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How to get rid of that “I ate too much” feeling
Let’s be honest, when it comes to December, the last thing you’re thinking is “Ooh I really can’t wait to stick to my diet!” In fact, most days I feel like I ate too much. And it’s a crying shame!
I totally hate the discomfort one feels after indulging in the rich foods that this time of the year brings around. In my heart of hearts I know that prevention is the best solution. Instead of “I ate too much”, I could rather eat until I’m full. But we are not living in a perfect world, are we, Susan? So here are a few practical tips on how to beat the indigestion blues:
1. Time
Waiting for the feeling to pass (and your food to digest) is pretty much the most effective solution. While waiting, try to resist the urge to lie down (and groan about how full you are) because laying down will only cause more discomfort and may lead to acid reflux and heart burn.2. Move around
Try to stay upright and go for a walk. I’m not saying run a marathon or jump hurdles, Bob. In fact, strenuous exercises should be avoided after a huge meal. But a lovely, brisk walk, can only do you good.3. Medication
I don’t do medication unless really needed but I’ve heard that antacids are a must for combating indigestion and other digestive system qualms. They neutralize stomach acids and can assist your body with breaking down all the fatty foods you shoved your face into an hour ago. Charcoal tablets and powder are also recommend since it absorbs excess gas in the intestinal tract. But we shouldn’t be popping these on the daily.4. Have a drink
Water is the natural way to flush your system and aid digestion but chamomile tea and other natural caffeine-free teas are also a great way to get things going on the digestion front.5. Hula Hoop
I heard this advice and now I really want to eat and then hula hoop just to see if it works! Hula hooping is a great way to tone your abs but it also aids with getting your body into digestion mode. Repetitively moving your hips and abdomen stirs up your internal organs and reduces the discomfort that overeating gives you.6. Stretches
Another suggestion is to do a couple of easy Yoga stretches to get your body to respond. So when all else fails, you could always try out these gentle stretch techniques.And friends, while enjoying your festive meals, please spare a minute for those in need. Your “I ate too much” syndrome can be managed but their hunger cannot. You are blessed to be a blessing to others!
Merry Christmas!
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Our Wedding Anniversary: The night out that never happened
16 December 2013 🙂 Photo: Donna van der Watt Photography Last Wednesday, December 16th (or National Wedding Day as JustEllaBella calls it) happened to be OUR wedding anniversary too. It’s only our second one, but it feels like we’ve been married for YEARS. I think that this is partially due to the fact that we entered the marriage with a kid each, which meant instant family. (Family in a box! Think about it… It could sell…) And then 2 months after our short lived honeymoon, I discovered I was pregnant. So it feels like we’ve been Brady Bunch from the get go.
Last year, we celebrated our 1st anniversary at a family member’s wedding. Our baba was a few weeks old and I was still breastfeeding… so I could not wait to get home to her! But this year… oh this year! We could actually relish in the fact that we chose each other 🙂 Our curly girly was old enough to stay with granny for more than an hour and we really took advantage of that.
We tried to get each other cotton gifts (you know… the anniversary themed gifts thing)… but it didn’t go as well as planned. I ended up getting him a bunch of stuff that included a box of Turkish Delights (his favs) and this Google Box accessory thing that he has been throwing hints about, like a SA spin bowler. You strap your cellphone into it and it becomes a portable 3D viewer. So you can play games and watch 3D videos.Yes, I know. Why would you evens want to. Anyways.
I must say, I was really surprised by the gift he gave me! In fact, when I saw the American Swiss box, I thought maybe he was playing a Leon Schuster on me and the box was empty because “all his love” was in it. But no sir, this was not the case! I opened said box and found a beautiful pair of heart-shaped diamante earrings and a matching necklace inside! This is a big deal and a surprise because he has never ever given me jewelry before (besides for my wedding and engagement rings) because I don’t really wear jewelry that much. But this is so pretty and simple… love it! Good job husband, good job.
And that’s how our anniversary morning kicked off. The rest of the day was spent out and about with our littlest one (her brothers were with their respective other parents). We took her out to breakfast (she climbed Spurs tables, threw their crayons on the floor to watch them drop and tried to give our waitress a smooch)
Then to meet Father Christmas (she was not impressed with the strange man wearing Winter clothes in the midst of Summer).
