Feel Good Friday is a small collection of the inspiring stuff I’ve discovered around the web.  It’s all about good health, happiness and the stuff that makes us feel good!  Please leave me a comment if you have a great article or blog post to share in next week’s round-up.

Melbourne seems to have skipped Autumn and jumped straight to Winter, and a bunch of my colleagues have succumbed to colds & flus already.  So I was pretty amused to come across Blackmore’s useful article about the colour of your snot!  I wonder if I should put this next to the coffee machine in the staff room…

I love Pip’s Eleven uber-healthy noodle recipes!  We love Pip, we do.

A garlic ingredient is 100 times more powerful than two popular antibiotics at fighting one of the leading causes of food poisoning, say scientists.  The compound, diallyl sulphide, is able to pierce a protective “biofilm” employed by the food bug that makes it hard to destroy.  Plus, fewer vampires.

Eating well by keeping good ingredients in the house.  Without planning ahead it’s too easy to reach for something naughty!

Should you immunise your children?  It’s a contentious topic, and I thought this article explained both sides of the debate pretty well (though it does take a side).  For me it all comes down to risk assessment; I’m more concerned about the damage caused by preventable illnesses than the claims about vaccines.  What do you think?

Source

Do you run “naked”?  My iPhone is my soundtrack, but also a really good motivational tool.  I use it to track my pace and distance (and even the location of the nearest zombie horde!) and that data helps me know whether I’m on track to meet my goals.  However, I see the appeal of ditching the gear and simply running for running’s sake.

10 ways to lunge, by Fitnessista

I’ve discovered a few new health & fitness blogs lately, and been loving them!  Check out the inspirational Andie Mitchell from Can You Stay for Dinner and add Fitsugar to your RSS reader too.  So much great stuff there.

Something to make you smile: Jon Hamm offers advice to teenage girls about love, fashion and dating.  And he looks incredibly freaked out by the entire experience, which somehow makes it even more awesome!

Image source: beachboysbeauty.tumblr.com

It’s been a long week, and this weekend all about suiting ourselves.  We have a breakfast date with our  lovely soon-to-be-married friends (eek, I only have one week to find a dress!) and aside from that I’m just itching to draw and paint.  I’m super happy about the cold and rainy forecast too, so as an apology to my Summer-loving friends I offer you the picture above.

Have a happy, happy weekend.  I’m SO ready for this one!

Source: someecards.com

Please accept this picture in lieu of an actual blog post.  I am on strike until Wednesday.

The 12 Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks, just off the coast of Port Campbell National Park in Victoria.  The rock formations were created as a result of erosion, and they continue to erode at a rate of about 2cm/year at their base.  There were only ever nine stacks (despite their name) and one of them toppled over in 2005.

Tim and I visited a few weeks ago with my brother and his girlfriend.  The sunset was beautiful (although not nearly as good as our last visit!) and we spent a couple of hours there watching as the sun dipped below the horizon.  The changing light makes the rocks and cliff faces look different every few minutes, so it’s a pretty great place to bring your camera.

I would love to come back to photograph sunrise one day.  Something tells me that the direction of the rising sun would make this scene even more spectacular.

Can you see Venus in the sky up there?

It took about an hour and a half to get back to our place in Apollo Bay, and most of that was winding roads through the pitch dark national park.  When we arrived at home we were greeted by the smell of Tim’s Famous Chilli* simmering away in the slow cooker and a seriously excited little dog.  It was such a good way to warm up after our adventure to the Apostles.

We had to leave for Melbourne the next morning, but not before meeting the resident alpacas on the property!  More on those in my next post…

*Tim’s Famous Chilli has a block of dark chocolate in it.  It’s basically the best thing you’ve ever heard of.

Source: A scene from Inception (via everybody’s Tumblr.  Is this the original?)

Yesterday was the first time I’ve missed a Feel good Friday since I began them a couple of months ago.  The post was all written up and ready to go, but when I arrived at work yesterday I discovered some sickening news and spent the rest of the day in a fog, talking things through with my colleagues.

I wasn’t affected directly by the news, but people I care about are grieving.  Shattered.

And I guess this is the part where I apologise for writing about all this in such vague terms.  Stories about my job don’t belong here, and that’s frustrating sometimes.  Perhaps if my blog wasn’t quite so googleable?

Hope your weekend is a happy one.  I’m determined to make the most of mine.

