Okay, so despite the book being due to come out in January ‘12, it’s STILL not finished, there’s a whole lot of miscommunication regarding a freelance project I’m meant to be starting on Monday, I keep bumping into people from my past and everyone around me is experiencing what can only be described as ‘icky-weirdness’ – enter Mercury retrograde.

Now, Mercury is the planet that heads up truth, transportation and communication issues. When it’s in retrograde, it’s power lessens and all things communication-y can go out o’ whack. We can start feeling the effects of this event days, or even as far as two weeks earlier. I’m normally super-prepped, what with communication/public relations/writing/publishing being my entire career, but this particular mercury retrograde has already kicked my arse weeks ahead o’ schedule – grrr.

So, what happens when Mercury does this retrograde thing that it does? You miss appointments, your computer equipment crashes, invoices get lost, emails don’t arrive, you find the new car you’ve just purch-ed during Mercury retrograde is not quite the bargain you first thought. (Or, you hate your new ‘do, the phone you’ve just bought has a glitch, or your BFF hates her birthday gift.) There will be countless delays, cancellations and postponements – but, and this is the REALLY hard bit, know that they do actually happen for a reason. Honest. Don’t fight them, although your frustration levels and feeling of restlessness and not-knowing will really try to test you.

For the next month, you’re going to really need to develop a wait-and-see attitude. Easier said than done, I know but since Mercury rules speech, people may not mean what you think they are saying now. Wait to see if they mean in September what they said in August. When traveling, leave early and allow for extra travel time. Have all bags double-taped closed, count your belongings, double-check addresses and reconfirm appointments. Things get lost when Mercury messes us up. Take NOTHING for granted.

Although it’s hard to believe, Mercury retrograde is actually a gift, because to move forward it’s sometimes necessary to backtrack and re-think our paths in life. It’s important to reconsider, repair, reflect, and reconnect. Mercury forces us to slow down and fix what’s broken, and while you’re doing it, rethink things. It’s a great time to dress old wounds, clean up relationships or to simply release any old merde you’ve been holding onto, take a deep breath and let it go. It’s also a positive time to backtrack over previous contacts, rather than call on new ones, to schedule work on projects that you haven’t had time to do, bring your CV or portfolio up to date, and clean out your closets – clear the deck.

Just try not to start new things, (yes, yes, planning to start a new job on Monday was not my idea, ‘k? That’s why there is crazy amounts of not-knowing and up-in-the-air-ness about it. BIG SIGH.) If you have to start a job during a Mercury retrograde period know that the nature of the job is likely to change dramatically over time. Perhaps the person you report to will leave, or your responsibilities will be very different from what you thought they would be. Or your company won’t be ready to take you on, and you won’t have much to do until things are reorganized. But remember, if this was a position that you tried for in the past, then you’ve got the vibes working for you rather than against you.

The important thing in all of this, is to know what’s happening, be prepared and then take deep breathes and relax. Know that things may get twisted, ugly and messy, just don’t take things too personally. Back up your data, read the small print on any contracts, ask lots of questions. Obvs you can’t put your life on hold just because of a planet, although the idea of taking a month out o’ life right now seems really, really inviting, but adapt your lifestyle a bit so that things run as smoothly as possible…

Ohhhh, I have a book you are going to fall head over Westwood heels in heart with. I loved it so much, I read it one deelish sitting, it’s called The 52 Seductions and is by blogger and girl o’ fabulousness, Betty Herbert. Basically, Betty and her husband Herbert remembered whimsically the days when they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, but then real-life happened, and their sub-duvet status was set to coitus interupputus indefinitely. Enter Betty and her challenge setting abilities. After a weekend of spontaneous sex, Betty and Herbert remember what they’ve been missing, and set themselves the task of spending a year seducing each other – ohhh la la! This book will have you laughing, nodding knowingly and pulling a cringe-y face at Betty’s total frankness and attention to detail as the couple explore their hopes, fears and disappointments and answer the burning question, ‘does monogamy really mean a lifetime of monotony in the bedroom?’ FYI: since I put the book down, the beau is now looking at me somewhat expectantly…

Come meet author-girl Betty Herbert, she’s rather fabulous.

