Oh yes. Need to read this a few more times. Perfect advice for Nanowrimo!
How to Have Stronger Character Beginnings
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Here is the pretty: Top 5 Beauty Products
The five beauty products I cannot live without, no matter how tight the budget.
This stuff is the bomb. It cuts down trying time, saving your precious strands from a second longer under the dryer than they need to be. It also acts as a leave-in conditioner, giving hair gloss and health without weighing it down.
Whenever I use this stuff on my face and chest, people comment on how healthy and relaxed I look. When I forget it, people try to dial me an ambulance. It’s super-simple and fool proof and NEVER makes you look orange. Trust me, I’ve tried them all. You put it on before bed, it develops overnight and you wash off the “guide” (darker colour which helps you see which parts you’ve done or missed) in the morning. Voila! Perfect, streak free tanning that fades naturally. Literally idiot-proof. It also doesn’t stain sheets or clothes…unless you drool. Water makes the guide wash off and you can end up with slightly purple discolourations. So don’t drool.
This stuff cannot be beat for value. It’s light and relatively sheer, and gives a nice glow to my dry skin. It won’t cover spots so if you prefer full coverage or you’ve got some zits or redness, you will need to add concealer to your routine. But you can’t go past this for giving you a healthy glow (they also do a matt version), with some coverage.
4. Rotating Brush hairdrying wand.
I was “blessed” with thin, lank hair that, if left to it’s own devices, will frizz but stay stuck to my head. Enter this baby. You plug it in and warm air comes out through the brush which rotates clockwise or anti-clockwise depending on which button you press. It takes a few attempts to get used to, and it certainly isn’t pretty. But once you’ve got the hang of it your hair turns out with bounce, a nice natural-looking curl and volume every single time. Takes a bit longer than normal drying, but I can get three days out of a blow-dry with this – and that makes the investment worth it. This is the exact model I have. I don’t even really know what it’s called because mine is in German, so I made up the name.
My friend Jen used to rep for DermaDoctor and totally drank the Kool-Aid. Thank god, because she ended up with a bunch of stuff after her repping days, and passed this along to me after I complained of the rough bumps on the top of my arms. I suffer from Keratosis Pilaris and this stuff blitzes it. It’s not cheap, but if you want the confidence of smooth arms (and I guess you can get KP on other body parts too) then it’s worth the investment.
However! I have to say that since I eliminated all grains and sugar from my diet, and introduced a daily cup of bone broth, my KP has completely disappeared. My skin is much, much smoother. Still, it’s quite a sacrifice to make if you’re not on that particular food journey, and this stuff does it for you without the dietary change.
What are your “can’t live without” beauty products?
Latest WoDs – working on my snatch
So this is a snatch. The spotted onesie is optional.
Image from http://www.spiffykerms.com/
But for those who have ever overheard a conversation on public transport, we know snatch can also be used in a vulgar way to refer to a delicate part of the female anatomy. Which brought about a funny situation with a colleague the other day. He asked me what our skill of the week was at Crossfit. I said I was working on my snatch.
He started, blushed and then stammered “What…like…pelvic floor exercises?”
I couldn’t stop laughing. Once we cleared up that misunderstanding, he couldn’t either. Anyway.
This week I had both the best and the worst workouts I’ve ever done.
Friday’s WoD was called Air Force. And it looked like this.
FITNESS
“Air Force”
20 Thruster, 45/30 kg
20 Sumo Deadlift High Pull, 45/30 kg
20 Push Jerks, 45/30 kg
20 Overhead Squats, 45/30 kg
20 Front Squat, 45/30 kg
4 Burpees at the beginning of every minute.
The burpees are the thing that kills you. You feel like you just finished a set and then you have to start on another one. Constantly getting down and getting back up again is extremely tiring. I am not ashamed to admit that I was using the 10kg bar for this.
I am ashamed to admit that I cheated towards the end. I was doing more like 12 or 15 reps of the last 3 exercises. And I felt like my heart was bursting out of my chest.