We had waffles at this cute place called Cereal Cafe, at The Boardwalk.
They literally use sugary cereal to top your dessert of choice. So fun! So tasty! So unhealthy!
We ended up at PE’s newest mall for a stroll and to buy a few things for our date night. This girl was so cute, in the trolley, munching away on cheese curls. (And then she got bored with them and left a cheese curls trail – think Hansel and Gretel style – down a fairly long aisle at PicknPay and tried to feed some to another customer).
I realize it may seem weird that we spent the whole day with her – I mean, it was OUR anniversary and all (and all). But I think that curly is our beautiful reminder that God restores! When Hubstopher and I met, we were both broken people, each sharing a kid with another person that we were not in a relationship with. And although I give kudo’s to single parents world wide, let me be real and say that it is HARD! No matter how great your relationship is with the other parent… Or if all the families involved have healthy home situations. It’s still hard. It’s hard to know that your kid will never know what it feels like to have mommy and daddy live in the same house. It’s hard to share your child with a whole other set of parents and family members. It’s heart wrenching when 1 parent only gets to see the Christmas morning face and the other half only gets to see the Christmas evening smiles. Or, in my case, not see any Christmas action at all. (My boy’s dad lives in Cape Town). But God restores. Having Him at the centre of it all has really helped us find balance.
And then came our curly girl! She was the cherry on the cake! And looking at her is a sweet reminder that she is OURS! And we are HER parents! Together! When I asked my husband what his favorite part of our 2 years of marriage was, he promptly said “Karis”. Well, he wanted to say Karis. But I was like, DONT SAY KARIS! And then he said “I don’t know”. Hahaha.
For our date night, we decided stay in doors 🙂 Curly was with her babysitter and we had all the time in the world to dress up and go out. But we figured, why be surrounded by lots of people when we can be indoors and just be the 2 of us. It was perfect.
I am so inlove with this crazy man!
And I am so thankful that God makes all things work for my good – even when it did not look so good in the beginning.He saved the best for last.
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NAILLINKUP SA – Let it sparkle
I’ve been going through a bit of a blogging slump in that I’m tired and lazy and I don’t feel like blogging about it. I think the fact that I am working right through December plays a big role in this current brain malfunction. Fortunately, I still have the drive to do my nails every few days, or else I’d be missing in action, Jackson!
This weeks Nail Link Up prompt is called “Let it sparkle.” (Remember, I chatted about the link up the other day). Can I just throw a quick shout out to whoever decided not to call this one “Let it snow”. I never get how South Africans buy decor and ornaments that suggest snow, when December is in the midst of the heat of Summer, for us. I’d much rather add sparkle, thank you.
So that’s what I did, with my lovely mint green Essence Colour and Go 190 Kiss me, Freddy (on all my nails except the ring finger). I know that the Color on the Go range is totally outdated, but that just shows how top notch these Essence polishes are. I mean, I got these a long time ago and they still go on like a charm and look amazing.
The bedazzlement you see on my middle finger are the gold foils I received in the LA Girl Gold Studs pack that I blogged about before. And as always, I chose my ring finger to be my accent nail, painting it with the Essence Nude Glam 01 Cotton Candy.
The little squiggly Christmas tree was painted in Essence Colour and Go in 157 My Fortune Cookie and it went on fairly easily, with my nail art brush. I topped it off with the Essence Gel Look 06 Space Queen. All in all, twas a joyful experience!
If you’d like in on the challenge, check out the prompts below:
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Gift ideas: What to put under the tree this Christmas {featuring Ruth Abercrombie}
I love Christmas! But I don’t love “uhmming” and “ahhhing” about what to get my family and friends for Christmas. So I’ve called in the experts! As a build up to the most wonderful time of the year, a few of my blogging buddies have agreed to share their ideas on amazing Christmas gifts for the whole family. Check out their picks and please, by all means, feel free to choose something special to put under MY Christmas tree too 😉
I fell inlove with Ruth’s honest writing (over at Pursuing Purpose) when I stumbled across something she had written with regards to choosing faith over fear. She had decided to start blogging as a form of therapy in the brink of taking on her new role as divorcee and single mom to daughter, Jaz. It has been amazing to watch this lady grow and share… I’ve learnt so much from her already! Besides for being a deep well, she is also quite creative and I thought it would be interesting to see what she has up her Santa sleeves this Christmas!
