Author: Oana

Healthy Living Challenge: Day 36 – Happy Romanian Easter week!

Published by

I know, I know, even my blog didn’t recognise me as its owner today and needed me to sign in. Total neglect would be the feeling it would have, if blogs had their own feelings 🙂 Anyway, I am back to say hello and enhance your cultural knowledge by informing you it’s pre-Easter weekend in Romania. Meaning that from Monday this week people in Romania have been cooking up a feast. Mentally and literally. As a child I experienced mixed feelings during this week. I dreaded the Monday before Easter because my mum would have gone into a (totally uncharacteristic for her) cleansing frenzy involving lifting carpets, washing windows (with a mixture of soapy water and vinegar and drying them with newspapers until they squeaked!!), dusting every crook and cranny in the house, washing curtains…etc. Tuesdays were generally reserved for beating the carpets. Oh yeah, that was waaaay before we owned a vacuum cleaner(by the way, she owns one now but she’s told me this week that she still doesn’t know how to use it…) …

Healthy Living Challenge: Day 35 – Don’t fear fats!

Published by

I think this is the lesson I learned since my last weigh-in. It paradoxically took an increase of fat consumption in my diet to lose weight last week!! My explanation? We have been told that veggies and fruit are great for losing that extra weight but losing weight depends to a great extent on an efficient daily elimination of the ingested food. I found that in my case water doesn’t have enough lubricant effect necessary in the elimination process and that fats like avocado, extra virgin olive oil and even “bad” fats like pork pancetta and bacon had a favourable effect. This is not medical advice so please don’t go blaming me if this doesn’t work in your case. This is what works for me and has helped me go down another notch this week, from 68.5 to 67.6! Stay healthy, eat well and don’t ditch the bacon ;-). Talk soon!                                                         I now add olive tapenade, curried coleslaw or a dash of olive oil to my salads. Delish!

Dear Chihuahua of Fear…

Published by

I am writing this post in response(or a reaction) to a challenge launched last week by Holley Gerth as part of her series of  “God-sized dreams” posts. I have written before about my desire to see God using me and my gifts in the right place at the right time. I believe it hasn’t happened yet as the magnitude of my expectations hasn’t been fulfilled. My heart still aches with desire and vibrates with longing every time I read about issues that burden me. So dear Chihuahua of Fear, I am writing this short letter to let you know that I haven’t given up on my dream to serve. I recognise your whispers and I bring them to light and put them to shame: I was created for a purpose and the time is coming when I will discover it, walk in it, delight through it. I am a very imperfect human being but my God is perfect beyond reproach and this reality is the rock I stand on. There is no cancellation of God’s …

Healthy Living Challenge: Day 34 – New Healthy Family Habits

Published by

The weather has been nice last week and we took up some new habits. A long walk by the beach with Emma in the pram then a stop in a local child-friendly restaurant with a small play area for herbal tea and play time. We did it three times last week and it worked really well as mum and dad got some time to chat while Emma made new friends and kept busy playing. I really look forward to going to Greece. I have missed the blue sky and the daily walks I took with Emma in the morning. I intend to keep up the good habits and enjoy daily morning walks with my girl(and hubby, on the days he will be off) and plenty of healthy, fresh, straight from the market food. On the other hand, I am still 68.5, guys…this is my third plateau and the hardest to budge out of…I have done everything right last week, from drinking pots upon pots of herbal tea, eating only lean meat and veggies, avoiding wheat …

Healthy Living Challenge: Day 33 – Slacking is losing

Published by

Yes, you guessed it, I did slack during the Easter holidays. Ate cake. And munched at Emma’s Easter eggs. And enjoyed butter and cheese. And now I have put weight back on. I am back to 68.5. Darn…I have lost the bet with myself and I am slightly irritated at my lack of resolve. Oh well, back on the horse, I suppose, I can’t let setbacks put me off my goal. Which is in sight: 65 kilos by the end of May, when we leave for our holidays! Stay healthy, talk tomorrow! I made sure that chicken didn’t cluck by the end of the day and now I have to live with the consequences 🙂