As well as being an adoptee myself I am also the 51 year old late blooming mother of a beautiful, much wanted and hoped for adopted three year old son. Adopting my son was the conclusion of a long, deeply meaningful and epic journey and a new beginning. Finally becoming a mother has brought me complete untold joy.

Whilst I have blossomed into this new journey of motherhood, I have also faced another ending and a new beginning, that of passing through menopause, the end of fertility and entering into a new stage of my life. My blog therefore is really not just about being a late-blooming mama but what it means to be a woman blossoming into my ‘wise woman’ years. Learning for myself how to embrace it not as a time of fear and endings but of truly coming into the full ripeness of myself as a woman.

With my professional background in Aromatherapy, Natural Skin Care, Health and Holistic Therapies and with my own superficial fears of looking like ‘grandma’ at the school gates (!), I want to explore and ultimately celebrate a more positive vision of timeless, naturally glowing, radiant late- blooming beauty, which has less to do with the wrinkles on your face and more to do with a twinkle in your eye! Also to explore how I can achieve the boundless energy and shining health I will need to enjoy every moment of my son growing up, live as long and as I can as an older mother and achieve other dreams I have for myself moving forward.

Most important though my aim is to inspire myself and other wonderful late-blooming women (of which there are many) to look positively at this next stage of our lives and see it as a time of blossoming into our most vibrant, beautiful, creative, authentic, 'wise woman' selves.




Tuesday 24 January 2012

Celebrating my Birthday and 'La Dolce Vita'

The fabulous Juliette Binoche
This Saturday I will reach the fully ripened and rather grown up age of 47.

To celebrate my birthday here are some rather delicious celebrities who also share my birthday this year. I raise a glass of something sparkly to them, to me and to all you other luscious late blooming lovelies out there blossoming in your forties and beyond!

Courteney Cox

Sandra Bullock

Monica Belluci


On the theme of blossoming in your forties and beyond, I have been inspired by a beautiful book I am reading at the moment called ' A Year in the Village of Eternity' by Tracy Lawson. It chronicles the time she spent amongst the people of a mountain village of Campodimele in Italy known as 'Il Paese della Longevita' or 'The Village of Longevity', where the average life expectancy of both men and woman is ninety-five.

Me enjoying
simple Tuscan pleasures :)
Filled with wonderful recipes and mouth-watering descriptions of their local dishes, all made with the freshest ingredients, sourced locally. The dishes are simple, flavoursome, nutritious and lovingly prepared. It describes their strong connection to the land and the 'warmth, friendship and feste' of these healthy, fit, long-living mountain people.

Like Tracy I am not a scientist or a doctor but have a keen interest in nutrition. I have listened intently to many experts and teachers in the field of optimum health over the last few years particularly in the raw food community. There are different schools of thought but through the confusion some very basic truths have emerged. 

Many of the longer living cultures throughout the world have varying diets depending on their environment and food availability but there are some very strong linking factors and truths about the quality of their food, lifestyle, environment and their connection to the land that just can't be ignored. It is also as much about what their diets don't include as to what they do.

I would like to look at these factors in my next blog but the most important gift Tracy Lawson was given from living with the community was not just learning about longevity.

"I came to Campodimele hoping to learn how to live longer and discovered something much more important-how to live well "

Here's to health, happiness and a long, joyful, adventure filled life!

Cheers!!

PS To those with a good memory the 'Green Smoothie Challenge' was put on hold due to my performing in a play in the last week. Certainly not a great time to consider a cleanse! However the resources were great, green smoothies are now being made and I will definitely look at doing it (or at least version of it) in spring or early summer. 



Cheers!!

9 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday for Saturday you luscious late blooming lovely. May your year be filled with lots and lots of buds and blooms, culminating into a beautiful bouquet!

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    1. How beautiful. Thank you Amanda my fellow late blooming lovely! xxx

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  2. 47 eh? I don't believe it! And there's me casting you as an early 30s girl... Happy belated birthday Sam! Valxx

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    1. Thank you Val. Yes I was definitely the wicked older woman again.! You haven't missed it its next weekend. Your comment is much appreciated :) xx

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  3. Happy Birthday, Happy Life, All My Love Sambolina <3

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  4. I wholeheartedly support the use of images of Juliette Binoche in blog posts!

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  5. forget the smoothie ..... as someone else who is going to hit the big 47 this year , i favour your picture of 3 glasses of lovely Bollinger !

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    1. Green smoothies to give you energy and a healthy glow and alcohol as a preservative.....perfect! Cheers to you Milla!!! :) xxxx

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