12 Weeks to a Beach Body!

Hymn to Isis (3rd or 4th century AD) - absolutely beautiful

2010-01-08T21:04:00.000+13:00

When I came across this on Paulo Coehlo's site, reading it truly took my breath away. It made me feel proud to be a woman, a mother, a wife, a daughter, a dot in this vast universe. I hope it makes you "feel". Enjoy.

For I am the first and the last

I am the venerated and the despised

I am the prostitute and the saint

I am the wife and the virgin

I am the mother and the daughter

I am the arms of my mother

I am barren and my children are many

I am the married woman and the spinster

I am the woman who gives birth and she who never procreated

I am the consolation for the pain of birth

I am the wife and the husband

And it was my man who created me

I am the mother of my father

I am the sister of my husband

And he is my rejected son

Always respect me

For I am the shameful and the magnificent one

discovered in Nag Hammadi, 1947

Happy 2010!

2010-01-08T21:00:00.000+13:00

Wow it's been months since I last blogged. Man I suck at this haha. And yet ... I can talk my way out of a paper bag. Interesting ...

What books are on your bedside table?

2009-09-10T07:14:00.004+12:00

I've been looking at the pile of books beside my bed. There's quite a few. Some I've only half read, some I haven't even started yet, and a couple that I like to go back to. Some I forgot were even there.

Here they are.

Baby-led Weaning - G Rapley (awesome! If you're not into feeding your baby pureed food, check this out)

The Courage to be Rich - Suze Orman

The Five Love Languages - G Chapman

HypnoBirthing (oops shows I haven't tidied up since Miss L was born!haha)

The Year After Childbirth - S Kitzinger

Secrets of the Baby Whisperer - Tracy Hogg (thought this would be my bible, didn't need it afterall!)

The 4-hour Work Week - Tim Ferriss (awesome tips on how to work smarter)

The Secret (D, I've still got your book!)

Turning Passions into Profits - Chris Howard (you should enjoy what you do, right!)

Your Life, Your Legacy - Roger Hamilton

My Year of Living Dangerously - Rodney Hide (really enjoyed this, see where he's coming from)

What to Expect when You're Expecting (hmmm gotta tidy up!)

What books do you have? Which ones do you want to read but haven't got round to it?

(Oh and of course the latest MindFood! Best magazine out. Love this cover!)

Happy Father's Day!

2009-09-06T07:51:00.000+12:00

Facebook | Belinda Tuki: Happy Father's Day!

too busy reading other peoples blogs & tweets!

2009-09-06T00:16:00.006+12:00

wow. I haven't posted in almost 2 months. ha! And I thought I'd be a great blogger! I've been reading other blogs though, some interesting and funny, some not so. Here's a couple that I've been checking in every other day:

www.mamamia.com.au I enjoy Mia Freedman's blog, she's an aussie mum. Funny and down to earth.
www.momlogic.com An ok site, lots of articles written by various mums and others. Read an interesting article about oral s*x just before!? It was tweeted about and I was curious to see what it was all about haha

I've gotten into the whole Twitter thing, even following the likes of Oprah, Ellen, Pink and even Deepak Chopra! Can you believe it, Deepak Chopra tweets. Love it. Follow me!

Using Facebook alot more for Eggcel, at the moment traditional methods work better to promote Eggcel and any special offers, but will keep at it. Traditional being email that is :)

Last weekend we went down to Papamoa to visit our besties who have recently moved down there. What a beautiful spot to live. Both hubby and I have decided to go down once a month for some RnR, thankfully our friends don't mind us crashing at their place on such a regular basis! Miss L loved being around their adorable kids, especially almost 4 year old Alivia. She just had to smile at Layla and our baby girl cracked up laughing. Our weekend away was the highlight of last month for sure. Lowlight was our gearbox dying. grrrrr. damn car. So been in the shop for a week, while mechanic sources a second hand gearbox. Oh the joy when we get that bill.

Oh I'm so glad I've finally realised that eating chocolate and takeaways isn't helping, and both hubby and I have started eating clean. yay!! It's been almost 2 weeks and loving it. One cheat day a week, so we're not feeling like we're missing out. Eggcel is a main component of our eating plan, I can make an Eggcel omelette with veges easily, even with Miss L on my hip. Feeling so much lighter already and more energised. Now it's spring it's a great time to get rid of the extra winter fat (and in my case "baby" weight) and be ready for summer. I think I'm down about 1.5 kgs. Happy with that!

Looking forward to Fathers Day tomorrow! Miss L has got her daddy a very cool pressie, I'm sure hubby will love it. Will post some pics and will aim to blog at least every several days. Even if it's a one liner.

