale Hall and Spa offers the most innovative and up to date menu of treatments and classes anywhere and even though this was a one night Reviver Break only, we managed to squeeze in a fair bit in a 24 hour period.

The decor is beautiful and they're in the process of refurbishing all the bedrooms, ours was already done and its a lovely mix of chintzy comfortable bedroom and lounge and high tech pristine white bathroom with two washbasins. I had a 50 minute body massage which was wonderful, my therapist Carla really seemed to tune into my stressed out body and know exactly how much pressure to apply, it was totally relaxing in a treatment room decorated like a morrocan bodoir, I was covered with thick dark blankets and the low light was softened by the orange glow of a himalayan salt lamp. Dawn had the rare treat of a 'Lomi Lomi' massage and was impressed with the holistic energy work of the practitioner.

The classes were great, I managed an introduction to Hula hooping (where for the first time the technique was fully explained) and a Jazzercise class where I was transported back to the 1980's dancing a routine to Fame !

The real deal at Ragdale Hall is the Spa, if the word spa makes you think of a jacuzzi and a noisy echo-ing swimming pool, think again, this is a little oasis in the midlands, centreparks it is not ! There is a functional swimming pool for aqua aerobics and water based activities but walk through the glass doors to the side you leave your shoes behind, grab a fluffy towel and enter what feels like another world, the pool is huge with a massive rock waterfall and just the perfect temperature but when you're done swimming, head into the Thermal Spa for a real treat, you can swim outside into a heated (yes imagine the bills !) mineral pool, just press a button discreetly hidden in the rock and water cascades over you. Back inside theres a series of mini spas saunas and steam rooms - but no ordinary ones, these are a whole collection of sensory experiences, the sauna is Rose infused and another is a Scented room, one steam room offers a Vocanic Rock salt treatment and when you're feeling totally refreshed theres a Thought room, gently heated where you can simply rest and reflect on the water feature in the centre

My favourite though, by far was the Candlelit Pool, this is a beautiful tunnel like pool where the carved alcoves in the rock hold candles and coloured lights, soft music is piped and there are individual 'seats' where you can lie back and relax. Pure unadulterated luxury.

Talking relaxation when you're all dried off and just fancy some silence to read or think, theres a beautiful sunny room called The Retreat, the decor is Laura Ashley meets New England beach house and there are hammocks, chez lounge and even a wooden bed to relax on.

With approx 170 guests at any one time you'd expect the food to be simple fayre but not so, the menus are quite fancy with my evening dinner choice being leek mushroom and tomato Quinoa bake and Dawn's being slow cooked english lamb with fruit nut and citrus couscous, my only criticism is the portion sizes, Dawn's portion was enough to feed a family of four, while the breakfast which is room service only, the portions were tiny, I must confess when I ordered Atholl Broth - toasted oats yoghurt, raspberries and honey I was expecting slightly more than a small ramekin dish.

There are packages and breaks to suit everyone here and I highly recommend it, treat yourself - you won't be dissapointed and your stressed tired body will reward you with more energy
www.ragdalehall.co.uk

Thursday 18 November 2010

Janey Lee Grace - sunday love songs !

I'm delighted to be presenting Sunday Love Songs on BBC Radio 2 at the end of the week when the world has gone lurve-tastic with the announcement of Wills and Kate's wedding next Spring. However cynical you feel (and I keep getting through those scary emails about what the EU are going to do to our alternative medicine - do you ?) its actually quite refreshing to have a romantic heart-warming story to cheer up the november days.

I tried to explain to my five year old girl about the forthcoming Royal Wedding, and she got it completely - having heard countless renditions of my all time favourite story 'The Princess and the Pea' she exclaimed - I know about it mummy..... 'They went in love and lived happy ever laughter !'

Sweet ! ...and spot on actually...wouldn't happy ever laughter be just perfect !

Sunday 14 November 2010

Janey Lee Grace loves......being lucky lucky lucky !

