The One with the Health Retreat

Day 1
Bitter - sweet farewell to our dear friends processed foods & coffee! Arrive at gold coast airport to meet our camp...I mean team...leaders. Journey to Gwinganna to begin our 5 night health journey which begins with a broken down bus and what may as well have been a vertical hill. Yes, thats right gentle viewers, our relaxing holiday began with what we can only describe as the Mt Everest decent in reverse! Well we survived that and were welcomed in to our new abode...shared abode...who are we Rockafella!? Gym session, orientation, spa tour with beetroot and mint juice (WTF) surprisingly good. Dinner & meet and greet with other detoxees which was a relaxing 45 minuted followed by an hour of terrifying...walk back to our cheap room one of us scared of axe murdering Ivan Milat the other scared of bear attacks. It then starts to pour...no wait...hail. Tin roof. Shit. Blackout. Lights out...

Day 2
The bears didn't show & Ivan cancelled. 5:30am wake up call to the very awkward room 18 where shock horror two friends shared a bed...an uncommon occurrence apparently! 6am meet for chi gong. 7am hike very slippery (Mt Everest ascent!) 8am breaky served poached eggs with gluten free toast, spinach & tomato - delish! Off to our stretch class at 9am & Tammy's headaches kick in (yay for Nat) 9:30am spin class followed by fit ball. 11am morning tea banana smoothie - would have killed for a solid food - followed by nutrition lecture. Tams nausea sets in...double yay for Nat! Lunch is what can only be described as bowls of flora/garden. 3:30 dream time has begun and so has our awesome spa treatments. 7pm dinner served...reef fish. 8:30 = land of nod

Day 3
Nat takes on morning Chi Gong and vigorious hike up the aforementioned driveway while Tammy...does not. Breaky is a veggie fritata and if you ask what a fritata is the chef will tell you that it's...welll...a fritata lol ahhh crystal clear. Stretch class again followed by weights class with saucy Jason. Ahhh Jason...a delicious gym covered treat that you can't say no to. You think you're enjoying the vigorous weights class but inside you wanna die. Annnnnndddddddd...hernia. Morning tea another liquid juice of beetroot, celery, carrot & spirulina. We miss lecture and take in a game of tennis, with a surprise visit from Jason who calls us Stephie & Martina. Tam loses and does fake nudie run for facebook purposes. Bake by the pool waiting for lunch. Off for lymphatic drainage. 6pm lecture on poop then dinner lol...something healthy I'll bet! Bed by 9:00.

Day 4
Tam comes back to the land of the living however we miss morning hike and decide for a gym sesh. Breakfast at the famous table 1 where all who sit here are served first! Another class with Jason...boxing! Good god we want to die but hide this from Jason. Creative dance boxing in our one on one! Missed exercise lecture and lie by the pool. Lunch. More herbal tea...and water...what is with the liquids around here? 5pm our vitality analysis at the wellness centre. Tears were shed. Nats bio age 23, Tam not so good at 26...she is 26...damn cortisol. Drank some more tea...this time in our room. Back to table 1 for dinner with our usual crew Anna, Bev, Lucinda & Lauren. Bed.

Day 5
The greatest day. A beautiful hike with Sharon on sunset path up to the gwinganna house and a meet & greet with the horses. Andy, Stevie and two we forget but you'd like them! Breakfast = 3 bowels of cereal as we do not like corn pancakes. Off to stretch & then...TRIBAL DANCING. Yes, sounds fruity we know and believe us it started off that way but it turns out...best activity we did all week! It was like the adult version of the hokey pokey. Tears from some...not us. Amazing lecture with Sharon on emotional wellness and stress management/positive thinking. Lunch with table 1 who are fast becoming known as the oinkers. Spa treatments followed by dinner and 80ml of organic wine...that's right 80ml. The daily allowance. Back to room to pack ready for our last day.