When I decided that I was going to take a self-portrait once per month for 1001 days I thought it would be a breeze.  After all, how hard could it be to put myself on the other side of a camera every 4 weeks?

It should be easy, but I came really close to forgetting this month.  I had all of the time in the world over the weekend to take my self-portrait but it never once crossed my mind to do so.  Not until I was driving home from work tonight, with a splitting headache behind my eye, did I remember that today was the last day of April.

Bugger.

So here is the very best I could manage.  It’s the face of a girl who was on her feet for most of the day, but was clever enough to wear a wedge instead of skyscraper heels.  It’s a photo of somebody who eventually had to kick off her shoes completely to move furniture when the other guy didn’t show up, and made sure everyone else met a deadline.  She’s the girl whose laptop crashed and destroyed an hour’s work (but she didn’t lose her temper), and who made time to help somebody that nobody else wanted to deal with.

A girl who finally microwaved her lunch at 3.15pm, and ate it cold at 4pm; desperately in need of two Panadol, but too busy to walk the 50m to go and get it.

More importantly, the girl in the photo managed to get so much done at work today that she wasn’t about to drop the ball on her own little project.  It may not be beautifully lit, and the circles under her eyes may be darker than usual, but it’s done.

And it’s me.

A photo of me, one day in April.

This is the greatest TV ad you will ever see.  And yes, it’s a real thing,

Happy Saturday!

Feel Good Friday is a small collection of the inspiring stuff I’ve discovered around the web.  It’s all about good health, happiness and the stuff that makes us feel good!  Please leave me a comment if you have a great article or blog post to share in next week’s round-up.

First of all, a link from my friend Ralf (hi Ralf!) about “Ego Depletion”.  Turns out willpower is not just a metaphor, it’s actually a finite resource.  This is a really worthwhile read and made me think.

A great deal of your thoughts and behaviors are automatic and unconscious. Blinking and breathing, for example, need no help from the conscious part of you. Much of your behavior, like driving to work or toweling off after a shower, just happens while your conscious mind drifts off to think about Game of Thrones or how you’ll approach your boss for a raise. If you touch a stove you recoil without thought. Your desire to avoid dark alleys and approach embraces occurs without your input. When moved by a song or a painting or a kitten, the emotional rush comes without volition. Much of your mental life is simply not under your conscious control, and Baumeister’s research suggests once you take the helm every act of volition diminishes the next. 

It is as if the mind is a terribly designed airplane. As long as the plane flies in a straight line, it burns very little fuel, but as soon as the pilot takes over in any way, to dive or bank or climb, the plane burns fuel at an alarming rate making it more difficult to steer in the future. At some point, you must return the plane to autopilot until it can refuel or else it crashes.

Read the rest of the article here.

This is why chocolate is my favourite vegetable!

15 Things you should give up to be happy.  These are the things we should try to quit for a happy and stress-free life:  from needing to be “right”, to living your life to others’ expectations.

This week I learned of a new hazard related to smoking: Third-hand smoke.  Researchers have warned that toxins from cigarette smoke remain in the environment and build up over time.  Like we needed more to worry about!

The chemistry of tea.

What if bone health has more to do with our Vitamin D intake than calcium and dairy?  This study suggests that calcium may only be part of the picture.

Much Too Complex Carbohydrates by Rick London.

And so ends another week!

I’ve been feeling pretty stretched lately, and after a couple of weeks of trying to ignore the problem (and eventually admitting that it’s not going away) I’ve spent a little bit of time trying to figure out why.  Turns out I’m not really doing anything more than usual, I’m just making terrible use of my time!

My suitcase isn’t unpacked from our trip to Apollo Bay two weeks ago.  My laundry is being stored on top of my suitcase instead of being put away.  The whole house needs a vacuum and my bathtub needs a scrub.  We also have a car load of stuff to donate, and we keep shifting it all from the car to the laundry because we can’t organise ourselves to drop it all off!  Ridiculous, right?

So this weekend I have two goals:  sort my house out (if I crank up some music this will take 2 hours, max) and see The Avengers.  Probably in that order, so that I don’t go rewarding myself prematurely.

Hopefully by getting these jobs out of the way my brain will have a little more space for the stuff that really matters – like drawing or painting or tackling one of the 91 uncompleted things from my 101 list!  I haven’t really made any ground so far this month, so it’s time to get serious again.