Janey Loves.......................................
...getting gorgeous new organic natural alternative products in for review ! How lucky am I ! Just recieved some fab samples from Essential Care, a beautiful recycled glass bead necklace from Ecoproductsuk and ...wait for it I'm expecting some ethical boots in the mail...watch this space ! Of course my ultimate aim is to share it all with you so expect some great comps and offers on the next ezine (you are signed up to get the free ezine I hope ?) Just go to www.janeyleegrace.com and click on sign up for janeys tips. I'm also planning a huge relaunch of the site early next year and we'll be announcing details of our special awards, its high time we really 'tested, rated and congratulated the many fabulous companies and products I endorse, we'll need your help for that too, we'll need lots of testers to recieve free sample products and give independent reviews so email me if you'd like to be included in the list. Off to try the new Green People organic make-up ...I should be so lucky lucky lucky lucky.....

Thursday 4 November 2010



Just heard the news that my old pal from Cola Boy, Andrew Midgely died this week. It was sudden and unexpected. We had a lot of fun together when '7 Ways to Love' became a big overnight hit for us in the UK. Many a long day we spent up and down the UK in vans for club shows and PA's. We fell out of touch after Cola Boy, but I'll always have fond memories of him. Bless you Andrew.

Wednesday 27 October 2010

Your natural alternative to fat laden chocolate

Tell Me Shes a (raw) Chocolate Girl ..!
Went on a fantastic 1 day course making Raw Chocolate, gonna give those boys on Radio 2 today a taste of my efforts! Have a look here for the tasty write up.

Monday 4 October 2010

It's here ! Would you like to get your message out into the media, promote yourself or your company and increase your clients, awareness of your business in the media and PR yourself as an expert in your field ?

Years ago I was Queen of media training and communication skills, offering presentation courses and interview training, I worked at the BBC in Elstree, and at the Church of England media training centre, it was great fun encouraging and inspiring people to get their message heard in the media. We helped communications officers, parish priests et al to communicate effectively and several went on to be successful interviewees and experts in their field, I decided its time to bring it on again as I love helping other people succeed in their work.
One to one media interview coaching sessions for print, TV and radio are held in Herts (or at your venue by negotiation)

I can also offer training for small groups or companies and we offer a 20 per cent discount for charities and non profit making organisations.

http://mediainterviewtraining.moonfruit.com/

Tuesday 10 August 2010

Niajaneyleegrace ! Yes I'm a white belt !

See my post below all about Nia - and yes I'm a whitebelt ! If Steve Wright lets me I'll tell ya all about it on BBC Radio 2. Come on down and join in the health and wellbeing retreat at Champneys which will include some intro to Nia classes. All levels of fitness !

Monday 12 July 2010

Dancing my way to health....

I'm hooked - line and sinker...I've mentioned Nia before and everyone says oh is it like five rythms ? do I need to have some co-ordination ? Is it just free dance ?
No to all of the above, but it is an inspirational joyful form of movement that I can only say has transformed me, Interestingly I did a degree in performance arts majoring in dance, I did ballet, jazz, the lot but it was always rather like hard work and I remember constantly looking at the clock (the fact that I wasn't that great at it didn't help!) Nia is about the whole person and no prerequisites are needed - I guarantee if you try it you'll love it.
So...am I on commission no I am not but I am going to consolidate all those years of dance training by completing my White belt in Nia which means I will be qualified to teach ! Oh laudy watch out ! I so want to combine my holistic stchick (is it a word ? sp ?) with Nia - they fit together so well !

To that end first up is my very first retreat weekend at Champneys in Henlow Beds.
25th / 26th Sept - there will the opportunity to do all the usual stuff, nordic walking, yoga, pilates, hulahooping (yes its fab) aerobics etal plus we will throw in 2 free thalassotherapy sessions (wonderfully therapeutic) and of course my talks and lots of time for individual consultations PLUS 2 complimentary Nia classes -I defy you not to love it !!!

Champneys is a little pricey but this is a chock full weekend - go on you deserve it,bring a freind !

Wednesday 2 June 2010

Look Great Naturally - out now !