However! I redeemed myself on Sunday. Not only have I got the hang of the snatch – albeit still with a 10kg weight – but I was third to finish this workout, without missing a single skip or rep. Granted, I was using the lighter weight, and I scaled ring rows for pull-ups because I am not even close to getting my chin anywhere near the bar. But I can skip like the wind, and I don’t get tired doing it so whatever I lost on the reps I made back up in the skips.
Workout
200 Single unders
21 Overhead squats
21 Pull-ups
200 Single unders
15 Overhead squats
15 Pull-ups
200 Single unders
9 Overhead squats
9 Pull-ups
11 mins 13 seconds. Not amazing but great for me. And especially considering it was the first time ever I have done an overhead squat with the bar. I don’t go that deep, but I do it.
Thanks for watching.
The Bag Lady Solution
Photo Credit: ryanmcginnisphoto via Compfight cc
With no disrespect to this lady or to homelessness intended, this is what I look like on the days I go to crossfit. I am carrying:
- My gym bag – a large, over-the-shoulder, traditional sports bag
- My handbag – this is also fairly large as it needs to accommodate the usual lady accoutrements in addition to hat, gloves and umbrella now that winter has struck our fair city
- My cooler bag – our office canteen doesn’t cater to coeliacs and they definitely don’t have paleo options (think dumplings, schnitzels and kaiserschmarrn), so I bring a Lunchbot full of leftovers each day and usually some nuts or berries or other fruit
It’s hard to get on and off peak hour trains with this load. I’m constantly getting stuck between people or caught in a tangle of my own straps. Not to mention it’s damn hot on the trains too. God help me if I try to shuck the bags and wriggle out of my heavy coat. I usually end up groping someone or copping a sharp shove to the back. And if I ride my bike to the station, it acts like a stubborn pack mule and tries to shake me off at every turn.
My question is – has anyone else found a good solution to this? Anyone else suffering from bag lady syndrome and managed to find one way to carry all these things? I was thinking of a rucksack/backpack, but the only ones I’ve found lack an insulated pocket for the food I need to bring.
Can anyone, anywhere offer some advice?
Simple Dishes: Seared Duck Breast + Broccoli
Oh dear god this looks amazing! Going to try it out tonight.
Seared duck breasts are surprisingly simple to make. We love duck — they make a great departure from chicken, beef, pork, lamb… the usual meats we eat.
Here’s how I usually sear duck breasts:
Rinse and pat-dry the duck breasts. Score the skin side — I like to make the cross-hatch quite small, so that the fat really renders out and makes the skin crispy. Salt and pepper both sides, and let it stand at room temperature for half an hour.
Heat a pan/skillet on high. When hot, place the duck breasts, skin-side down, in the pan/skillet. Sear the skin for about 7 minutes, until the skin is crispy and a golden brown. Turn, and sear the meat-side, for about 6 or 7 more minutes for medium-rare (depending on size). Transfer onto a plate and cover with foil, and let it rest for at least 5 minutes.
(**While the duck…
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Five common mistakes German speakers make in English
hoto Credit: Garyisajoke via Compfight cc
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not perfect. Fuck knows WHAT I am saying in German half the time, but I know that on at least one occasion I told people I went nude sledding instead of night sledding. The best thing about that language though, is that it’s so handily practical. If you don’t know the word for something, you can just describe it!
Don’t know what gloves are called? Just ask for hand-shoes (Handschuhe). Guess what? That’s the right word. Your gums are hurting? Just complain about your teeth meat (Zahnflesich), and you’ll be right on track. And your wrist is sprained? I think we both know you mean your hand-joint (Handgelenke) don’t you? Want to put something in your pocket? No. Actually, you want to put it in your trouser-bags (Hosentaschen).
So. While I go around murdering this lovely language, let me tell you the instant giveaways that you’re not a native English speaker. Just in case you were wondering.
“I’ve been here since ten minutes.”/ “I’ve lived here since two years.”
