Christmas Cake Recipe

You’ll need the following:

1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
4 large brown eggs
2 cups of dried fruit
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of brown sugar
Lemon juice
Nuts
1 bottle of whisky

Sample the whisky to check for quality. Take a large bowl. Check the whisky again. To be sure it’s the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink. Repeat. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again. Make sure the whisky is still OK.

Cry another tup. Tune up the mixerer. Beat two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Mix on the turner. If the fired druit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it goose with a drewscriver. Sample the whisky to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something. Who cares?

Check the whisky. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one table. Spoon the sugar or something. Whatever you can find. Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees. Don’t forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out of the window. Check the whisky again and go to bed.

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My Mojo Came Back – WOOHOO!

Folks, my mojo is BACK! Yeah baby! As you may have noticed, I’ve been competing with ‘Mr Grumpy’ for the title of ‘Grumpiest Person in the World’ for the past month or so. Ever since I got back from my holiday, I’ve been creatively dampened, uninspired, a bit pessimistic (for me), and of course, grumpy. But yesterday, the Winter Solstice, I felt my energy change. A dark, grumpy cloud lifted off my shoulders and I found myself unaccountably cheerful. Unaccountably because it’s still snowing, icy and ‘orrible weather. In recent weeks, this has guaranteed a grump!

But no longer, all of a sudden I am bursting with ideas, enthusiasm and cheer (I still don’t want to go outside for long periods but I do feel a ‘snow angel’ coming on! (seriously, I can’t tell you what a difference this is!) The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, and the longest night, and it has long been celebrated for the ‘return of the sun’. I certainly feel like spring is much closer now that hideous day is out of the way! Lol. Speaking to a client this morning, I find that it is not just me who is feeling this shift in energy.

So, I wish to send you a little of this cheer, and to wish you a Happy Solstice! May spring return to your heart and your climate (unless you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case Happy Summer Solstice), may the year ahead be filled with joy and all things auspicious.

Lots of love

Donna.x

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The Year In Review

I’ll be honest, this is not the time of year I am at my best. I am not a fan of the cold, ice, snow, wearing 200 layers of clothing. So to distract myself from the cold, ice, etc I’ve been looking back at the last year to remind myself what I’ve achieved this year, what I’ve enjoyed this year, what I’m proud of this year. Sandy Grason calls this the ‘Look What I Did’ list. All too often, we just breeze on past our achievements, our joyful moments, our highlights of the year in our quest for the ‘next big thing’ in life.

I am particularly bad at this in wintertime because I am such a grouch! So it’s a good time to reach into the store of good stuff we’ve completed, achieved, experienced and felt in the past year. You might even find it’s worth giving yourself some credit and a celebration for being brilliant!

Love

Donna.x

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Pat On The Back

Lately I’ve received quite a few pats on the back for my website/blog. I received a LOVELY e-mail last week thanking me for my ramblings (they didn’t say ramblings, but that’s how I like to think of my blog!). A couple of ‘new’ friends have complimented my fabulous website and blog, and then yesterday I was working at a company in Birmingham and one of the chaps said he’d looked at my website to research me and thought my website was great. He said I obviously put a lot of work and thought into it, it showed and it was great!

How lovely. To anyone who has ever had an appreciative thought about my website/blog/newsletter, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Of course, I don’t do it for plaudits, I do it because I believe in it, I love it, and I love that you guys are out there reading it. But it is nice occasionally to hear that it is hitting the intended target! Which brings me to my topic for the day: appreciation. Appreciation is one of the easiest things to give, one of the greatest gifts you can give, and they joy people have when they receive appreciation is wonderful.

But all too often, we don’t appreciate, we criticise. Other people and ourselves. It becomes a very very bad habit that not only makes us feel discontented, it also puts frown lines on our faces! And whether the other person hears the criticism or not, they will get a sense that something is wrong. Of course, there is often much to criticise! If I wanted to be critical of my day, I could find many things and people to criticise for not being 100% perfect according to ‘Donna’s rules’. But I could find an equal amount of things to appreciate.

The difference is that when you take the time to appreciate rather than criticise, you feel better. And if you pass on a little of that appreciation, other people feel better too. So I have an assignment for you today. Look at the people closest to you – partners, children, friends, colleagues and find something to appreciate about them. You might want to share it with them too. Heartfelt pats on the back are always welcomed, and in these dark days of winter, you could bring a little sunshine into their lives!