Day 6
Caroda trail hike. Kill me. No, it was ok! Successful hike and a hat trophy that's just a hat. Victory breakfast and applause from others for the successful trek! Off to stretch and a zumba class (couple of old pro's!) Back to the room to pack and Nat thinks of ways to get out of hugging fellow detoxee's on departure...damn British not liking hugs!? Cooking demonstration bit of a snooze fest but they make us great quinoa sushi mmm. Last lunch at table 1 and off to the courtesy bus. Get to airport and Tam has her holy grail coffee and two other detoxees head to the bar! We all catch each other out....hilarious. Cheers.

All in all an awesome week of massages, facials, reflexology, chi nei sang, steam room sessions, spas, organic food & lots of laughs. Will be back one day...

The One with the Loser...Tammy!

Its was the 19th of October and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even my damn iPhone. Natalie claimed victory whilst she waited outside for Tammy to appear, it was foggy and the smell of glory was in the air. My kids will remember this day as the great depression...assuming I have kids because I'm such a loser lol. So in the end Nat won the $100 and the complaints department at Apple got an earfull...damn iPhone 3Gs! But hey in my defence I had just found out that the alarm on the iPhone is only 98% effective!

Well done Natalie...you truly are magnificent

The bet begins again and the stakes have been raised to $150...stay tuned

The one with the 'Berry Beauty Smoothie'

Nat and I are really avid fans of all things to do with health, nutrition and general well-being.  One of our free day highlights includes driving an hour to the best health food store and stocking up on vitamins, supplements, and chemical free skin care. We are truly in our glory.

For the past 6 months we have been making (separately, each at our own houses - just to clarify nat and i are NOT Bert & Ernie) what we like to call the ‘Berry Beauty Smoothie’. This is our breakfast, full of all goodness, its just what we need to get us through the morning. Below is a list of all food and supplements we use.

What you will need:

·         Blender

·         Fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries) or substitute frozen berries

·         ½ cup organic almond milk

·         ½ cup coconut water

·         Tablespoon flaxseed oil

·         Tablespoon LSA

·         Tablespoon Chia Seeds

·         Tablespoon of Acai berry powder

Blend together to create the ‘Berry Beauty Smoothie’. Delish!

If you love supplements, as we do, also add the following:

·         Teaspoon zinc

·         Tablespoon Lecithin Granules

·         Teaspoon of a probiotic

Naturopath Brand

Chemist Brand

And if you are working out add some protein powder. Nat and i find the Sculpt brand in Vanilla a good mix in the smoothie. You can purchase this at Contours gyms.

See Below for the end result.

The one with the morning bet!

The situation: in one corner was the not so trim, taught Tammy Lee and in the other corner was Natalie “the napper” Ashdown. Both ladies unable to get their asses out of bed at 6:00am for physical activity!

The bet: competitors contribute $50 each to an impartial party. When morning sport is agreed upon both contenders cannot cancel. The first to miss an appointment forfeits the winnings!

The terms: move some money around at our respective banks for the prize pool lol it was a hefty sum after all!

The outcome: TBC!

The one with the roller skating vs roller blading - part II

So our summer bucket list has begun. Natalie choosing the roller blade and myself choosing the roller skates. I can go on and on about the why roller skates surpass the rollerblades but i think i can sum it up in a few points:

MY HISTORY

I myself am an accomplished roller skater. I built my way up to level 4...twice. (4 being the highest level at Skate Plus). I owned a white pair of skates with a pink rainbow on the side. I won many challenges and was very competitive. i had many roller ksating birthday parties where all my friends used to come along and have an awesome time. I must admit i did dabble in roller blading, i even bought a pair, but they only lasted a very short time. Roller skating will always have my heart and i will go on to debate that roller skates will always be number 1.

HISTORY

Originating in 1743, although the inventor has been lost in history the its still a known fact the that roller skates were the original and the best! I mean just check out the very first pair below.



Roller skating became popular in the 1970’s, 1980’s, 1990’s and today are even cooler than ever.

POP CULTURE

Cult films have been made based on rollerskating.

Roller Boogie follows the nice not so talented skater girl who falls for the super hot extremely talented skater guy. The two meet, he teaches, and they skate their way to love. Ummm Dirty Dancing obviously stole this story line.



Xanadu. The story of a girl who makes dreams come true.



