Saturday 13 June 2009

Cheerleaders?

Someone once told me that if somebody annoys you, it’s because you see parts of yourself reflected in them. I definitely agree with this. Lately I’ve been finding it harder and harder to keep in touch with a lot of my friends because I know they are going through a hard time and as selfish as this might sound, it’s not something that I can handle right now ('survival mechanism'?). I’ve stopped talking so much on my blog the last couple of weeks about the day-to-day ups and downs and I’m finding it really useful to write through the eyes I am trying to see through rather than through the dark sunglasses I often wear. I got bored of my own thoughts and bored of writing them down. It wasn’t changing anything. The changes in my own state of being have only taken place when I have shifted the focus from ‘what’s wrong' to ‘how to create the life I want to live’. I think there is a lot to be said for our visions/perceptions creating our worlds- there is definitely times where it is important to address current issues/difficulties, but I’m not willing to do that right now. I want to be around positive people. I am very easily influenced by what goes on around me and I attribute my progress lately to surrounding myself by people I look up to. I don’t want to be surrounded by people who tell me I won’t/can’t cope. We all need cheerleaders at times in our lives, and at this point, I need people around me who believe in me, who will push me that extra mile and who will shine a light when my own candle burns out.

It’s only natural to have a bunch of different people in our lives who all bring out different qualities in us- some of my friends and I get together and do the craziest random things and have days filled with laughter and bizarre shenanigans. Other friends and I sit huddled over coffee in Starbucks having serious discussions and debates. I enjoy BOTH, but at the moment I am finding that I am drawn more and more away from the ‘serious’ aspect and just…want to have some fun. Partly because of what’s going on for me right now and just a need to switch off, have a good time and remember the fun side of life. But partly because I want to ignore and deny the struggles I AM having and as long as I am not laughing/joking around, it all seems too real. I’d rather just ignore it.

I think my biggest ‘personal cheerleader’ is my dad. I grew up with him telling me constantly that I could do WHATEVER I put my mind to. It makes such a huge difference to have that knowledge that despite whatever crap is going on, there is someone out there who believes that you’ll make it through somehow.

Who are your personal cheerleaders?

I wasn’t going to post much today but deleted my draft and what do you know? A long rambling babble came out!

Before I forget, I need to mention Janetha for her comment yesterday about the pickle:

“daaang that thing is huge! I wonder how you got your mouth around it?”


I am just playing around this afternoon pretending I know what I am doing with the Live Writer I downloaded yesterday. If this post actually makes it onto my blog, that means I have figured it out *pats self on back* (gotta give yourself some props sometimes! ) So far, am liking it- thanks Alice!

Munchables!


Bran flakes, mashed banana and Fage twin pot- I am going to call this 'Sunshine Cheesecake' from now on.

Since yesterday’s breakfast, I have had crazy cravings for coconut. I LOVE the flavour of coconut but hate having the pieces stuck in my teeth for weeks until I brush them. Though it does make for an easily accessible snack later on...


For anyone in the UK, the Pureprotein bars often raved about on blogs are now available in Holland and Barrett. YEAH! Though I do love the white chocolate coconutty taste of this bar…

I went for a long walk this morning to do a few things (read: stock up on hummus and falafel) and also went to my mom’s house and now have FULL custody of my George Foreman grill. Which could only mean one thing…

Red pepper hummus and cheddar cheese. There are no words. For anyone yet to jump on the ‘crack wrap’ bandwagon, please do…your life will change forever. Unless you don’t like hummus. In which case you are crazy should dip it in ketchup.

Question: are there any foods you love the taste of but avoid because of the texture? For me it would be avocado and coconut. Avocado is mushy in a BAD way (mushy cereal = a good mushy) and coconut just gets stuck in my teeth. Love the taste, but can’t get past the textures.

Okay...the upload from Live Writer didn't work so I had to copy/paste and upload pictures again directly onto Blogspot. It said the server forbid it? Anyone able to help me out with this?

20 comments:

K from ksgoodeats said...

Holy shit. Excuse my language but that crack wrap just blew my mind! DIVINE!!

That flavor of power bar sounds really good! Janetha wins the TWSS comment for sure!

I'd say my cheerleaders are my parents. I'm an only child so they always push me to the best - not in a bad way or anything but the attention is all on me!

Matt said...

My cheerleaders are my friends mostly. They respect what I do even though they think I am insane for it.

curlytop said...

Ellie,

My mum is my cheerleader. I love her to pieces...

Such lovely eats today darling.

With Love,

Emly

Anonymous said...

My parents, they've supported my and encouraged me and continue to do so. I always go to them for advice, as I know they'll be honest with me.

dietlexy said...

I think mushrooms and aubergines can be really slimy sumtimes but I love them toooooo much!

curlytop said...

Ellie,

You can make one serving of Pbu just by mixing 1 part butter to 2 parts milk. So 1/2 tbsp of butter + 1 tbsp milk is perfect! :D

with Love,

Emily

nicoleishappy said...

i need a crack wrap noww!lol
my biggest cheerleader is m boyfriend.he has the mindset that if you are going to do something be the best at it, you only have one life.

i also want to applaud the thats what she said joke. best one l've heard in a while.

have a fantastic day

Janetha @ meals + moves said...

ahahah that was just as good the second time around! (TWSS? :D )

gaaah i am with k, holy shit! that crack wrap is melting with fabulousness, and do people really not like hummus? really? i wonder if we should ship them all off to some remote island where they can be weirdos together.

cheerleader=parents, specifically my mom. parents are the best, arent they?!

i love what you said about just wanting to have some fun! sometimes life needs to nix the serious business and you gotta let go and just have a blasty blast :)

xoxo

Olga said...