Hurrah, my new book Look Great Naturally - without ditching the lipstick is officially launched and got to number 1 in 3 categories on Amazon yesterday, health, spiriuality and interestingly 'occult' ! It also got to 14 in the main chart which considering Bill Bryson and Stieg Larsson are in the top slots isn't terrible. I went out to dinner with Steve Wright and the crew last night to celebrate our brilliant rajar figures but we raised a little toast to the book too.

If you're trying to decide whether to buy heres a bit of gentle persuasion, buy it now and whizz over your Amazon receipt and you'll get free downloads (my Get Set for Summer podcast series, a track from my new forthcoming album) and you'll be entered into the draw to win a 7 day full board yoga retreat holiday in Turkey. Thats not all.....if you then register at www.janeyleegrace.hayhouse.co.uk and quote your order number you'll get more freebies, a free audio extract from The Dream whisperer by Davina Mackail, a free makeup webcast by yours truly and some discount offers too. You'll also be entered into a prize draw to win a telephone consultation with moi and a chance to win a place on my retreat at Champneys in Sept - phew !

A huge thanks to everyone who has already bought the book, and thanks for the glowing comments already flying in, please post a review on Amazon for me. Thanks also to the many people who have contributed to the book and done mail-outs to tell their clients about it too, especially juicy Jason Vale who sent out a mail shot saying....I can honestly say this is Janeys best book to date ! wow praise indeed from the juicemaster (have you seen our little vid by the way talking wheatgrass on the front page of the site ?)

Anyway the books out so enough already (it is a bit like giving birth though, truly does feel as tho you're the only one who ever has !) Time to get back into gear and get the new online store rolling..come browse at www.janeysnaturalstore.com

Thursday 27 May 2010

So I get to interview the stars - Sex & the city 2


yep....possibly the first and only female journo who wasn't exactly apoplectic with excitement when asked if I'd go along and watch a screening of Sex and the city 2 and follow up with a 'junket' at Claridges hotel in London. (thats where the worlds media descend and the stars have to do one interview after another) its not that I din't used to enjoy the series just that I've changed so much in twelve years and I wondered if the glitzy gals had.

The movie is long, oh so long but fun. Aside from a rather superflous sub plot involving a trip to Abu dabi (actually Morocco) which bordered on being trashy and could possibly even be construed as offensive...it was fairly innoucous and fun and actually had some reflective bittersweet moments that many a 40 something woman will identify with. In fact the movie could have been called 'marriage and the city' cos this one is more about marriage, babies, fidelity and of course...the sisterhood, theres a few timeless messages in there, not exactly earth shattering in their uniqueness but nice to be reminded such as ..... being a mother is a hard job and its ok to admit you need time-out, a break occasionally and that real freinds will always be there for you. One of the best lines in the movie ?
Carrie declares, when hubby asks whats for dinner....'come on darling you knew I was more coco chanel than coq au vin !' Crikey though theres a whole lot of women who'd don their apron for Mr Big any day.

I gotta tell you the gals all looked better in real life than on the screen, Kristen Davies is stunning and of course Chris Noth (mr big - divine) Actually my recording equipment went awol and I ended up having to do Mr Big's interview twice - oh what a shame - my colleague reckoned my 'angels' were sorting it for me to drool twice !
We also bumped into the lovely Gok Wan

You can hear the interview clips on Steve Wright in the afternoon fri 28th and tues 1st

Meanwhile back to the grind, I identified with Sarah Jessica Parker (Carrie in the movie) when the first copy of her new book arrives in the post, I have mine in my hot sticky hands...'Look Great Naturally - without ditching the lipstick' is out Tues 1st - do not miss - in fact the 1st 100 people to buy on Amazon and whizz their reciept to me at janey@imperfectlynatural.com get a whole bunch of natural freebies....

Sunday 11 April 2010

Brighton rocks ! Nia and amazing raw food


So the hottest day of the year so far saw me in Brighton, I love that place. I spent the day at a Nia dance fiesta (more about Nia to come in Look great naturally - without ditching the lipstick - my new book out in June) but still got my fix of walking by the sea. We found a great coffee place on the beach and did some celeb spotting in the form of Patsy Palmer (and no we didn't shout Bianca!)