Here are her favorite Christmas gift list picks:
For my loved ones
This year I’m getting my parents a family portrait, my dad has been asking for it for the longest of times and just gave up talking about it recently, and my mom speaks of filling the empty space on her wall so I figured this would be the perfect gift! Seeing that we have an ohk quality camera, I’ll just give my friend a few tips then booking a photographer won’t be necessary (I’m not stingy, just cost effective)
For the kids
Jaz is 6 years old, and it’s so easy these days to find age appropriate toys for your child. I always strive to buy educational toys, (two birds with one stone- play and learn at the same time) I recently came across the cutest gift for girls at CNA for under R90.00. It’s a box of beads with strings, paint and other decorative things. This crafty gift is sure to keep her busy and fun is guaranteed. Maybe she can sell a few of her jewellery pieces to our family members and make gifts for her cousins. I love doing crafts, and currently I’m going through a beer cap – fridge magnet craze, which all of my family member will be getting this year. Mass production, coz my family is HUGE!! I print Bible verses / motivational quotes or even use photos, buttons etc. to decorate it with.
For me
I would absolute love to unwrap Purple / Lime green Earphones or a Blender this Christmas. Seeing that I love smoothies and trying to live a healthier life style.Special mentions
Sometimes we lose focus of what/who this season is really about. It’s nice to give & receive presents, but let’s remember the gift of LOVE in John 3:16. I wish everyone reading this a merry Christmas and I pray God’s hand of protection over you and your family during this festive season.What are your favorite gift ideas, this Christmas?
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NAILLINKUP SA – Wrap all the presents
If you have kids and a husband and you’ve been getting into the Christmas swing of things AND managed to find the time to blog then I salute you. While giving you a side eye. How do you do it?!
My halls have been decked with bows of everything besides holly and I am so looking forward to a couple of days off soon. My boy is currently mid air as I type this – en route to Cape Town to spend Christmas with his dad and their family. My girl is taking a nap. And me? Im just chin-chilling on the couch, no shoes, messy hair coz I dont care (and all the other cool things teenagers say for “I’m doing nothing”).
Anyways, so herewith, please find my entry for the second Nail Link Up prompt, “All the presents”. Now, I know that my entry only reflects one present. But let’s just pretend that ‘all the presents’ are in that one present. Surrrrpriiiiiiiiiiiise!
For the challenge I used my newest Essence The Gel polish, the wonderful 48 My Love Diary, which is a beautiful shade of pink.As you may notice, I took way to long to actually snap pics of this mani, hence the tell tale signs of “wear and tear”. Sorry. Do you still love me?
Back to the mani: I did an accent nail using my oldie (but goodie), Woolies Passion Fashion purple, and then I used a dotting tool to make dots on top of that. (Mind you, I think I prefer using a tooth pick over a dotting tool) I then used a nail art brush to paint a bow (of sorts) on top of that. I could’ve been neater. But hey, let’s not be fussy, shall we.
And there you have it!
If you’d like to participate in the challenge, check out the prompts below and instructions from my previous post. It’s really cool!
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NAILLLINKUP SA – Pink Christmas
Hello you crazy bunch of people! (And the crowd goes *krr krr*)
This weekend I attempted my first prompt for the Nail Link Up challenge. I love nail challenges because they help me to get creative with my nails. Well… as creative as I can get. (Feeling limited this time of the year). Keeping in mind, I have a beautiful child who demands all of my attention 100% of the time.The first prompt of the Nail LinkUp SA challenge was to the theme Pink Christmas.
I think that the Nail LinkUp ladies are possibly mind readers.
Heloooo… 2 of my favorite things! Pink and Christmas 🙂
Here’s my entry… the Christmassy image was taken from my The Polish Diaries plate M65 and stamped with my cheapy Beauty Secrets white polish. Still works like the bomb dot com.