My personal cheerleader has to be my prof, who is a good friend. She thinks I'm capable of absolutely EVERYTHING and her confidence in me sometimes rubs off on me personally. She's also one of the most grounded and spiritual people I know. She's the best!

That's crack I'd be down with :)

Anonymous said...

My biggest personal cheerleader is probably my family or my boyfriend. Your crack wrap looks divine!
<3 jess
xoxo

Amanda (My Summerizations) said...

i am so the same way! i just want to have some FUN right now. i'm young, and i don't want to worry about serious things! i understand that people need you to be different things for them, though, and that there are times that call for serious moments. but for the most part, ESPECIALLY in the summer, i want to ENJOY life.

Anonymous said...

I think one of the worst textures for me is the mushiness of bananas that have gotten overly ripe! yuck!

Thanks for bringing up our cheerleaders in life! It reminded me of how much I wanted to mention my heros in my own blog. And also thanks for your advice and sharing your thoughts with me. I look forward to getting yours and all my other "trusty" bloggy friends comments on my posts!

I don't blame you at all for just wanting to be around positive people and happy things. There are definitely times and places for good laughs as well as serious talks. I hope I'm more of a booster than a debbie-downer!

XOXO,
Keri
www.hopskipleap.wordpress.com

Anne said...

My mom is my cheerleader. She encourages me to do whatever makes me happy, and will support me no matter what. I love her so much.

WOW that crack wrap looks insanely delicious! Oh, and I think pretzels taste good, but I always get all these nasty pieces stuck in my teeth! Ugh, so I never eat them.

I hope your saturday is going great!

Nutritious is Delicious said...

I have a great crew of cheerleaders! All of my family and friends! Love them!

YUM! Everything looks great!

"(mushy cereal = a good mushy)"..hahah love it!

I like the smell and flavor of coconut, but I'm not crazy for the texture.

elise said...

so cute about your dad. thats great that hes such a fan - SO important!

im with k, that crack wrap is OUT OF CONTROL. i am a cheerleader for crack wraps :) - vegan-ified of course!!

love the TWSS comment.

oh, and as for the foods with ick textures - well they are mostly things i dont eat (egg whites, shellfish = YUCK!)

**to be fair, ive never actually eaten oysters, but i can only imagine...

elise said...

oh and i forgot to say...congrats on figuring out live writer, its way cooler, no?

Anonymous said...

I defintely like to surround myself with different kinds of people based on what I'm going through. I have a very close friend who I've been making sure not to spend a lot of time around lately because she's too dang depressing. I love her, and we have fun and get along great - but it's so easy to start complaining and bitching. That kind of negativity isn't really what I need right now, and I'm not strong enough to ward it off. So why put myself in that situation?

That's great that you have your dad as a cheerleader! My dad kind of is, but he's too easygoing to really push me that much.

Telstaar said...

My thoughts...

A) GO CHEERLEADERS! I think my best cheerleaders are the ones that KNOW me, they know the good AND the bad in me, they let me talk and cry and share but in the next second are helping me to laugh and play and have fun. They let me be a little kid (which is most of the time that I'm not super sad) and dance in the sand or look wonderously at the world around me. THey don't judge me for just enjoying life but will take me seriously. And most importantly, at the end of teh day, they hold onto my dreams for me when I'm losing sight of them or feeling like I cannot accomplish them.

B) I also have a range of friends just like you do, some serious and some fun like... I think those that I'm drawn to most at the moment are those people that can do both, and can do both in the same situation.

C) I too am withdrawing from people that are too... humm... I don't know, difficult? I guess, I know they need lots of love and support, but unless *I* choose to give it unconditionally, I need to be around people that I can both love and support AND play with as well as those that can love and support and play with me! I don't think this is a bad thing, I wonder if it's part of learning that we also deserve balance in our life?

D)...I'll email this one to you :D.

E) I like that you're writing how you want to be, this is good and its good that you're aware that this is a conscious choice, but also please make sure that you have a place for YOU (counselling, family, friends, other bloggers, whatever works) that you CAN talk about how you're viewing life through those dark sunglasses. My reason being that most commonly, those feelings and thoughts will just build up if they're not being expressed and can lead to relapse and/or explosions (internal or external) if they're not acknowledged and dealt with but essentially being stuffed down...

Most often I try to go, "I am feeling x, y, z but it is not true or reality is a, b, c and thus I am going to try j, k, l" and it doesn't always work brilliantly, but at least the darkness AND the light are both acknowledged!

Those are all my thoughts :)

*mwah*

Keep writing Ellie, you're one cool chick! xoxo

Anonymous said...

woah crack wrap action! I have yet to bring one of those into my lives but I def had a cheese and hummus wrap tonight haha why are we so weirdly on the same page?!

And I so agree that cheerleaders in our life are needed...my mommy, daddy, and god momma are probably my loudest cheerleaders but I'm really lucky to have a whole squad rooting for me!

As usual, your posts are incredibly thought provoking and meaningful...you should be quite proud of yourself missy!

p.s. thank you SOOOOOO much for your comment on my last post. you are an absolute doll! And yes I go back to school in the fall (late August-early September-ish). ANd omgggg can you imagine if we lived together?! So much fun and wayy wayy wayy too many good things to eat. I'm actually thinking about moving to NYC so maybe just maybe haha.

Anonymous said...

Mmmm those protein bars are so good! My mum went through a phase of buying me every protein bar she could get her hands on, but that one is the only one I actually liked. White choc + coconut = yummm

Oh and I completely agree with coconut on the love-the-taste-hate-the-texture thing. I also find pineapple is like this.. it feels too stringy in my mouth but i love the taste!

Hope you have a great week :)