After a day of totally joyful energising movement I hotfooted it over to Aloka, the absolute best restaurant in Brighton - well my new best freind anyway. Thats an incredible accolade cos tha town is awash with great restaurants, at least two fabulous veggie places. Pretty much opposite one of the best Terre a Terre is Aloka at 14 East street. Now at first glance it looks like a spa or beauty salon and indeed it is a 'quality of life' centre, with 5 floors of 'soil to soul' nourishment, theres yoga on offer, an art gallery, they offer the Aura-soma colour therapy and best of all on the ground floor theres a veggie cafe and level one has a full blown raw food restaurant. Man alive its good ! I had a beetroot gaspachio with parsley oil and cashew cream. A fabulous Spanokapita (lousy spelling but you know what I mean the raw version of filo pastry with spinach etc and of course in a raw food restaurant you have to try the desserts. I had the most divine citrus 'cheesecake' with lime sorbet. Don't forget these terms describe the look of the food but its one hundred per cent raw and vegan. Unreal. They don't publish the prices on the menu which for me was very stressful - but I needen't have worried it was £20 for 3 course, brilliant value.

They also do some great organic and biodynamic wines.

Can't wait to go back, I see Jessica Fenton (raw food expert) is hostng some raw food dinner parties there, including a raw chocoholics party...ooh could be making it for that one !

check them out - www.aloka.auro-soma.net 01273 823178
Tell them I recommended you !

Sunday 21 March 2010

Janey at Vitality show


What a rocking show, sadly I was there only for my talk and then a fleeting look around but great to see more natural companies represented, had a chat with the lovely Sue from Mooncup, Phoneshield were there and they gave me a smashing little world cup protective thingy for the kids computer. Jason cosmetics were there and some amazing foodie treat companies, also Thermomix were demonstrating so I grabbed some fab home-made broccoli soup before my talk, odd at 10.30 but hey ho. Anyways if you missed me I gave some fab diy skincare tips and suggested everyone carries a little bottle of olive oil, its great as a cleanser, you can remove eye make-up too, its good for moisturising, great for wounds and even zits, no idea why I still get those since I'm over 21 (moi ?) but there you go, I also recommended coconut oil of course, see my chapter on Coconut oil in Imperfectly Natural Woman. it was nice that there were lots of Steve Wright in the afternoon listeners in the audience too. Of course my new publishers Hay House were at the show and I squeezed in a little plug for my new book out in June, Look great naturally - without ditching the lipstick, someone asked in one sentence what is it about - thats easy - You can be 100 per cent natural, yet still glam and gorgeous - oh and you are already beautiful. Most of us need a bit of reminding on that fact, a recent survey revealed that only 2 per cent of women think of themselves as beautiful, shame on us ! I'm reading a lovely Hay House book at the moment, The art of extreme self care by Cheryl Richardson, she reminds us that Louise Hay says we must look in the mirror and say I love you....(insert your name) Crikey off to try it now, if you hear the sound of glass cracking......

Thursday 4 March 2010

Happy birthday me !.....and Bowen rocks !!!


Happy birthday to me, I was asked to write the foreword for a new book by Lyndsey Agnes called 25 inside...I only need to write two words - Thats me ! actually some days more like 18 (give or take the odd day when I feel like The Old Woman on Steve Wrights show (and no we are not one and the same person - wish I had a quid for everytime someone asked if she is 'real' or if its me !)

Anyways a fantastic happy birthday email arrived from a woman I met when I did the Tortue rouge organic perfume making course in France (which reminds me gonna go and spritz some of my 'signiature' scent.....anyway she has horrendous back pain. Bossy old me nagged her the whole weekend about having a Bowen treatment, I sent her details of Fiona Meekes in Richmond and Jo Lunn in London (who also offer training) but of course she was sceptical....today got this email.....

Hi Janey,

Without wanting to sound totally melodramatic, I really don't know how
to ever thank you enough for introducing me to Bowen. I have to admit I was initially a bit sceptical but I can honestly say that the treatment has completely changed my life.