Describe Betty Herbert in 5 words…
Delightful, funny, tall, excitable, hungry

52 seductions started as a blog, what made you start writing it?
Desperation! I really wanted to do something about our flagging sex life, and I knew from bitter experience that just trying to have more sex wouldn’t work. I invented the project because I really wanted to force us to think about what turned us on, and I decided to blog about it because I thought it would force us to stick to it.

It’s now a book o’ awesomeness, how do you feel about sharing your seductions with the world in book form?
Great! But it’s a weird feeling too – now it’s out in the world, I have no control over it. Unlike blogging, I can’t explain parts that people don’t understand, or add and extra bits when I feel something is missing. It’s a very disembodied experience to see it being talked about in the papers and on TV.

Out of the 52 seductions in the book, which was your most successful?
Ooh that’s a tough one! Different seductions were successful for different reasons. For example, the upside-down 69 made us laugh so much that didn’t matter I couldn’t do a headstand. And the final one was great because it felt like coming home – I could be honest about what would turn me on and not feel ashamed or shy.

And the worst?
There were plenty of those, too! Early morning sex sucked – and we’re still in dispute over whether Herbert fell asleep in the middle of it.

How does Herbert your husband feel about sharing his sexual exploits in this book?
I was really worried about it because he chose not to read the blog while it was being written – the first time he read it was when I’d completed the first draft of the book. But actually he loved it – he said afterwards, ‘I feel like you’ve written a book about how much you love me.’ I’m so grateful that he could see that – I was worried he’d fixate on the bad things and not see the overall good.

So what is the REAL truth about sex in a relationship, Betty? Can sex REALLY survive after the heady excitement of first date passion?
It can, but you have to work at it. For some couples, it comes naturally, but for most of us it’s about planning, organisation and commitment. Sounds boring, but it’s so worth it, because you reap the rewards in terms of communication and intimacy.

What’s next in the world o’ Betty? More sex? More books? Both?
Definitely both, although I don’t think I could face another year of seductions! I’m working on some ideas for new books now, but I’d quite like to write about our new project to make a baby next – I’ve already started blogging about it.

Quick fire round – what’s your favourite:
Shop: Daunt Books in Marylebone. A bookworm’s dream.
Make-up brand: I’m a Laura Mercier addict
City: Barcelona
Food: Spag Bol, but it has to be one I’ve cooked myself!
Quote: ‘Don’t wrestle with pigs. The pig enjoys it, and you get covered in shit.’
Motto for life: Get on with it.
Book: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke or L’Etranger by Albert Camus
TV programme: Currently, The Killing
Movie: When Harry Met Sally, of course!

Go visit Betty at: www.bettyherbert.com
And buy your copy of The 52 Seductions here!

I’m an obsess-o reader-girl and spend a lot of time reading inspirational lean-stuff-from books, but my big reading love is magical realism. I read a LOT of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Joanne Harris, Francesca Lia Block and Louis de Bernieres, but this weekend I have re-discovered my most favourite book in this genre, Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel.

This book is utterly beautiful. It’s a divine tale of unrequited love, the story of Tita De La Garza and the only man she will ever love, Pedro. Sigh. Sadly, Tita is the youngest daughter of four, which, according to Mexican tradition, means it’s her duty to stay at home and look after her mother until she dies. This means that Tita will never marry or have children. Pedro is desperate to still be around Tita, and consequently marries her older sister Rosaura, just so he can be close to her. What follows is a poignant, but turbulent tale of love, lust and families…

Like Water For Chocolate is laced with magic, humour and sumptuous Mexican cookery. Seriously, words cannot express how much I love this book. The descriptions of the food and drink are so divinely delicious, that they make Nigella sound like a bad-mouthed, lorry driver. They simply ooze through the pages, you can almost taste them- and I also particularly enjoyed how the *preparation* of the food was included so cleverly in the plot too, it was almost poetic at times and beautifully done. Believe me, I was desperate for some Mexican food after reading this and you will be too!