What have you got planned for your weekend?  If you’re in Melbourne it’s going to be a chilly one, so find a good book and remember to pick up marshmallows for your hot chocolate!

Read Part 1 of our Great Ocean Road-trip to Apollo Bay

This was the view from my bed when we woke up Saturday before last.  No big deal, just an exquisite panoramic view of Apollo Bay and the sun peeking up from behind the hills as it rose for the day.  I opened my eyes just long enough to take this picture before snoozing for another hour, and listening to the birdies.  Bliss.

Our accommodation at Apollo Bay was amazing. Tim and I have stayed here before with a group of our friends but last week I realised that I never really wrote about it!  This place is too good to be kept secret (although I selfishly considered it!) so I’m sharing a bunch of photos in the hope that you’ll go there sometime.

I can’t recommend it highly enough, but you need to know three things before we begin:

1) Apollo Bay Ridge is owned by friends of ours;
2) They have no idea I’m writing this;
3) I would stay here in a HEARTBEAT even if it was owned by toothless ornithological taxidermists with an extensive replica Cosby sweater collection.  That’s how you know I’m serious.

So on to the good stuff. Apollo Bay Ridge is a few minutes past the township of Apollo Bay itself, situated on 3 hectares of land.  We stayed in the big house (there are also two smaller villas), and when you walk through the door this is the first thing you see.

Amazing views in the distance, modern decor and comfy lounges, and a wonderful woodfire heater.  The pyromaniac in me was devastated that it wasn’t yet cold enough to use the heater, but last time we visited it was given a thorough workout and it heated the entire house beautifully.

In the lounge area is a big TV with surround sound, and above the door is a screen for the projector TV!  (Bonus points for all the downlights with dimmer switches, so you can make the place as romantical as you like.  And yes, “romantical” is too a word, so there.)

Turn to your right and you’ll see the open plan kitchen and dining area.

This kitchen was the main reason that we barely left the house for our entire stay.  It’s fully equipped with a big fridge, oven, hot plates and all the other gear you need to cook with.  We even discovered an enormous electric wok and used it to make a tasty laksa on our first night.

The kitchen has enough plates, glasses (and wine glasses), cutlery etc to serve a big group of people and the big vase of flowers was on the table when we arrived. Plus, if you’re staying for a while that washer/dryer is going to come in handy.

Apollo Bay has a couple of supermarkets and other specialty shops that made it easy to stock up the kitchen for a few days.  And if you’d rather let somebody else do the cooking there seemed to be lots of great beachfront eateries where you can grab a meal too.

Behind that staircase is a second lounge area, and the first of the three big bedrooms.  That’s where Tim & I stayed, and a certain four-legged creature too!

You need to know that I have a policy regarding the making of one’s bed on vacation, and that policy is: no way, nuh uh, you can’t make me, no, not even for photos, you’re not the boss of me, etc etc.  It’s really not up for negotiation.

This bedroom has a wardrobe and mirror and a door that leads into the ground floor bathroom.  Plus that view I was telling you about, and pretty foresty views from the big windows on the side.

A cute second lounge area for all of your resto relaxo needs, plus the staircase to the second level.

The lounge and dining areas from the spiral staircase.

There are two more big bedrooms upstairs, each with queen size beds.  There’s also a third lounge area with its own little balcony, and a second bathroom.

This is where my brother and his girlfriend stayed, unless my Mum is reading this in which case they both slept in separate rooms ok Mum?

The house officially sleeps six people, but there’s a great futon in the upstairs lounge too!  I can see this being perfect for a couple of families holidaying together, especially with the extra living areas.

But, let’s go back to the views.  The house would be excellent regardless of its surroundings, but the view from the lounge and balcony is what really makes you feel like you’re on holidays.  The best part of staying here is that it’s quiet – just you, the bird calls and the people you’re with.

And this view.

Well-behaved pets are welcome.  It’s worth mentioning that we didn’t see or smell any trace of previous furry visitors – it’s not like some of the other pet-friendly places I’ve visited before!

This post is getting pretty long, but it would be a crime to wrap things up without telling you about the incredible night sky from this balcony.  It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced the stars without ambient light, with the exception of some twinkly lights from the township below.

You can see the Milky Way from here!  If this was my house, I would move that futon to the back deck and sleep there, just for the stars.  It’s just magic, and since I forgot to bring a tripod this photo really doesn’t do it justice.