I've been waiting to write to you but I wanted to wait until I'd had
my 3 treatments to make sure it wasn't a false alarm. Now I've had
them and the almost total eradication of my back pain and sciatica has
been so remarkable I simply can't believe that the technique is not
more widely known and applied. Within 48 hrs of the first treatment I felt like a totally different person - bolt upright and aligned for the first time in 20 years!! I have never experienced such a marked difference in the way I feel
internally, structurally, with any other type of therapy. It's simply
mind-boggling how something that seems so gentle can have such a
dramatic effect on the body.

My therapist, Sarah Yearsley, said she met you and chatted to you once
at a conference and that you are a real advocate for the cause! I feel
the same now and have been telling anyone who'll listen - I even went
up to a complete stranger on the bus the other day who was clutching
his back and walking just like I was 6 weeks ago and told him all
about it!
I just wanted to write and tell you how grateful I am because this time 2 mths ago I was seriously low and thought that I would just have to accept having back pain forever. To think that I may have found a way to be free of it is just amazing.
Thank you so much

Isn't that great !!!!!
Over the years I've had hundreds of these kinds of letters, its nowt to do with me
Bowen rocks ! See my article from my first book Imperfectly Natural Woman - http://bit.ly/bowenbyjaney

I'll be at the bowen conference too so any therapists come and say hi.
If anyone is reading this straight after the last blog about eft you probably think I'm 'miraculous therapy mad' - just so happens that some things really do seem miraculous. Off to spray my birthday perfume.....

Sunday 14 February 2010

Tapping away EFT styley...a convert



Janey does level one EFT ....'a sceptic is converted'

I'll come out and admit that although I am queen of reccomendations on alternative therapies and holistic treatments I don't personally 'buy' them all, thats not to say that I don't beleive they can work but I suppose I figure some just don't suit me. When it comes to EFT emotional freedom technique I've known about it for years, I expereinced it a few times but only in conjunction with another treatment so my assumption was that it was the Shamanic healing that was working (I saw the incredible Dawn Paul www.liberate-online.co.uk ) and I have worked the excellent Linda Thursby of Bodytalk but again assumed it was her intuitive knowledge and massage etc that did the trick. Peter Donn of www.london-eft.co.uk is an eft consultant and trainer and uses only eft (well I say only!) but has amazing results with his clients.

This was a one day AAMET accredited workshop level 1 and we started by understanding the background of eft and how its works. Basically it was developed by a counsellor Gary Craig who was looking for a way to help people in emotional distress to process their feelings, he had trained in Thought Field Therapy but EFT simplifies that process. It works (if I've got the drift !) because energy flows through our bodies along meridians that connect to each other and to our organs resembling an electrical circuit, when we're under stress of any sort, physical or emotional then that energy meridian can become blocked or even shut down, Peter used then analogy of a battery being inserted the wrong way, the radio simply doesn't get power ! Its thought that the cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the bodys energy system, and if we can clear the blockage, energy can flow once more. EFT has amazing results with trauma, allergies, fears, anxieties, anger, healing relationships, addictions and can be used to help you achieve your goals.

Sound a bit to good t be true ? Well yes, I thought it was all a bit far fetched until I was randomly selected to be the 'demo client' I picked an old 'trauma' an incident from my childhood, but didn't want to reveal it as it was too personal, we simply called it 'Being five' he tapped away on my forehead, under my eye, above my lip etc and repeated 'being five' after each series of tappings he asked me to rate the intensity of the emotion or sensation and rate it 1 to 5 (I'd given it a 10 to start with) bizarrely after each series of tappings the intensity came down and I gave it lower numbers but figured hey ho thats just him 'calming me down' but here's the interesting bit, what I hadn't said is that the incident was only one in a chain of incidents which all make up a pretty serious phobia - sorry to be so secretive - but interestingly it didn't seem to matter that i wouldn't share the story, Peter asked what other emotion I might be feeling and within a few minutes he'd uncovered other emotions that he 'tapped on' When he asked me to rate the intensity of feeling about the initial incident it had gone down to 0, he asked me to rate the bigger issue - phobia -that had gone down to about 2 ! Now 2 days on - I'm still feeling quite calm about this issue which usually I can't even think about for one second - a confusing testimonial but powerful nevertheless.