I’ve read this book about 6 times, and each time I am always sorry to see this story end. It is frivolous, fanciful and feminine, it looks at the connection between our emotions, the food we eat and the people closest to us. The author doesn’t hold back, the food is described almost as a living, mythical thing, and the process of making it is more like alchemy than cookery. Her principle is that in cooking a meal you have a venue through which your emotions are concentrated and expressed – Sadness, anger, jealousy, lust and of course, love, the ultimate goal. The recipes are mouthwatering, the characters are vivid and the atmosphere is intense and infectious.

Um…if you didn’t quite get it, I ADORE this book. You can buy it from my new Store O’ Sass – get me, I’m so swank.

Okay, so Nigella Lawson, my idol-girl in all things fabulous, has been reported today as saying that even though g-friends curves are in ALL the right places, she too worries about her weight, saying it’s simply a thing that girls do.

Now, I HATE the word ‘diet’ and banished it from my world years ago, but I think, as much as it sucks to say it out loud, she’s right, we do worry about it. We are constantly bombarded with media images of what the perfect body ’should’ be, celebs are circled with big red rings if they show a dimply thigh, being a size 0 is celebrated – which is really quite ridiculous, mainly because if you’re a size 0 that equates to literally nothing. It’s like women don’t want to take up any space in the world AT ALL. That makes me crazy-sad. I’ve been overweight since I was 13. I turned to food when my parents split up and it’s been my comfy blanket, my friend that I turn to when I’m happy, when I’m sad, when I’m angry, when I’m tired, ever since.

Before I continue, while I’ve always been overweight, I just need to put it out there that it’s NEVER stopped me doing anything in life, I’ve travelled, I’ve dreamed big dreams and made them happen, I’ve hung out with celeb-types, I’ve developed an innate ability to accessorise, I’ve never been short of attention from the male population, but the one thing I’ve not been is healthy. I’ve had phases of doing what I think is healthy, but actually, eating low fat microwave meals doesn’t really count, who knew?! Now, as some of you may know, I started on a gorgeous goddess-girl journey earlier this year due to endrometriosis, but even then, I was still kinda playing at it. Yep, I joined the gym, yep, I started to eat different foods, and yep, it deffo made a difference, but I was still eating crazy-big portions and telling myself I could have an extra portion of chicken wings at TGI Friday because I’d done 20 minutes on the cross-trainer…

Most people say it takes a big event to make the actual ‘I want to change this up’ mind-shift – mine were a series of small events that accumulated into a big substantial sized arse-kick. I won’t bore you with all of them, but I’m thinking the ones that had the MOST influence were:

1. A waitress in London stroking my belly and asking when it was due, and that was BEFORE I’d had my dinner.
2. The beau and I talking in-depth about having children and at the weight I was with endrometriosis, it just wasn’t going to happen.
3. Having a wardrobe of never-been-worn size 16 dresses o’ loveliness, yet two outfits in a size 22 that I had to alternate on a daily basis. (Don’t get it twisted, I accessorised those bad boys as if my life depended on it!)
4. A friend being brutally honest and asking me if I was happy to always be known as the chubby girl with the pretty face and accessories.

Anyway, on the 6th May, I made a decision. I was going on a goddess-girl journey of self-exploration. I’ve been keeping a daily journal, which I’ll be sure to share with you, or may even turn into a book – who knows? – A journey where I’d look at everything I do to my body, both inside and out. It’s become a HUGE project, which I’m just at the beginning of right now. Now, I’d love to be able to say I was truly happy at a size 22, but I’d be lying. I was as happy as I could be, and anyone who knows me will tell you that I still rocked my Sass because you can do that no matter what dress size you are, but I wanted to know what it felt like to be healthy, really healthy, to be free from emotional eating, to be able to know enough about the food industry that I could make informed choices about what I decided to put in my body. FYI: I don’t know how that feels yet, but I’m working on it!