I had started off with 2 coats of Essence The Gel 13 Forgive Me and used a sponge to create a gradient affect, using a no namey hot pink polish. I needed hot pink and found this one hidden at the bottom of my nail polish tool box. Score. It’s like, a gift from past self, to my future self. Sigh, I love those.
BTW I found this pic of the Essence The Gel 13 Forgive Me, to give you a better idea of how amazing this color is. *swoooon* I am totally inlove with it! Doesn’t it remind you of marshmallows and unicorns and fluffy clouds?!
Photo: Mateja If you’d like to participate in the challenge, check out my previous post and follow the prompts below.
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My nanny thinks she’s Leon Schuster
I love my baby’s nanny. Let’s call her Maria, for privacy reasons. Maria is in her late 50’s and is a wonderful woman. I love the way she looks after our girl – I’ve even walked in on her, with a toy on her head, trying to make Kari laugh. You can’t buy that kind of devotion. But she’s not that clued up when it comes to technology – which is no train smash… I know a few older folk who think that Whatsapp is pure evil anyways. So it’s not a shocker.But ey, this woman has a really weird way of calling me. By “calling”, I mean phoning. And by “weird”, I mean she gets other people to speak on her behalf – which is okay, but then, get this, they pretend to be HER! “Hi Luchae, it’s Maria here!” – when the voice clearly belongs to a 20 year old. I’ve had older ladies call, pretending to be her. I’ve had younger ones call in, saying they are her. But yesterday, she just took the whole cake!
It first started off as a random phone call from someone who wanted to remind me that they aren’t coming to work because they are going for their check up at the hospital. Usually by now I’d piece together that this is another Maria impersonator, calling on her behalf. And friends, I normally play along. I’m that person. But this time was different. This time, the impersonator was a MAN! This MAN is now phoning me, as Maria, to say that “she” isn’t coming in. After a few shocked minutes of silence I was like, “Uhmmm no I dont know who you are!” and ended the call.
He then called back to say that he is, in fact, calling on her behalf.
*insert cricket chirps*So yes, that was confirmation: our dear Maria has a thing about talking on cellphones. She’s not keen. But this “whose voice is it anyways” is freaking me out!
It makes me feel like someones going to jump out from behind the couch and point me to a cleverly hidden camera.
Is… is this a joke? Ahhh Maria, you jokester you!
So funny! Noooot. -
Gift ideas: What to put under the tree this Christmas {featuring Anniemation Floe}
I love Christmas! But I don’t love “uhmming” and “ahhhing” about what to get my family and friends for Christmas. So I’ve called in the experts! As a build up to the most wonderful time of the year, a few of my blogging buddies have agreed to share their ideas on amazing Christmas gifts for the whole family. Check out their picks and please, by all means, feel free to choose something special to put under MY Christmas tree too 😉
Anastasiya Meintjes from Anniemation Flo blogs part-time, like I do, and is a copy and content writer by day. I don’t know how she does it all, with a 3 year old AND a 5 month old! (I’m sure it helps that they are adorable!)
I love Ana’s blog because it’s REAL. She chats about her family quite a lot and is a bit of a randomy (which I can relate to). She say’s she has never been good at picking out gifts for others – she suffers from, what I call “Gift Anxiety”. This is the very reason why I started this series! My gift anxiety rivals others, I’m sure!
Here are her favorite Christmas gift list picks:
For my special someone
It’s quite simple when it comes to choosing a gift for him. His passion lies in rugby and he coaches at one of the clubs in our area. So anything rugby related is a winner. Since rugby is part of his passion, I know he will take the gifts to his heart.
For the kids
The oldest is really a breeze with gifts, if it has wheels on it, he’s happy. He’s also starting to take an interest in action figures and enjoys his imaginary play with them. The youngest has everything handed down from his older brother, however we do want him to feel special by giving him something that is his. He loves to cuddle so we decided to get him his own cuddle toy (he’s currently using his older brothers, who isn’t very happy with the idea).