If you want to, you could even extend the appreciation to people you come across in your day. For example, I had to return an item to a shop today and the woman who served me was SO helpful and lovely that I had to say to her, not only ‘thankyou’ which I’d have said even if she wasn’t helpful (it’s a British thing, I don’t understand it either) but also ‘I really appreciate your helpfulness and brilliance’. To be honest, I think she found this praise slightly OTT but it did bring a smile to her face!

Anyway, to finish, thank you. I really appreciate that you read, comment, enjoy and visit my humble blog and I congratulate you on your wisdom and good taste! ;-D

Much love

Donna.x

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OnTheBeach – The Gift of Life

Over the past few years, the frailty and fragility of life has been brought home to me at this time of year – my uncle passed away at the end of October, the following year one of my friends lost her fight for life at the end of November. And with Christmas and my birthday coming, I miss them more than ever. No birthday card from my friend will hit the mat, no silly texts from my uncle will arrive. As maudlin as this sounds, it also reminds me how lucky I am to be able to still breathe into these lungs, to enjoy the festive season and to moan incessantly about winter. I am very grateful that my one and only precious self is still here and still healthy.

It also makes me more aware of my own life, and how I am living it. If my life ended, would I be happy with how I had lived? Would I rue missed chances? Would I regret wasted time? Now let me just say here that I do not believe that any time is wasted – every experience helps us to grow and gives us opportunities to be more wonderful…it’s just that sometimes we take the opportunity to be grumpy instead! And as I said last week, this grumpiness gives us the opportunity to turn it around and pay attention to what we do want instead of what is pissing us off.

If life was the most precious gift you had this Christmas (or today, tomorrow and every day), would you treat it the way you currently are? Would you read the care instructions more carefully? Would you have more appreciation for your life, your body, your mind, your heart, your spirit? Do you even notice the absolute miracle that is your life? Can you imagine the chaos if a computer giant were in charge of the mechanics of the human being? You can’t switch us off and on again when we aren’t working…well, I suppose you can, but it’s not an everyday solution!

Imagine – you breathe, think, your heart pumps, you digest food and process waste all without thinking! Imagine the mechanics of something as simple as picking up a pen – and we do it all without thought. It is utterly miraculous. We are utterly miraculous. YOU are utterly miraculous. There is no one else like you in the world. No one else who will have the experiences, thoughts and feelings that you have. And you do all this without much tlc I suspect. Many of us take better care of our belongings than we do our bodies. Our cars are serviced more regularly than we are. It’s not just a question of eating well, drinking water, exercising, all that usual stuff. It’s also about filling your life with joy, filling your heart with love, filling your mind with the idea that life is fun!

Imagine if you had a little tag sticking out of your sides, like your t-shirts have. Care instructions. What would yours say? Mine would say ‘feed nice food, water liberally, exercise daily, make laugh hourly, sleep for 8 hours, surround with lovely people, treat with love and respect and tell her she’s fabulous every time you pass a mirror, make feeling good top priority’. Lol. You are so lucky to be you, with your gifts and talents, with your unique perspective, with your possibilities and potential. With your life. Do you appreciate that gift?

- Something to Play With -

What would your care label say? What would someone need to do to take the very best care of you? Leave me a comment below and let me know!

Love

Donna.x

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Hidden Away and Unloved

A few months ago I had a refit of my office – new colour on the walls, new flooring, new storage unit. All the boxes and bags of junk I had been storing in here went into the garage. My intention was to clear them all out over the next couple of weeks. Months down the line and I am still sorting through these bags and boxes. Today I found a load of things wrapped carefully in newspaper. The paper is dated 2004. These things have sat in the cupboard for the last 6 years. What use are they there?

I kept them because I liked them but felt I had nowhere to put them (a couple of mobile/wind chime type things and some candle holders). But seriously, what is the point of keeping them in a cupboard? I have a rule now about what I keep – if I use it or it makes me smile, I keep it. If not, out it goes. Looking at the things I had so carefully wrapped in newspaper and forgotten about for the last 6 years, some of them make me smile. Those things I have found a space for. Some of them, I would like to keep but I won’t use and they don’t make me smile, so they’re being wrapped back up ready to give to the charity shop.