Since May 6th, I’ve released 40lb, and I’m now a size 18. This is all truly fabulous, but my goddess-girl journey has turned out to be much more than weight release, and I can’t wait to share it all with you! People keep asking me what my secret is, but there’s no secret, what I’m doing right now is completely re-educating myself. I am reading nutrition/fitness books til they come out my ears, my fave is: Slim for Life it’s truly brilliant and life-changing, I’m learning all about Ayurveda and conscious eating, I eat less and do more because that really is the only way to actually release weight, I swim every other day, I do pilates, I meditate, I dry brush my skin, I’m basically being good to myself, which I THOUGHT I was being by feeding myself chocolate and cupcakes, but now I really am, by giving my body the stuff it actually needs!

Disclaimer: I’m not claiming to be an expert, angelic-sounding or a guru – I’m literally just sharing my story s’far on my own personal journey. I may eat chocolate and cake in the foreseeable future. Then again, I may not. That’s the beauty o’ being me.

During the moon cycle o’ May, I released a whole 32lb – wohhooooo! – if any of you read my feature about my smack-down with Endrometriosis over at Sassy Minx, you’ll know that joining the gym and re-educating myself ’bout all things food is all part of my blueprint to health and happiness – it’s totes working too! (I’ll be sharing the love ’bout my fabulous Sassy blueprint very soon – have some gorgeous goodies for you all too – I know, I spoil you, non?)

Now at the risk o’ sounding a li’l woo-woo, my bod has become a temple, no, really it has, no food is off limits but I’m now really aware that I control what goes in my mouth, food doesn’t control me! It’s a freakin’ revelation…What I’m also finding is that if I view my gorgeous goddess bod as a temple, this love stuff that I’m giving myself by exercising and eating right, has to be extended to what I feed my mind too. I know this might all sound like common sense to some o’ you, but seriously this is BIG, MASSIVE learning for me… I LOVE a trash magazine, they’re my real guilty pleasure, but I’m finding that while we should never stop consuming the things we love, we should at least realise the impact they have on us, and then make a choice as to whether we still want it in our world. Try it for a week – if like me you love celeb gossip, take a week out. Don’t watch OK TV, closely followed by E! Entertainment followed by an hour flicking through Now and Heat magazine – yes, I have been know to do this! – instead, give yourself a steady diet o’ uplift and inspiration – meditate, join a zumba/pilates/bellydancing class, read a book (I’ve got some amazing recommendations coming to you this week!) It’s not just trash mags though, we gobble up the junk thoughts the world and the media feeds us without even thinking, so for a week, why don’t we make a conscious choice about the input you want in your world? It takes a bit o’ prep as you need to first decide what you want – whether it’s to meditate, learn a new skill, cook meals from scratch, invite pals round for a game o’ scrabble/Monopoly instead o’ TV watching, read a book from cover to cover about a subject you’ve always wanted to learn more about – feeding your mind in a way that fills you up instead of numbing you will have AMAZING results, give it a go, I dare you!

I’m starting on Monday for a week and will document my findings, tips and techniques as I go – are you in?!

I am a truly spiritual person.

I’m also a business woman who wants to practice business spiritually, because when I do, I’m able to speak my truth and my truth…well, that’s all I’ve got.

Except, combining spirituality and business is seen as something a li’l bit dirty. For example, people have often asked me why I charge for my tarot reading because surely, being able to read tarot is a gift, right? And a gift is to be shared? Now, I don’t wholeheartedly disagree with this, and if I had a bulging bank balance and no bills to pay, I absolutely would, but I don’t, and I do, and to read tarot is a responsibility and takes time and skill. A school teacher gets paid to impart their wisdom about maths and science to children, so in the same way, when I share my spiritual knowledge, there absolutely needs to be at least an exchange of energy, in whatever form that energy takes. Some have given me books – I HEART books, cupcakes – I deffo HEART cupcakes, or actual money. Yep, that’s right, actual money.