For me
There is something on my mind that I would really like – a bookshelf. I have three boxes full of books that have been standing under my stairs for almost four years because in all reason, I can’t afford one. I’d love to be able to access all my books without having to unpack them out of a box to find the one I’d like to read.
Special mentions
Family members and friends, I look out for what they enjoy using or spending their time on. Some are shoe obsessed, others like crocheting and some like books. So it’s easy to choosing a specific gift for every person.All in all, I’m not so big on gifts. I would rather use the money to create a memorable day with my family than spend the money on gifts that will be forgotten or, in the case of kids, broken not long after receiving them. To me, Christmas is about giving yes, but it’s about giving time to each other and celebrating together. The gifts are just a bonus.
What are your favorite gift ideas, this Christmas?
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Music Monday: Matt Redman – Unbroken Praise {GIVEAWAY!}
Last week I reviewed Matt Redman’s latest offering, Unbroken Praise. I found this album to be mellow on the ear but lyrically “kapow! kapow! kapow!” As part of their Big Christmas Giveaway, Gateway News will be giving away a copy of this top notch singer/songwriters album. Winners anounced next Thursday on their Facebook page. Here is a snippet of the review and instructions on how to enter:>>> “Prolific worship leader and singer-songwriter, Matt Redman, released his 9th studio album, Unbroken Praise, in June 2015, much to the delight of fans. Redman, well known for his contribution to the Passion Conference worship team, is somewhat of a worship maverick, not conforming to any particular sound or genre, but rather forging his own niche from album to album. This latest offering confirms just that. The album is neither here nor there, but is still very in season, with songs that are filled with passion and heart.In an interview, Redman explained that the album came out of his need to do something different than his last few albums. “I’ve recorded a couple of live album’s in a row now…they’ve both been in Atlanta, but we got talking and we thought it would be nice to do something in my homeland, in England. Then we got talking about where, and the No. 1 place on my list was Abbey Road, and I had no clue whether we could make that happen or not,” Redman explained. “There’s just a fantastic orchestral room there, which by the way you can fit 400 people in there. I was wondering if we could actually do that. Through a series of twists and turns it actually happened. It was a real joy to be in one of the world’s most iconic recording studios having church.”I found the album really easy to listen to. Redman has the ability to effortlessly take the listener along with him, as he enters into a sweet time with the Lord…”<<<For your chance to win a copy of this album, check out the entire Gateway News review and scroll to the bottom, for instructions. -
So what’s up with Black Friday? {True Story}
So Black Friday is upon us and we anxiously await to see what type of promotions some of our favorite stores will be running this time around. And let’s be honest Patricia, we can get really into it. Like, really really into it. Like, abandon all pride and dignity for a sale into it. Kidding! But hey, Black Friday is probably the biggest shopping day of the year and people end up queuing for days (exaggerating a tad bit) to be able to grab pretty decent specials.
It got me thinking: what’s up with Black Friday? I mean… how’d it start? We know that it originated in America. But what does the name “Black Friday” mean? So I Googled and cross checked my sources and dug a bit deeper and this is what I found:
The truth behind Black Friday
Some people believe that Black Friday got it’s name from American retailers. These business owners supposedly gave it the nickname after anticipating the move of profits that were “in the red” to “in the black” (after Thanksgiving). But that’s not the entire story though.Apparently the term “Black Friday” was first used in 1869 when 2 greedy financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, bought up all the nation’s gold supply, in order to up it’s price and sell it at a huge profit. This resulted in the market crashing and hundreds of people losing their lives savings.
The term popped up again in the 1950’s in Philadelphia when police offers started using it to refer to the day after Thanksgiving.
The American holiday saw hordes of people flooding the city’s shopping district before the yearly Army-Navy football game, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Because of this police officers were forced to work on that day. So it has always been a pretty bleak time for them, thus dubbed “Black Friday.”
The nickname was remixed when merchants jumped in to claim it as a day that they would run specials. It was changed to “Big Friday”, but that did not stick.
“Black Friday” soon spread all across America and gave birth to other shopping days, such as Cyber Monday and Gray Thursday. Stores try to capitalize on the Thanksgiving holiday by keeping it’s doors open, much to the dismay of its workers. Shame.
So, there you have it. You’re welcome.