Water baby? hmmmm NOPE

2009-07-18T18:33:00.003+12:00

Have you seen those Tummy Tubs? Very cool design, looks like a bucket, but it's not a bucket. Enables baby to feel like they're snuggly in the womb, so then baby should feel comfortable and secure and in turn enjoy the bathing experience. Well not my baby. Not Miss L. As the baby bath wasn't working and Miss L would voice her dislike for it, I went and bought the Tummy Tub. 55 bucks later and some grumbling while I was in Nature Baby (They have steps. Inside the store. Not pram friendly at all) I thought I had found the answer!

Three TummyTub baths later and nope, Miss L still isn't keen on being surround by warm water. Funny really considering she was born in water. Maybe I created the whole issue ... I didn't like my baths either. Not that I can remember not liking them, I just have it in my head that I didn't. So when Miss L was bathed for the first time, I was apprehensive. Hmmm... let's hope I don't pass on other issues.

Oh I should mention that the young lass that served me at Nature Baby was wonderful. Very friendly and helpful. Bugger I didn't get her name. Next time.

In a nutshell....

2009-07-14T22:52:00.011+12:00

Gosh can't believe it's almost been a week since my last post! Man time flies when you have a lil cherub in your life. Loving it! Well not the time flying bit.

I've been updating my facebook page for Eggcel, adding in an event, the "bake off" competition for August. Should be heaps of fun seeing what people make with Eggcel other than the usual. Decided to get the email newsletter up and running again. Was using Constant Contact but as that's expired decided to try out Aweber, which seems very easy to use and cost effective. As I've lost all my subscribers (over 500 of 'em!!) I'm practically starting from scratch. So if you're keen to be a subscriber please do! Just go to www.eggcel.co.nz and the pop-up should umm... pop up for you to subscribe :)

Also finally getting all my boot camp snippets into some sort of order so I can upload them to Youtube. Set up an account, EggcelNZ for that. Wow, can't believe I used to take boot camps. Seems like soooo long ago. Another lifetime even haha. Have had a few past clients hit me up lately as to when I'll start them again. Well, probably when I can do a push up myself! I haven't attempted one post-preggy, so that should be interesting. May even video it he he. I reckon once spring is sprung I can take outdoor boot camps and have Miss L there as well. She can be my weights, no need for dumbbells aye.

Oh, I'm also keen to restart my coaching. I have missed working with clients and helping them change their mindset to achieve better outcomes. I'm not going to rush into "working" again though as my priority is Miss L, so will work around her and hubby's work timeframe.

So that's what I've been up to for the past 5 or so days. Doesn't sound like much aye, but I only work when Miss L is asleep. I figured, while Miss L is awake, it's my role to be 100% focused on her. This is the imprint period, the time when her brain is making extremely important connections, when her initial belief system is created, her first memories and experiences evolve and begin molding her view on the world around her. So saying that, I want her reality to be filled with love, trust, happiness, the love of learning and the feeling of security in these precious months and years.

I believe babies are human angels. Let's treat them that way xxx

Seems like so many lifetimes ago

2009-07-08T13:02:00.015+12:00

I found some photos of what both hubby and I typically ate pre-pregnancy, and thought I'd share them with you. Along with our daily Eggcel smoothies or omelettes (I love Eggcel for brekkie as I'm not really a breakfast person and it's so light), and hubby having smoothies mainly before/after a workout, we also used to eat tonnes of grilled boneless skinless chicken breast, tonnes of steamed broccoli and at least once a week, grilled salmon. Not so exciting but it was the norm. WAS the norm ... When I was pregnant and my obsession with carbs grew (honestly I felt like I was possessed) our normal eating habits were completely turned upside down. And to be honest again, they still are! Well, not so bad, but we have a lot more treats than we used to. Actually pre-pregnancy the thought of even having dessert was very rare. Now it's like, umm ... where's the dessert?

So here's some pics of our Clean Eating days (which we are going to revive! Soon, very soon ... once winter is over ... hee hee) And if you're wondering why I even have pictures of our meals, it's because I used them to show my clients a typical clean eating meal.

Eggcel Omelette stuffed with spinachGrilled chicken breast with broccoliniGrilled chicken breast with a green salad

And with all this clean eating came regular workouts. The gym used to be our second home. We both no longer have gym memberships, funny how priorities change once a baby comes into your life! As I know how my body reacts to strength training and eating clean I know I can do it, so no worries there. I'm more concerned about my lack of desire to remove the jiggly bits! I always said I would never become "one of those women" who let themselves go just because they've had a baby. Ha! What a load of hooey!

I must admit, I'm currently living in a state of blissful ignorance. It's only when I need to wear something other than leggings and a baggy tee that I realise that a. I am still wearing my maternity clothes 4 months after Miss L was born even though they're baggy and shapeless and b. I do not want to go out and buy new clothes at my current size. So, here are my two options. Get back into shape so I can fit my normal clothes and actually go and buy some new clothes, or be happy where I'm at and buy clothes at the size I'm at .... tough one ... will let you know what I've decided after I eat this slice of pizza ... and go and bake some cupcakes...