Nope. You’ve been here for ten minutes. Or else you’ve lived here since 2012. I don’t know why. No-one said English made sense. That’s just how it is. Deal.
“On the other hand side.”
There is no other hand side. There’s another hand. And there’s another side. Put them together and you’ve stepped through the looking glass.
“I need this until Friday.”
Actually, you need it by Friday. If you need it until Friday, that means you expect me to continually give it to you all the way to Friday. Which has come out sounding way dirtier than I meant it. You can say “You have until Friday to give it to me” but that sounds rather demanding and impolite.
“Let’s see how it looks like.”
We can see how it looks. Or we can see what it looks like. We cannot, unfortunately, do a combination of those things.
“This is the actual version.” “Could you please make this content more actual?”
Actual, in English, means real. Aktuell, in German, means current or up-to-date. So I can totally see where you’re coming from. But unless you’re speaking to someone who is familiar with this mistake, you’re going to be causing quite a bit of confusion.
That’s it! They’re the most common ones I ever hear.
Now, let me tell you about the time I went sledding…
Book Review – Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers By Mary Roach
Books like this make my world go round. Really. It was also an NYT best-seller, so chances are good I am not the only one who loved the heck out of it. But why?
Firstly, I love non-fiction. I feel like I am getting two for the price of one when I read a really great non-fiction book: an education and the pleasure of reading the words of someone skilled at their craft – the pleasure of reading for it’s own sake.
Secondly, good ones are often hard to come by. Some writers can get so absorbed in their subject matter that they forget the book might not be read by scholars but rather laymen interested in the topic. Other writers may lack the finesse needed to pull non-fiction off, and the finished product can be dry and uninteresting. But when the two things come together well – immense knowledge of a topic and great word-smithing – it’s a complete delight to me.
Mary Roach nails it with this book. She investigates every single aspect of what can be our “life” after death, so to speak. The various afterlives of cadavers, should they be donated to science, involved in an accident, or just suffer garden-variety death.
The book is so incredibly respectfully written. Not an easy feat considering she discusses an ordinarily taboo and unpleasant topic. Roach somehow manages to write about adult male cadavers dressed in leotards and used as crash test dummies without causing any distress to the reader.
I loved this book for what it taught me about things I’d never considered, such as the embalming process when bodies are prepared for viewing by loved ones, or how what happened in air fatalities is pieced together in investigations. But mostly I loved it for the moral questions it raised with me. Namely the ethics of dealing with corpses donated to science. And the issue of how we choose to be handled once we have passed on.
The first part, dealing with ethics, is something I had never thought of. Basically everything we know about our live selves was learned through studying dead bodies. Here, science has an inglorious past and several of Roach’s historical stories were stomach-churning. You’ve probably heard of Burke and Hare, but there were so many more commonplace travesties. Men inheriting medical positions from their fathers, despite lacking even the most fundamental training or consideration for human life and conducting experimental public surgery on suffering patients without even the benefit of anaesthesia.
One quote from the book has stuck with me. Robert Berkow, author of a definitive medical textbook said, “It wasn’t until around 1920 that the average patient with the average illness seeing an average physician came away better for the encounter.” Every time I have been to the doctor since, I have said a silent thank you to all the poor souls who have fallen ill before me. Science didn’t get to where it is today without effort, sacrifice, experiment and suffering. We are so lucky we live in an age where we can take advantage of that.
But there are so many things that we still need to research. If you learned that a relative had donated their body to science and you ever thought about what that might entail, you would perhaps like to imagine some gentle, laboratory-style research being carried out on blood and tissue. How would you feel if you learned they were actually being shot at close range to study the damage done by bullets and to develop better protection for soldiers or officers? These are the questions Roach broached with members of the scientific community carrying out these studies. Not every corpse can be used to try to cure cancer, sometimes we just need to learn more about how bodies decompose so we can better investigate murders and deaths.
It’s something I had never considered before, and gave me great respect for people who choose to donate their bodies to science. I also realised that if a loved one of mine does so, the less I know about it the better.