Y’see money isn’t a dirty word. (Something that I’m still coming to terms with.) The Barefoot Doctor – yep, my number 1 spiritual crush – in his book Manifesto, managed to change up my understanding and belief about money in one simple paragraph…

“Money’s not dirty – it’s the greed, fear, envy, hatred and violence it provokes that’s dirty. Money is a symbol of energy, hence why it’s called currency, because it flows through society just like energy does, and as energy is essentially divine, so is money.”

And he’s absolutely right. Why shouldn’t we be able to work in a soulful, creative spiritual way AND make money? When people ask me my job title, I tell them Creatrix o’ Awesome, because, well, that’s what I do – I write, I read tarot, I coach, I edit, I facilitate workshops – why should I get a boring snoring job so that I can practice my spirituality with a so-called clear conscience?

In a beautiful moment of universal synchronicity, I woke up thinking about this very thing last night, only to find my gorgeous gal-pal, Goddess Leonie, is doing a Business Goddess 101 over at her blog right now, it’s incredz. If ever there was an example of someone living their truth, earning money to sustain her family AND helping and inspiring others at the same time, that girl is it. I’d woken up because sometimes that pesky you’re-not-good-enough gremlin creeps into your head at night and says ‘er, Lisa…who do you think you are exactly?’ but do you know what? I’ve poured nothing but love, passion and enthusiasm into the services that I offer and I am unapologetic for wanting my Sassy business to make money, because the more money I make, the more fabulous things I can do, on a much bigger scale, to fulfill my life purpose, which is to encourage and inspire girls and women to discover the magick within them so that ultimately, they can become mistress of their own destiny.

So many people go through life not even knowing what their true purpose is, which is why, because I do, I am having the absolute audacity to ask to be paid for it. I’d love it if we all bartered for goods and services with books and cake I really would, but right now money is our symbolic measure to help people to trade with each other, so imagine if we all had the ability to pay bills using money earned through honest and pure-of-heart actions and intention, how truly incredible would that be? When we nurtured our family with food bought with that money, bought office supplies on which we shared messages of encouragement, we would send nothing but love and juicy goodness back into the system and create an energy flow that was as deliciously sweet as sugar…

So, just so you know, that is what I intend to do – make pure-of-heart money with absolutely no apologies – who’s with me?

I feel like I’ve been doing a crazy amount o’ sharing here at Sassy recently, but as this week has been Endometriosis Awareness Week, it seems only right for me to share my own experience…

“…For years I suffered the most painful periods, very painful sex and well…lots o’ icky pain stuff. It was not good. The doctor wrote me off as ‘unlucky’ and sent me away with painkillers. Then two years ago, after months of increasing pain, sleepless nights and getting very familiar with my hot water bottle, I decided to see a different doctor to see if they could help. I was referred to the hospital where I had a laparoscopy to confirm I had Endometriosis.

Sadly, my partner at the time wasn’t too understanding and was more concerned about his lack of action in the bedroom – boo to him – like I didn’t have enough to contend with? The sleep deprivation made me grumpy, I comfort ate and gained weight and generally felt a whole lot o’ rubbish about myself which continued to affect my sex drive and self esteem.

Actually, it was probably the reason for my relationship breaking down, which, at the time was sucky and horrible, but now, I’m really rather glad it did, as I have a beau who ‘totally’ gets it. He understands that I might get a bit grumpy when I’m in pain, he won’t let me throw pity parties for myself but he will give me hugs and kisses and do the washing up when I need to curl up under the duvet.

In the past it’s deffo affected my friendships – there’s only so many times people will take ‘no, I can’t come out, I’m uncomfy’ as an excuse. It’s effected work and just generally made me feel a li’l bit un-sassy.

