HIII! Welcome to my first post (and video) of 2019. Thanks for being here!
I had hoped to share this video a couple of weeks back but due to quite a nasty eczema flare up (still going through it, dudes) my health had to come first. I had mentioned in my first video I was drinking celery juice and following a few of the Medical Medium’s protocols to start actively healing my eczema after reading his latest book, Liver Rescue. I continued with the celery juice daily all throughout Christmas (still going strong) and when I returned to Granada a few weeks ago, I was keen to do his 9 day Liver Rescue cleanse. I was only too delighted to give my digestive system a break, and let my body clean house…hopefully taking some of the causes for my unpredictable flare-ups with it.
Things often get worse before they get better, so the flareup is mighty at the moment. Apparently this is totally normal and should subside soon enough. Hopefully very soon. 🙃
Just a little side note that I don’t really believe in ‘detoxes’ or ‘cleanses’, your kidney and liver are doing that stuff all the time. I suppose this was more of a digestive reset, letting those aforementioned organs do their thing at their best capacity. While you can only consume fruit and vegetables for 9 days; you can do so in abundance. So I actually wasn’t struggling as much as I thought I would. There’s a lot to be said for a big colourful plate of fruit or salad to feed the senses.
Anyway, a couple of weeks post-cleanse and I’m still focusing on maintaining a clean diet as I don’t want to rely on any quick fixes anymore. Over the last 16 years I’ve met all manner of dermatologists, who assure me it’s not diet (yawn) and give me the next prescription of steroids or topical steroids (don’t get me started on my wardrobe full of useless potions and lotions) so they’re happy to be paid and I’m not a nuisance to them for a couple of weeks or months. The inflammation I so regularly experience has got to be internal. So I’m playing detective. I need to be more in tune with my body and my gut and know what’s right for me, naturally. That and TSW (topical steroid withdrawal – Google at your peril) is very much a thing, and it most definitely makes sense. Steroids can be pretty damaging long term. I’ll never go down that road again, 2018 was my last trip. So due to the big changes (very clean diet, no steroids) I can see why this flare-up is so persistent.
(Both memes from NationaleEczema)
(Both memes from Other than (probably boring…) skin updates, this post is just a quick check in as my video intro was short. I deliberately shortened it. I had mentioned other productive things I’ve done so far this January, but confidence in front of the camera after weeks of a red swollen cracked face needs to be built up again. There was a lot of awkwardness, so they didn’t make the cut! Editing is a little jutty and fumbly as a result. Anyone find when they hold the camera and film walking around all is cool, calm and collected but once you stick it in front of you on the table or on a tripod, it feels like an interview or deposition?!
I also didn’t record each day and it stops abruptly after New Year’s Eve, but overall, I’m happy with it. I went to Blue Bar in Skerries on Jan 1st, Ko San Thai on Jan 2nd and J2 Sushi the night before I flew back to Granada. Did I film it? Nah. And filming food is my favourite. There’ll always be other videos.
I originally filmed in 4K but had to scale down big time, which is totally lame. 4K videos are needy AF, they take up all the disk space you’ll ever own, ever.
Anyhoosie, without further ado, here it is.
Apart from focusing as much as I can on my health and editing a video, I have gotten back into yoga, jumping back in with Dedicate, Yoga With Adriene‘s new 30 day series. Yoga changed my life in 2018 as I really stuck with it consistently (I really enjoyed hot yoga many years ago but the studio was miles away from me!) and it has really helped me cope with my skin among so many other things.
I stopped for about 18 days over Christmas and couldn’t believe how stiff and rigid I had gotten, you really can’t take much of a break. Fast forward 24 days of the series and my posture feels ‘right’ things feel aligned, my strength has improved greatly, my mood is better and I managed to do crow pose for the first time ever, which I could never do throughout all of 2018 despite regular yoga. I want to keep doing it almost daily, the benefits are endless.
I would highly recommend YWA and have here before, Adriene is such a kind, funny and engaging teacher and it’s free, so you can enjoy the videos from the comfort of your own home.
Other than that, I’ve been reading a lot…nothing new there. As much as I love a good book and how it physically feels in the hand (not to mention the amazing smell) I credit my beloved Kindle for the spike in my reading over the past few years. It is easily my favourite past time, I read a ton on the weekends, in bed before I go to sleep…in coffee shops or terraces here in Granada…when I’m waiting for the kettle to boil. It’s the most pleasant activity, don’t you think?
2019 so far I have read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, Conversations with Friends (didn’t grip me as much as Normal People, characters felt flat and weren’t engaging, but I admire Sally Rooney’s work) Sapiens By Yuval Noah Harari and Coffee by Jason Scheltus, a Christmas present from good ol’ Santa.
Speaking of reading, I was featured in the Irish Examiner in print and online on January 14th which was nice! Below is the paper article my Mam sent me from Ireland and here is the online link, a summary of the article. It was lovely of them to feature me and my skin was in RIBBONS that day so it was a welcomed pick me up.
What else, what else….? We are planning on spending more time in Granada this year as Iñaki and I have lived together since the end of 2018, so no more long distance and travelling to see each other. As a result, we’re putting time into building our little home together, we were extremely productive in January with this – a new TV, new rug, new things for the kitchen, new airfryer…even a new bin. I really hated our old bin. The hate I had for that bin wasn’t healthy. I literally binned that bin. Good riddance, and welcome shiny new silver, taller, all around sleeker model. Who knew a new bin would bring me so much joy?
We also sorted out a lot of clutter and had a handyman in to sort some stuff. We can’t do it all in one month though, the fun is in working on the place bit by bit, so more accents and plants and personal touches will be added throughout the year until we have reached super home status.
OH! I almost forgot! We saw Bohemian Rhapsody last Thursday. What an incredible movie! I adored it. Rami Malek was born to play the lead. We also watched You (who hasn’t, I guess…lol at the feedback on Twitter of so many finding themselves attracted to a MURDERER) Birdbox (didn’t really get the hype…sorry!) some other movies here and there and I rewatched one of my all time favourites, Midnight in Paris. We also watched Wonder on Sunday and Iñaki tells me I cried twelve times. I’m not surprised, it literally tore my heartstrings out of my chest. Okay, not literally but you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it. I’ve deliberately stayed (mostly) away from TV while trying to be productive this month, but since we bought a new one it would be totally ridiculous not to spend a little time with it. Verdict? I really love our new TV.
Anyway, here’s to more videos this year as well as posts, I love to write but I love varying my content now between here, pics on Instagram and YouTube videos. I’m plenty busy with my full-time job, but I’m always happiest when in my spare time I’m doing something creative. So I’ll continue to share my passions here in 2019, hopefully a bit more regularly than last year.
We did it, we survived January!
♥ ♥ ♥