The thing is when you’re over thirty things start to sag. As a woman you start to think about stuff like mortality and aging and wrinkles and what-the-hell happened to my youth? Did I pass it on my way to Bingo Night at the club?

BUT as I told my sister, there is a certain charm to growing old that modern times has buried in creams, procedures and injections.

If you take a good look at a woman over the age of fifty who takes pride in her appearance, who doesn’t wear dollops of makeup and hasn’t had a face lift or botox injections and whatever the hell you do with collagen (blah, blah, blah…) you will see a beauty that surpasses the kind you see in airbrushed magazine pictures.

A woman who is at peace with who she is and what she looks like is the definition of real beauty. Look past the wrinkles and age spots and all the other signs of living past fifty and you will see a woman whose beauty is deeply captivating.

I don’t know about you, but I am far more impressed with natural beauty than fake beauty. Sure we are all flawed, but so what? We all have things we don’t like about ourselves – even super models – but if we don’t start focussing on what we LOVE about ourselves, all those negative thoughts we have will get out of control as time goes on.

THEN we are at risk of slipping into the really unhealthy habit of finding more and more things we don’t like about ourselves until we can’t stand to look in the mirror.

The things us women do to ourselves. Seriously. Blimey, we even compare ourselves to other women our age or women younger and wish we were them. We look at photos of ourselves ten years ago and think, ‘Wow, I looked GOOD back then’. And we did. But we will look at photos of ourselves ten years from now and think the same thing, so why not feel good about ourselves right now?

So look in that mirror and say this to yourself: ‘I look GOOD!’

Say it loud: ‘I LOOK GOOD!!’ Feel it and mean it… because you DO look good.

So girls – or should I say ‘women’ – let’s wear our lives proudly in our looks. Let’s say no to eternal youth and embrace aging gracefully instead. Let’s not fall into the trap of fighting to remain young and wasting money, time and energy on anything other than facials and treatments and stuff that keeps us healthy on the outside and feeling good on the inside.

Let’s give the finger to the media and all those unrealistic beauty ads and any other crap that puts the pressure on us to look twenty-one again. We’re not twenty-one so why the hell should we look it? There is beauty in aging and I for one intend to embrace it.

By the way, you look gorgeous today!

Tracey

Me again tapping out more words of waffling wisdom on this beautiful sunny morning sitting here in my trackies sipping green tea (like you needed to know all that)…

Anyways… I wanted to share with you something that happened the other day and that seems to happen to me quite often. What happened was a man I respect and trust told me a big fat lie. I was hanging on his every word – one pen away from taking notes – when he did it.

We were talking about the internet, a subject which he knows a fair bit about, so I take him very seriously (because I am a geek and I love the internet in a very sincere and reverential way).

I was trying to think up a name for my new website. We were deep in conversation. This man (who will remain nameless – you know who you are Stephan Stavrakis you evil, evil man) turns and says to me:

‘Well, you’d better get yourself a domain name quickly, I hear they’re running low.’

And what does yours truly reply: ‘OMG! Really?’ before going into a state of mild panic, hastily yanking the thesaurus down from the bookshelf and madly flicking through it for ideas. It was truly awful.

I know what you’re thinking: As if every single domain name in the whole world could be taken. It was obviously bollocks. My excuse is that I’m open-minded and I don’t automatically think ‘what’s the chances’ when someone tells me something, so I thought: ‘Well, there’s a lot of websites out there…’

No blonde hairs on this head but I will admit to having a long-term case of gullibilitis (meaning I am extremely gullible) of which there is no cure. I will believe anything. Just ask my friends and family. Believe me, they take full advantage of it by telling me whopping great fibs all the time. They’re not very nice people.

It’s not all bad though. The great thing about having gullibilitis is that I totally enjoy stories. I don’t need a lot of convincing that dragons talk and children rule worlds. The bad thing is that people with not so great intentions try and take advantage of me. But never fear; I have a weapon against evil and it’s called the Intuitor.

The Intuitor is a bit like a lightsaber except it’s got more sparkles and makes a ‘weeeeee!’ sound when I swish it in figure eights, which is the best way to ward off malice. So fortunately I’m protected.

The Intuitor works by sensing bullshit through a high-tech gadget thingie in the handle and sending a signal to my brain under the disguise of a very faint sixth sense that tells me something isn’t quite right.