Meeting the beau has changed my life in a whole lot o’ ways, but right now, he’s now my partner in feel-good fitness. Yep, you read right, I’m now officially a gym bunny. I am a lady o’ curve and I’m VERY proud of it, but over the last two years, I’m at a weight that’s uncomfy and not healthy, so I’ve joined a gym as a gift to myself. I NEVER thought I’d hear myself say those words…EVER. I’ll be sharing the whole gym experience with y’all over the coming weeks, but just so you know, it’s a li’l bit amazing. I’m really enjoying the challenge, and despite my ability to shed a litre o’ sweat, it helps to distract me from the pain…”

The first ever awareness video was launched today by the World Endometriosis Society – help raise awareness, share this video, talk about it with your g-friends…

Endometriosis from Endometriosis.org on Vimeo.

www.endometriosis-uk.org

I have a li’l crush on Guy Kawasaki.
He’s a super-big name in all things business-y, he’s a top Twitter star and yet, he seem like the kind o’ guy you could just sit down and have a nice cup o’ tea and a chat with. I like that in a man.

His new book, Enchantment,The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds and Actions has most definitely enchanted me. Did you see what I did there?

Now, without being a complete girl about this, the book was always going to be a success because quite frankly it has the prettiest cover I’ve seen on a personal development book in a whole lot o’ forever.
Guy KNOWS how to enchant people, it’s his thing. Which is why Enchantment is such an apt title. I mean, isn’t that what we all want to do on a daily basis? Enchant partners, the people we work with, people we meet – ourselves even?

As a business-girl, Enchantment is a must-read book as he proves that a cheer-leading, social-media fueled blend of creating a kick-ass product/service and enthusiasm, is ultimately about the art o’ persuasion. And to see it in action you only have to look at how Guy has created a buzz around this book – amazing.

Enchantment starts with making sure you are personally prepared to enchant people. As a Sorceress, this approach made me very happy – you’re not being deceptive, you’re making sure that you’re genuinely real for your clients and potential customers. The idea of putting people under your ’spell’ is an amazing one when it’s done in an honorable way. See how enchanting you are according to a test Guy created, check out this 23-question quiz. FYI: I scored 16 to 18: ‘You’re ready to change hearts, minds, and actions.’ Hurrah.

Have you ever read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie? Well Enchantment is like that, but it’s for the ‘now’ generation.
Us.
It’s about how to create a successful product AND a successful you. Which has got to be a good thing? Non?

Get your copy at: www.amazon.co.uk

This is such a touchy subject for me, so much so, that I’ve umm-ed and ahh-ed as to whether to actually write about it, but I can’t talk the talk, if I’m not willing to walk the walk, right?

So, here we go, my name’s Lisa and I emotionally eat.
I eat when I’m happy, I eat when I’m sad, I eat when I’m worried and I eat when I’m indifferent. What can I say? I eat.

We could go crazy-deep and look into the psychology of eating, because nothing is more telling than the language we use when we talk about food. Words concerned with loss, defeat, denial and deprivation become the pillars of our vocabulary. But I won’t.

My ‘food thing’ is bargaining. Mum’s tell their children: ‘Because you’ve been good today, you can have a sweet.’ Food then becomes tied in with our own personal reward system, and voila, unhealthy beliefs about eating are established. Getting chocolate as a reward puts a value on it that’s way higher than that of any actual brown food substance – it becomes acknowledgment, approval and even a pleasure and decadence that we should only allow ourselves on those rare occasions when we are being very good.

These beliefs stay with us – hello, I’m 32 and still play the ‘you can have a bar o’ chocolate if you write a 1,000 words.’ Yet, also now I’m a bit older, I’m beginning to associate being good with the denial of food too. My belief system is then adapted, so that I think I’m being good when I eat substantially less, but to reward myself, I eat. How messed-up is that?

This crazy relationship with food means that I never see food for the simple thing that it is, so that common wisdom of ‘just eat less’ feels practically impossible. It’s not, it’s just when you’re an emotional eater, it most deffo FEELS like it.