Boogie Nights! Although this movie was based on porn, who could forget Heather Graham as ‘Roller Girl’



Whip It – Drew Barrymore loves skating so much she made her directing debut with the roller derby movie Whip it!

CELEBRITY FOLLOWERS:

We all know that celebs have the Midas touch, everything they do turns to Cool! Now while i had a hard pressed time looking for celebs on ‘roller blades, the pages were endless in roller skating celebs. Here are a few of my faves

ASPECTS

Artistic roller skating is a sport which consists of a number of events. These are usually accomplished on quad skates, but inline skates may be used for some events. SOME being the operative word! Local competitions lead to regional competitions which lead to the National Championships and World Championships.

·         Figure skating

·         Dance

·         Freestyle

·         Precision teams

·         Singles/pairs

·         Roller Derby

See, its a sport a proper recognised sport with competitions, trophies....winners!

Roller Skating = WINNERS

BENEFITS

Most can remember a time, when as a child, they put on a pair of roller skates for the sheer joy of rolling at the rink or on the street. As an adult roller skating can still be fun and also a great activity to increase your overall fitness.
According to the Roller Skating Assocation International (http://www.rollerskating.org/) research has demonstrated that roller skating can have the same benefit in terms of cardiovascular health and calorie burn as jogging. Although a killer leg workout, it also is not associated with the impact to joints and muscles caused by jogging or running.
Combining a variety of skating techniques can serve to work many major muscle groups including the calfs, quads, thighs and buns.

·         Twisting, or making tight turns with your knees together can work your back and abs.

·         Crossovers can help build inner thigh strength.

·         Skating low is as good as a squat and can help build arm and chest strength and muscle tone.

·         Taking longer strides (power stroking) can help you increase your heart rate and strengthen your back muscles.

In general, skating is a fun activity that can be incorporated with others to help improve your overall fitness.
To look like this, just roller skate J

OVERALL LOOK

Just looking at the two. Its like looking at a chic pair of pumps and then a pair of mens work boots.

The skate so sleek and stylish vs the blades, so bulky and uncool.

Roller Skating imagery:



The one with the skates vs blades - part I

“Blades…like skates…but better!” Barrack Obama

A debate that’s gone on almost as long as the battle of the sexes - blades vs skates! 1763 saw the inception of the first recorded use of roller-skates on the London stage. The inventor of roller skates is lost in history – convenient? Or perhaps he too was ashamed of this invention knowing full well it could be greatly improved upon!  Enter John Rollerblades - the proud creator of inline skates! During the late 80’s and early 90’s rollerblades became so successful many people actually substituted their regular shoes for the inline skates and almost saw the demise of the auto mobile as a mode of transport due to the sheer popularity of this beautiful but deadly sport! Studies showed that kids in school tested better and were in fact cooler just by wearing this awesome footwear. Those on roller-skates were bullied and in some cases ostracised from society. During the early 90’s hospitals were heavily filled with roller-skating victims, many incidents stemming from shotty skate craftsmanship and in some cases roller-skates would just fall apart while gliding along – this time was known as the great roller-skate depression. Professor Steven Inline-Skates said “we’re very fortunate to have rollerblades to get us through this difficult time in history.”

Rollerblades are often compared to a bike with training wheels – useless and uncool.

Today, no one uses roller-skates. Celebrities the world over are the proud owners of rollerblades, forging the way for a better, brighter, skate free future. Remember – roller-skating will result in your children looking like this:

And that’s the way Natalie C’s it!

The one with the summer bucket list

Scared of death? Or in this case the end of summer!? Afraid you won’t do all the things you set out to do…join our summer bucket list!

We have come to the realisation that we have wasted our past summers and our youth so we have created our own summer bucket list for 2011/12 because lets face it, no one is getting any younger. Below is our list of doable things we have never done before, we will keep you updated on our journey and hopefully by the end of summer we would have completed all things

Rollerskating/blading

Dance classes

Paddle boarding

Surfboarding

Attend a teenage festival

Buddhism class

Spanish class

Bikram yoga class

Health Retreat

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