It’s hit and miss and it only usually works on villains (rarely on people I trust – which is a bummer). I think the inventor ran out of money before it was fully developed. Either that or I should pull out the instruction manual and see if there’s a button I should be pushing.

So I’m wondering if it’s just me that suffers from gullibilitis. Seriously, do you believe the crap your so-called loved ones tell you because you love and trust them? Do you have an Intuitor to ward off villains? If you do, maybe we can start a support group together.

Hey, we could meet once a month and have a newsletter! We could even get a website. But we’d better hurry. Apparently there’s a shortage of domain names, or so I hear… Speaking of which, I’d better go grab one before they’re gone. Catcha!

Tracey

P.S. Oh, by the way, I was going to talk about trust, but I waffled on a bit instead (did you notice?) Sorry about that. So stay tuned for a d&m about Joe, Jane and a deity you may or may not have heard of called God.

P.P.S. Hey, can you tweet this for me so I know the button works? You know what I’m like with this left-brain stuff. Think of it as a favour to me for providing you with all these highly use(less)ful blog posts out of the kindness of my heart because I am truly awesome and kindness oozes out of my every pore and you love me so much… Geez,I waffle on about crap, don’t I?

Stay happy, beautiful reader!

Hi folks, I’ve been quite the busy bee these past few weeks which is why I haven’t posted anything. You have been in my thoughts though, as I know it’s been hard for you not hearing from me in so long… Lol… I am so full of it, aren’t I?

Anyway, enough of the bs, so here’s what I’ve been up to for the last few days. It’s very exciting (exciting is another word for ‘dull’ right?). Read on only if you have absolutely nothing else to do otherwise I fear I will lose you, my only reader, forever.

These past few days I have spent many a loooong hour bent over a shovel and rake. You have no idea how sore I am…! Here’s the go. I live on a 2.5 acre property. The house is at the back of the block and our driveway runs the entire length. For the past six months it has done nothing but rain here on the un-aptly named ‘Sunshine Coast’ and so our driveway has pretty much disappeared into a trench of swampy madness. I swear there’s a few crocs in there (I do live across from Australia Zoo!).

Enter Tracey thinking she can save the driveway single-handedly. For those of you who don’t know me in the real world I weigh around 54kgs and I’m not that tall. I like to think of myself as physically strong and I’m fit enough but there aint no way I’m ever going to win the Women’s World Body Building Title!

So after hour upon hour of shovelling and raking and wheelbarrowing wet road base into puddles and washouts and slushy spongy muddy muck I can tell you I was pretty stuffed! But you know the weird thing? It was kinda cool. I mean there I was sweating it up with my ipod playing my favourite music and I was well into The Physical Zone.

I’ve discovered that The Physical Zone is completely different to The Creative Zone or The Meditation Zone. It’s more like The Yoga Zone on steroids. For those of you who practise yoga, you know what I mean. It’s when you tune into yourself on the ultimate level – mind, body, spirit. The Physical Zone was like that for me.

I was totally at one with my body while I was pushing myself to the max and all the time remembering to honour myself with many breaks to stretch and rest. It was ‘Om’ and ‘Ouch’ all rolled into one.

So that’s it. I just thought I’d share. Really, there’s no point to this post other than to say ‘Hi’ and let you know what I’ve been up to. Oh, and also I’d like to publicly take my sweaty grimy dirty hat off to all you physical labourers out there. All that physical stuff is tough  and I would imagine quite difficult to endure day in day out. Here’s to you.

…And to all you office workers out there, if you want to get physical, I have a house that needs painting. Hey, a girl can try.

Leave a comment to commiserate or tell me I’m a wuss and to get over it. At least my driveway looks good and I can drive on it again.

Stay tuned for a ‘proper’ post soon.

Tracey

When the rain started, it came down hard and at a forty-five degree angle. From behind. I was wearing an old dirty jumper that I found in the boot of the car, rolled up jeans and a pair of un-waterproof canvas slip-ons that quickly became two sandy ponds for my feet.

By the time I got to the café across the road for some lunch, I was squelchy and cold and drenched from the waist down. I ordered tomato soup with toasted panini. Sitting there shivering and wet, scoffing down the soup like I’d been trudging the sahara for yonks I thought to myself: now this is a good day. And it was.

Attitude is everything, peeps. Find pleasure in discomfort. Seize the joy.