Which is why I’m taking steps to understand what motivates me to eat.

And this is where it gets interesting. Y’see, for many people it’s a sense of entitlement, that food is the one thing in their lives that they shouldn’t have to worry about. What complicates this further is that the food that people use for comfort, such as chocolate, increase the body’s natural feel-good neurotransmitter, seretonin.
Unfortunately, like most quick fixes, the delicious good stuff that comes from comfort eating is soon followed by a sense of guilt and feeling like a failure, which triggers low mood, which in turn triggers the need to comfort through eating.

Now, I may know all this, but how do we get our minds, as well as our stomachs, to agree to a healthier way of eating? And FYI, that’s what I’m working with here, healthy eating. I DO want to lose weight, but I am so done with diets and crazy weight-loss programmes, I want to nourish my body, and give it the goodness it needs to be the most kick-ass vessel that I get to rock out in.

Here’s the Sassy way forward…

Why are you doing it? Many people see weight loss as a means to getting other things that they want in life – a relationship, better job or even more self-confidence, so it’s important to ask yourself if losing weight will bring you those things or if there are other ways to obtain them. By pinning aspirations on a certain weight then, inevitably, if you fail to reach that weight you’ll feel that it’s impossible to reach your aspirations, too.

Remedies – now, I am happy to try all the the remedies available to help deal with emotional eating, and over the past 10 years probably have, but one that I’ve actually noticed a significant difference since using is the Bach™ Emotional Eating Kit. Now I SWEAR by my Bach™ Rescue Remedy in times o’ anxiety and worry, so was very excited about the Emotional Eating kit. Each one includes x3 10ml essences; Chestnut Bud, Crab Apple and Cherry Plum all of which help deal with different elements of emotional eating and help you to think and act more rationally when food is involved.

Depending on your own particular emotions, you may want to take one, two or all three of the essences contained in the set. Your feelings may vary from day to day so you can change your choices as you wish.

Two drops of each chosen essence may be taken directly from the bottle, four times a day. Alternatively, add two drops of each chosen essence to a glass of water. Sip from it as often as you want, but at least four times a day for longer-term issues. For convenience when taking several essences at once, add two drops of each chosen essence to an empty 30ml dropper bottle. Top up with mineral water, adding a teaspoonful of brandy or cider vinegar as a preservative if you wish. From this bottle take four drops at least four times a day.

This prod doesn’t claim to stop you eating emotionally but it’s definitely helping me to cope with the various feelings that affect my eating habits, and that’s deffo good enough for me! You can get it from Boots or Holland and Barratts.

Don’t go for the quick fix – The truth is that quick-fix diets rarely work and when they do they are so drastic that it’s hard to adhere to them for long. What really works is healthier eating and exercising throughout your life, not just for six or eight weeks or whatever the latest diets promise.

See it for what it is – a healthy lifestyle change, not something that will transform every aspect of your existence. Buy new clothes when you need them, make plans that you’ll enjoy at any size, validate yourself for the person you are today, not for the person that you hope to be in the future.

Make peace with food – Don’t see food as the enemy but, likewise, don’t see it as some divine experience either. Whether we have a weight problem or not, many of us see food as a form of comfort or reward. The only way to get around this is to strike a balance with regard to how we eat and how we think about food. On a mental level, don’t make that chocolate bar an object of dread or desire – it’s a snack. The more you can take the emotion out of food, the more successful you will be.

Because you’re worth it – A slab o’ chocolate may make you feel good in the short term, but it’s not addressing the real issue you are trying to deal with – you need a coping strategy other than food. Linking what you eat to how you feel about yourself only reinforces negative beliefs that centre on a conditional acceptance of who you are. Saying things such as ‘I’ve been a good girl because I’ve eaten only one piece of toast for breakfast’ sends the direct message that we should accept ourselves only if we are restricting our natural instincts. And this is counterproductive.

Our acceptance of who we are should be unconditional, not based on calorie intake or dress size.
It is only when this happens that we will be able to value ourselves enough to eat healthier and to lead a happier, more positive lifestyle.

