Creating Sparks That Last & All Things Relationships

How Do You Portray Yourself to the World? Your body is your home. Have you ever wondered what compels you to return home at the end of each day? What draws you into that space? What magnetism attracts you to the energy there? Whilst I can’t answer on your behalf, here’s what I know from someone who has lived in 2 countries, semi-permanently lived in a third and travelled for a year without a place to call home yet feeling ‘at home’ in each accommodation. Self-awareness in your space: You are with yourself constantly. How do you perceive yourself? Does that align with how the world sees you? How you wish the world to see you? I’ve noticed that the things that bring me peace are the very things that define me. They denote that eternal question of ‘Who am I?’ Not in a career or relationship perspective, just me, in my own space and not what the world sees from the outside. So what are these things that bring me peace, and how do they relate to who I am and how I portray myself to the wor

Yours Choices Reflect Your Personality Happy by Turia Pitt My favourite book has recently changed, as in this week kind of recently. Reason being, it created the tiniest of pivot’s in my thinking that has turned my outlook upside down and right way up with such an improved view on life! Available here  (I am in no way affiliated) I used to always name, ‘Expecting Adam’ as my favourite book because it too, turned my viewpoint right around, so it kind of scaffolded me to my current favourite. ‘Expecting Adam’ had been my fave for decades and I’ve read a lot more of Martha Beck’s books which I also loved. Available here  (Not affiliated) Pay it Forward movie The takeaway message for me has always been that “people are too scared to try.” This has catapulted me forwards on so many occasions! But beware, if you do watch it, it is a tearjerker. Separate Bathrooms Podcast I only discovered this podcast late last year. It covers all aspects of relationships in a real and relatable way. Intimat

 Let's Dig In https://unsplash.com/@eliomendes My cat is a very typical one and does things that are typically, well, cat-like. Her most annoying cat-like characteristic is to wake up at 4am, most days, on other days it's more like 2am! This particular morning I considered myself lucky, I got an extra 20 minutes of sleep in, as the meowy alarm only went off at 4.20am! Success, kind of.  Wednesday's are walking group days for me, but on the Wednesday in question, I was without a car at home for various reasons of family travel or work or whatever. Since I'd had  hours of pre-dawn reading time (which is my very favourite thing to do, so kitty is all forgiven anyway), I got particularly comfortable in bed with my book, my steaming mug of coffee and no-one in the house to disturb me. Bliss! Even kitty had gone back to sleep since her tummy was now full. By 6.30am I remembered my resolve to go to my walking group regardless of not having a car. It's only 2.5km away to th

Healthier and Happier Together 3 Best Tips for a Healthy Relationship https://unsplash.com/@jeremybanks You wake up in the same bed every morning (or the spare bed if the snoring is unbearable, am I right?), eat the same cereal for breakfast every morning and drag yourself to work either home-office or workplace and wonder to yourself, "Is this It?" No, I can attest that ' this is not it '. This is how I know: If we want things to change, we have to BE the change Now this doesn't mean that all the relationship work is up to you, it simply means that if you are the one who wants things to be different, you have to be the one to do things differently.   - Shake routines up a little, maybe cook a tasty     breakfast to have together on a weekday               - Bring your partner a fruit and dip snack for morning tea if you both work from home               - Pack them a home baked (or store bought) muffin to take to work if they're in the office   Notice the sur

Because It's All About You https://unsplash.com/@adaliabotha Thank you for your patience while my book launch was happening. Now it’s time to celebrate YOU! I want to know what you've been up to. I've been so embroiled in the details of launching that I lost sight of the world around me. So much so that I took a little digi-detox time for reflection. Now I want to know a little more about you. You know enough about me and my life. What accomplishment are you most proud of?  What goal have you set out to achieve this month?  What characteristic do you LOVE about yourself? If you're not comfortable with that, then ask someone else to describe a characteristic they love about you; or reflect on your general characteristics in a journal or note-taking app. https://unsplash.com/@itsmiki5 If you need a little help settling on a characteristic you love about yourself, I've included this article to help you:  Characteristics list What I discovered on my mini digi-detox is t

 5 Tips for a Loving Relationship 5 Tips for a Loving Relationship Often we know what we're supposed to do to make our relationship work, but we don't know how. In the video link above, I've outlined some really easy tips you can do today to make a positive difference in your relationship. The video is just 45 seconds long, so in no time at all you'll have the relationship tricks that you need for a loving partnership, right at your fingertips. Or if you'd prefer to read the notes, click  Real Relationship Tips that Work . For a lighthearted look at positive ways to impact your relationships, I'll be offering my dating diaries eBook for free for a few days from 6 March 2022 . It's a quick read that you can enjoy together, as a couple, or by yourself if you're looking for ways to improve your relationship dynamics. Here's the link, but remember it's only free for a few days from 6 March 2022:  Creating Sparks that Last eBook The time zones are a

Nobody Perceives You the Way You Perceive Yourself Frida Kahlo Cover image from the book; Frida Kahlo's Garden I am the person I know best.   Quote from Frida Kahlo regarding her self portraits. I have been fascinated by Frida Kahlo's expression of self for many years. Her use of light and shadow in her creativity depicts, closely, her awareness of shadow and brightness in herself. Light and shadow that each of us have. The quote above is preceded by deeper reflection: I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best. For me, alone time has always been paramount to me thriving in a noisy, busy world. Alone but not lonely, which I think is what tormented Frida somewhat. That opinion is my own based on the fact that she divorced her husband, Diego Rivera and ended her longtime affair with photographer Nickolas Muray in the same year. Anyway, this is not a study on Frida Kahlo, merely a reflection of how well she knew herself and how that led