Dollops of happiness to you all xx

Tracey

Ok, so you know what you need to do and you know what will happen if you don’t get it done… so why are you chatting to your mate on the phone or making your tenth cuppa for the day when it’s only five past nine? (Note for you non-aussies: cuppa means a cup of something – usually tea or coffee). Here’s the scenario: you have a project to finish (or start) but there are a million other things to do first. Even if there aren’t other things to do you will make them up, right?

Real or made up they are what’s known in the trade as ‘distractions’. I am a leading expert in the field of distractions. You see, I am addicted to online social networking. Twitter, in particular. I just read tweets and occasionally post my own while time drifts on by. Tweet, tweet. From a writer’s perspective it’s a great way to practice succinct writing but, frankly, it’s the ultimate time-waster. Don’t get me wrong. Twitter is a great way of connecting with people in a raw, snapshot kind of way and I love connecting and communicating with people from all over the world. That’s cool. Plus you can stalk celebrities (hee-hee). The problem is, I tend to tweet when I have something else I should be doing. And that’s bad.

I THINK, THEREFORE I PLAN

When I’m being good, here’s what I do: I think about what I need to do in the day, then I plan how and when I will do it. It’s all about mind control. Not the ‘take me to your leader’ kind of control but the ‘think before you act’ kind. Planning gives you motivation. It gives you a vision. When you don’t plan your day, you just have this vague picture of what you need to do and it all seems too hard or too out of reach so nothing gets done efficiently or effectively. When you plan your day, then you are more inclined to follow through on those plans and actually get something done then afterwards you have a sense of accomplishment and you reward yourself and you feel pretty damn good. Being good takes effort, but it rocks.

ARGH, THERE’S A WHOPPING BIG ROCK IN MY WAY!

If after you’ve sat there and planned your little heart out but you still want to go off and paint your toenails, then it’s time to look deep into your soul. U-huh. It’s that serious. Sorry, folks. Chances are there’s a rock you need to haul away. Ask yourself honestly: why am I not doing this? HONESTLY. There will be a reason and you will need to look that reason in the eye and have a heart-to-heart with it. Maybe it’s because you think you can’t do it. Perhaps you have forgotten how to spell ‘ultracrepidarianism’ and you don’t have a dictionary. Or maybe you only got two hours sleep the night before because you were on Skype with your friend from Heidelberg. Whatever the reason, face it and find the best way to move past it.

DO IT NOW!!!!

It’s all fine and dandy to have someone chuck something at you and scream ‘Get this done by five!’, but if you don’t have something driving you to action, then you will either do a crap job of it, or it will bring you no satisfaction and leave you wondering what you are doing with your life. Or both. That something can be anything from paying the bills and feeding the family, to fulfilling a dream or personal growth. Whatever is it, be wary of that voice within that tells you it must be perfect. If you’re comparing yourself to experts and mentors in your field or doubting your abilities to succeed purely from your own or someone else’s expectations, then it’s time to put things into perspective. Recognise your achievements and abilities. Bear in mind that every step is a step forward. Go easy on yourself and remember to enjoy the process of completing your project because that’s what’s going to make it work more than anything.

YEAH SURE. WHATEVER (SIGH)…

If none of that helps then just give up and go check out the latest tweets on Twitter.

Huh, you say? Stay with me here. Time-wasting could well be a good way to gather your thoughts. I’m not saying it’s not an excuse to go off and Twitter away into the sunset. Honest. I’m just saying that maybe social networking, playing solitaire on your computer, going for a walk, chatting on the phone, painting your nails… maybe all those things can be beneficial. Let’s call them ‘Intentional Distractions’. I can hear you thinking ‘but shouldn’t we do something healthier like meditate?’ I hear you, it’s just that sometimes it’s an effort to light the candles and lie down. Sometimes we want to tune out, not tune in.

What I’m getting at is that as long as we know when enough is enough, Intentional Distractions might just be good for us. If you’re worried you will never ever find the strength to tackle that project ever again then set a time limit. An alarm perhaps? Then go off and play Solitaire, update your Facebook profile, see what everyone’s up to in Twitterspace, even venture out in to the real world for a sec. Apparently fresh air is good for you. Then, in the same way you rise from meditation, tune back into reality, ready, willing and able to tackle that project headlong with passionate conviction. Go you! Hey, it’s a win-win situation.

It’s just a thought…

P.S. Check out this hilarious video about Twitter: trouble with twitter

(I’m not addicted. Honest…)