I would love your thoughts, words o’ wisdom on this and I’ll be sure to keep you posted on my own healthy eating journey…

So, you know how much I heart my gorgeous gal-pal Goddess Leonie Allan, right? Well, a couple o’ years ago, she posted about her Things To Do This Life list, and well, it inspired me to write my own, it’s been in my journal, right next to a tarot card of the High Priestess for a while, but well…my other gal-pal Sarah Clark has created her Naughty Forty List, and as I’m on deadline to edit my book, Sassy Sorcery, it seems only right to procrastinate a li’l and share my list, add to my list and I’m going to keep it as a working document here on the site so I can cross off things I’ve actually achieved…I declare February 23rd Make a Life List Day – are you in?

The Sassy Sorceress’ Life List

1. Go to New York – Done. And plan on going a LOT more.
2. Move to Glastonbury
3. Own a pug called Frodo
4. Commit to the man I love – Done. I did this on the 3rd Feb 2011, outside the White Spring in Glastonbury. The beau and I swapped rings, blessed them with water from both the red and white springs – we also did a li’l smoochy-smooch too, natch.

5. Firewalk – Done. And plan to do it again in May 2011 with the beau – eep.
6. Travel across America with the beau in a pink Cadillac – I’ll be wearing a headscarf, natch.
7. Learn the qualities and powers of as many crystals as possible
8. Get my nipple pierced
9. Own a beautiful creative den in San Fran
10. Learn Italian
11. Perform burlesque
12.See the Northern Lights

13. Go to Iceland – Done. I LOVED it.

14. Write a book – Done. I’ve written 10 of my own, and 10 for other people – wohhhooo. Plan to write many more too.
15. Grow my own herbs
16.Stay in an Ice Hotel

17. Go to Paris – Done. Most magickal 4 days of my life spent with Miss Aimee.
18. Have a midnight picnic under the stars
19. Look into the eyes of the man I love and say *I do*

20. Get a half sleeve tattoo of my gypsy heritage – Done and ohmystars, I LOVE it.
21. Learn the stars and constellations
22. Paddle in the sea in December – Done. I did this in Dec 2010. Yemaya made me do it!
23. Drink Pink champagne in the bar at top of Harvey Nichols. – Done – to celebrate release o’ Think Pink.
24. Create my own set of oracle cards
25. Learn to Lindy Hop and Swing dance with the beau
26. Create a successful SASSY brand – with products, course, workshops and books – working on it!
27. Meet Emma Forrest
28. Create my own line of greeting cards and stationery
29. Dress like a rockabilly beauty and go to a weekender
30. Create a beautiful creative and spiritual sanctuary
31. Become a reiki master
32. Meet Francesca Lia Block
33. Run a Sassy retreat for women every summer
34. Stay in an ashram in India
35. Write for Soul and Spirit magazine – Done. And I still do!
36. Give birth
37. create without fear – working on it!
38. stay in an airstream caravan
39. own a cupcake/bookshop
40. make my own pasties
41. sing in public
42. Help girls and women to love themselves and become divas of their destinies
43. become a tattoo-ed domestic goddess – Done. I can cook at least five meals and bake the best cookies you’ll ever taste.
44. Make Paloma Faith my BFF.
45. Be grateful every day for everything I have – I do this every morning, because I am. VERY grateful.
46. To be able to fit into a Marc Jacobs dress. Not done, but I hear he’s doing a plus size range which will mean I WILL be able to fit into one of his creations – hurrah.
47. To immerse in a spring naked – Done. Did it August 2010 in the White Springs, Glastonbury – best experience of my life s’far.

48. To fall head over kitten heels in love with a man who would be my partner for life – I wrote that in 2009, and in August 2010, I met the beau. He is ABSOLUTELY the man I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.
49. To be a healthy, fit size 16. – Working at it.
50. Kiss in the rain. Done. And Plan to do it a lot more in the future.

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