As for final resting places, in most cultures this involves some form of burial. But how do we deal with booming populations and the accompanying space shortages they bring about? Not everyone can be buried on a plot of land within the bounds of a peaceful green garden. Stiff introduces some alternatives to this, and the one that captured my interest was Promessa. A Swedish company, Promessa offers to transform your remains into a kind of ecologically-friendly fertiliser that can be used to nourish a tree or plant.
This book is a fascinating, hilarious and highly-recommended read that is sure to prompt some interesting discussions around your dinner table
Cream of Celeriac Soup With Bacon Croutons (Gluten/Grain/Dairy Free)
One of the things I love about living in Germany is the strong belief in only eating seasonal foods. They celebrate asparagus season for god’s sake: http://germanfoods.org/german-food-facts/spargelzeit-asparagus-season-in-germany/ And right now, celery root is in season so I’m going to make me some of this! Thanks for the recipe, Tabitha!
This soup is a little bit of creamy sophistication in a bowl. Requiring just a handful of ingredients, its super easy and quick to make.
I have an ongoing love affair with Celeriac (also known as Celery Root). Often friends say ‘I don’t like celeriac’ but when I dig a little deeper they’ve often only tried it once and it’s been badly cooked or plain, so I make it my mission to change to initiate them into the world of celeriac lovers.
One of the reasons I love celeriac is its versatility. It’s brilliant at absorbing and mixing in with a vast range of flavours and textures whilst retaining a quite confidence through its subtle but somewhat nutty flavour.
To find out more how I love to cook with Celeriac check out all of my celeriac starring recipes; Celeriac Remoulade & Fuckit Lists, Paleo Beef, Celeriac & Chestnut Mushroom…
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Thursday’s WoD
Welcome to the part where I whine about my crossfit workout. Which I secretly love, but am not really getting any better at.
Here’s what we did on Thursday:
SKILL OF THE WEEK
Turkish Get-Up
FITNESS
A:
Shoulder Press 5-5-5-5
B:
5 Sets
1min Kettlebell Swings (russian), 24/16kg
1min Ring Rows
1min Box Step-Ups, 2x16kg / 2x12kg
1min Rest
Let me tell you something about this workout. I sucked at it. I have a giant bruise in the crook of my arm because I basically have that butterfly bone syndrome. Except with veins. Anything I do causes a huge bruise. Getting blood drawn causes me to look like a junkie for the next week. And I just had blood drawn. I cried like a small child in the doctor’s office, but that’s a story for another day.
Our box step-ups involved holding a 10kg plate. Because we trade in creative torture here. Some other people were holding 20kg plates of course, and making a hell of a lot of noise about it. But they had penises. Not me, just the 10-er thanks. Except every time I stepped up onto the box, my knee caused the plate to smack into my chin. And when I stepped down, it pressed into my bruise. It was basically the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever done. And I had to do it 5 times for a minute each time.
The kettlebell swings were fine. I only had a 10kg bell, but I was banging those swings out like a champion Russian kettlebell swinger. That’s a thing, right? And the ring rows were also fine, although I was basically doing them from an 87degree angle.
And that was it. Headed home with a tomato face and felt very good about myself indeed.
Pumpkin Protein Pancakes
Oh. YES!
Tis the season for pumpkin everything!
Ever since Starbucks came out with an early release of the PSL (don’t get me started on those things!), fall has been in full swing – and pumpkin has taken over just about every menu item and grocery aisle. There’s just no escaping it.
I’ve never been a huge fan of pumpkin. I tend to prefer warm apple and cinnamon flavors in the fall, but as I’ve said many times before, my tendency to hop on the fad ingredient bandwagon typically gets the best of me.
I did a little nutritional investigation and was very pleased to discover all of the great health benefits of pumpkin. It’s packed with tons of Vitamin A (helps with vision among other things) and Vitamin C (boosts immune system function), is full of fiber (keeps you feeling full for longer), and is a great source of beta-carotene (super antioxidant which…
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Stop the Inanity 