From there, they will find someone who loves them, someone they can make smile, rather than being hidden away and unloved by me. Freeing up clutter frees up space in your mind as well as your home, it frees up energy…and it gives the clutter a chance to see daylight!

Love

Donna.x

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Flip it on its Head

Apologies for being late with my newsletter article this week – I was busy yesterday being exceedingly grumpy! Partly hormonal, partly because I cannot bear the cold, the snow, basically I don’t like winter! As far as I’m concerned, bears have the right idea hibernating for the winter. One of my ambitions in life is to be able to just take December off work and run away to warmer climes! Or just spend the entire winter in a happier climate. Australia is top of my most wanted winter abode list at the moment. As far away from snow and ice and 17 layers of clothing as I can get. I know that other places get it much worse (and where I live has not had it ‘bad’ really – there’s mere centimetres of snow), but I still can’t stand it. On the plus side, it helped me come up with an article for this week’s newsletter. Enjoy!

By the way, I’m currently working on a new product (to be released before the New Year) about making next year the best year of your life. If you’ve got any questions, thoughts, ideas about this subject, let me know and I’ll make sure your questions will be answered.

- Flip it on its head -

So, yesterday I spent the entire day complaining bitterly about the weather, I had a face like a spanked arse and I was very grumpy. I realised today that part of this was hormones (gotta love those hormones!), but still, I was unusually fed up with it all. But this morning I remembered to turn it on its head, and rather than focus on the thing I detest, use that as a reminder and a spur to focus on what I do want. Abraham Hicks call this the contrast that calls forth the desire. Without the contrast (the thing you don’t want), how could you find what you do want?

So, turning this on its head, what do I want? Well, to spend the winter months in a warm climate basically. For years I’ve entertained the idea of living by the beach somewhere lovely and warm. In the winter months, this desire gets VERY strong! When it’s snowing and icy and cold, it gets incredibly strong. But yesterday I was using that super strong energy on the thing I really didn’t want, focusing all my attention on that fact that I hate winter/snow/ice/cold/ having to wear all my clothes at once to keep warm. I did a great job of it too, I really went for feeling bad. Yes, it was fuelled by hormones…and I am glad that it was, because if I hadn’t been so grouchy and cantankerous I possibly wouldn’t have realised that it needed turning on its head.

All too often, we focus so hard on the things we don’t want that they become all-consuming, taking us on an ever-decreasing circle to misery. I did an excellent job of making myself feel worse and worse yesterday. The good news is that you can use the same skills you have to make yourself grumpy – focusing on something clearly, repeating it endlessly and magnifying the feelings – to make yourself feel good! Just by turning it on its head. The contrast creates the desire. When we see something we do not want, this helps us decide what we do want. The trouble is, we don’t use it in that positive manner most of the time. Instead we just keep on about the think we do not want. In my case, cold/snow/ice.

Easily done, that’s what’s in front of us. That’s what we have to deal with, so isn’t it natural to focus on the fact that I hate the snow? Maybe it is. But does it feel good? No. And you know me, I see doing things that don’t feel good as insanity! So I’m going to focus on what I want. I’m going to use that contrast to help me see what I want – life in more temperate climes. Imagine if I didn’t. I would just moan about the weather for days, getting more and more grumpy. Nothing would change. The weather would still be the weather. The snow would still be there. I would be grumpy for however many days over the winter months – at worst, it could be 4 months of grumpiness!

BUT if I use that contrast to inform what I want… Now I can feel better when I focus on what I do want. Somewhere warm in winter. Yum. And when I am focused on what I want, inspiration can hit me. About how I might achieve that desire. Winter holidays, arranging my business so this living somewhere else for winter is possible, finding a man who owns an island resort in the Maldives (hey! I can dream!). The point being that not only do I change my mood from grumpy to positive anticipation, I also have way more chance of moving away from the circumstance that makes me grumpy. This can apply to anything – money, your job, your relationships, your health. Notice what it is you don’t like and use that to decide what you do want. And then focus on that thing you want. This way you get to spend less time in the grumpy chair, and maybe that desire for something new will inspire you to new heights in your life?

- Something to Play With -

What are you grumpy about at the moment? What is the desire that is born out of the contrast? Eg if you are broke, the desire for wealth is born. Focus on what you want, not what makes you grumpy…and notice if you feel inspired to do something to make that desire reality. Want to share your thoughts on this article? Leave a comment below

Love

Donna.x

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