The big house at Apollo Bay Ridge is probably overkill for two people, but the owners told me that they sometimes drop the rate for couples who only want to use the lower level.  There are also two villas on the 3 hectare property, and next time I think Tim and I will have to go back by ourselves so that we can see what they’re like.  We had a little peek last time and they were just as beautiful as the house, and spacious!

During our stay we took my brother and his girlfriend to see The Twelve Apostles.  The sunset was pretty magical, so I’ll be back soon with some of the photos I took.

Don’t worry, I won’t be posting all 350 shots!

If you’ve ever driven the Great Ocean Road you already know how beautiful it is.  The beaches are rocky and rugged, the wildlife is abundant, and the waves kick up enough salt and mist to make the sunsets even more spectacular.  It’s truly one of the best stretches of coastline that I’ve ever experienced and the journey is always worth the slight motion sickness that I get towards the end!

A couple of months ago my big brother told me that he was going to be in town for his friend’s wedding, and he mentioned that he’d never seen The Great Ocean Road or the Twelve Apostles.  Obviously we had to make it happen, so we packed the car (and the puppy) for a long weekend and made a road trip out of it!

We’re lucky to have friends in Apollo Bay who run a bed & breakfast, so planning our trip was a breeze.  The accommodation is incredible and I’m going to have to devote an entire post to it!

Our trip down the coast was just spectacular.  It was clear and sunny, but not hot.  Harry was calm the entire way, and approached each stop with enthusiasm and a waggy tail.  It was a really happy day.

How’s that for a sunset?

By this stage of the journey we were almost at our destination.  We were having our friends up to the house for dinner so we knew we had to get there and unpack quickly or they’d be starving!  However, we couldn’t resist one last stop when we noticed a bunch of cars pulled over on the side of the windy road.  It could only mean one thing…

Koalas, in the wild!  It was about this time that I realised what a city kid I have become, as the only koalas I’ve seen in the past decade have been in zoos.

(Don’t believe what you see on TV, Americanos.  Well, except for the kangaroos.  We all have one of those to commute to work.)

So that was Day 1 of our wonderful long weekend.  More photos to come!

Feel Good Friday is a small collection of the inspiring stuff I’ve discovered around the web.  It’s all about good health, happiness and the stuff that makes us feel good!  Please leave me a comment if you have a great article or blog post to share in next week’s round-up.

Some clever cookie has put together a great guide to improving your posture to reduce back pain (and look hot!).

• As somebody who resisted organised exercise throughout my twenties, Learning to love exercise is an article I related to!
• The debate about the addition of permeate to our milk heated up this week, when it was revealed that the major Australian brands add up to 16% of this cheese waste product to fresh milk.  Nobody is really suggesting that it’s harmful, but I do question whether milk manufacturers should be messing with our food without disclosing it on the label.  What’s your take on it?
• Former palliative carer Bronnie Ware wrote a wonderful article (and then a book) called Regrets of the dying.  It’s attracted a lot of attention lately and is well worth reading.  Most of us are lucky enough to have the time to do something about these deathbed regrets now, but will we?
• If you start the day with a flat belly but feel bloated by bedtime, there’s a good chance you’re a woman (you lucky thing!)
• Loving Angela’s tips for using lemons – especially the lemon sugar hand scrub!  Plenty of great information about the many health benefits of lemons and limes at WHFoods.org as well.
• A reader called Annelies (hi Annelies!) emailed me about a great little running app called Endomondo.  It tracks your distances and pace in real time, and seems to be publishable as a widget on your site too!  There’s lots of community support and competitions to keep you motivated too.  I’ll be checking it out over the weekend.
• 10 foods for a healthy, beautiful smile, and how to eat to reverse tooth decay.  There’s some conflicting information in these articles, but they both show that diet plays a big role in the health of our teeth.

I think I speak for all of us when I say… TGIF, baby! It’s been a reaaaaaally long week over here at Casa Scarlet, and although we’ve had a fun time we are BEAT.  Somehow I’ve managed to limp along until the end of the week, and I’m so excited about getting home after work today and getting into Tim’s track pants.

I’m planning to spend a couple of hours restoring our house to some sort of order, and then there will be as much resto relaxo as I can muster!

I’ve thought about this place heaps over the past week, and I hope you weren’t lonely during the radio silence.  I’ll be making it all up to you in a day or two with lots of photos of our trip to Apollo Bay & The Twelve Apostles last week.

Happy Friday (and happy WEEKEND!)