Even more revealing for me was when working with a partner on her issue, she had an eating disorder which she'd had from childhood, after only a few minutes her panic about food changed and she suddenly admitted she'd felt loneliness as a child, so perhaps unconsiously she'd chosen to be 'left out' of mealtimes and social situations around food. After only 10 minutes we had 'tapped this out' and she was shocked and amazed to find that she felt hungry and felt she could eat in a social situation - something she hadn't done for 20 years !

EFT is powerful, I left the one day course feeling totally inspired and motivated with a whole host of skills and tools to use in everyday life, come on down to my fan page on facebook by the way, http://bit.ly/janeyfans some lovely posts there on eft, including one from Barry who intends to tap away his hatred for DIY - he later said its OK its stands for Don't involve yourself ! On a serious note though this works on children and you even tap on behal of someone else - surrogate tapping.
For goodness sake don't tell Wrighty - he'll be accusing me of secretive tapping !
Theres loads of free info at www.emofree.com
and if you fancy doing the course I can't recommend this highly enough, Peter offers consultations in Herts and London.
www.london-eft.co.uk
email peter@donn.biz
To find someone close to you go to www.aamet.org

Tuesday 2 February 2010

A finger in the ear..Janey Lee Grace at the folk awards

...but folk music is seriously hip now, and there really is none of that cliched finger in the ear thing, even the traditional folkies are in the loop. It was a great event, celebs poppng up to present awards included Kevin Whateley, Zoe Wannamaker and Greg Wise. it was also fanastic to meet Nanci Griffith who played and also graciously accepted a Lifetime achievment award.
folk singer of the year was Jon Boden and the best group was Lau. Best live act winner was Bellowhead and man alive are they good ! Its the perfect event for me, I've got such a low boredom threshold that one or two numbers from each band works great !

its broadcast on Radio 2 on wed eve so enjoy.

Thats it for burning the candle at both ends for a while, I'm still editing my next book, quite frustrating that its not out till June but in the meantime my diary is clocking up some events so check out the website and I'm writing for Get fresh magazine and lots of others, also desperately trying to get to grips with facebook in my old age so please join my fan page http://bit.ly/janeyleegrace

later...
x

Friday 1 January 2010

Happy new year


Its been a very relaxing couple of weeks, well by my standards - as relaxing as Christmas at home with 4 kids can be ! I've been for long walks wearing wellies, we have some gorgeous fields nearby which looked so beautiful in deep snow.

The kids went sledging about 3 days in a row and the little ones built a huge snowman who incredibly is still just about there, his frozen scarf and hat protected him from the big thaw !

As for my wellbeing, I've let everything slip in truth, eaten far too much nonsense and drank coffee and alcohol so once again I'm very grateful that I chose my 'imperfectly natural' moniker otherwise I could never justify my naughty behaviour.

Determined to get back on track though, I do find it hard to eat high percentage raw food in winter but if you plan ahead theres really no excuse for not eating healthy nutritious stuff, I've just whizzed up a raw soup in the blender and it took literally minutes so I can't keep kidding myself I don't have time either.

Of course the new regime will have to start from next week cos I'm off to eat far too much gorgeous food in St Ives, I've been kicking off the new year with a trip to my beloved Cornwall for as long as I can remember, if I don't make it there something doesn't feel quite right. I have high hopes for bright sunny days ! If you're by the beach I'll be the imperfect one in the surfers cafe near the Tate gallery huddled over a cappucino...I'll be reading Get Fresh or Lifescape magazine, preparing for all the raw recipes I'm going to make.

By the way I'm thrilled to be featured in the official Visit Cornwall magazine, talking about my passion for the place and listing some of my recommendations, they've only included a tiny sample sadly, I had given a nice plug to Purenuffstuff, and several other small cornish co's but at least they left in my plug for Inlight and Trevarno for skincare, Frugi and Seasalt for clothing and the excellent New Yard restaurant at Trelowarren. They included a pic of me on the beach at Kynance on the Lizard, looking rather windswept with Lulu in a sling, she must have been about 6 months old, shes now 4 which really reminds me I must take some new pics !

Happy new year and may it bring you all you wish for !