Must haves!

2009-07-07T09:35:00.010+12:00

I'm going to start posting my all time 'must haves', not just what I want or need, but things I must have. Of course I'm going to blatantly promote my own creation first :) I know that Eggcel should be in everyone's kitchen, whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, maintain or just eat healthy, it's perfect for you! Oh incase you don't know what Eggcel is, it's pasteurised 100% pure egg whites. Nature's ultimate protein, made right here in Aotearoa. No additives or preservatives. You can make smoothies, meals, the possibilities are endless. If you've never heard of using egg whites in shakes and smoothies, I highly recommend it. Such an awesome way to turn a boring milkshake or fruit smoothie into a high protein drink (with no added flavour guaranteed). Warning, DO NOT consume raw egg. This is a no no. As Eggcel is pasteurised it is safe to drink.

Here's me and hubby about to enjoy our yummy strawberry smoothie made with Eggcel. We also have it in powder form, and will soon have a Bake Off competition with lotsa cool prizes!

oh and yes, another pre-baby photo haha

For the breastfeeding mamas, this "tigers milk" recipe is a great way to boost your milk supply:

1 cup full cream milk
1/2 cup acidophyllis yoghurt
1 Tablespoon complan powder (or milk powder)
1 banana
honey
1 tsp yeast flakes
+/- ice cream

My addon: 1 tbsp Eggcel Powder or 1/2 cup Eggcel Liquid to make it a true protein enriched shake.

Mix in a blender makes 3-4 cups
drink over the day

The yeast flakes are what increase the "supply" but for anyone out there who wants to increase the "quality" of their milk then use the recipe without the yeast. Found this on Breastmates.

Join the Eggcel Fan Club

Now this isn't quite yet a must have, but definitely something I'm looking into, Agave Nectar, as a sugar substitute. It's sold here in NZ, it's a low glycemic liquid Sugar substitute that is 4 times sweeter than table sugar. It can be used for Baking, Cooking and anywhere else you would normally use sugar or a chemical/artificial sweetener. Too cool! Will let you know when I've actually tried it out! But hey, anything that's sweeter than sugar yet low GI has got to be a must have!

Why am I here?

2009-07-06T23:16:00.002+12:00

Well, let's see. I should start at the beginning ... well just under a year ago to be exact. I found out I was pregnant. First baby (a miracle baby really) and very much wanted and dreamed about. Hubby and I were ecstatic. I had recently become certified as an NLP Practitioner. I had big plans! Already a business owner and a Personal Trainer I knew I could incorporate my background in health and fitness with results coaching.

So picture this, both hubby and I lived a very clean healthy lifestyle. We ate clean 90% of the time, and worked out regularly. That was before the pregnancy. The new chapter in our lives.

During the wonderful 40 weeks of "building" our baby, I decided to just eat whatever and whenever I felt like it. C'mon, it was like heaven to me ... I had cravings, I just went for it. If I felt like chocolate ... for breakfast, I ate chocolate for breakfast (my clients and customers are probably horrified by now). Hubby decided to run with it, seeing as he was "supporting" me by eating with me.

So 27kgs later (my weight gain, hubby chose not to weigh himself) I kinda regretted the eating with abandon rule. But oh well, I'll be breastfeeding, so no worries aye!

March 18, 9.07pm I gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Miss L. We had a home water birth. Totally natural and what a magical and surreal experience with hubby as my support. We had gone to a hypnobirthing course, and highly recommend it if you are preggie and aiming for a natural birth.

With the joys of motherhood (the best "job" in the world!!) I literally turned into a stepford wife overnight! I began cooking more, baking and wanting to be all crafty~even wanting to learn how to knit! Is it just being a mum that has made me turn into a 50's housewife? Of course, I still want to turn everything I enjoy doing into a business opportunity .... so will keep you posted on that front.

For now, I thought I'd just blog about the wonderful experiences and changes in my life. This blog will be about my baby girl, about being a mum, a wife, a business owner, about my renewed love of baking and of course will include really important stuff about health, fitness, and clean eating. As the creator of Eggcel, this is a given! To top it all off, this wouldn't be my blog without adding insights about the wonderful complexities and power of the unconscious mind and how to make it work for you, not against you. Phew! I'm tired just writing that!

So this is why my blog is titled Mama Got Skills ... skills I never even knew I had, skills I continue to work on, and skills that I want to share with you all.

One thing I've learned becoming a mum is that it's ok to want to have it all, but it's also ok to just focus on the family, to create an environment that nutures and supports. And we live in such a green focused world, what better way to help the planet but by going back to the basics.

oh and ps, I have about 10kg to go to get back to my prebaby weight ... but I'm in no hurry. It's not like I have a movie premiere or magazine shoot to get ready for!